Developer Striking Distance Studios has announced that Dead Space’s spiritual successor release The Callisto Protocol will not release in Japan.
This comes as a result of the game not passing the CERO certification, which would allow the game to be released to the Japenese Market. Striking Distance Studios has taken a strict stance stating that it would not alter the content of the game to comply with CERO as it wouldn’t reflect the game’s intentions.
Dr. Serkan Toto a leading video game industry consultant in Japan translated the Tweet from the Japanese Callisto Protocol Twitter account. Toto expanded on the reasoning behind CERO’s strict rules. Over the past few years, the rating agency has become stricter and stricter, banning multiple popular games in Japan. Such games include The Last Of Us, Cyberpunk, Uncharted 1, Witcher 3, GTA V, and more.
Dr. Serkan Toto explained that often in Japan there are two releases. One “cut” version and one “censored” version. Often it is the Gory version that tends to sell better. He ended his series of tweets by stating that even the games which carry the strictest “Z” rating for ages 18+ still will get censored. The best recourse then is to avoid Japanese games at all costs.
The Callisto Protocol went gold last week meaning the game has been sucessfully completed and is ready for disk printing. This is a clear indication that eager games will have their game ready for December 2, 2022 for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S without delay (something that is quite uncommon in the modern gaming world.)
So far the game is panning out to be quite an exciting release, a recent video released by the PS5 Youtube gaming channel Push Square touched briefly on the unique style of combat in the game. You can use the left analog stick to “dodge and weave like a boxer,” which seems to be quite a fun addition to the game, but most likely something that will require some practice and some patience. You can see the full breakdown of the video down below:
If you didn’t know already, there is also a remake of Dead Space in the works. The remake will arrive on platforms sometime in January, bringing the 2008 release into the current generation of gaming.
Have you pre-ordered The Callisto Protocol? Or are you giving this game a miss due to its violence? let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
