Ryukouki Discusses! The Censorship Problem

[vayanui8]

If I recall Dual Destinies was Teen in Japan but rated Mature in America.

esrb has very different ratings than Japan. some of the shin megami tensei games were rated the equivalent of E in Japan but were rated M in the US.

 

[Ryukouki]

esrb has very different ratings than Japan. some of the shin megami tensei games were rated the equivalent of E in Japan but were rated M in the US.

Oh I know. Throwback to a previous discussion topic if you're interested in that kind of stuff.

http://gbatemp.net/threads/video-game-ratings-flawed.357122/

 

[FAST6191]

I have a question: does game rating somehow affect this?
I hear some people complain about the game sometime being censor during translate because the publisher want to lower the game rating. Is that truth or just a myth?

It is far far far more common in TV and film but yeah it happens in games too. Generally it comes in two forms

Actual country law type things. This can be actual laws, effective laws and sales company laws.
Germany bans (actual law, very well enforced and at a very high level) a lot of Nazi related imagery, even if you are killing Nazis. Games will be censored for this. Going by the other thread there is also some further stuff, I do quite often post uncut and cut releases for German games and there have been occasions where a company did a Europe wide release and censored the whole region's release because of such laws.
Australia, as discussed elsewhere, has serious issues with drugs being portrayed. Technically it is supposed to have changed now but before there was no equivalent to an 18 rated film for games, this meant games could not get more than whatever the lower rating was and some games had to be changed to manage this.
The UK has an interesting one from time to time. Games can be refused classification and by extension that means they can not be legally sold in the country. Manhunt 2 is probably the more notable game to have this happen for.
In the US certain companies, including very big vendors like Walmart and gamefly, will not stock either Adults Only (AO) games or in some cases even other higher end ratings. Word is Sony, Nintendo and MS will not allow them on their systems either. For a good example of things getting interesting there see Hot Coffee and San Andreas -- a rather tame sex minigame caused the game to be rerated AO.

The second form seems to be company stuff. It does not happen so much today (other than the AO stuff) but back in the 8 and 16 bit era Nintendo (one video I just watched the first half of) had interesting policies on the matter. It went as far as things like references to religion even (Final Fantasy and the Holy spell being a good example).

Lower ratings are supposed to reach out to a wider audience, can change how you can advertise your game, what sponsors you might have in your game (in game advertising is a thing remember) and more, to this end it could be worth considering if you want more sales for your game.

Removing censorship is a fairly popular activity for ROM hackers, others also like to see what happens when games get a new release. With so much of the SNES library hitting the GBA and DS it produced some interesting examples.

 

[anhminh]

Another question: Is it truth that if the game have high enough rating, it won't need to be censor?
And I mean normal censor, not something relate to cultural like the Nazis example above.

 

[trumpet-205]

If a game was censored because of minor things, like breast, blood, etc, it is better to leave them alone and simply give a game rating status. Parents need to be hold accountable on what their kids are playing, not the other way around.

if a game was censored because of extremely offensive contents or ability to inflict physical harm (like that Polygon Pokemon episode), it is better to make it illegal to possess per local law.

 

[LEDAHGRIM]

yeah, sadly parents these day don't care about monitoring their own children very much, what with work and
all the other things to worry about like bills and food...

They will just give the kind anything to keep him happy and calm, very little do they know just how much
potential harm they could be doing to their children...

I don'r remember any specific game being forbidden from sale here in mexico, But I do know that the normal
3DS is now forbidden here because the 3D it uses harms the eye, Now only the 2DS is being sold...

On topic:
If have seen my fair share of M rated games here in mexico that are still censored, So I stopped buying the
retail versions from stores and started using services like steam or buying online to get the uncensored
version of any games I'm interested in.

One store even closed around here because nobody was buying games from there since "Censored game aimed
at adult audiences? No thanks...", Essentially people in here switched to stores that either sold the uncensored
version or stores that import the game from other regions on individual demand.

 

[Dr1941]

Honestly. GBATemp needs to hire an editor desperately. This article has a solid idea, but the way its written makes me want to avoid it. It *could* be great, even though it's communicated sloppily, but the need for an editor is incredibly high. I notice this on many other reported articles and it's never improving. If people here are more worried about the subject than its content, that's another argument. If GBATemp cares about how it's presented in the "realm" of authorial journalism, then there is a strong need for improvement.

