PEGI spanks Ubisoft, demands it pull We Dare ads from internet

by Richard Mitchell on Mar 10th 2011 10:00PM

Ubisoft no doubt intended for its kinky We Dare ad campaign to turn some heads and, in one way or another, it has definitely succeeded. Despite the fact that that the game will now sport a parental warning sticker and will not be released in the UK or US, European ratings board PEGI is now asking Ubisoft to remove We Dare ads from the internet entirely.

Gamasutra reports that PEGI's imposing-sounding "Enforcement Committee" has demanded that Ubisoft pull the ads from the internet within three working days or risk a fine. According to PEGI, the ads do not "accurately reflect the nature and content of the product and it misleads consumers as to its true nature."

Alas, whether Ubisoft pulls the ads or not, the damage is done. You can't stop the signal, PEGI. It's basic science.

Source: Gamasutra

Tags: europe, nintendo, pegi, playstation, ps3, we-dare, wii

Reader Comments (49)

I dare them to take the ad down...

@DarknessBear
And Bowser dares you to find the Princess in one of his seven Koopa hotels.

Soooooooooooooooooooooo, you just diddle the Wiimote? That's it? I could do that myself if I wanted.

Also, thanks a lot to my need to avoid writing this paper that's due tomorrow for finally watching the trailer. Good lord what was that about. Ugh, just bleh. Agh.

Harumph.

Ubisoft to PEGI: Is that a.....double dare?

@Puertoricarious
I'll bet they go for the Triple Dare Challenge.

@TRONdll
We'll go for the Physical Challenge, Mark!

Why are they trying to ruin the only reason to buy a wii damn it?!

I think PEGI forgot that they are not the world internet police. Whoops!

Hahaha, priceless headline

Pissed pegi off for questioning its rating. Seriously ubisoft, bow out and make it more mature in game if you want to keep it. ..You're down US & EU already, should probably cancel

How DARE they make a game about sex!?
Now let us get back to killing the 10 billionth person online like *normal* people.

But really, can't they get it re-rated?

So, to recap:

PEGI rated the game low enough for 12-year olds to be able to play it because, as they put it, "the board considers the content of the game for a rating, not the context".

Ubisoft, feeling PEGI vastly underrated the game, will be putting parental advisory stickers on the packaging to make sure parents aren't just looking at the rating.

However, rather than dealing with a backlash, Ubisoft decides to can the game in UK.

PEGI, being the wonderful people they are, and a video game ratings board in the UK, tell Ubisoft they must pull their internet ads for the game due to "the nature and content of the product and it misleads consumers as to its true nature."

To sum up the recap:

PEGI rates games based on content, not context, however, demand Ubisoft remove ads for a game that will no longer be released in their territory because the game "misleads consumers as to its true nature."

How's this: your /ratings system/ is misleading.

@Nintendo Tim
No kidding. Do note, however, that PEGI serves ratings for all of Europe and also some for French language games in Canada. They still have no right to serve a fine for nonexistent noncompliance to a broken rating system, though.

I agree, it promotes forplay ;p

Obscure Serenity reference at the end there?

I applaud you.

@B0HICAH
Second. Only reason I bothered to post anything about this horrible game. Yay Serenity. Poor Mr. Universe.

@B0HICAH

"You always bring me the very best violence"

I highly recommend users who are not familiar with this game to educate yourselves on the educational and endearing game that is "Wii Dare".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wCbU0N3s08

You know what would be the best course of action?

To not give the game any exposure. Just let it die, like it should.

@Alexisonfire
Im pretty sure developers need paychecks.

@The Only Girl

I'm pretty sure the two guys who worked on this title can find more meaningful things to do with their time and still get paid.

@Mr Esc is the namesarcasm is my
Yeah! They should stick it on Kinect! ;)

And what, exactly, does a ratings organization think that it can demand another company to pulls ads off the internet? Sites local to it's authority, yes, but internationally? If those ads are on international sites, no.

@Mr Esc is the namesarcasm is my
They should also remove it from PS3, too. That way, no one has to endure their dare.

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk19/Threddd/spritebj.gif

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze
inb4giggity

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Hello there!

This is your friendly neighborhood PEGI Interwebz police. We demand you TAKE DOWN THE GIF RIGHT NOW. Failure you to comply will result in excessive, and seemly unnecessary, fine.

Thanks for your support.

PEGI Support Team/Aperture Science

$100 says this game is never released anywhere.

I've heard of niche market games, but how many swingers are out there? How in the bloody hell did this get the green light in the first place?

@Jacksons

Go to any strip club or brothel. Or watch some good ol' porn. Plenty of swingers and casual sex in all those places.

