Japanese Psychiatric Association Wants 'Dementium: The Ward' Off Shelves

Last week, daily Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun (via Yahoo! Japan) reported that the Japanese Association of Psychiatric Hospitals has asked Gamecock Media Group's Japanese distributor Interchannel to pull DS game "Dementium: The Ward" from store shelves.

Released in Japan in June, "Dementium" is survival horror first-person shooter with a plot that has the protagonist in a dilapidated hospital filled with gruesome surgical experiments.

From the translated Yahoo! story, it seems that the organization was concerned that the game might "encourage discrimination and prejudice" against those with psychiatric disorders.

We contacted Gamecock CEO Mike Wilson about the association's request to yank the selling of "Dementium" in Japan. He said to MTV Multiplayer in an e-mail:

"Gamecock's position is that this story, like many before it, boils down to a lack of understanding or appreciation (and therefore fear of) games outside our little sub-culture. I'm sure the people involved have only the best intentions. The co-publisher/distributor for the game in Japan, Interchannel, will deal with the situation appropriately. In the meantime, we're thrilled that this quick bout of paranoia has brought so much attention to our first lovechild with Renegade Kid... The game is groundbreaking on the platform and it deserves the attention and success it is seeing."

"Dementium: The Ward" was released last October in North America and is still available in stores now.