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After several delays and a change in publishers, South Park: The Stick of Truth is finally in the hands of fans that have long awaited its arrival. Bringing a genuine aesthetic from the show, along with copious amounts of infamous Matt Stone and Trey Parker humor, it's no wonder that most critics have taken a liking to the newly released RPG — see Game Rant's review of Stick of Truth for our thoughts on the game. To celebrate the title's long anticipated arrival, Ubisoft has released a launch trailer showcasing the game in action.

The newly released trailer for South Park: The Stick of Truth features a number of questionable cutscenes, but some of them — largely the anal probing portions — have been removed from the game entirely in certain regions. A Reddit user recently posted a screenshot of what's showcased during a handful of scenes that have been censored in multiple versions of the game. According to BT.com (via Forbes), a grand total of seven cinematics have been censored in the European, Middle Eastern and African SKUs — much to the dismay of fans.

“Seven scenes of about 20 seconds each are censored in the EMEA console versions of South Park: The Stick of Truth. The decision to cut this content from the game was made by Ubisoft EMEA.”

More specifically, the following scenes have been removed from the game in the previously mentioned areas:

  • A mini-game where a doctor is performing an abortion on the player.
  • A mini-game where the player is performing an abortion on the character Randy.
  • Five ‘anal probing’ scenes in which characters are ‘actively’ being probed.

South Park is far from unaccustomed to censorship, which isn't surprising given the vulgarity of the comedic product. One of the more famous instances came in the form of an episode that was censored in 2010 because it featured the Muslim prophet Muhammad. As the comedic duo of Matt Stone and Trey Parker continue to push boundaries, however, it's inevitable that the companies that fund their commercial expeditions will continue to push back in an effort to maintain face.

Do you think censoring these scenes was necessary? Are you disappointed that some fans won't be able to experience South Park: The Stick of Truth the way it was intended?

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South Park: The Stick of Truth is available now on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle.

Source: Reddit & BT.com