PAL version of ninja gaiden for xbox - less violence, less fun?

Liver-Lips

Anyone heard the news that the PAL version of ninja gaiden will have the decapitation sequences taken out so that it can get a 16 age rating. think it was a pre-censorship move on microsoft's part to broaden the potential audience.

For some reason i thought game publishers were actually starting to pay attention to europe as a viable games market but i guess they still see us as the s**t you get when you cross carmageddon 64 with dino crisis 3.
if anyone is familiar with either of the above games, you'll notice that that wasnt a compliment.
that and the fact that i used the word s**t. let me just say that again. s**t, arse, bollox.

and there i was looking foreward to watching the headless, blood-spurting corpse of mine enemy sink to the ground after a gnarly, nija, sword-and-feet fight.
anyone have any thoughts on the matter of european censorship, PAL releases etc?

Kiith

i hate when games are changed in different countries cause of censorship. if it's on the pc, its ok. someone will release a patch before the game even comes out to get rid of the zombies with green blood or whatever it is. but for consoles, theres not much you can do except bitch about it. the censors should let us decide if decapations, cars ploughing through loads of people and so on, are acceptable entertainment.

Retr0gamer

If its true chip your xbox and import it.

Or better still chip your xbox and pirate it. This way you save money and give two fingers to the twats that make these decisions.

(Retr0gamer doesn't condone pirating but does hate idiot games industry execs who make these retarded decisions and like to **** european games in the arse)

[CALIBUR]

(#MEAT# kisses his x-box mod-chip! ) I have the game right now but I don't have the time to play it with my exams and stuff.

and also I got a new massive widescreen TV, its total sweet

I'll post up a image soon.

Liver-Lips

i also kiss my sweat aladdin chip right in the mutton chopps. and ive been flicking the finger to the overpriced games industry for ages now.
didnt know the chip reseases the region locks though. so importing isnt a problem then if xb is chipped?

anyhow, its the principal im angry about. if its not the throwing stars in tenchu, its the green blood in germany, its the killswitch ps2 exlusivity only in europe.
something must be done!

i just bitching though, im not the one to do anything.

but if there was a petition or something, id probably sign it... if i had the time.

honru

If you import the NTSC version then does that mean you can't use its LIVE features?

Ultimately disapointed with Microsoft for this decision. The removal of the decapitation sequences apperantly don't badly hurt the game, but it still sucks.

Retr0gamer

www.eurogamer.net reported that you couldn't take part in the tournament if you used the NTSC version on a european xbox.

vorbis

lads a little perspective here. Half of ye are sounding like you don't buy games that much. Also liver lips if you re read your own post it was done more to get a better age rating rather than out and out censorship. and honestly I hope the decapitation scenes weren't the only reason you were thinking of buying the game. Its still not as bad as the idea of having zombies in Carmageddon.

Retr0gamer

Just had a go of the NTSC version last night and I have to say that it is a truly brilliant game and when I play it more It will probably be at the top of my list of this years best games.

The loss of decapitations won't affect the gameplay but you will lose the satisfaction of when you connect with an ultimate technique and lob off a few heads. Also the comedy value will be lost

KdjaCL

Thats a game i would buy an Xbox for , cba about blood and whatever.
Control and playability are numero unos.

kdjac

goo

I could do without decapitations, actually, so I agree with the last few guys.
Obviously, being 18, I originally reacted with outrage when I first heard because someone had censored something, but heads staying on bodies really wouldn't take anything away from the game and could possibly give it a more realistic feeling. I'm buying it.

Obviously, a lot of you guys aren't up for censorship, but these companies obviously want to tap as much cash as possible from their games, surely you can understand that.

Something you should really bear in mind too is that gaming is a far less established medium than film, and there is, practically, no opening for someone to release games indiviually. We're very lucky that every big seller hasn't been reduced to perpetual FIFA-style sequels, very lucky indeed. To be honest, except for the mod community and a couple of boy-done-good stories (which only happen because the companies pick up amateur talent), we're restricted to choosing from what we're offered, so we're very lucky anyone's trying to vary our options at all.

Retr0gamer

i'm sure little johnny can get his 'ma or da or big brother' to go into the shop and get the game for him. I've often been in a game shop where little johnny was turned away by the staff for trying to buy vice city and then his ma would scream around the shop that she has to buy it for the little brat and then buy it. Microsoft would not be losing any sales if it had a more restrictive higher certificate. I'm sure there were lots of people who were playing MK2 and watching dodgy horror films before they were even 13. I know I was. And theres lots of people under 18 playing vice city.

goo

I saw a kid, roughly ten, with Vice City only yesterday actually.