Ok, so Dead Space (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) is pretty gruesome. But gruesome enough to get banned in Japan? Come on. Some people - rightfully - have speculated that the news of the ban was just a publicity stunt. The EA devs behind the game are sticking to it though, and they give us some possible explanations behind the ban.

So what level of gruesome could possibly make Japan ban a game? According to the devs' Twitter feed, it might have something to do with the main character being dismembered when killed. Although that still sounds pretty tame. Perhaps it's the thematic content behind the dismemberment? Anyhoo, here's a record of the Twitter feed:

So is the ban real, or a publicity stunt? We know that the announcement of the ban in Germany was a little premature, and China's no surprise, so the only real thing in question here is whether the game's too gruesome for Japan. Because we all know we'd want to buy it even more if that's true.

So I guess if it is a publicity stunt, EA's a genius.

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