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Why gamers complain about their games being taken away |OT| Censorship Controversy Central

So much coincidences.

As an aside, I find much amusement in how resetera and kotaku went immediately for the jugular and now are trying to get an employee purge started at Midway/NRS because the answer to the Sonya Blades witchhunt wasn't as quick as for the OK sign or downplaying microtransactions. An argument presented unironically is that NRS/WB is as bad as "scumbags" if their wokeness isn't, i kid you not, "pure enough". I'm pretty sure the timing is coincidental, as is Sonya Blade's actress inclusion in the game always getting mentioned somehow in those articles about NRS' workplace.

It bears mention Resetera attempted to gather kompromat on Katsura Hashino in their drive to get Catherine and Persona 5 censored (not that it kept their friends at Sony San Mateo who actually post there from doing the job for them) but this tactic's gained popularity is certainly interesting.
 
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Dr. Claus

Banned
YoYXeLF.jpg


You missed this. :p

Even KiA doesn't think this is inherently censorship - but simply a design choice. If they showed legs, there would be a lot of whitespace on the pS4 version.
 

Varteras

Member
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Completely fine!

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Totally unacceptable!

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Got nicknamed "Hot Ryu" and women (and some men) swooned all about him...

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...but they said this was ridiculous objectification of women.

Kotaku UK ran this article about Urien's banana hammock. Did they complain about that? Did it stir their controversy machine? Hell no. What did they complain about? That "Hot Ryu" didn't have a swimwear outfit barely covering his dick.

https://www.kotaku.co.uk/2016/07/04/it-looks-like-uriens-banana-hammock-is-back-for-street-fighter-5

Men have been barely covered meat monsters in all sorts of games for a long time. Muscles that don't even exist on the human body popping out everywhere. Plenty of them have had form fitting outfits making it clear how good they'd look nude, too. But don't you dare give a woman nice tits, a nice ass, or a good figure and have the nerve to show it off. Do I think some games are a little silly in the differences? Yes. But just as I think it's silly that World of Warcraft was making female versions of armor look like swimwear I also think it's silly that all the men have forearms bigger than my head. No one gets doxxed or boycotted for that, though.
 
I wonder when this leftist prudishness will die down. If the PS5 underperforms? After the 2020 Olympics?

It has been getting worse over time with the Senran Kagura producer, for example, leaving Marvelous.
 
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Dunki

Member
Even KiA doesn't think this is inherently censorship - but simply a design choice. If they showed legs, there would be a lot of whitespace on the pS4 version.
because they are idiorts?

It fits perfectly into the scheme of Sony censoring policies
 
Kotaku is now openly demanding the visual novel Our World Is Ended, now out on the Nintendo Switch and the PS4 localized by PQube (who already had their Omega Labyrinth release cancelled by SCEA) be either censored, or pulled from sale.

Kotaku finds the game "borderline offensive" just for the amount of boob related comments in the game (either text based, or as everyday clothed bigger than A-cups) they would have rather it was cut by the localizers, or censors-in-chief as Kotaku and Resetera seem to interpret the profession.
Then they claim lines of text where a younger character accuses her surroundings (understandably, as a lot of them are perverts) of having stolen her panties, is offensive content that needs to be cut asap, despite her otherwise distant ties with the main cast.

The writer wastes no time in trying to get the game pulled from stores, and even got a PR statement from PQube who suggests they're "making improvements" to the game based on that feedback (they do know about how well game journalists look out for them, considering previous social media comments even as early as Steins;Gate's localization which wasn't "localized" enough free of "problematic elements"), but then makes it quite clear his thirst won't be quenched until the game is purged from storefronts.

I reached out to Nintendo and Sony about Our World Is Ended, passing along a description and several screenshots of Tatiana-related situations, but neither company got back to me in time for publication. UK-based publisher PQube sent a statement to Kotaku earlier today, saying the game is already under review.

