Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes censored in Japan

This post contains what could be considered spoilers about Ground Zeroes.

The Japanese version of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes has been censored, series creator Hideo Kojima said in an interview with Weekly Famitsu (translated by Kotaku).

The censorship was handed down by Japanese video game ratings board Computer Entertainment Ratings Organization "CERO."

"That part got flagged by CERO so the production was changed that way, but in the North American version [of Ground Zeroes] you can see everything," Kojima said about the censorship.

It's unclear which specific scene Kojima is referring to, though Ground Zeroes does contain some depictions of waterboarding and other means of torture.

Defending his artistic vision earlier this month, Kojima said games will never be considered culture if they don't broach sensitive subjects.

"If we don't cross that line, if we don't make attempts to express what we really want to express, games will only be games," Kojima said at the time. "If we don't try to go beyond that, we won't be able to achieve what movies or novels have achieved. I didn't want to stay away from these things that could be considered sensitive. If we don't go that far, games will never be considered as culture."