SCE pulls Forbidden Siren commercial in Japan

TOKYO-- According to the Yomiuri Journal, Sony Computer Entertainment has been receiving complaints from parents in Japan that the TV commercials for Forbidden Siren are terrifying their children. The commercial for the PS2 horror game features a young girl knocking on a window from the outside, frantically asking her parents to let her in. The commercial then switches to a view from the inside, showing her mother and father trembling in fear of their daughter, who is revealed to be a bloody zombie.

The ad began airing on November 3. Although SCE has only received seven complaints thus far, the company announced Monday that they will be withdrawing the commercial and replacing it with an ad for another game.

"We tried to make sure that the fear factor in the commercial was appropriate before it went on air," said a SCE spokesperson. "But it still made people uncomfortable, so we've decided to suspend it. We will take this experience into consideration for the future."

Due to its mature content, Forbidden Siren is rated as CERO 15 in Japan, meaning that the game is aimed for audiences at the age 15 and above. Forbidden Siren has racked up 76,000 copies in sales since its release last week. For more information on Forbidden Siren, which is currently scheduled for release in North America next year, check out our previous coverage of the game.