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[JordanN]

Sound the alarms, here comes more Sony BS.

Now they're censoring PS4 themes. WTF.
https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2019/...iyaki-ps4-japanese-theme-gets-censored/74993/

 

[Ulysses 31]

Ever since getting the 500M Ps4 Pro Sony's been giving me less and less reasons to use it... >.>

 

[Starlight Lotice]

Sound the alarms, here comes more Sony BS.

Now they're censoring PS4 themes. WTF.
https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2019/...iyaki-ps4-japanese-theme-gets-censored/74993/

The Censored one looks MORE sexual than the original! XD (Water on the Bum Cheeks)

Sometimes those Rays of Light look more sexualised than the original images becsuse it sometimes covers the clothed part of the characters...making them look naked!

Sometimes censorship makes the visual aspect worse as the image censored shows.

 

[Pantz]

I wish I could boycott Sony but their exclusives are too nice. All I can do is buy all the non-exclusive stuff on other platforms (where it's usually not censored) until they stop with this nonsense.

 

[Starlight Lotice]

At this point I am glad that Bayonetta is on the Switch now. I can only imagine the game being censored on the PS4.

Seems they target even innocent fanservice now (Bikinis, even the fashionable kind you see in one piece), but don't censor violence in TLoU2 (not to mention the kissing scene which most anti-Gay countries will hate such as Uganda, Russia and the Carribean countries) but I guess they don't matter because the US and Europe are their biggest audience now.

They all abide by the laws of extreme sexual and violent content but Sony wish to push it further for one of those but not the other!!!

 

[lifa-cobex]

Anyone think it's very weird timing for Sony to start attempting to hide it's shame?

You're coming up to the end of your consoles life span with a new one on the near horizon i would imagine.
PS4 has sold pretty well out of the gate and then years later you start pulling this crap? Who are you trying to appeal to?

I like your exclusives Sony,
But I love ass and tits even more buddy.
And I know where I can get my T an A from without having to pay for online.

 

[JunkerWoland]

Sound the alarms, here comes more Sony BS.

Now they're censoring PS4 themes. WTF.
https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2019/...iyaki-ps4-japanese-theme-gets-censored/74993/

While so far inconsistent, Sony's censorship campaign has certainly focused on covering the crotches of 2D girls, and considering the image's phallic overtones, I suppose the change isn't surprising.

The continuing negative effects on the Senran Kagura franchise, due to Sony's new content oversight, is a real shame. Censorship to the Western PS4 version of Burst Renewal will absolutely hurt the game's sales, and the franchise's director has already suggested content-related problems have arisen in the development of Senran Kagura 7 for the PS4. Not to poo poo the Switch, but situations like this one created by Sony make me wish the Japanese market currenly had a more viable platform alternative, from the standpoint of technical prowess.

Anyone think it's very weird timing for Sony to start attempting to hide it's shame?

You're coming up to the end of your consoles life span with a new one on the near horizon i would imagine.
PS4 has sold pretty well out of the gate and then years later you start pulling this crap? Who are you trying to appeal to?

Depends. Along with moving oversight of the Playstation division to California, if one takes the view that going forward Sony's looking to be the Hollywood of video games, then it makes sense they're suddenly applying progressive filters to all the content on their platform. Regardless of whether it ultimately hurts them in the long run, Sony currently cares about selling mainstream audiences on its next God of War and Spider-Man, while someone or some group within the company has clearly decided being too closely associated with pervy-Japanese content is a detriment to their brand.

 

[Claus Grimhildyr]

I would take the weaker platform of the Switch if I could get an uncensored version of the game, any day. This is just childish, at this point. I don't need some publisher telling me, an adult, what I should and should not see.

 

[Pot Meet Kettle]

At this point I am glad that Bayonetta is on the Switch now. I can only imagine the game being censored on the PS4.

Having to go through the low framerate of the buggy PS3 port of Bayonetta 1 is enough of a punishment as it is.

