In order to secure a PEGI 16 rating, the European version of Quantic Dreams’ interactive drama Beyond: Two Souls was toned down, according to SCEE’s brand manager, Ross Alexander. Making the announcement on the European PlayStation Blog, Alexander detailed the specifics of the censorship, while assuring fans that the late modifications won’t impair the game’s narrative.
“There are only two amends between the EU and US versions of the game, amounting to about 5-10 seconds of gameplay that’s not been removed, just edited slightly to be in line with a PEGI 16 rating. For Beyond: Two Souls we wanted to make the game available to as many people as possible, hence applying for a PEGI 16 rating.
“The 5-10 seconds I mention above would have upped our rating to a PEGI 18, so it made perfect sense to make these two VERY minimal changes to get our planned 16 rating. I can assure you that this does not affect the game’s story at all, and that if you didn’t know these scenes had been amended, you wouldn’t even notice.”
Though Alexander didn’t specify what exactly fell victim to the EU’s editing scissors, traditionally games would receive the infamous 18 classification for use of violence that was deemed gratuitous by the ratings board. Nevertheless, the fact that these 5-10 seconds of gameplay didn’t contain any plot-heavy moments will alleviate any fears from European players that they will be missing out when Beyond: Two Souls releases. Additionally, it’s worth keeping in mind that, similarly to the European restriction for The Last of Us, these changes won’t affect the North American version of the game.
Beyond: Two Souls is slated for general release on October 8th and October 11th in North America and Europe, respectively. In the meantime, the studio has launched a demo for the game, which went live on the PlayStation Network today.
What do you think of the European censorship? Are you still looking forward to the supernatural story of Jodie Holmes? Let us know in the comments.