 

[Black-Ice]

We in the west are little bitches. Our middle class families will revolt over anything different or offensive to their dry and monotonously simple lifestyles. There's also the issue of those families not wanting to harm the minds of their fragile kids, despite buying them every call of duty game.
Thus, Censorship

Honestly. GBATemp needs to hire an editor desperately. This article has a solid idea, but the way its written makes me want to avoid it. It *could* be great, even though it's communicated sloppily, but the need for an editor is incredibly high. I notice this on many other reported articles and it's never improving. If people here are more worried about the subject than its content, that's another argument. If GBATemp cares about how it's presented in the "realm" of authorial journalism, then there is a strong need for improvement.

I think Ryu and the other new reporters have breathed real fresh air into the forums and the discussions we have on them, I know Ryu in particular spends a lot of time writing his articles to ensure they create insightful discussion while avoiding flamebait.
If you think you can do better, go ahead but don't undermine the work they've been putting in

 

[Taleweaver]

I've said it before and I'll say it again:the main problem is that the rating system isn't enforced. Shop managers never separate the adult games from the non-adult ones, (to my knowledge) shop clerks can't legally check for ID's when someone wants to buy a game and still a large amount of parents underestimate the impact of a mature game. It's been argued a lot, but with one side wanting to ban adult games forever (the Thompson department) and the other one wanting complete liberty (hardcore gamers), the debate is going nowhere fast.

Of course games are being censored. Because we all know that the average COD-player is lower than the age it should be sold to in the first place, the rating system is utterly flawed. It's like having a sign that says "no entry" while the door is wide open and there's red carpet and lights inviting you and everyone else in.

There shouldn't be censorship. Honestly: all we really need is some awareness and shared responsibility from parents and shopkeepers alike. But while that may sound like an easy thing to do, it's actually fucking HARD. I remember that nintendo got quite some flak because they only sold (or even still sell) zombiu after bedtime for children. How about we NOT demonize such actions and accept it as part of our parental responsibility that comes with the fact that zombiu is, in fact, a mature game?


But what bothers me more is the arbitrary case of "what gets censored"? That tells us a lot about our society. And to be honest: I'm not very proud of it. There will always be pedophiles. I don't know what percentage of the population they are, but I seriously doubt it's in the double digits (and my bet is most of them suppress their sexuality in any way they can, but that's a different discussion). In any case: it shouldn't be the reason why virtual underage girls can't pick their own dresses. Here in the west, we like to portray teenagers as being devoid of having any sexual interest in anyone until they're 18 (or 21...whatever the legal age is in your country). And that saddens me. It's like that 'Children of men'-thing: we don't allow children to be children anymore (okay, that's a bit harsh...but we certainly DO restrict them in it).
It's even more creepy when you compare it to violence and bloodshed. Why is that NOT being censored? It's perfectly normal to brainwash people into thinking that USA is the best nation ever created and that Arabs, Russians, Koreans and whomever else with a non-white skin can perfectly be portrayed as being evil. And while I myself on that topic tend to go with the "videogames don't kill people...guns do"-croud, I'm pretty sure that if I created a game where you play as an Iraqi who has to venture into the US to stop their terrorist president because he's about to attack your nation for the unforgiving crime of "having more oil than us", that game would be censored, banned and ridiculed for propaganda instantly.

 

[Chaosruler]

You forgot Ringabell's costume that was completely deleted from US/PAL versions (anyone checked that one on JP versions using the English option?)

*insert Neo Armstrong Jet Cannon image here*

the mis pictures looks like ace attorne : 2 pictures ( T&T)

 

[Pogolol]

Well Well,
Guess they wanted a public open Rating, else it would be like Senran Kagura burst +16 Rating lulz.

Btw here some Sailormoon censorings German vs American Version:

and as good end some Senran Kagura boobies

 

[Attila13]

If you ask me, my opinion is that censorship is the stupidest thing there is.
I'm talking about South Park here.
Why the hell censor Mature content from a Mature game intended for Mature audiences???
I have no problem with censoring explicit material from games/media that is intended for young audiences, that is completely acceptable and understandable, but for matures or adults?
I will decide for myself what is and what isn't appropriate for me to see/watch/play! Why would those who decided to censor the game think that I or anyone else who is buying the game and are mature enough to understand it, need they censoring?
To protect us, they say? Well fuck them, I need no protection from them, thank you very much!