Kind of didn't cover this since there's so many porn games and there's already quite a lot of content bans to talk about, but Valve is having a weird flip-flop about their stance about sexual content (now extends beyond apparently underage characters) between opaque bans and undoing rejections under the guise of it being a "misunderstanding", but the unpredictability alone is chasing a few adult game developers away to other porn platforms who jumped on the opportunity (some even relaxed their guidelines to court them), which was to be expected.
However so far console developers from Japan were not affected yet... Which might be due to Valve trying to avoid any more developer exodus after Epic's new platform or Tencent/Discord. Interesting times ahead.

There's also the Chuchel game, about some folk story icon from Europe supposed to represent a cartoony soot ball that was changed to a hairy orange... ball thing, because some Americans claimed cartoony pitch black characters are invariably blackface no matter how simple their geometry is, and the Czech developers agreed and redesigned the character to avoid offense, but the target demographic wasn't happy to say the least. The game had a deep dive in user reviews, sales and popularity. That reaction was one Eurogamer and other gaming journalism websites are upset with, so they called for Valve to cover up the discontent and fight the "review bombing".

 

[Starlight Lotice]

Wow...that is messed up. The Black Soot Ball is nothing in comparison to blackface (or GollyWog, the UK Black Minstrel Teddy that was banned here).

Inagine Spirited Away having Orange Soot Monsters instead? It seems that Eurogamer are also on the Politically Correct list now and I remember when they did an unsavoury article years ago that was worse than that!

 

[The Mad Draklor]

I would take the weaker platform of the Switch if I could get an uncensored version of the game, any day. This is just childish, at this point. I don't need some publisher telling me, an adult, what I should and should not see.

Especially when Sony already offers a feature that allows parents to control what their kids play on the PS4. What’s the point of parental controls if Sony wants to play parent anyways?

 

[Isa]

Sound the alarms, here comes more Sony BS.

Now they're censoring PS4 themes. WTF.
https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2019/...iyaki-ps4-japanese-theme-gets-censored/74993/

Its a shame, I noticed a year or two ago they censored the avatars that way as well. Most gals have a wave splash "conveniently" covering their cleavages and such. Actually a lot of PS4 avatars are edited in some way. I have quite a few from the PS3 days and they were all edited to have clothing over breasts and cover more skin. They all look pretty bad though, being that most are just painted over skin often with a basic black that doesn't match the colors the characters are wearing. I usually just buy my themes from the Japanese or Asian PSN.

 

[CatCouch]

Is that true? Censoring themes is way beyond where I thought they would go. There's obviously no way they are turning this around soon. I'm just unplugging my PS4 and moving on.

That theme image above wouldn't even need a mature content filter on Deviant Art. I am actually insulted as I've fought with people over my own art that's about that level before and sites like Deviant Art have always had my back with it.

How Sony can censor that image but let games like Agony on the same platform is baffling.

Tumblr allows more nudity in art than that. I can still post bare breasts in my art on Tumblr.

This is really making me think they are going to censor Teen rated games like One Piece World Seeker. I'm keeping my eye on that one to see if there are differences between the Xbox One and PS4 versions.

 

[Sqorin Hammerfarf]

Not to poo poo the Switch, but situations like this one created by Sony make me wish the Japanese market currenly had a more viable platform alternative, from the standpoint of technical prowess.

The only reason Sony can get away with this is because they don't really have any competition. Any place where one console has a censored version and one console has an uncensored one, the uncensored one always does several orders of magnitude better. The only time a censored version is even remotely viable is if there isn't an uncensored alternative, such as no competing consoles or parity clauses that force a game censored on one platform to be censored on all of them. Sony won't allow itself become the crappy second cousin to other consoles, so I expect to start seeing parity clauses enforced soon.

 

[JunkerWoland]

While the Asuka-Setsubun image for the PS4 theme has obviously been altered, one thing possibly worth keeping in mind, it doesn't appear the original version of the image was ever advertised as representing the final-paid PS4 theme. Best I can tell, the most recent two-or-three Senran Kagura themes weren't even advertised by the franchise's usual channels, and the only place online I found the original image posted was Reddit, with the image itself appearing to be a scan (or photo) from some other source. I'm sure Sony is the reason Asuka's crotch is covered, but at least it doesn't seem to be some bait-and-switch.

Sony won't allow itself become the crappy second cousin to other consoles, so I expect to start seeing parity clauses enforced soon.

