An executive at Electronic Arts’ Japanese division has criticized the country’s video game ratings board, questioning the seemingly inconsistent standards used to ban some games containing gore and graphic violence while allowing others.
In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), EA Japan general manager Shaun Noguchi took aim at the Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO) for refusing to rate and effectively banning the Dead Space remake over depictions of “severed body parts and internal organs.” However, Noguchi pointed out that the recently released action game Stellar Blade contains similar gruesome visuals yet was granted a CERO D rating for ages 17 and up.
“What’s going on CERO?” Noguchi wrote, sharing screenshots from Stellar Blade showing dismembered limbs and visible internal organs. “CERO, you denied our Dead Space a rating because it included cross-sections of severed body parts and internal organs, but here we have both cross-sections and insides on display passed off with a CERO D rating. I find this hard to accept.”
Noguchi stressed his criticism was aimed at CERO itself, not the developers of Stellar Blade which he recommended players buy and said was “fun and absolutely action packed.” However, he argued the discrepancy highlighted an inconsistent and “ambiguous” review process at the Japanese ratings board.
“This is purely a complaint about the ambiguity of the review process in Japan, and I can give many examples of the ambiguity that is prevalent in the review process for other titles as well,” Noguchi stated.
CERO had banned the Dead Space remake outright for its graphic depictions of violence and gore, while Korean developer Stellar Blade had touted that all international versions of its new game, including the Japanese release, would be completely “uncensored.”
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The seeming double standard prompted Noguchi to publicly call out CERO’s ratings decisions as contradictory and opaque. While gore has frequently been a sticking point for games seeking release in Japan, the EA executive’s comments reignited concerns over uncertainty regarding what explicit content ultimately crosses CERO’s line.
With Stellar Blade apparently passing muster despite showcasing severed limbs and viscera akin to what got Dead Space banned, Noguchi contends CERO owes publishers and consumers greater transparency over how it determines what graphic content is permissible and what is too excessive to release in Japan.
