Heavy Rain banned in UAE

PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain has become the latest game to be banned in the United Arab Emirates thanks to its inclusion of adult material.

In a statement released to Kotaku, Sony said: The UAE’s National Media Council has banned Heavy Rain on PS3.

Heavy Rain has an 18+ PEGI rating and has been conceived from the earliest stages as a genuinely adult experience. This means that it deals with strong content including blood and nudity, but treats this content in a mature and sensitive manner. The game is not intentionally controversial or sensationalist, and all the themes and content are consistent with what consumers would expect to see in a mainstream Hollywood thriller.”

Middle Eastern site MEgamers speculates that the ban is a result of the game’s seduction scenes, as such content is likely to offend the region’s regulators.

Other games to fall foul of the NMC include THQ’s Darksiders, Rockstar’s God of War and Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto. EA opted against attempting to release Dante’s Inferno in the region.