Ok now we have confirmation that not only the Australian version got censored but also all European Versions Except the UK one. What are these cuts? They are containing 7 scenes with each around 20 seconds long which is pretty big in my opinion. They also contain some minigames like:

Beware of Spoiler!!!

involving a doctor performing an abortion on the player and again with the player performing the same procedure on Randy Marsh, as well as five anal probe scenes have been censored.

http://www.vg247.com/2014/02/25/south-park-the-stick-of-truth-has-7-censored-scenes-in-europe-report/

I ordered my Steam Version from Amazon.com so we will see which Version I get . I sure hope it is the uncensored one because if not then this is the last time I will pay any Ubisoft game....

Motherfucker...

@darji:

Wait, is it actually Ubisoft independently implementing these changes, or are they in response to a ratings board scandal?

@video_game_king: I really doubt it is the rating board since it is censored in every country. Even in the ones like Netherlands which normally give a fuck about this. So it is more likely Ubisoft trying to prevent any chance at all.

Perhaps they're just trying to avoid the controversy?

Which doesn't make it right, but if they don't feel like it's worth chasing then maybe those scenes aren't particularly important to the game anyway.

OK I wish I could Update the Title but:

UPDATE: our local Ubisoft rep has been in touch to say that the censorship is purely a marketing decision and that the scenes are also censored in the UK.

IT is completly Censored in Europe!!!!!

@believer258 It does not matter. It was in the game from the beginning so it should be still in there. No matter if it is pointless humor or not. Having cut out minigames sounds pretty big to me.

Review Guide Pic: Note again Spoiler:

http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2014/09/1393334863-south-park-the-stick-of-truth-review-guide.jpg

While the censorship is stupid the replacement (picture with descriptive text) has the potential to be much funnier than the actual scene.

That said I bought a key from ebay so I have no idea whether it's US or not. Should be interesting.

Huh. I was planning on buying this game on launch, but I might hold off if it's true that the UK version is censored.

@mattyftm: It is coming directly from Ubisoft. So yes it is true.

Also is there a way to change the title so it includes the censorship in UK as well?

A bit weird, but eh, it's 20 seconds, i'll live.

@tennmuerti: It is 7 times 20 seconds and a or more minigames.

kudos to Ubi for censoring a South Park game... *facepalm*

what's the fucking point...

Hmmm, this might make me download a cracked uncensored version then and play that rather then my Steam version.

A Marketing decision? HAHAHAHA what the fuck man. South Park Trades on the use of clever vulgar humor its the entire point of the show.

Isn't this censorship stuff normally a matterb of editting a .ini? Rarely very tricky

@hayt: Not really. If they actually blank these scenes out it is not even on the disc or in the download. There are several more serious cuts which require download lots of stuff. For example the Fallout 2 uncensor patch was like 200 MB I think. And some are not even possible like the German one in Half Life which replaced all Soldiers with Robots.

In Germany they also censored the complete Jew class in this game and made them a Paladin.

Right. That's it... I'm voting for UKIP at the next elections.

On a serious note the steam version seems to be unaffected and that's what I was planning on getting anyway.

It is? Is there a confirmation somewhere?

@tennmuerti: No confirmation yet. I really doubt it since it is a "marketing decision".

@tennmuerti: It's mentioned in the eurogamer article

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-25-south-park-the-stick-of-truth-censored-in-europe

The text of the censorship decision on the Kotaku article talks about the console version of the game being censored, not the PC version

(EMEA is Europe, Middle East and Africa)

Laaaaaame! But I think I can handle missing out on 140 seconds of ass-probing.

@jarowdowsky: probably because it is the console sheet and not the PC one? WE do not know yet for sure.

Well I'm going to import it then. I know we are "only" talking about 3 minutes, but I don't support censorship in any way, so I won't spend a bunch of money on a censored product.

First the TLoU multiplayer got censored, here in Europe, and now this? I have had enough of this censorship. From now on I'm going to import every game that has been censored, simply because I don't support censorship.

Each censored scene is replaced by an image background and a description text selected by Matt & Trey.

Censorship is bad and all, but this has the potential to be much funnier.

Ok confirmed to be not cut on the PC Version except the German one i guess. If I could change the title I would...

Could we all just agree to force Germany to adopt PEGI? Maybe play on the WW2 guilt or something?

Actually scratch that, Instead lets make a new one based on the average movie rating system, meaning no 18+. Could really solve a lot stupid problems. Like the way 16 year old teenager apparently can't handle the partially covered boobs of Queelaag in Dark Souls. I mean really? With amount of porn these 16 year olds must have seen by then, but somehow these pixelated breast are obviously gonna turn them into raving lunatics? I think the real lunatics are the people who create these rating systems.

I would think it is gonna happen sooner or later, so why not now?

Phew, not the PC version. Good thing.

It really irritates me that companies suddenly have begun censoring across Europe (same with TLOU), and treating EU as one collective place.

Sure a few countries have some rules, but for a large majority of EU there would be no issue with any type of content whatsoever - i really dislike that i have to suffer due to some idiotic german rule.

