Hail of Controversy Breaks Rule of Rose

Publisher 505 Games bows to pressure, canning the Japanese thriller.

Score one for the scaremongers. A deliberate campaign to paint Japanese PlayStation 2 thriller Rule of Rose as an amoral and obscene death-fest has culminated this week in publisher 505 Games cancelling the game outright.

Rome mayor Walter Veltroni sparked the controversy with harsh criticism of Rule of Rose. Mr Veltroni took umbrage with its violent and sometimes erotic content, telling Italian news service ANSA:

"There is no way that a violent video game should be sold and distributed in our country... this game must not enter Italian homes."

Rule of Rose is set in an orphanage in 1930's England where the main character, 19-year-old Jennifer, suffers the wrath of a clique of girls called the Aristocrats Of The Red Crayon. Jennifer's attempts to be accepted by the group put her in uncomfortable and sometimes bizarre situations during the girls' rituals.

The game was published in Japan by Sony, but the company's American arm balked at its sexual content, leaving Atlus to publish it there and 505 Games in Europe.

Asked about the title's erotic content, Shuji Ishikawa, a producer at Sony, told Gamasutra: "The erotic aspect... isn't supposed to be the main theme. There are definitely erotic parts to it, and some things that might make people uncomfortable, but it's not the focus. It shouldn't be a problem. It's about intimate relationships between all people, not just children, not just girls. There will be people who don't understand it, but others will."

That subtle point appears to have been missed by many, including EU commissioner Franco Frattini. Mr Frattini, who saw only parts of the game, responded quickly and aggressively. "This has shocked me profoundly for its obscene cruelty and brutality," he said in an article at The Times.

Mr Frattini suggested that the self-policing the video game industry does in rating games doesn't go far enough. European ratings bodies did not take Frattini's rebuke quietly, especially considering the 16-plus rated game is not meant for children.

Laurie Hall of the Video Standards Council, which rates games and movies, told MCV that the mainstream reports on the game had distorted the severity of its violent and sexual content.

"I wouldn't call the game violent," Hall told MCV. "We're not worried about our integrity being called into question, because Mr Frattini's quotes are nonsense."

Still, the fracas has given 505 Games pause. The game was meant to be released this week, but the firm told MCV that it has "taken the decision not to publish Rule of Rose in the UK at this time."

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo