
Console war moe anthropomorphisation RPG Hyperdimension Neptunia‘s English language release is apparently considered a little too raunchy for corpulent Walmart shoppers, as even some tame cleavage exposure finds itself expunged from the cover.
The Japanese release:

The western release:

The cover may have changed for the worse, but Japanese gamers seem quite envious of the plethora of extras available with the premium edition of the game:


The game is due February 9th in the US and march 4th in Europe.
The game itself is something of an odd choice for localisation – its characters and settings are all parodies of the war between the current generation of consoles, and they draw heavily upon the intensely hostile console rivalries fought out on 2ch’s gaming hardware boards, none of which is likely to be understood by most Japanese, let alone an international audience…
However, the game was nonetheless well received in Japan and boasts gorgeous art and good graphics – it may be necessary to heed the old adage about not judging a book by its cover.










More of the fine art associated with the game.
so the american version just has no oppai on the cover??? right? or do they mean no oppai period?
I hope they did not tamper with the game <_< I hate that kind of stuff enough for anime.
im tired of censoring in my anime. and still wishing they released final mixes in the states
My sentiments exactly, they had better keep the game and hopefully the Japanese seiyuus intact.
It's dual audio. And from past games, the English Voice overs would be lesser then the original Japanese ones. Like Trinity universe and Atelier Rorona.
I don't see why they even need to bother with any of the actual game...that's what ratings are for, but then, they just might...please don't do that whoever...
It's 2011 and people still have problem with 2D cleavage. This is extremely sad.
Not really. It's mostly those soccerdads of Government's fault for not knowing what art is.
Oh how terrible of those crazy Japanese! To think they'd sell such smut! Little girls showing off their cleavage, of all the nerve!
*Walks 3 isles over and picks up DVD with Hannah Montana in a bikini on the cover*
Filthy Japanese!
Best Comment I've seen in a while haha anon nice
But..but..I needs my oppai!
Western cover made me lol. We're such prudes.
I blame Equality Now.
they replaced cleavage with a groping hand
Why doesn't anything make sense any more?
Looks interesting! Anyone know if you can change the voices to Japanese with English subtitles?
Btw I remembered something about censors in God of war 3 in Japan. Aphrodite got clothes on.
Haha feel bad for them they got covered oppai too.
You can change to Japanese voices most likely. Do take in mind that only 50% of the original voices will probably remain(that's how they roll, as the space will be obviously used for the english voices)
I think so, the translator is Nippon Ichi and I remember them saying they leave the option in.
@ Kwonnie yeah and the East are such prudes for censoring our games blood and violence.
do they think people can't print out Japanese cover and use it instead? (dunno about content of the game)
I was also thinking this.
You really got them there! Now Wal-Mart is going to print out the Japanese cover and sell it that way. Thanks bro!
I already ordered the Premium Edition at good old NIS (store.nisamerica . com), so get yours there now to enjoy the extra goodies:
NISA Exclusive Set Includes:
- Hyperdimension Neptunia PS3
- Hardcover, full-color art book
- Hyperdimension Neptunia Premium Edition package art
- Bonus Item: Official Neptunia CPU Playing Cards
Thank god I didn't want any of the extras. That way I didn't need to go to the spam posts site.
I wonder if Nis is going to handle the eternal lists of dlc released almost weekly for neptune jp if not i'll grab the free version.
Is there other game that has oppai been covered?
they should make a tenga girls war game.
OPPAI WHAT WOULD I DO NOW WITHOUT YOUUUUU!!!
*insert dramatic music here*
Samurai Heroes 3 comes to mind, wasn't the American cover reworked in a similar way to make the cleavage of a female character less pronounced?.
Uh, "has oppai covered" or "has covered oppai"? I'm worried!
Hey, at least they didn't try and make 3D style, manly-looking models of the characters....
That sounds like something Ishihara would approve of
Why? To deep for us? I don't think so.
Well at least it's normal on the art book.
That art book seems fabulous.
And the print quality on the artbook is better than on the limited edition box anyway.
The last 11 pages are the best :) they are monochrome but they are also concept art/scribbles, so it will actually give you contents/pictures that you don't already see ingame. Out of 42 pages (including cover and index page) 12 are character profile art @_@ slightly disappointing. Only 1 artwork featuring a full color background and characters, and thats the Japanese limited edition box art xD
Of course, all this is only true if they use the exact same pages as the Japanese artbook... which is highly likely to be the case anyway.
Really? Perhaps they will cut out the background/worldmap art. That and trim off some of those blank pages.
And if they don't count the cover pages and such as 'pages' then it should be shorter no doubt.
