Owner Draws Line on Violent Game

Donning the cloak of moral judge, publisher Electronic Arts Inc. has decided that a video game it picked up from Irvine-based Virgin Interactive Entertainment Ltd. is so violent that no one should ever play it.

Thrill Kill, a fighting game for the Playstation console, was one of 33 titles that Electronic Arts acquired in the summer when it bought Virgin’s software development groups in Orange County and Las Vegas for $122.5 million in cash.

The gore level in Thrill Kill was excessive, even for an industry known for its depictions of violence. The game’s goal was simple: Your character has been sent to hell. Redemption can be achieved only by destroying other souls who had done worse things than you. The cast of characters includes a woman who achieves sexual gratification whenever she kills, and a man who rips off his victims’ limbs, uses them as clubs and later eats them. Developers who worked on the game said their goal was to make Thrill Kill so violent that audiences would consider the carnage ridiculous.

Violent video games, once played primarily by a niche group of hard-core PC fans, are increasingly becoming available for game consoles and the younger audience that owns them. Game makers have long relied on an industry ratings system that determines the appropriate age group for games.

But Electronic Arts insists the game goes too far, despite ratings. Calling the title “obscene and sadistic,” Electronic Arts has not only refused to distribute Thrill Kill, but also has decided against selling it to another publisher.

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P.J. Huffstutter covers high technology for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com.