Until precedent is set, parity clauses aren't a concern of mine. I don't see Sony wanting to deal with the fallout of attempting to strong-arm major developers who can rely on the XBox and PC, and they've so far shown they don't seem to care about mid-to-small companies whose games can run on Switch.

 

[petran79]

Especially when Sony already offers a feature that allows parents to control what their kids play on the PS4. What’s the point of parental controls if Sony wants to play parent anyways?

As if parents would bother with the PS4

 

[lifa-cobex]

Depends. Along with moving oversight of the Playstation division to California, if one takes the view that going forward Sony's looking to be the Hollywood of video games, then it makes sense they're suddenly applying progressive filters to all the content on their platform. Regardless of whether it ultimately hurts them in the long run, Sony currently cares about selling mainstream audiences on its next God of War and Spider-Man, while someone or some group within the company has clearly decided being too closely associated with pervy-Japanese content is a detriment to their brand.

What's interesting about that is we are now the mainstream audience.
We were the ones that grew up with PS1, PS2 and other consoles. Now we have hit that age (on average 30 somethings). I can't see them expanding too much of of what it's current core audience is.
We are the ones with the interest and now the money to boot.
Unless they believe that younger gens are more prude. TBH I can't really imagine that given to how open the internet is to other media and information.

What you have said is the most logical thing in what Sony might be thinking. But it really doesn't make sense to me.

 

[hecatomb]

Sound the alarms, here comes more Sony BS.

Now they're censoring PS4 themes. WTF.
https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2019/...iyaki-ps4-japanese-theme-gets-censored/74993/

kind of pointless since you can just go online, take a picture of any image and set it to your background. I don't know why anyone still buys wallpapers from PSN.

 

[CatCouch]

What's interesting about that is we are now the mainstream audience.
We were the ones that grew up with PS1, PS2 and other consoles. Now we have hit that age (on average 30 somethings). I can't see them expanding too much of of what it's current core audience is.
We are the ones with the interest and now the money to boot.
Unless they believe that younger gens are more prude. TBH I can't really imagine that given to how open the internet is to other media and information.

What you have said is the most logical thing in what Sony might be thinking. But it really doesn't make sense to me.

This makes me believe that western gaming is increasingly being directed by people with little understanding of gaming. You know how we keep seeing companies announce mobile games and then act shocked when there's a negative reception? I think that different people are in charge now which look at games as one big block and not different communities with different tastes.

They see Japanese games sell less in the west than western games and may come to the conclusion that they are not worth the time. They see popular franchises do well and see the mobile market as the biggest so they likely assume putting the two together will result in instant success. They see journalists trash the sexy games so they may assume that's the will of the people.

I see a weird, backwards belief that cutting out an audience will result in a newer, bigger audience. I've never seen that work, though. Dead Or Alive 6 seems to be going this route. They want a piece of the esports pie and are pushing hard to downplay the fan service which is a core part of the series. Pitting two incompatible audiences together sounds like a recipe for failure. Is there any proof of this kind of reasoning being successful?

Nintendo seems to have rejected the previous way of letting games be censored during localization and they seem to be much better off for it.

This is just my guess. I could be totally wrong.

 

[infinitys_7th]

Sound the alarms, here comes more Sony BS.

Now they're censoring PS4 themes. WTF.
https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2019/...iyaki-ps4-japanese-theme-gets-censored/74993/

Is it really censoring when they are getting her better prepared for a sushi stuffing?

 

[The Mad Draklor]

I see a weird, backwards belief that cutting out an audience will result in a newer, bigger audience. I've never seen that work, though. Dead Or Alive 6 seems to be going this route. They want a piece of the esports pie and are pushing hard to downplay the fan service which is a core part of the series. Pitting two incompatible audiences together sounds like a recipe for failure. Is there any proof of this kind of reasoning being successful?

I feel that we should come up with a name of this belief. I like to call it the Wider Audience Fallacy.

 

[JunkerWoland]

What's interesting about that is we are now the mainstream audience.
We were the ones that grew up with PS1, PS2 and other consoles. Now we have hit that age (on average 30 somethings). I can't see them expanding too much of of what it's current core audience is.
We are the ones with the interest and now the money to boot.
Unless they believe that younger gens are more prude. TBH I can't really imagine that given to how open the internet is to other media and information.

What you have said is the most logical thing in what Sony might be thinking. But it really doesn't make sense to me.

Being broadly within the target age range (roughly mid-teens through mid-to-late 30s) and being a prime example of the larger mainstream audience/consumer base are not necessarily exclusive.

The powers currently controlling Sony's Playstation division (or at least a prominent group within it) appear to want their platform and content positioned as inoffensive to the largest possible audience, even if that potentially means alienating an existing pocket of consumers. I'm not suggesting this change in outlook is a good move or one that will payoff in the long run, but it's consistent with what we're currently seeing in other forms of Western media. The larger issue is that there seems to be no actual guidelines directing this content oversight, leaving everything to arbitrary decisions on whether something is, or is not, appropriate.

 

[Enygger_Tzu]

I feel that we should come up with a name of this belief. I like to call it the Wider Audience Fallacy.

I'd call it "Social Justice Entryism", myself.

But yes, as someone else mentioned here, consoles have NO new blood pumped to them ever since the Wii, they are going to cannibalize themselves now, into irrelevance.

 

[joe_zazen]

The larger issue is that there seems to be no actual guidelines directing this content oversight, leaving everything to arbitrary decisions on whether something is, or is not, appropriate.

Sounds like old gaf, lol.

 

[Pot Meet Kettle]

Resident Evil 2 Remaster gore is uncensored in the West, but the camera angles obscure much of it in the Japanese version, just from demo version footage. (NSFW, obviously) A similar thing happened for the Japanese version of Resident Evil 7, even the "Grotesque" version that was slightly less censored.

There's certainly an interesting facet to this. Since this tweet is by a game journalist at Dorkly, he defends and advocates the need for game censorship in general, and pledges to rethink the way he covers it in the future to downplay the information it took place as much as possible to avoid feeding into "the censorship outrage machine", like threads similar to this.

Going forward, I might rethink presenting bits like this with a dry description. I don't buy into the censorship rage machine, but I *am* fascinated by how developers implement changes for their games to fit cultural expectations of other countries, so I'd like to emphasize that.

Just in case anyone still had doubts about the new modus operandi of game journalism regarding censorship, here you have it.

• Actively advocate for it
• If game releases not censored, or even not censored enough: Write about disappointment about the missing expected "feature", "translator responsibility" for "platforms", and that's if the "problematic" character of the game is still not enough for a full controversy
• If game releases censored, ignore and block any coverage about it (Siliconera once had an explicit policy like this), and if the rumor gets out anyways attempt to dismiss it as untrustworthy (ANN Sony ban wave coverage), downplay it, mock it (anyone upset with Tokyo Mirage Sessions is a "vagina bones" perv) and do your best to get fan mods to uncensor the content shut down (the very long saga of Kotaku vs Fire Emblem retranslations, trying various angles from hitpiece "interviews", unsubstantiated political associations, "reaching to Nintendo for comment" to get a C&D, reviews for how "dry" the fantranslation is and how superior the official localization is...)

It's worth mentioning that uncensored horror games isn't a given even in the West until not too long ago. The European versions of Silent Hill were for example missing entire enemy types.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

My one and only take on this issue, as a general rule, is that censorship is a hideous thing that goes against freedom and even democracy. There is a rating system to keep children from getting M contents. If parents are irresponsible it's their fucking problem, not everyone else's.

By the way, this is not Sony's problem. This is something created artificially by certain groups in society and it should be sorted out on a wider scenario. Meaning that if we are suffering this nowadays is because we have allowed certain people to have the power to censor everything, from movies to videogames. It's about time to show these people the finger.

 

[The Cartographer]

''I don't buy into the censorship rage machine''.

Yeah, he and his merry friends just want to edit and ''sanitize'' digital entertainment in a polite and responsible manner for everyone.

 

[petran79]

We have a few games with different versions on Switch/PC. Will be curious to see if any Xbox One versions of games will come uncensored.

Only example I could think was Samurai Shodown V. Xbox version released the game and translated all the dialogue, while SCEA refused even to approve it

Current Xbox, I doubt it

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Resident Evil 2 Remaster gore is uncensored in the West, but the camera angles obscure much of it in the Japanese version, just from demo version footage. (NSFW, obviously) A similar thing happened for the Japanese version of Resident Evil 7, even the "Grotesque" version that was slightly less censored.

There's certainly an interesting facet to this. Since this tweet is by a game journalist at Dorkly, he defends and advocates the need for game censorship in general, and pledges to rethink the way he covers it in the future to downplay the information it took place as much as possible to avoid feeding into "the censorship outrage machine", like threads similar to this.



Just in case anyone still had doubts about the new modus operandi of game journalism regarding censorship, here you have it.

• Actively advocate for it
• If game releases not censored, or even not censored enough: Write about disappointment about the missing expected "feature", "translator responsibility" for "platforms", and that's if the "problematic" character of the game is still not enough for a full controversy
• If game releases censored, ignore and block any coverage about it (Siliconera once had an explicit policy like this), and if the rumor gets out anyways attempt to dismiss it as untrustworthy (ANN Sony ban wave coverage), downplay it, mock it (anyone upset with Tokyo Mirage Sessions is a "vagina bones" perv) and do your best to get fan mods to uncensor the content shut down (the very long saga of Kotaku vs Fire Emblem retranslations, trying various angles from hitpiece "interviews", unsubstantiated political associations, "reaching to Nintendo for comment" to get a C&D, reviews for how "dry" the fantranslation is and how superior the official localization is...)

It's worth mentioning that uncensored horror games isn't a given even in the West until not too long ago. The European versions of Silent Hill were for example missing entire enemy types.

Yes, the only thing worse than censorship of art (these were the same ideologues insisting games were art, after all) is the outrage in response to censorship. We can't have that at all! It would totally screw with our completely-unrelated-to-videogaming ideological goals.

 

[PSFan]

Something that recently occurred to me about all this Sony censoring stuff is, what's the point? Every time they censor something, it's quite easy to see the uncensored version on the internet in a pic or video. So they really aren"t blocking anything. Not to mention, if a PS4 censored game is a multiplat, it will most likely be uncensored on the other platforms.

It just seems like a waste of resources and money for Sony to bother with and really accomplishes nothing.

 

[Zambatoh]

Something that recently occurred to me about all this Sony censoring stuff is, what's the point? Every time they censor something, it's quite easy to see the uncensored version on the internet in a pic or video. So they really aren"t blocking anything. Not to mention, if a PS4 censored game is a multiplat, it will most likely be uncensored on the other platforms.

It just seems like a waste of resources and money for Sony to bother with and really accomplishes nothing.

It's virtue signaling, plain and simple. They're trying to establish a more "tolerant" image for themselves. And damning everyone else in the process.

 

[The Mad Draklor]

It's virtue signaling, plain and simple. They're trying to establish a more "tolerant" image for themselves. And damning everyone else in the process.

And Sony knows they can get away with it with the PS4's dominant position. I've said it earlier in this thread to not expect Sony to backtrack on their censorship anytime soon. It won't be until next gen if Sony shits the bed with the PS5.

 

[PSFan]

And Sony knows they can get away with it with the PS4's dominant position. I've said it earlier in this thread to not expect Sony to backtrack on their censorship anytime soon. It won't be until next gen if Sony shits the bed with the PS5.

Well, I have both a Switch and a PC. And if Sony won't backtrack, I'll gladly start buying those games for those platforms and not PS4, where I had been buying them.

 

[The Mad Draklor]

Well, I have both a Switch and a PC. And if Sony won't backtrack, I'll gladly start buying those games for those platforms and not PS4, where I had been buying them.

I'm also in the process of going with that platform lineup. I built my PC a month ago and have been very happy with it. I've been holding off on buying a Switch amidst rumors of Nintendo releasing a Switch "Pro" this year.

 

[petran79]

Irony is that this is the same Sony that acquired Funimation. All the stuff they censor in anime video games is now rampant in their anime series deals.The child abuse episodes in Black Lagoon for instance, plus fanservice in other series. One reason is that Sony studio there is the successor to Columbia Tristar so they have a better idea of how things work. Let them take the video game department too!

 

[CatCouch]

Found a new article on Senran Kagura being censored by Sony.

It's an interesting opinion article but note that the writer seems to be against the existence of games like Senran Kagura and even Soulcalibur. He cites Kotaku (without actually mentioning them) as a reason why and said there was some social media trend against SoulCalibur VI because of it's sexualization. I don't know what he's talking about there.

