Bandai Namco Entertainment have addressed and denied rumors that Tales of Arise will be censored on PlayStation consoles.
The rumor seems to have originated from 4Chan, with a post claiming the game would be censored worldwide on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. It should be noted the poster provided no proof of how they came about the information.
The poster claimed the censorship would make multiple female costumes “less risque,” remove the hot springs along with associated costumes and almost all scenes, and removing sexual or sexually implied dialogue. This includes a male character asking another “flamboyant” male character if he is flirting with him (changed to just saying he is annoying).
A scene where a female character is punched claimed to be allegedly altered (the character dodges but still falls over), and a weapon carried by an NPC had its design changed.
While the post lacked hard evidence, the nature of the censorship would fall in line with recent Sony Interactive Entertainment policies. In late December 2018, SIE Japan Asia President Atsushi Morita stated the then recent spate of censorship of anime-styled sexual content on PlayStation 4 games had been “to meet global standards.”
This censorship was seemingly forced in Japan; and led to Japanese developers to release on other platforms, or create different versions for PlayStation consoles.
However, Bandai Namco Entertainment have responded to the allegations. Speaking to Xbox Dynasty (translation: DeepL) Marco Süß of Bandai Namco Entertainment Germany stated the games content would be the same on all platforms.
“Tales of Arise will be released on September 10, 2021 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and the PC. All releasing versions will include the same story and features, without any form of censorship.”
Our own hands-on demo preview based on the game’s demo also found no difference in content between PlayStation 4 or Xbox Series S versions of the game. You can find our hands-on demo preview here.
As previously reported, Tales of Arise takes place on the world of Dahna, where they had worshiped the nearby planet of Rena for 300 years. This reverence lead to the people of that world exploiting Dahna for resources and servitude. The ever crumbling “peace” between the two will soon be exploited by dark forces.
Alphen is former slave of Dahna, robbed of his memories and bound in an iron mask. Teaming up with Shionne, a young woman born from Rena, they seek to overthrow the oppression; as Shionne uses her powers to unleash the power of Alphen’s sword.
Tales of Arise launches September 10th for Windows PC (via Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
