Dead Island Publisher Tones Down Logo for North America

[Logan Westbrook]

Dead Island Publisher Tones Down Logo for North America

Zombie silhouettes are fine for store shelves, but it seems that nooses are a step too far.

Dead Island publisher, Deep Silver, says that it is tweaking the game's logo for its North America release so that it no longer features a hanging zombie. This change will only apply to the North American box art however, and doesn't affect the European release at all.

The original logo, which will still appear in the game itself, has a zombie swinging from a noose doing a pretty sterling impression of the "I" in Dead Island. Someone deemed this to be a little too extreme for the North American market however, so the gallows zombie has been given the boot and in its place is a regular, "living" zombie, lurching and shambling towards the player. You can see this updated, and not quite as evocative, logo above.

It's not clear exactly why Deep Silver and developer Techland decided to make this change. Other developers have run into problems with cover art before however, like Valve's troubles with the ESRB over the missing fingers on the cover for Left 4 Dead 2. It would make sense that it is either in response to, or in anticipation of, some kind of criticism about the logo.

Dead Island is scheduled for release on Xbox 360, PC, and PS3 sometime in the third quarter of this year.

Source: IGN [http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/115/1156850p1.html]


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[Hungry Donner]

I can understand the move, lynching is still a powerful symbol across much of the US and it isn't necessarily clear that it's a zombie hanging from the tree - I mean why would you try to hang a zombie?

 

[Sindre1]

Yes, cause the logo was the problem with DI -.-

 

[ZombieGenesis]

I get why they would think it might be a problem...
But let's face it. If the game was released with all questionable material intact, the general public would go about their lives without being the slightest bit affected. Anyone who would have 'called it out' over that matter will call it out over something else anyway.

 

[Danik93]

Really... Are Americas entertainment business run by 10 year olds?

 

[starwarsgeek]

I mean why would you try to hang a zombie?

Maybe the hung someone after they were bitten, but before actual zombification?

OT: As long as they don't censor the actual game, I don't mind. I could see them getting some angry letters because some young kids saw it on the shelf...

 

[NathLines]

I can understand the move, lynching is still a powerful symbol across much of the US and it isn't necessarily clear that it's a zombie hanging from the tree - I mean why would you try to hang a zombie?

It could be a guy who knows he's infected and is going to turn, so he hangs himself. Afterwards he turns into a zombie.

EDIT: God damn it. Ninja'd.

 

[Iron Mal]

Of course, because the first thing I think of when I play a zombie game is lynching iconography from the time of mass segregation and institutionalised racism (please excuse the sarcasm but this just seems ridiculous).

I'd understand if there were graphic scenes of people being lynched in the game (that could be pretty harsh depending on the context) but just having a hung zombie in the logo isn't really the sort of thing that needs to be toned down.

 

[DTWolfwood]

poo poo on our puritan sensibilities <.<

meh if the game is release on PC and is on steam, i'll never even get to see the box art. If it isn't on steam than i'll never play it. Same if its a console only game.

 

[The Cheezy One]

I don't mind really (and not just because I'm English). Unlike those Yahtzee pointed out a few weeks back, this changes very little. The only negative view I can take is that it slightly removes from the bleak view that the trailer set up (the lone man hanging from a tree I found to be quite powerful), but if you want bleak, watch the trailer in

Spoiler: actual chronological order

 

[Scabadus]

Seems like a fair move. You can be as violent as you want in the game itself, that's what ratings are for, but for box art you have to remember that everyone in the store will see that regardless of age.

 

[qwertyz]

Why do we always have to tone down things that don't really have to be toned down? Maybe it's just because I live in California, and not the Deep South in the US, that I don't see anything wrong, but I found the former logo perfectly fine.

 

[Void Droid]

Of course, because the first thing I think of when I play a zombie game is lynching iconography from the time of mass segregation and institutionalised racism (please excuse the sarcasm but this just seems ridiculous).

I think more of suicide than I do racism (although I understand how one could make the connection). If I walked in to a shop and saw that on the cover and I had lost someone the same way then regardless of the games content, whether aware of it or not, I would be upset to have the memories brought up, so I can understand them changing it.

As someone already said, be as graphic as you want in the game but the box will be on display for all to see, parents of victims, children etc, so long as the game is untouched what should it matter.

 

[DamienHell]

LAAAME where am I going to get a European copy?

 

[Zenode]

Ohhh you silly Americans taking offense to something so silly.

Well to me it actually is a better design, in the original i thought it said "Dead Land" and confused me if they changed the title or not...

Spoiler

[small]If this was an Australian thing
OMG CENSORSHIP NANNY STATE etc etc

American thing
Oh yes that might be offensive

/rant for no reason[/small]

 

[Stammer]

Meh, what does it really matter anyway? This is a great example of something that can be changed with no negative impact while also simply making the game a little bit less offensive to people.

After the attack on the World Trade Center towers, Westwood Studios changed the box art for Red Alert 2 because it showed New York City burning to the ground. I still own the original box, so it's cool to know that I own what is essentially a limited edition version of the box. But I'm also happy about it because I think changing the box art probably saved a lot of people from having negative emotions from looking at the boxes on store shelves. And really, it's not like it affected the game in any way.

 

[Eri]

I'm so fucking sick of the US getting the shittiest box art. Every fucking game it's the same story, we get the WORST art. Publisher's need to fucking think for once.

 

[fenrizz]

I do find it a bit ironic that hey need to censor it to sell it in the USA.