Devil May Cry 5 fans puzzled by lens flare butt cover-up

Devil May Cry 5 came out yesterday and most agree Capcom's action game is pretty brilliant. But players have noticed an odd difference between the PlayStation 4 version and the PC and Xbox One versions: and it has to do with a butt cover-up.

THERE MAY BE SPOILERS AHEAD.

ACTUALLY, THERE ARE DEFINITELY SPOILERS AHEAD.

In one cutscene in Devil May Cry 5, series star Dante saves Trish from a horrible monster. As the horrible monster releases its grip on Trish, we see that she is naked. Dante catches her and lays her on the ground. In the process, we see her bum.

Except in the PS4 version of the game, we don't quite see Trish's bum. Instead, we get a face-full of lens flare conveniently cast from Dante's motorbike headlight.

Players report this lens flare cover-up in this particular cutscene only occurs in the western version of the PS4 version of the 18-rated Devil May Cry 5. It does not occur in the Japanese version on PS4, nor does it occur in the PC and Xbox One versions worldwide.

The video below, from YouTube channel Naughty Gaming 2, compares the cutscene in the Japanese and western versions of the game.

So, what's going on? Current speculation points to a recent Sony policy that appears to be about toning down sexual content on PS4. This is something that's cropped up a few times over the past year or so. Back in October 2018, for example, Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal's PS4 release was delayed after Sony told its publisher to remove the controversial Intimacy Mode (the Steam version, by the way, included the Intimacy Mode). At the time, the game's localisation producer said this was the result of "a brand new policy" at Sony. Was Devil May Cry 5 on PS4 changed under the same policy? We've asked Capcom for comment.

The lens flare cover up comes across as particularly odd given some of the content we've seen in 18-rated PS4 games over the years, but what muddies the waters further is the fact another cutscene in Devil May Cry 5, which shows Lady from behind as she appears naked, uses lens flare to obscure her bum across all platforms. So why single out Trish on PS4 only?

Devil May Cry 5 is going down well with players right now, but there are a few odd things about the game currently affecting its launch. In addition to the lens flare stuff, the PC version's DRM can negatively affect frame-rate, as Digital Foundry reported yesterday.