We Dare is supposedly all spank this, spank that, put this in your mouth, lick that. But that's fantasy — make believe. And the game's French publisher, Ubisoft, is getting its knuckles rapped for it.
PEGI, the body that rates games in Europe, told Ubisoft to remove its "misleading" We Dare spot from the internet, reports website Eurogamer. "The Committee concludes that the advertisement does NOT accurately reflect the nature and content of the product and it MISLEADS consumers as to its true nature," PEGI told Eurogamer, using CAPS to make its point EXTRA CLEAR.
"Consequently, the Committee considers imperative as a first measure that the advertisement for the game which was made available online should be taken down immediately. If this is not done within three working days of this decision this Committee will consider further immediate sanctions against the publisher."
PEGI ordered Ubisoft to take down the We Dare ads yesterday. This is the same European rating body that gave We Dare a 12-years-old-and-up rating due to the game's mild content.
"It was correct to give the game a 12 rating," PEGI said. "The content of the game and the interaction that the game itself implies do not warrant a higher rating." PEGI says the marketing might have implied something else, but the organization doesn't rate advertising. "If people play the game, they will see that there is nothing inappropriate for ages 12 and older."
"We Dare is intended for a mature audience and Ubisoft created its marketing campaign accordingly," Ubisoft said earlier this week. That marketing campaign took what looks to be a Wii version of spin-the-bottle and turned it into the opening of a dirty movie. The blow-back from the campaign caused Ubisoft to pull the plug on the UK release. It was never planned for a U.S. release. Ubisoft tells Kotaku that the game will, however, be released in Australia.
PEGI demands Ubi removes We Dare ad Wii News [Eurogamer]