Square Enix is waist deep in Western games. In addition to publishing internally developed Eidos titles, Square Enix handles Activision’s games in Japan. They localized Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and have two more Activision titles slated for release this year Blur and Singularity.
However, some of these games are too “extreme” in the violence department. The solution? Square Enix Extreme Edges, a label Yoichi Wada introduced in this week’s issue of Famitsu. Western developed games rated CERO D (17+) and the dreaded CERO Z (it’s like the heavily restricted ESRB’s “adults only” rating) will be sold under the Square Enix Extreme Edges label. This way fans of bloody Western games and parents who want to avoid them know what they’re looking at by glancing at the box alone. The change in branding is similar to how Nintendo gave all Wii games rated for teens and up black boxes.
To date, Square Enix has not published a CERO Z title. Wonder which game will get hit with it first. Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, perhaps?