As always, our mission at PQube is to bring games from Asia to the west, taking care to ensure that they align with the original as closely as possible.
However, we also have a very strong bond with our community and fans and so are always mindful of paying close attention to, and implementing, any feedback.
Since release we took on board a lot of feedback and have already been reviewing Our World Is Ended to help make improvements to ensure it is as enjoyable as possible to our wider community.

Careful trimming could make Our World Is Ended less offensive. It’s murky censorship territory, but I don’t imagine many people complaining about removing the blatant sexualization of a middle schooler from the game.

Whatever action PQube takes, I am done. Maybe I’ve already seen all of the “racy” interactions the player has with Tatiana, but I’ve seen enough. I will not be finishing Our World Is Ended. I am amazed the game made it onto the PlayStation 4 in North America, let alone the Nintendo Switch. I am a huge proponent of racy console games, but there are limits. This game crossed them.
 
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h3ad0rZ

Member
Damn, I don't even have words for this anymore, these, excuse me, fucks, even got to the Visual Novels. I really don't like to be hateful or anything like that, but can they seriously just fuck off. Its enough that general gaming spectrum is filled with this shit, now I can't even read a Visual Novel, a nichiest niche of a niche in peace.

Keep us posted if they are actually gonna change anything, because then I don't get PQube stance at all, since their own game that they are making right now is gonna give heart attack to these people. Like, I hoped they would not cave-in to this shit, considering what their niche is.
 
For the time being, video game companies must learn not to engage with outlets like Kotaku; these types of sites aren't trading in good-faith reviews & press and instead now outright function at activist groups. Providing these sites with any feedback, even on social media, only serves to validate their opinions, which bolsters the perception they hold significant influence. The real consumers and product sales are the only losers, when companies bend to these unhinged weirdos.
 
For the time being, video game companies must learn not to engage with outlets like Kotaku; these types of sites aren't trading in good-faith reviews & press and instead now outright function at activist groups.
Activist is the correct word here. It can be seen in multitudes of other aspects of what they write.
Do you remember for example the huge media push for game developer unions styled after a very specific US-centric model, supposedly motivated by employee concerns and rights but where many game journalists had seats at the very top of the organisation?
Well, gotta remember how divisive this endeavor was from the outset even though no one really cared to address it as anything but a net positive...
  • No VA should be non-union in this union production by this megacorporation.
  • What, European voice actors? They can join the American union if they want.
  • Can't do it? Then they should talk with them to consider establishing a local division before they can join this production.
  • The European VAs already have unions that aren't infiltrated by us? They're dragging all workers down by not playing along!
And then you have too many game journalists and members of those unions who slip up and say that among the many perks of the union, beyond fixing absolutely everything for employees, is that they are going to fix how "problematic" and "non diverse" not only developer teams but also the content of the games themselves are. Then after the Mortal Kombat 11 lack of response in removing Sonya Blades and the ensuing scathing reports about a toxic workplace with "problematic jokes" you hear some who say blatantly "This is why we need unions. This would have never happened had there been a union to get these employees asses fired." ... since firing employees over microaggressions is the epitome of workers rights (not commenting about the potentially illegal workplace discrimination here, which would warrant a legal investigation)

It's so transparent. After game journalism was about shilling and self-serving, when it used to be IGN dick sucking contests to see who would get noticed by Soyny-senpai or Nintendo-chan and get hired there or land a PR position in some AAA publisher, it's now more of the same but serving the interests of a cabal of ideologue zealots and the interests of virtue signalers who want to climb the hierarchy as fast as possible.
 

PSFan

Member
Kotaku is now openly demanding the visual novel Our World Is Ended, now out on the Nintendo Switch and the PS4 localized by PQube (who already had their Omega Labyrinth release cancelled by SCEA) be either censored, or pulled from sale.

Kotaku finds the game "borderline offensive" just for the amount of boob related comments in the game (either text based, or as everyday clothed bigger than A-cups) they would have rather it was cut by the localizers, or censors-in-chief as Kotaku and Resetera seem to interpret the profession.
Then they claim lines of text where a younger character accuses her surroundings (understandably, as a lot of them are perverts) of having stolen her panties, is offensive content that needs to be cut asap, despite her otherwise distant ties with the main cast.

