100 Things You Never Knew About Resident Evil

46. Germany's Director's Cut Censorship

Resident Evil 2 N64
Capcom

Included in the 1997 re-release Resident Evil Director's Cut was a demo for the then upcoming Resident Evil 2. Much like how most people bought Crackdown to play the Halo 3 beta, it was a big selling point of the reissue of the original Resi.

Which is exactly what makes this entry particularly troublesome. With Germany's tight censorship rules, Capcom decided to forego the demo in that territory because they feared that it would give more of a chance for the German censorship board Unterhaltungssoftware Selbskontrolle (literally "Entertainment software self-regulation") to place their targets on RE2 early and ban or censor it before it had a chance. 

This all wouldn't be so bad if not for the fact that the box still mentioned the inclusion of the demo that was no longer there.

Oh, and speaking of RE2 box mistakes, the PAL PC version of RE2 must've slipped past Capcom's quality control because it mistakenly refers to Claire Redfield as a reporter. Shame she didn't temp as proof-reader as goodness knows where that came from.

Contributor

Coming from a content creation background that now spans over two decades, Psy cut her teeth on personal video production and community radio. Originally joining the team as a writer and presenter, she added video editing duties to her responsibilities over time and became the longest-standing editor of the irreverent gaming show Tues Your Own Adventure. Psy has worked on many previews and reviews, long-form editorials (either her own, or supporting as an editor), as a frequent quizmaster and more. Praised for the two-pronged attack of her hard work ethic and light-hearted editing style, Psy is otherwise known as a font of retro video game knowledge which has caused her to rack up many gaming quiz wins. Outside of WhatCulture, Psy runs First Aid Spray Podcast - a long-running channel that focuses on Resident Evil in all of it's forms. You can follow her on BlueSky at http://psywhite.bsky.social and Instagram at http://instagram.com/therealpsywhite