If you don't want to read it the gist is the author pondering that if SoulCalibur and Dead Or Alive are not acceptable in this current social climate how can a series like Senran Kagura continue to exist?

I get the impression the author believes that Senran Kagura should be banned altogether but leaves it open for speculation in the comments.

I'm glad there is some acknowledgment that Sony is censoring games but I definitely worry that we'll see more articles that lean towards accepting the censorship.

 

[petran79]

I've read worse.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/video-games-turn-to-soft-porn-amid-a-death-of-new-ideas-2014-10-20

Apparently if characters wear clothes, suddenly game stories and ideas become so much better

 

[Enygger_Tzu]

I've read worse.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/video-games-turn-to-soft-porn-amid-a-death-of-new-ideas-2014-10-20

Apparently if characters wear clothes, suddenly game stories and ideas become so much better

I did not had to read the article, I just had to see the face of the author.

 

[JunkerWoland]

It appears Sony's content policy has struck again. While Sony isn't specifically mentioned, the Touch Communication feature has been removed due to "various circumstances" from the upcoming release of Conception Plus, a PS4 remastered version of a similarly titled PSP game. Conception is a RPG, with the touch feature being similar to other games, where certain conversation scenes allow the player to touch/rub characters in the game.

Conception Plus is set to be released in Japan for the PS4 on 1/31/19. For clarity's sake, the Touch Communication feature is being removed from the Japanese version of the game, and no Western release of this title has been announced.

Original Famitsu article: https://www.famitsu.com/news/201901/21170778.html
Gematsu story: https://gematsu.com/2019/01/conception-plus-details-new-features-removes-touch-communication
One Angry Gamer coverage: https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2019/01/conception-plus-censors-touch-communication-mode-on-ps4/75517/

 

[Pot Meet Kettle]

Some more news...

Eurogamer is upset that the sexualized content in Dead or Alive 6 isn't toned down enough for their tastes.

They mock the director's comments that it was kept in order not to turn the core fans away, with comments that the "raging" fanbase is already turned off the game over "rumors of the sexualization being toned down in Western versions" (which is, in typical Eurogamer fashion, dishonest, as the toned down physics are very noticeable, there were comments by the developers elevating this beyond a mere "rumor", in fact this very article is upset by the "bait-and-switch" between those comments and the more sexy than expected final retail version) and imply he is a liar, even as he bends backwards to appease them and state that the remaining sexualization "couldn't be helped", and that the existence of the Xtreme games "frustrates" him and "muddled" the debate.

In other more positive news for Eurogamer between this and the Deponia series rerelease (whose third game they blasted over "transphobia" whose "only redeeming feature is that it ended the series", to the point the developer stealth released the fourth game with no promotion in order not to deal with them) Ubisoft decided to apologize for the heterosexual canon relationship Kassandra goes through in Assassin Creed Odyssey's DLC, and write it out of the game, as GLAAD releases a statement celebrating the decision.

After hearing player feedback and discussing within the development team we are making changes to a cutscene and some dialogue in Shadow Heritage to better reflect the nature of the relationship for players selecting a non-romantic storyline. These changes, along with renaming a trophy/achievement, are being made now and will be implemented in an upcoming patch.
We’ve also been carefully looking at the next episode, Bloodline, to ensure the paths that players experience mirror the choices they make in game.

Valve carries on with the unpredictable bans for visual novels, this time affecting some Chinese and Korean only games (that used to fly under the radar, but not on the good allies' watch that were sure to point out Valve's efforts were hollow since they were missing those as well), so they instead went for other digital platforms. The visual novels in question didn't seem to have sexual content and have passed China's draconian content guidelines, and they seem to be far from consistent.

It's not a surprise then that Nekopara Vol 2's publisher announced they're going with a censored console version on Steam anyways with uncensor patches popping out somewhere else "anonymously", since the uncertainty is even more than before, but said that they are still thankful for Steam for housing their games, and that they understand the pressure they might be subjected to (some comments online say this alludes to payment processors pressuring some platforms to drop risky content, but this was mainly so far a Patreon political thing...)