The writer wastes no time in trying to get the game pulled from stores, and even got a PR statement from PQube who suggests they're "making improvements" to the game based on that feedback (they do know about how well game journalists look out for them, considering previous social media comments even as early as Steins;Gate's localization which wasn't "localized" enough free of "problematic elements"), but then makes it quite clear his thirst won't be quenched until the game is purged from storefronts.

Hmm, guess I better download this on my Switch when I get home tonight. PQube should tell Kotaku to go F*** themselves. Who the hell is this guy to tell them to pull their game?
 
Courtesy of this thread:

PUBG was initially allowed under license to Tencent to operate in China until it was withdrawn by the Chinese government (it caused the latest Monster Hunter to also be delisted) and Tencent had PUBG "banned with no recourse" by the newest rating body there even after submitting their heavily altered version.

It seems then that Tencent had then put the original Chinese PUBG build under maintenance indefinitively, only for it to then to claim that release was a test that ended, and that they could download a virtually identical "new game" called "Game For Peace". This game is PUBG with the Tencent edits that got rejected by the rating board, plus some more changes and then promoting a governmental military recruitment program in loading screens.

The main changes:
  • No blood at all. It used to be green. Some impact animations have replacement effects.
  • No death animations. A new animation was created where they just wave goodbye.

So basically, player eliminated would set the crate on the ground and wave hands to say goodbye.

Top 5 players (squads) are now all considered winners of the game. When there are only 5 players (squads) left in a game, a pop-up will ask the player to choose to quit as top 5 or compete for the first place. A birthday cake will appear on the ground for the first place, and a helicopter will come to evacuate the survivors.

No more green blood. Actually no blood AT ALL.

There is a pilot recruiting advertisement of the Chinese Air Force on the loading screen.

Blue zone is now called "non/poor-signal area", players need to use "signal batteries" to survive in "blue zone". There is a separate signal bar. Staying in the "blue zone" will not damage health bar but signal bar, and a player is eliminated if either health or signal is damaged to zero. A countdown clock is offered (and can be turned off) to notify the player how many seconds they can survive in current "blue zone".

A CrossFire (or CS:Go)-like team battle mode is added.

In other related news.
Kingdom Hearts III actually got an official downkey Chinese localization. It seems to be targeting the grey import market and not to be subject to any import ban, but there's no word on whether it has actual ingame changes. The previous controversy (which had government involvement) only affected game blogs covering the game (because of political internet memes related to Winnie the Pooh).

While China is making the rules of the land and enforcing these "standards" with laws, there are some influencers, game journalists, etc... who are trying to get the same anti-violence mindset enforced in Western games, and some games were already affected. Fortnite and Rainbow 6 have already attempted applying the Chinese version globally, to varying degrees of success.
 
Men have been barely covered meat monsters in all sorts of games for a long time. Muscles that don't even exist on the human body popping out everywhere. Plenty of them have had form fitting outfits making it clear how good they'd look nude, too. But don't you dare give a woman nice tits, a nice ass, or a good figure and have the nerve to show it off.

This is exactly where I'm at with the whole issue. I like to see more realistic/neutral representations of video game characters that are more lifelike sometimes, but I don't have a problem with these unrealistically portrayed, sexualized characters existing in some games either (of either sex). And I'm baffled like you are as to why there is a double standard.
 
I stopped reading kotaku ever since that George Kamatani (Dragons Crown) hitpeice they did years ago where they insulted him and his art. Such a shitty article that I pretty much deleted any links I had etc and never went back. I was hoping the Hulk Hogan thing would of killed them off for good but whatever.
 
