zen pinball 2 language changed on its own

Zen Studios didn't respond to a request for comment from Ars Technica. The Pinball Arcade's ESRB Rating Summary explicitly makes note of content like 'brief instances of violence,' 'an image of an altar with streaks of blood,' 'women wearing low-cut tops,' 'frothy mugs of beer,' and 'the word 'b*tchin.'' None of this content was deemed incompatible with that E10+ rating at the time, suggesting either that the ESRB has changed its standards or Zen Studios is being over-cautious in its modifications. ( The Pinball Arcade did earn additional ESRB descriptors for 'alcohol reference,' 'mild blood,' and 'suggestive themes,' however). In console versions of the game, the tables are also stuck on 'Family Mode' settings, censoring spoken voice clips such as Medieval Madness' famous 'I'm Lord Howard Hurtz, who the fuck are you?!' This setting can be toggled in the options for the Steam version of the game, which does not seem to have an official ESRB rating (but which does still feature the edits to the table art).Īll of these changes are ostensibly to put the games' content in line with Pinball FX3's E10+ rating from the ESRB, which includes content descriptors for 'Fantasy Violence' and 'Mild Language.' But versions of these tables that were previously available in The Pinball Arcade contained no such edits to the original art, even though that game also received an E10+ rating from the ESRB. Characters smoking cigars have had the 'pertinent items' (as the game's legal notice puts it) removed from their mouths. Cans of beer have been relabeled to be cans of soda. Scantily clad women have been covered up with additional clothes or obstructions. Pinball FX 3's digital recreations of the iconic Medieval Madness, Fish Tales, and Junk Yard tables feature many modifications to the original playfield, backglass, and side table art. And those changes have some authenticity-focused pinball fans up in arms. That came as welcome news in the pinball community after 60 such licensed tables were removed from Farsight's competing The Pinball Arcade earlier this year.īut those new digital tables come with artistic alterations the developers say were made 'to meet our age rating obligations' for the E10+-rated game. Further Reading The Pinball Arcade is losing its classic tables grab them while you canEarlier this week, Zen Studios released its first set of four licensed Bally/Williams pinball tables as DLC for its popular Pinball FX3 digital simulation.

Zen pinball 2 language changed on its own