Ubisoft’s adult party game for the Wii to undergo classification review this week after Federal Minister for Home Affairs lodges application to Classification Review Board.
The Classification Board of Australia has announced it will rethink the current PG (Parental Guidance) rating for Ubisoft’s We Dare, a game which received heavy criticism earlier this year for its adult content.
The review, which will be carried out this week on June 17, will be conducted by the Classification Review Board following an application being lodged by Federal Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor and could result in a higher rating for the title.
In March the board fell under fire over its decision to give the Ubisoft-published adult party game We Dare a PG rating for “mild sexual references.” A number of early media reports blamed the board for inappropriately rating the game, which revolves around a number of sexually themed party minigames that ask players to simulate sexual behaviour such as kissing, spanking, and stripping.
The game also caused controversy in the UK, where it was given a 12+ rating by the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) ratings board. According to media reports, some British parents opposed the game’s encouragement of sexual actions and deemed it unsuitable for teenagers.
In Australia, the Classification Board of Australia rated We Dare PG, ignoring Ubisoft’s initial advice during the application process to give the game an M rating. According to the board’s initial report, classifiers did not feel that the game deserved an M rating because there is no sexual behaviour actually displayed in the game and the graphics it contains are “highly stylised and cartoon-like.”
“The Board disagrees with the recommended classification of M,” the report states. “Given the reasons noted above, the Board is of the opinion the game warrants a PG classification with consumer advice of mild sexual references.”
According to the report, it appears the board understood the nature of the gameplay involved. It concluded that it is not recommended for persons under the age of 15 without the supervision of a parent or guardian.
“The game contains mild sexual references that are discreetly implied and justified by the context. There is a sexual tone to the game’In the mini-game “The More You Dare”, players are encouraged to remove as many clothes as possible in fifteen seconds’At the beginning of each mini-game, text bubbles appear’examples include but are not limited to: ‘Many women prefer men who look like their fathers. This is called sexual imprinting’ and ‘Married women tend to have affairs when they’re unhappy in their relationships.'”
Ubisoft responded to media criticism in March by claiming the game is intended for an adult audience and would be sold with a sticker advising as such.
This is the second time in two weeks the Classification Board of Australia has revised earlier classification decisions pertaining to games. Last week, the board revoked the initial classification of Tecmo Koei’s Dead or Alive: Dimensions for the 3DS on the grounds that the contentious content in the game was not shown to the board during the initial application process. The game is currently being reclassified.
Stay tuned to GameSpot AU for more information on both of these stories.
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