I stopped reading kotaku ever since that George Kamatani (Dragons Crown) hitpeice they did years ago where they insulted him and his art. Such a shitty article that I pretty much deleted any links I had etc and never went back. I was hoping the Hulk Hogan thing would of killed them off for good but whatever.
Kotaku is slowly fading away as gaming channels like YongYea, Easy Allies, and LaymenGaming are becoming more popular.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
This is exactly where I'm at with the whole issue. I like to see more realistic/neutral representations of video game characters that are more lifelike sometimes, but I don't have a problem with these unrealistically portrayed, sexualized characters existing in some games either (of either sex). And I'm baffled like you are as to why there is a double standard.
That's because guys typically don't give a shit about stuff.

If you made a game where you could choose between two playable character:

1. Ugly fat slobby man
2. Ugly fat slobby woman

I guarantee you any amount of money that even though there's a lot more male gamers that should theoretically lead to more complaints, there is no doubt in my mind you'd get more women criticizing why the devs made the female character a fat blob.
 
Idea Factory gave up on a Western release for the PS4 version of Mary Skelter 2, a dungeon-crawling RPG which had been censored so much even the Chinese localizers were caught off-guard (they had to do their own cuts for the Chinese government approval, and their demands were somehow tamer than Sony California) and the censorship update basically broke the game with major bugs (usually updates fix bugs, so some foul play is more than suspected here)

They still plan on bringing it over here, according to Siliconera, but as a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Furthermore, it would be a digital only title, with all the content from the original Japanese PS4 version, "uncensored", a dual dub AND a remake of the first game. This Switch port was announced in Japan back in March and the whole point behind it seems to make the localization and further releases in the series possible.
 
Idea Factory gave up on a Western release for the PS4 version of Mary Skelter 2, a dungeon-crawling RPG which had been censored so much even the Chinese localizers were caught off-guard (they had to do their own cuts for the Chinese government approval, and their demands were somehow tamer than Sony California) and the censorship update basically broke the game with major bugs (usually updates fix bugs, so some foul play is more than suspected here)

They still plan on bringing it over here, according to Siliconera, but as a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Furthermore, it would be a digital only title, with all the content from the original Japanese PS4 version, "uncensored", a dual dub AND a remake of the first game. This Switch port was announced in Japan back in March and the whole point behind it seems to make the localization and further releases in the series possible.
When the Californian branch is more prudish than the Chinese government, something has definitely gone wrong.
 

Enygger_Tzu

Banned
Idea Factory gave up on a Western release for the PS4 version of Mary Skelter 2, a dungeon-crawling RPG which had been censored so much even the Chinese localizers were caught off-guard (they had to do their own cuts for the Chinese government approval, and their demands were somehow tamer than Sony California) and the censorship update basically broke the game with major bugs (usually updates fix bugs, so some foul play is more than suspected here)

They still plan on bringing it over here, according to Siliconera, but as a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Furthermore, it would be a digital only title, with all the content from the original Japanese PS4 version, "uncensored", a dual dub AND a remake of the first game. This Switch port was announced in Japan back in March and the whole point behind it seems to make the localization and further releases in the series possible.

Switch is the saviour of Japanese gaming!
 

cm osi

Member
i always wonder why those people always forget ( well in this case the author of the article didn't even play ff7) that barret is also a loving and caring father of an adopted child and he's also very worried about the exploitation of naturale resources (omg climate change politics in my game, that's so lefty! yas square slay)
 
i always wonder why those people always forget ( well in this case the author of the article didn't even play ff7) that barret is also a loving and caring father of an adopted child and he's also very worried about the exploitation of naturale resources (omg climate change politics in my game, that's so lefty! yas square slay)
Final Fantasy 7 is still too inappropriate and "problematic" to be considered that way.

It was written as an interesting story, with significant character flaws and "unnecessary" scenes that waste screen time that could have been put to better use as propaganda (which is why you hear how "it's the localizer's social duty" to "inject flair and humor" into "dull scenes", so you get capitalism in Breath of the Wild, microagressions in Ace Attorney, toxic masculinity in Fire Emblem, Gamergate in Gunvolt by 8-4, and so on...)