After all, monogamy is dead, right?

/sarcasm

Isn't PEGI a ratings organization? How can they demand anyone pull anything from anywhere (pun totally intended :))? Also, as an organization in the business of rating games you'd think these people would realize the absurdity of trying to "remove" something from the internet. Stupid is what stupid does I guess.

@2late2die

It's kinda like how soccer moms get games, movies, and even entire TV Shows pulled, only PEGI sounds more like a European car. They'll whine, complain, then throw a lawsuit or two to scare people into doing it their way.

@ShivanSwordsman I disagree.

I think Peggy DOES sound like a soccer mom :D

@Gnoll
Well, I do remember a certain Peggy Bundy from a certain show, who was also very whiny and annoying. ;)

@2late2die "(pun totally intended :))"

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=puns

"The sheer level of narcissism it takes to think that anyone gives a shit about whether or not you meant to write your pun is mind boggling. If narcissism were measured in units of mass, the skulls of people who pointed out puns would crush in on themselves in a giant black hole of stupidity."

I'm so confused as to what I should as a consumer. I want to encourage the gaming industry to make whatever games they want and support targeting adult audiences because not every game needs to be Mario or Sonic, but at the same time I want to punish companies for shoveling out garbage software then obviously misrepresenting the content with misleading marketing, which this is obviously doing.

@Mr Esc is the namesarcasm is my

But.. but... Wii would like to swing.

PEGI's rating system needs to be critically re-evaluated, it's fairly obvious from the adverts and even the box-art that the game is designed for provocative interaction between the players, and not the software.

Ah...unless I've been watching the wrong trailer, the only thing in it that "misleads consumers to its true nature" is the fact that everyone is giggling and smiling while they're playing it...which is standard fare for any commercial. So PEGI, do you have a problem with We Dare, or advertisements in general?

wow so they deem it good enough for kids barley in puberty unless its on the internet? wait what?

Looks like when I have to finally give the "birds and the bees" talk, I'll have to use a copy of Custer's Revenge.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand there-goes-my-only-reason-to-buy-a-Wii,
thanks PEGI, thanks for nothing...

Sorry, what, internet?

I mostly understand how people kick up a fuss about tv ad slots during certain times of the day because of the fragile minds of our babies, but the INTERNET?

I dont even

... So then. Who cares if this game is sexy? Modern Warfare 2 let players run around inan air port terminal gunning down innocent people. Is a game where you spank someone really going to destroy the foundations of our society, or is our society more open to murdering pixels on a massive scale, but God forbid we touch ourselves?

@ShivanSwordsman Sex is just forbidden in games. You can have all the violence you want.

I always thought it was strange that illegal substances are a-okay in video games, but not sex. That's just politically incorrect.

@ShivanSwordsman That's just US. In Japan they seem to be much more open to sex in games. Thing is, US is largely a nation of prudes - or at least a nation run by prudes. I'm not sure what PEGI's problem is in this case though. Usually in Europe they look more kindly on sex than on violence in video games.

oh noes kidz sshould not b exposed to sex

bathe them in blood and the entrails

Totally not comfortable with that level of censorship, even if it is for a stupid game.

@Premature ejaculation man

pure gold.

sex is yucky, we should be ashamed of our bodies. eww gross.

We Dare

PEGI spanks Ubisoft, demands it pull We Dare ads from internet

Reader Comments (49)

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:11PM DarknessBear said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:45PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:15PM MarkezJM said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:16PM Puertoricarious said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 3:24AM TRONdll said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 3:45AM bones8677 said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:18PM Maximo said

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Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:20PM ND92 said

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Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:25PM Premature ejaculation man said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:27PM B0HICAH said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 12:10AM Jennacide said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 1:37AM MacabreArts said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:29PM The Only Girl said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:31PM Alexisonfire said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 11:08PM The Only Girl said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 11:11PM Alexisonfire said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:35PM The Only Girl said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:37PM Drakkenfyre said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:41PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 10:57PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 11:06PM The Only Girl said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 1:53AM TheRepublic said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 11:01PM Evil Alaska said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 11:31PM Jacksons said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 4:09AM tendoboy1984 said

Posted: Mar 10th 2011 11:51PM 2late2die said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 5:34AM ShivanSwordsman said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 8:16AM Gnoll said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 12:46PM 2late2die said

Posted: Mar 16th 2011 1:50PM Rocketboy said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 12:15AM davebo said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 12:56AM ngSliver said

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Posted: Mar 11th 2011 2:04AM Kingramennoodle said

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Posted: Mar 11th 2011 4:05AM Crayola Q Pants ESQ said

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