Hmm... I don't live in Europe, but was thinking about pre-ordering this game at getgames.com. Do you guys think doing this would give me the censored version? Or should I not worry because the PC version isn't censored?

@scampbell: I'm not sure I understood what you said correctly, but Dark Souls is rated 16 by PEGI.

Agreed. I'm definitely interested in seeing what these descriptions say.

@tobbrobb: I guess I was confusing it with ESRB? Anyway, my point is as long as you have an 18+ rating developers will be aiming to get a 16+ as they want the largest audience possible. Of course there is always exceptions, as smaller games doesn't always have as much on the line as a big budget game, and besides it probably doesn't matter as much when a game is digital only. In any case, I would prefer games was rated pretty much the same way movies are. I think games are rated differently mostly based on superstition to a new media.

But this was not a 16 or 18 decision. It is still a 18 game even with these censors. And honestly it is South Park. Why would you cut anything at all?

That's... unfortunate. Regardless of what the content is or how long it is or whatever is irrelevant, censorship is bullshit, and for South Park of all things? What is this, 1999? While I admittedly wasn't planning on getting this game anyway, this'll give me another reason to steer clear.

Isn't censorship as a marketing decision an oxymoron? Weird way to phrase it (edit: now that I think about it, it's probably more marketable to put "censored in more than 7 countries!" on the back of the box or something). It would be pretty funny if they choose custom "censor" images for each country though.

When asked about the censorship, a Ubisoft spokesperson told Eurogamer: "this was a market decision."

That's a vague explanation, but it may have something to do with Ubisoft hoping to secure release in Germany, which employs stricter guidelines on video game content than other European countries.

Germany; may still be making Europe a less fun place, indirectly. I remember we had censored Cannibal Corpse albums and similar back in the 80s and 90s due to their laws and USKs.

I was about to ask for a refund of my Steam pre-order but thankfully did some checking and found that the PC version, as mentioned above somewhere, is uncensored.

Still this console censorship mess is an atrocity in this age.

Eh, I ordered my PS3 copy from Amazon UK so I'm cool.

No you are not!!!!. Read the Update. All European Console Versions including UK are censored^^

@darji: I was referring to Dark Souls and how it had a Mature ESRB rating due to certain scenes. I totally agree that censoring South Park is idiotic. The problem is likely Germany, and their neurotic relationship to anything that is even remotely related to WW2. Though in the end Ubisoft or whoever made the decision to have one version for Europe, even though they could likely just have shipped the US version to everyone except Germany.

The German version is extra censored. These censorships have nothing to do with WW2 stuff. There is a rumor going around from retailers that they even changed the Jew Class to Palladin in Germany which is more than idiotic. That is why I do not understand this. It is South Park for Gods. Sake some anal or abortion jokes should have been totally fine.

I gotta say, I'm baffled why the would censor South Park. I mean doesn't everyone at this point know that, that's just south park and they do that kinda stuff all the time?

So you don't think changing the Jew Class to Paladin got anything to with the persecution of Jews during WW2 in Nazi-Germany? Though I guess if what you are saying is true, that Germany in fact got a different version, then this is even more ridiculous than I thought. Especially considering, as you mentioned, it being an 18+ game.

Ugh. I hate censorship.

No you are right the changes like with the Jew class are because of Germany and their stupid WW2 shit. Hell in Germany the name of the Mainchar from Tales of Xilla was changed because he was called Jude which means Jew in German. It is idiotic beyond beliefs here.

I was just talking about these changes mentioned in the article which are not related to this WW2 stuff at all. WE in Germany get a even more cut version.

Is it going to be region free on consoles ?

Id rather buy it on console but it does piss me off when they do things like this.

Its an 18 so whats the problem !

Why don't they just do the call of duty thing at the start and say do you have a problem with abortions or anal probes ?

If they say yes then cut those scenes out but if they say no then leave them in.

PS3 should be region free. For the 360 I would not bet on it.

http://www.vg247.com/2014/02/27/south-park-we-did-not-censor-or-edit-the-game-in-any-shape-or-form-says-ratings-body/ <-- apparently this was all just marketing bullshit, nothing was censored.

*edit* - or rather, they weren't told to change anything. If they self-censored, that's a different thing.

Yeah, this sucks, especially for a property like South Park, but I really don't think it's all that surprising, since games are still treated as one of the most taboo mediums. Why? Because of ignorance and stupidity.

But, oh well, changed my pre-order to an import version, and that's that.

I didn't know that, because I just bought the english version, but man, that just made my day. So goddamn stupid.

This is not true, the jew class will not be censored in the German version of the game. Ubisoft confirmed that this will not happen.

The rumor was just based on one wrong description in a Austrian online shop. Germany gets an extra censorship, but as far as we know right now only swastikas will be removed. Maybe there will be an "X" on the nazi uniforms instead, we don't know yet... but this is common in German video game releases because of our laws.

Fun fact: Swastikas are not censored in the South Park episodes on German tv, because movies and tv shows are considered as "art" and so they are allowed to show nazi symbols. Video games are not. Several years ago this stupid decision was made and they still stick to it, even when a game looks exactly like the tv show it is based on.