The main cast of Final Fantasy 7 are also, in their pursuit of their environmentalist goal (admittedly a noble one), resorting to eco-terrorism and ultimately causing indirectly a lot of deaths, so they're not the Mary Sue and Gary Stu heroes fit for a good propaganda political parable. They are flawed characters, they invite retrospection and that's a no-no in a world where "two sides" is an even worse crime than being on the other side.

Some of Final Fantasy 7 was transgressive back then, like the Honey Bee Inn (indeed some of it never was approved for inclusion) and testing the limits of what content is allowed in videogames (it was not allowed for sure on the Super Nintendo), but still is transgressive today, so even this story about rebel anime heroes saving the world is too rebellious and needs to be "toned down" to conform to what the social justice orthodoxy considers as permissible expressions (a list that keeps getting smaller each passing day)
 

Isa

Member
I'm definitely supporting Mary Skelter 2 and Kill la Kill on Switch. Been waiting on Mary Skelter 2 for what seems a good while now, and after what went down in China I was worried about what would happen with the western version. So glad to see its going to be intact. I really hope that it does well enough to send a message to other devs and publishers that there is an audience willing and able to support uncensored content.

I'm also going to have to hop on my copy of Our World Is Ended just in case, though I sincerely hope that PQube isn't daft enough to cater to the likes of Kotaku.
 

kunonabi

Member
Yeah, I was always on the fence about Mary Skelter 2 but after what Sony pulled I feel bad for them so I'm grabbing it on switch too. I have concerns about how Kill la Kill is going to run on the switch but I'll hope for the best.

Anybody catch the FFXIV producer talking about the new expansion? He mentions that they didn't let you make child characters due to changing moral standards and not wanting a review board to crush the game. Were child characters a thing in XI?
 
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Anybody catch the FFXIV producer talking about the new expansion? He mentions that they didn't let you make child characters due to changing moral standards and not wanting a review board to crush the game. Were child characters a thing in XI?
here's the quote for anyone interested
Addendum—On Adding Younger-Looking Playable Characters

Among some of the feedback we received were requests for playable characters that resembled young boys and girls. Unfortunately, this is one request we cannot consider for ethical reasons.

With every passing year the debate surrounding moral and ethical issues in games grows more intense, and we do not want to present children in battle or in pain—and posing such characters sexually and taking screenshots and so forth would be expressly forbidden.

In any event, regardless of what our players did or did not intend to do, the fact remains that if a review board were to evaluate such content and determine it were unacceptable, we would be forced to suspend FFXIV’s service. We ask that you keep these factors in mind as we strive to abide by the changing standards of the times.
what they're saying is kinda stupid, since XIV has Lalafell which are playable characters that resemble young boys and girls... in fucking bikinis even.
5zIhsud.jpg
 
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h3ad0rZ

Member
Yeah, I was always on the fence about Mary Skelter 2 but after what Sony pulled I feel bad for them so I'm grabbing it on switch too. I have concerns about how Kill la Kill is going to run on the switch but I'll hope for the best.
Kill la Kill will be also coming out on PC and I doubt it will have high requirements. Just a FYI.
 
here's the quote for anyone interested
  • Concerns new content
  • Vague mentions of a rating board that would suspend Final Fantasy XIV's operation
  • Mentions a recent "moral shift" and "debate" (The metoo Sony was talking about?)
  • Weirdly worded request against any childlike characters when the series lore has the Lilties among others, who are definitely not sexualized, and when Western fantasy tropes have similar things like gnomes, elves and gremlins that would fall under the same wide casting nest
  • The main worry here is any "child-like" characters period who are exposed to any sort of violence, pain, or sexualized screenshots
This screams Sony interference.

Well it was known even minor update patches of older games before this policy had to inject the content cuts in the game, or not release the updates, so it was a given this would affect major expansions too (a similar rule existed for the accessibility rule for game chat as it was rolled out) but what's new is that Square Enix is affected too, unlike what some rumors that they and other publishers (Namco, Capcom, Atlus) put their feet down and got special treatment compared to smaller publishers.
 

