Left 4 Dead 2 cover changed to appease ESRB

by David Hinkle { Jun 17th 2009 at 4:50PM }

Poor Valve, it just can't catch a break. At this year's E3, it revealed what should have been one of the more pleasant surprises of the show in Left 4 Dead 2, only to have a bunch of angry folks cry "boycott." Then, it put out box art for the game, only to have the ESRB flip out over something as silly as two chewed-off fingers.

As you can see above, Valve had to dial the gore back, with the two offending fingers now bent back. Oddly enough, there were no issues with the thumb, which makes us think the ESRB is composed of a bunch of Steve Oedekerk haters.

Tags: esrb, l4d2, left-4-dead-2, survival-horror, valve, zombies

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

baef @ Jun 17th 2009 4:54PM

Where is a pic of the original? I would like to see what is so wrong with it that they would have to change...

grover96 @ Jun 17th 2009 4:57PM

It's gone. They've destroyed it and every remaining copy everywhere. Do not try to google it, because it's all gone!!!

Lieutenant Gunther (PSN: helghast102) @ Jun 17th 2009 4:57PM

yeah, with an article like this a side-by-side comparison is pretty much a must..

baef @ Jun 17th 2009 4:58PM

I did an image search on google and didn't really find anything, hopefully someone has a link.

Heavytoka @ Jun 17th 2009 5:01PM

http://www.destructoid.com/left-4-dead-2-cover-art-changed-to-appease-esrb-136557.phtml

Dracard @ Jun 17th 2009 5:02PM

I do not think any of the released pictures of box art ever had the fingers chewed off.

K1LLER HORNET @ Jun 17th 2009 5:02PM

someone post a link to the original plz : )

Dracard @ Jun 17th 2009 5:02PM

Spoke too soon. Thanks.

K1LLER HORNET @ Jun 17th 2009 5:04PM

@Heavytoka

thanks for the link - that would have made a great box art.

***stupid*** ESRB

maybe someone can photoshop a final cover for the game after it ships : )

Obie @ Jun 17th 2009 5:17PM

Some one chewed off finger is fine...but 3, oooooh no.

David Hinkle @ Jun 17th 2009 5:37PM

Yeah, sorry, guys. I tried to hunt down the original (because, yes, side-by-side comparison would've really helped the post), but I couldn't find anything. Like "combing the desert and not coming up with anything" kind of anything. Sorry!

Lucky @ Jun 17th 2009 7:13PM

They gave the original to George Lucas.

Michael T @ Jun 18th 2009 12:47PM

@ David

"Combing the desert and not coming up with anything."

So what you're saying is, "We ain't found SHIT!"

Heavytoka @ Jun 17th 2009 4:59PM

The ESRB are a bunch of yuppies that shouldn't be the ones rating the games we play anyways. We need real gamers rating games!

Dave Norman @ Jun 17th 2009 5:14PM

There is a gigantic billboard advertisement of the two chewed off fingers down the street from my house... I guess that's ok with the ESRB though...

MrKlorox @ Jun 17th 2009 7:34PM

It is since that's not going on the shelf nor does the ad have the final game rating.

JeffGoldwarf @ Jun 17th 2009 5:02PM

The ESRB comment was a joke, and it was referring to the physical act of a Valve employee biting her fingers off, not the resulting box art.

That whole blog post is a joke.

grover96 @ Jun 17th 2009 5:29PM

People, read the L4D blog post. It'sa joke. The ESRB could care less.

K1LLER HORNET @ Jun 17th 2009 6:43PM

@ grover96

FFS it's not "ESRB could care less"
its ESRB could NOT care less!

here: http://incompetech.com/Images/caring.png

MrKlorox @ Jun 17th 2009 7:28PM

@K1LLER HORNET: Hi. You're not completely correct. Perhaps that's what the way to say it where you're from, but the rest of the world doesn't say it that way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences#Figures_of_speech

Slaziman @ Jun 17th 2009 8:19PM

Are you stupid dude? If the rest of the world doesn't say it that way the rest of the world is stupid. The fact that so many people say it wrong doesn't make it acceptable.

The only one that makes any sense is "I couldn't care less".

maveric101 @ Jun 17th 2009 8:21PM

MrKlorox your link doesn't back you up at all. it says that both Americans and British use "i couldn't care less," and then goes on to say that "couldn't care less" means the opposite, and so it totally wrong.

please, people. it's "could NOT care less."

i could care less if someone murdered my family. that's because i care very much, so there is the possibility of caring less.

it's not a matter of "oh some people just say it differently." no. those people are wrong.