 

[The Mad Draklor]

Valve changed Steam's curation rules. Games where Valve deems to be in the "grey area" will be banned. Problem is that they do not clearly define what they mean by the "grey area", though one can hypothesize just from looking at the games they banned recently.

On a more positive note, Compile Heart took a funny shot at Sony with their recent tweet advertising Moero Chronicle H.

 

[CatCouch]

What games are Valve banning from Steam now?

Transparency matters a lot these days so I do not appreciate the way erotic or even sexy content is just left in limbo. I need answers on what I can and can't buy or sell as my money comes from adult art for the most part now.

Get some damn rules on the ages for characters or have a guideline for what kind of art is an issue. Make it clear what sexual content is okay and what isn't because if there is no line drawn I'm worried it will all be banned and we'll be back in pre-ESRB territory. I don't want the rating boards rendered moot due to platforms restricting themselves.

I seriously feel like having a nipple in a piece of entertainment will be illegal to sell soon. Crazy! I can post and view whatever I want on Twitter but I can't buy or sell a game with anime-like sex appeal?

Is there no protection for art anymore?

 

[JunkerWoland]

What games are Valve banning from Steam now?

Valve's been on a tear the last couple months either banning or putting on indefinite hold a bunch of adult or erotic-themed games, mostly from independent Western & Chinese developers. Essentially, if Valve decides your game exploits a (female) character who they feel is under 18 years of age, then your game is banned or put in forever review (this policy also extends to games where the character is said to be, and looks like, an adult, as opposed to a 1,000 year old loli dragon).

As I've said before, Valve doesn't give the slightest shit about the games it's attacking, and developers of such titles should start to seriously investigate the legitimate alternatives. Yes, Valve has a huge consumer base, but developers can lead their customers to other platforms and help build an alternate marketplace for visual novels and pervy or adult games.

 

[Enygger_Tzu]

(((We remove morally grey games from Steam.)))

(<----- 11 year old learning about sex)

https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/620200/ (<----- 16 year old males learn about yaoi)

https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/359050/ (<-------- Shower with your dad simulator)

 

[CatCouch]

(((We remove morally grey games from Steam.)))

(<----- 11 year old learning about sex)

https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/620200/ (<----- 16 year old males learn about yaoi)

https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/359050/ (<-------- Shower with your dad simulator)

“This game contains explicit sex scenes between underage characters, although they are over the age of consent (16-17) and no adult is involved with them. The art is suggestive but not fully explicit, but the text descriptions are long and detailed. There're some mentions of alcohol, smoking and gambling.”

That descriptor sounds like something that could be banned but it also contradicts itself by saying there is explicit sex while the page says no nudity. Would that game be banned if it was women instead of men?

I haven't followed all Steam news so I would be interested in knowing if Steam has removed any games for male sexuality or if they have removed any game that wasn't Japanese or anime in art style. I don't see any place to follow the release of adult games, either. Are there lots of adult games that release without issue?

I get the impression Steam is in a similar situation as Sony. They both seem to exclusively block or ban female anime art in an overly cautious manner. No one is scrutinizing male or western art, though. I also notice that furry art doesn't get scrutinized much, if at all, despite being stylized and often sexualized in a similar manner (I've read multiple topics about adult furry art on Resetera and they are quite supportive of it). I was expecting big fights about Krystal wearing no underwear in Smash Ultimate but it never came up.

The NekoPara games are still up with adult DLC and the Senran Kagura games are uncensored so the banning seems to have little rhyme or reason to me. I bought Evenicle and Wolf Tails, both of which contain explicit anime-style sex scenes.

 

[JunkerWoland]

Last week, producer of the Senran Kagura series, Takaki Kenichiro, attended the Taipei Game Show to present the Chinese-language release of Peach Ball: Senran Kagura. During the show, he gave an interview to the Japanese video game website, Inside-Games.

The interview starts on Page 2 and is linked below:
https://www.inside-games.jp/article/2019/02/01/120258_2.html

I found the story at the Hachima blog, which summarizes the points most relevant to this thread:
http://blog.esuteru.com/archives/9262546.html

Here are some cherry picked excerpts from the interview, presented courtesy of Google Translates:

Q: Are you planning to develop a new series of "Senran Kagura" with Nintendo switch in the future?
A: There are no plans to say concretely now, but there must be surely.