Shy Fingers

Banned
  • Concerns new content
  • Vague mentions of a rating board that would suspend Final Fantasy XIV's operation
  • Mentions a recent "moral shift" and "debate" (The metoo Sony was talking about?)
  • Weirdly worded request against any childlike characters when the series lore has the Lilties among others, who are definitely not sexualized, and when Western fantasy tropes have similar things like gnomes, elves and gremlins that would fall under the same wide casting nest
  • The main worry here is any "child-like" characters period who are exposed to any sort of violence, pain, or sexualized screenshots
This screams Sony interference.

Well it was known even minor update patches of older games before this policy had to inject the content cuts in the game, or not release the updates, so it was a given this would affect major expansions too (a similar rule existed for the accessibility rule for game chat as it was rolled out) but what's new is that Square Enix is affected too, unlike what some rumors that they and other publishers (Namco, Capcom, Atlus) put their feet down and got special treatment compared to smaller publishers.
I'm going with they didn't want to have to answer for people pedo roleplaying. The game has a substantial RP demographic. There are servers that are heavily RP servers, and you can even set your status to RPing in game.

Plus then all gear would have to work on the children, and there's some too sexy of outfits for children in the game.
 
I'm going with they didn't want to have to answer for people pedo roleplaying. The game has a substantial RP demographic. There are servers that are heavily RP servers, and you can even set your status to RPing in game.

Plus then all gear would have to work on the children, and there's some too sexy of outfits for children in the game.
The comment about having someone suspend Final Fantasy XIV's operation speaks otherwise. Violence (murder and such) against childlike characters has been only a taboo in Western countries as well, and wasn't an issue in any Final Fantasy game prior to this, even the more child friendly entries.

The roleplaying demographic in FFXIV can't catch a break really, they were tarred by some game journalists looking for outrage as selling sex (...how? There's no animations to speak of and chat is strictly moderated), older games restrict gear by gender and classes just fine, and limited customization is a thing in older FF games (the Yukes for example will never remove their helmets for lore reasons). ...This is one hell of a leap to associate the game's playerbase with, the "virtual brothels" allegations were tenuous enough.
 
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Takashi Mochizuki from the Wall Street Journal just recently tweeted some information from Marvelous Games' earning conference, which included the following comment from the company (translation provided by Google): "Games with sex appeal elements are becoming difficult to make. One of the unpublished titles eliminated those elements and lowered the sales outlook."

Original Tweet:



Related coverage from Gematus (link) and Siliconera (link).

Since we can assume the game in question is being created for a Sony platform, it'll be interesting to see whether the affected title is in fact Senran Kagura 7. Regardless, it's a shame the title had to be altered to a point, where the company now expects lower sales.
 

cormack12

Gold Member
Takashi Mochizuki from the Wall Street Journal just recently tweeted some information from Marvelous Games' earning conference, which included the following comment from the company (translation provided by Google): "Games with sex appeal elements are becoming difficult to make. One of the unpublished titles eliminated those elements and lowered the sales outlook."

 

JordanN

Banned
Since we can assume the game in question is being created for a Sony platform, it'll be interesting to see whether the affected title is in fact Senran Kagura 7. Regardless, it's a shame the title had to be altered to a point, where the company now expects lower sales.
It's Lik Sang all over again. :messenger_pensive:
 

Isa

Member
Shame they couldn't get out of it like Mary Skelter 2 and put it on Switch and PC. Maybe they are able to wait out the contract timeframe, or take the assets and finish it proper elsewhere. Or even do a remaster with the original intent. But I doubt it. Probably the fine print and limited resources negates that hope.
 
It's always hilarious to see Sony California's hijinks.

Add the letter omega to the list of offensive content, developers. The game couldn't even keep its original title. D3Publisher commented before about Oneechanbara's likelihood to be still made, saying "we understand Sony's regulations better now, so it should be okay" But this announcement feels like it's taking the piss out of Sony California's policies. What a time to be alive.

Someone at the official Sony blog called Dead or Alive 6 "Dead on Arrival 6", since then redacted. I bet Koei Tecmo is thrilled with this quip put into its general context.
 
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