Only a day away until it’s release in North America, Heavy Rain will be bringing about a storm of satisfied gamers with its dramatic experience. The PlayStation 3 features strong language, violence and sex; including full male and female nudity, the type of content that gets games banned from being released in certain countries. Despite this, Heavy Rain has been cleared for nearly all countries it is releasing, all but one.
The United Arab Emirates has banned Heavy Rain in the country, the decision voted for by the National Media Council. The ban may of been imposed due to the game’s nudity and explicit scenes.
Sony confirmed the exclusion of their PS3 exclusive in UAE via a statement to Kotaku:
The UAE’s National Media Council (NMC) has banned Heavy Rain on PlayStation3. Heavy Rain has an 18+ PEGI rating and has been conceived from the earliest stages as a genuinely adult experience.
This means that it deals with strong content including blood and nudity, but treats this content in a mature and sensitive manner. The game is not intentionally controversial or sensationalist, and all the themes and content are consistent with what consumers would expect to see in a mainstream Hollywood thriller.
Heavy Rain is not the only title to be banned this year in the UAE, though; THQ’s Darksiders was also restricted in the country due to its violent gameplay. Electronic Arts decided to not even unleash Dante’s hell in to the country as the firm believed Dante’s Inferno would receive the same fate as others. It doesn’t stop there though, every installment in the God Of War series have been prohibited and it’s not difficult to figure out way.
Heavy Rain will be released tomorrow in North America and Europe will receive the Origami Killer from 24th February onwards.
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