However, the English Artbook has only 36 pages.
So maybe something will be cut off the US artbook?
Honestly, I just don't know, man. I really don't know what really justifies all this covering up for a goddamn drawn illustration, when I can see all those Hollywood stars showing their artificially enhanced boobs' cleavage on the motherfucking front page of magazines all the time.
Good thing I was forced to learn Japanese in college for my course requirement. I'm not fluent enough to read a newspaper without a dictionary, but considering games like these would probably use only common Kanji and those we always see in similar genres anyway, I'll just grab the Japanese version on PlayAsia.
This is coming from a man who usually prioritize English(because it's the second language I use since birth!) versions for his purchases. Alas, I'm still sad that I can't get it in a language I'm more fluent with, that would be exact carbon-copy of original version in every other aspect.
Well NIS-A, it's not like I can't see why you did this, being a relatively small company who is trying your best to stay afloat, give fans what they want and avoid trouble from those who seek to make everything politically correct, all at the same time. This time however, I ain't getting anything from ya.
It's really not a big deal if you get the set w/ artbook and all. The artbook's cover is intact. And yes it uses fairly easy kanji. Though of course, wherever there are terms that are plot-related/specific, that's when it can look confusing to understand.
Though I do find the game slightly not worth buying... guess my gaming quality standards are far higher than what Compile-Hearts provides. Can't say I was too satisfied even with the Japanese VA's ;; seems the general opinion of this game in the west is beyond great (as I stand in awe wondering how that can be).
Game itself is rather shitty and plays itself like a brick meering a face but what else can you expect barely any exclusive rpg thats not a port or a rehash of another console or in worst case pretty graphics with no substance (ff13).o
I want to have sex with these consoles.
Yeah, I really need to "plug the cartridge into the slot", if you know what I mean...
Yeah can't believe that little bit of cleavage would have to be removed like that. But what I really want to know is what the game is like.
Looks interesting .. However, I must know .. Does the english release have also japanese audio available, or does it come with only it's own disgusting english dub ?
If english dub only, I ain't buying it.
dual audio, japanese and english
What else there is to say...?
No cover boobs for us, not that in-game any cleavages will get censored.
And game still is a game..so..meh..not gonna fret over cover. :O
Oh..wait..I still got one "but". But it's irrelevant to the topic mostly, and got little to do with Japanese folks.
God protect this game from dubbing style that
"Trinity Universe" suffered.
For those that do not grasp what's the deal...it got loaded by typical "American" jokes, and memes from 4ch. Often straying away from original context of dialogue.
...although they matched the voices well..except one character that sounded like typical Billy Bob Jim redneck.
This censorship wont stop me from getting the game it's only just the cover. ... and you can just change the English voices too Japanese...
p.s I am also waiting for ar tonelico3 :)
I already ordered my premium edition of this as well as going to order the premium edition for Ar Tonelico. You guys complain about the money. Im in Taiwan. Im spending 95$ on the premium edition. Anyway you look at it, Ill be spending a shit load. The shipping cost was like 35$ to ship to Taiwan (Why?). But, its the only place to get it, so whatever. Im spending way more than you guys and I have to LOL.
Anyways. Can't wait to get my grubby hands on Neptune. This game should be very impressive and can't wait to play it. Very nice cover art, although Id perfer something else than a deck of cards (deck of cards? Really?).
As for the cover censorship, ehhhhh My room is filled with posters ranging from a promo pic of telos, Burst Angel, Queens blade, witchblade etc...... I have enough ass and cleavage to last me a lifetime. Translation: I dont think its that big of a deal. Theres a shit load of cleavage and oppai in the game from what I hear. I really think NIS should just forget about this censoring business and just rate games the way its ment to be. Rating it 12 is already a mistake, and just because you put a hand in front of the cleavage doesn't change the fact thats its oppai. I wish people would stop appeasing to morality like this because it kills the enthusiasm and the hype of what something originally is suppose to be. Rate it differently, but dont hide it like that hand.
Shipment comes by submarine to evade chinese fishing boats.
Picture 13 is my kind of cute.
I'm just grateful it came out to the west at all! ^_^
No cleavage in our shops? What a shame. I'm so envious of the Japanese.
Oh wait all their porn is censored.
Censored genitals or completely horrid sexual acting and guys going "AAAAAAH!! HSSSSSS!!! AAAAAAAH!!! HSSSSS!!!"
...
I'll take the censored genitals. Japan is still superior.
Yeah, pic 13 is quite kawaii.