Alphathon @ Jun 17th 2009 9:29PM

Differences between British and American english are fine, but "I could care less" isn't that. It's just wrong and nonsensical, plain and simple.

Showing your lack of caring - you're doing it wrong!

West @ Jun 17th 2009 9:44PM

I could care less about being wrong.

grover96 @ Jun 17th 2009 10:47PM

@ K1LLER HORNET

Thanks for the correction. And BTW it's Killer Hornet.

CubeGuy @ Jun 20th 2009 2:20AM

Bugs me almost as much as "Same difference"

ThomasShaped @ Jun 17th 2009 5:04PM

Now it just looks like it's swearing at us..

fail.

Rob @ Jun 17th 2009 5:05PM

This is so stupid. How does changing the fingers change anything?

dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Jun 17th 2009 5:10PM

I hate the ESRB.

Nate Addison @ Jun 17th 2009 5:12PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgEufZppH8s this is a video interview that
has the old logo for comparison purposes

B3astofthe3ast @ Jun 17th 2009 5:17PM

There have been much worse box arts than L4D2, on games and movies alike....

the awesome @ Jun 17th 2009 5:22PM

What happens when they get to Left 4 Dead 4 and the cover looks exactly the same as the first one? Can't they see the bind they'll be in after Left 4 Dead 3?

What are they going to do then, put 4 hands on the box? No, no, no. That's way too much. Won't somebody please think of the children?

Avada Kadavra 9 @ Jun 17th 2009 5:39PM

ehhhh Did I mention I hate people? Seriously.

Paradigm Pirate @ Jun 17th 2009 5:42PM

Well, seems like the ESRB is only half as strange as the German BPJM.

German L4D1 box art:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51gblzDVKOL._SS400_.jpg

Smoke_me_a_Kipper @ Jun 18th 2009 8:23AM

In the german version, did they take the blood out too?

GANNONSMASH @ Jun 17th 2009 5:41PM

I actually prefer the edited version. It keeps the "4" because there are still 4 fingers, but the "2" is also incorporated because only 2 fingers are being held up. Otherwise it just looks like Left 2 Dead. (Left 2 Die?)

Amoveo @ Jun 18th 2009 2:08AM

I agree with this. If I was designing the box art I would have done it this way on purpose.

Maulok @ Jun 17th 2009 5:43PM

A Steve Oedekerk reference? At last I can quote Kung Pow Enter the Fist in a comment section!

"What do you get when you cross an owl with a bungee cord?
My ass.
Hgna haha ha
ENOUGH!"

Farseye21 @ Jun 17th 2009 7:24PM

I feel like Kung Pow quotes also...

"take a close look. Cause I rule baby!
And who do you rule? The large-dark-nipple people?"

oh man, that movie is just chop-full of awesome quotes.

yenrab @ Jun 17th 2009 5:54PM

Just wait till health care is taken care of and the economy is on solid ground again....they'll get on games.

Petebot330 @ Jun 17th 2009 5:58PM

I was actually thinking they would have to change the cover art because of the other meaning of showing two fingers like that in england and australia and the like...

Alphathon @ Jun 17th 2009 9:34PM

Actually, the way it is now is even more like that. Before it was just a hand with missing fingers, now it's a hand with a missing thumb flipping vs.

sirk @ Jun 17th 2009 6:17PM

Left 4 Dead 2, now more insulting to the French.

Onomah @ Jun 17th 2009 7:33PM

You'd think that they would stop caring about insults dating from the hundred years war but apparently not. Incidentally, you'd think that the ESRB or PEGI or whatever would take issue with the fact that the box is STILL flipping us off, but no the ESRB have their priorities.

vidGuy @ Jun 17th 2009 6:47PM

Yeah, without any actual link to a comment by the ESRB I'm going to have to assume the blog post was joking about that part. So it must have been some aesthetic choice by the designers - I think it's much nicer this way.

LegendaryRedass @ Jun 17th 2009 7:09PM

They should've just left the middle finger fo reals.

Poisoned Al @ Jun 17th 2009 7:14PM

So, NOW it looks like it's giving you two fingers. Fitting how the game was pretty much an "up yours" to everyone that bought the first game.

Longhorn of Myon [PSN: MariusElijah] @ Jun 17th 2009 7:17PM

thank you,
also this is just another lazy cover from lazy valve

*flees*

skfireboy @ Jun 17th 2009 7:36PM

Wow, all these pointless angry posts about some stupid box art and not a single mention of the pretty hot looking Valve artist in the link on the L4D website. Time to spend a little more time talking to girls and a little less time commenting on forums guys......