14 DAY TRIAL // The upcoming South Park: The Stick of Truth has been censored by video game publisher Ubisoft in Europe and other territories, apparently in order to make sure that controversy over content does not affect the launch of the title.
Reports have suggested that the company has eliminated a number of scenes that involved questionable acts, but it seems that the changes were not made because of recommendations coming from ratings boards.
VG247 quotes the UK government entity as saying that, "The game was assessed by us and deemed acceptable for a PEGI 18 rating. This consideration applies to games which are likely to attain a PEGI 12, 16 or 18 rating and which may contain potentially harmful or illegal material."
It adds that, "As there was no such issue with the game, it was duly given its PEGI 18. Let me emphasise that we did not censor or edit the game in any shape or form."
Ubisoft has not offered an official explanation for the cut content, which seems to only affect retail packages, with the digitally distributed edition for the PC apparently offering a more complete game experience.
Traditionally, developers and publishers only eliminate content from their games when they receive a rating that does not allow the title to be present on store shelves and even then, the changes are minimal, designed to get it past the censors and no more.
South Park: The Stick of Truth will be launched on the PC, the Xbox 360 from Microsoft and the PlayStation 3 from Sony on March 4, in the United States and three days later in Europe.
The title represents one of the last big game launches that will not arrive on the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.
Development of the Obsidian-created experience was troubled, having started under the guidance of now disappeared publisher THQ.
After the company went bankrupt, Ubisoft picked up publishing rights and worked with the development team and series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone in order to develop a solid narrative and an interesting set of game mechanics.
The classic cut out animation style is perfectly reproduced and Obsidian says that gamers will be able to experience a series of quests that are based on the diverse world of the TV show and on the classes and situations described in The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers episode.