Shortly said, censorship is a stupid thing and is not needed for stuff that is INTENDED for Mature and Adult audiences!

 

[CathyRina]

I'm not a big fan of censorship because I have to play a game that just isn't how the creator wanted it to be. Imagine Metal Gear with censorship. Kojima's Spirit within these games would be lost almost entirely.
But if people censor only a few things so that the game can be released with a lower age restriction then I'm okay with it.

 

[EZ-Megaman]

Does Censorship Really Do Anything?

When I look at the issue, I get that on one hand it is supposed to protect the kids. But on the other hand, it does not do that much good when kids these days are getting engaged with the social media perception at an earlier age. They start noticing these things. When I look at a song that is being bleeped out, if it were me it would just incite more curiosity and a desire to understand things more in context.

This reminded me of a certain movie that kept using bleeps during swears... only for the audience to see someone get their throat ripped out moments later.

I don't mind censorship in some cases, but I think it's redundant most of the time.

 

[calmwaters]

I live in the United States and can thus express myself however the hell I want to. That's the perks of living in a country where this freedom, among others, is explicitly stated on a piece of paper. But, our people in modern society do not know what that paper says and can therefore only rely on what the government tells them. It is because of this that we are hotly debating who can have guns (for example). That paper gives everyone the right "to keep and bear arms", but lately this right is being sifted away because of legislation. Law abiding citizens are being censored from guns because of the dangers they pose to our society. And then the media only covers stories like the New Haven school shooting to keep people convinced that guns can only be used to kill people.

Now to actually talk about games. Here, go ahead and watch this Guitar Hero advertisement before I continue. Or find a gaming example pertinent to my above statement. Or both.

This thing was censored because it was too mature for the people who would play this game. So, it might've been rated Teen, but there was no doubt that it was destined for kids older than 10. You see, kids in America don't play kids games anymore. And since parents don't care what their kids play, the industry takes it upon themselves to restrict the mature content. It might also explain why even Nintendo, despite being called a kids console, is suffering, both in game content and now in finances. I firmly believe that our mature games wouldn't be censored if people younger than 16 didn't play them. But it seems Europe follows America's censorship rules; I cite the South Park example as proof of this. Japan has always been in their bubble; not caring about the rest of the world. (Again, illustrated by Nintendo, the most popular company in Japan.) That might explain why there is actual freedom of expression in Japan. It reminds me of the story behind Vivian in Paper Mario RPG. For those who don't know, Vivian is a man in the Japanese version, despite acting exactly like (s)he does in the American version. Makes you want to play the game, don't it?

In conclusion, I have only this to say: if you're sick of censorship, move to Japan. Westerners are idiots.

 

[FAST6191]

I had a change of heart, some people said unnecessary censorship never did anything useful.

You are wrong

 

[calmwaters]

I had a change of heart, some people said unnecessary censorship never did anything useful.

You are wrong

Why not censor the entire video instead of just that word? It's not the word that's the problem; it's the entire song. We clearly know what the song means, despite the bleeps. On a more practical note, please tell me this wasn't aired on Sesame Street; bleeped or not.

 

[lampdemon]

Another case where pirates win and legit customers are screwed. I was planning to eventually get Bravely Default, but I don't support censorship, so maybe I'll pirate it when 3ds rom hacking becomes a thing.

 

[SS4]

Censorship is a huge topic, i do believe however that the people deciding what to censor have a very skewed view of the world we live in and must wear rose colored glasses all the time or they just live under a rock . . .

 

[Gahars]

I have the feeling that quite a few people here don't even know what censoring is.

Law abiding citizens are being censored from guns

Case in point.

*Guitar Hero Commercial*

That's not censorship. That's Activision creating two versions of the same ad and deciding to use over over the other. Considering that the "NSFW" version is explicitly described as "Brett Ratner's personal 'director's cut,'" it wasn't ever seriously intended for use anyway.

Again, illustrated by Nintendo, the most popular company in Japan.

[Citation Needed]

That might explain why there is actual freedom of expression in Japan. It reminds me of the story behind Vivian in Paper Mario RPG. For those who don't know, Vivian is a man in the Japanese version, despite acting exactly like (s)he does in the American version. Makes you want to play the game, don't it?

In conclusion, I have only this to say: if you're sick of censorship, move to Japan. Westerners are idiots.

Yes, Japan, the country where you can't even show genitalia in pornography, is totally free of censorship. Gotcha.