Q: Based on the current story, is the completed version of "Senran Kagura 7 EVEN" considerably changed from the first idea?
A: Yes, it is probably because it is probably impossible to release with the originally imagined thing, so it is a point to reconsider whether to start over at all.

Q: Compared to PS 4, Steam and others feel that the upper limit for sexy elements is relaxed, but is there any possibility of transferring axis foot to PC when PS 4 becomes increasingly severer in future?
A: There is no possibility, I feel. However, as for a genre, I feel pretty spicy if it is only PC. Because it is a niche because it is rather. On a PC with a lot of real shooting ... Well, if you can go, I will.

Q: Is it difficult to produce because there are still many sexy elements?
A: "Is it OK in" Do you not take off your clothes, do not tear, do not shake your breasts "Sakuragagara" Is it okay?

Q: I could not put out my chest, I had my chest swaying, but is that what I expressed in the series so far was impossible?
A: I think that there is something that can be done first, but many things will definitely be impossible, regulation will become more and more severe. I do not have standards on how far I can do it, so I am struggling very much.

I think that the attraction of the 'Senran Kagura' series is not only sexy elements, but if you scrape there, the charm will fade away. Even without a sexy element, I can make many interesting elements ... but the answer has not appeared.

Q: Finally, please give a word to users (in Chinese speaking countries).
A: I'm very happy to be able to release the Chinese version of Takagi "Shinobiliifure" and "PEACH BALL". We appreciate the adoption of new package illustrations, put all the download contents, or deliver it to everyone (Chinese-speaking countries) with a slightly different version than the Japanese version. It is a bit of a special type of game, but I hope you enjoy it.

I think that everyone is interested in future series such as "Senran Kagura 7 EVEN". Actually, I am struggling a bit with the flow of the world, but this is going to be realized someday over a long period of time, so I am happy if I wait patiently.

I took a quick look through the questions in Japanese, and while my skills in the language are poor, Google's translation generally seems to get across the core points. I would note, however, the first question--about creating new Senran Kagura games for the Switch--is answered in a more subtle and vague manner.

My translation:
Q: Are there plans to develop a new Senran Kagura series for the Nintendo Switch?
A: Right now, I can't say there are any definite plans, but it seems like there certainly should be, right?

What's become clear is Senran Kagura 7 has run into severe development difficulties and that due to the changes at Sony, along with other global concerns, whatever eventually gets released may deviate significantly from Takaki's original vision. It also sounds like we won't be seeing the game, anytime soon.

Hopefully Takaki and Marvelous can find a solution to this problem, because as things stands, Sony and the mentally ill individuals who support their prudish stance on sexual material targeted at straight male audiences are in fact taking away games.

 

[The Mad Draklor]

If there's a Chinese version of that interview, then I can try to translate it so that it makes more sense. It's rather depressing how Sony has become rather prohibitive of creative freedom.

 

[JunkerWoland]

If there's a Chinese version of that interview, then I can try to translate it so that it makes more sense. It's rather depressing how Sony has become rather prohibitive of creative freedom.

Best I can tell, the article appears to be original coverage by Inside-Games and not the case of a Chinese interview translated into Japanese.

 

[Omega Supreme Holopsicon]

Valve changed Steam's curation rules. Games where Valve deems to be in the "grey area" will be banned. Problem is that they do not clearly define what they mean by the "grey area", though one can hypothesize just from looking at the games they banned recently.

On a more positive note, Compile Heart took a funny shot at Sony with their recent tweet advertising Moero Chronicle H.

It is pure BS. South Park? GTA? Any game that's really big, can do anything they want, no matter how controversial, torture, rape, murder, exploitation, any topic is allowed, and will be allowed on steam, or I think that's very likely so.

Smaller developers they can be censored. They will likely never clearly spell the T&S, because it probably will cause legal issues due to double standards.

 

[JunkerWoland]

And I guess in some positive news, the uncensored Switch port of Moero Chronicles will be coming to the West, sometime this spring. Like the Japanese release, it will be digital-only.

Gematsu story: https://gematsu.com/2019/02/moero-chronicle-hyper-coming-west-this-spring.