EA Japan Exec criticizes Japanese ratings board for allowing Stellar Blade uncensored but banning dead space

An Electronic Arts Japan executive has criticized Japan's video game ratings board for allowing upcoming action game Stellar Blade to be released without censorship while EA's Dead Space game has been banned in the country.

In posts on x/twitterEA Japan's general manager, Shun Noguchi, has questioned the Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO) for allegedly banning the horror game Dead Space due to features he claimed also appear in Stellar Blade.

“What's going on at CERO?” Noguchi asked in the post he translated Robot. “The Stellar Blade demo was really fun and action-packed. However, CERO, you rejected our Dead Space rating because it included cross-sections of severed body parts and internal organs, but here we have cross-sections and internal parts on display. It's given a CERO rating of D. I find It's hard to accept.”

The CERO D rating allows anyone 17 or older to purchase the game and is the second strictest rating in Japan, after the Z rating, which is reserved for those 18 or older. Dead Space has been reviewed and given no rating by CERO, meaning it is not available for sale in Japan, at least officially.

Noguchi's comments follow a post from the official Stellar Blade Noguchi clarified that he wasn't criticizing Stellar Blade itself, but rather CERO, and even recommended people buy it.

Stellar Blade brings sci-fi action and adventure exclusively to PlayStation 5 on April 26, with inspirations including Alita: Battle Angel, 80s and 90s sci-fi, and Taxi Driver Strike according to director Kim Hyung Tae.

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“While the depth of exploration remains to be seen, the Stellar Blade action alone was more than enough to get us excited,” IGN said in our preview of the game.

Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance reporter at IGN. He'll talk about The Witcher all day long.