Rising Star hits back at censorship criticism

The MD of Rising Star Games, Martin Defries, has responded to criticism levelled at the company following the announcement that forthcoming title No More Heroes would differ in content to the US edition.

According to earlier reports the version of the game released in the US will include a higher level of blood and gore effects in the combat — something which some took to mean that the game was being censored in Europe.

But Defries has told GamesIndustry.biz that those claims are wide of the mark, because the European edition will be identical to the one just released in Japan, localisation notwithstanding.

"There are two versions of No More Heroes that are going to be published in the West," he said.

"Ours, which will be drawn down from our parent company, Marvelous Interactive, which is directly from the Japanese iteration of the game, and there will be a version in the US that is a full-on gore, beheadings, dismembermentâ¦and it seems some confusion has come to the fore in the past few days as to which version Rising Star Games will publish.

"Why the decision [to add in additional gory detail to the US release] has been made is a difficult one for me to comment on - that's a Ubisoft decision for the North American market.

"We've always drawn down our games from Japan, we tailor them in language, in text and audio, and nothing else."

A joint statement issued by the game's designer Goichi Suda (better known as Suda 51) and Marvelous Digital president Yahsiro Wada reads as follows:

"First, let me say how honoured I am that everyone in Europe is expecting No More Heroes. The sales point of this game is action. Both I and Wada san have concentrated on making the best possible action game for Nintendo Wii.

"We have chosen to release in Europe the same version as has shipped in Japan considering the broadly growing Wii market. We are certain you will definitely enjoy playing it."

Rising Star Games will publish the European edition of No More Heroes in February 2008, while the different US edition will be published by Ubisoft.