Clive Barker's Jericho will not be edited for USK

Clive Barker is all about the technology news these days. Just yesterday we let you know that the well known authors new game, Clive Barker's Jericho, had been denied classification in Germany, heavily limiting sales for the game.

Now, we bring you the news that the game will not be edited for the German market and that Codemasters does not plan to appeal the decision.

The USK, Germany's rating body for media, originally refused to classify the game because of the excessive gore and bloody presentation of the game. Without classification, the game cannot be sold to under 18s and cannot be advertised at all, something which deters many stores from stocking the game.

"Following a review by the USK ratings board, which declined to give an official rating, Codemasters has decided not to change the artistic vision of the renowned author and film-maker Clive Barker though cuts and extensive changes," Said Codemasters in a statement to GI.biz today.

"Codemasters respects Mr Barker's creative ideas, despite the German distribution and marketing consequences for the title.

"Therefore Codemasters will release only the PC version of Clive Barker's Jericho in its original form for adult gamers and Clive Barker fans," Said a spokesperson.

The game, which is due out on October 26th and with an Xbox Live Demo and PlayStation Network demo available over the next few days, has been shown to use graphic violence and a constant dark atmosphere.

Barker, who gained mainstream success after penning the Hellraiser novels and subsequent films, has emerged as a figurehead for serious gamers recently and has waged a one-man war against the popular opinion that games do not count as an artform.

Has media censoring gone too far or are governments right to protect us from violent images? Discuss the matter in the forums, if you dare.