The Evil Within , the brand new horror game by Shinji Mikami, is rated two completely different things in Japan. Normally, the game is rated CERO D, which is somewhere between our T for Teen and M for Mature ratings. However, if you pre-order the game and you are 18 or over, you will receive a special DLC code to unlock The Evil Within ’s “Gore Mode” which notches up the rating to CERO Z, or the equivalent of our AO (Adults Only) rating, a rating usually just held back for porno games and games of the most extreme violence. It is actually illegal to sell a CERO Z game to a minor in Japan.
Note, that no extra content is included in the Japanese release with this DLC. All that happens is the game is restored to its non-censored western release. So we are always getting the incredibly screwed up gorey version.
It’s interesting that we don’t use this strategy here in America. That would have allowed games that were T rated, like Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe , get the M rating they really needed for only a select audience.
Source: Siliconera