PEGI demands Ubi removes We Dare ad
Says it "misleads consumers".
UPDATE: Ubisoft has made the We Dare video YouTube advertisement embedded on the UbiShop website private, preventing users from watching it.
ORIGINAL STORY: Ubisoft has been ordered to remove its "misleading" We Dare advertisement from the internet, Eurogamer can exclusively reveal.
PEGI's Enforcement Committee gave the French publisher three working days to comply, after which it will consider imposing a fine.
"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 said in a statement issued to Eurogamer this morning.
"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."
Eurogamer understands Ubisoft was made aware of PEGI's ruling yesterday, around the same time it announced it would not release We Dare in the UK.
The advertisement, below, shows four adults pretending to spank each other using a Wii Remote as part of "flirtatious" We Dare mini-games.
At the time of publishing the advertisement was still embedded on Ubisoft's official We Dare product page, and still carried a 11th March release date.
We Dare hit the mainstream headlines after PEGI awarded the game a 12+ rating, which it has always insisted was appropriate for the content of the game.
Ubisoft claims the game was developed and marketed to adults.
"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.
"Marketing may have implied something else, but PEGI does not rate advertising, it rates game content. If people play the game, they will see that there is nothing inappropriate for ages 12 and older."
Eurogamer has requested comment from Ubisoft.