Sony Sony Changing Standards for Sexual Content in New Playstation Games

[Keyser_Soze]

Quote

Sony officials tell the Wall Street Journal that the gaming giant updated its policy for approving new PlayStation games worldwide, in response to the cultural shifts brought about by the #MeToo movement and the increased visibility of video game livestreaming.

Per the report, Sony wants to avoid promoting games that disparage and objectify women, or that contain sexual content. The company is particularly concerned about being associated with Japanese titles that feature sexualized images of underage girls.

"Sony is concerned the company could become a target of legal and social action," a spokesperson for Sony in the United States told the Journal. Business Insider has reached out to Sony for further comment on the new policies, and will update if we hear back.

Sony's home market of Japan has a reputation for having a higher tolerance for erotic games — games that might be considered risqué, or outright offensive, in the United States.

In the past, Sony restricted many of those games for sale to Japanese PlayStation users, but livestreaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch can give any game the possibility to go viral around the world. Meanwhile, in the United States, response to the #MeToo movement has encouraged a more thoughful approach critique of how women are represented in video games and other popular media.

And so, Sony is changing its rules to distance itself from games that might be found problematic. However, these new rules are reportedly being implemented in a way that some developers and gamers find confusing or inconsistent.

 

The report says that Sony hasn't made written changes to the policy, but multiple developers who spoke under the condition of anonymity told the Journal they have been asked to make changes to fit within the company's guidelines for sexual content. The developers said Sony lacked written guidelines regarding sexual content, and repeated requests for adjustments were inconsistent

"You don't know what they will say until you complete the work and submit it for review," the head of a Japanese game studio told the Wall Street Journal. A Sony official told the Journal that the policy was "introduced kind of suddenly," which is why the company hasn't offered written guidelines yet.

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/sony-metoo-censorship-playstation-games-2019-4#last-year-sony-made-the-publishers-of-senran-kagura-burst-renewel-remove-intimacy-mode-before-the-game-was-released-in-western-markets-intimacy-mode-lets-players-grope-and-undress-the-games-female-characters-3

 

[crispy4000]

Sounds fine to me.  If fucking Valve is banning this underage children garbage and you aren't, it's time to do some soul seeking.

I'd rather see porn games relegated to their own PC client.  A console manufacturer should hold their platform to a higher standard.

[Bacon]

13 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Sounds fine to me.

[crispy4000]

@Bacon  Your point?

DMCV isn't a porn game.  She isn't an underage girl, nor does she look like one.  There's plenty of room for that in an M-rated game by the ESRB's standards.

[Bacon]

Just now, crispy4000 said:

@Bacon  Your point?

DMCV isn't a porn game.  She isn't an underage girl, nor does she look like one.  There's plenty of room for that in an M-rated game by the ESRB's standards.

lol. That scene is censored. That is the point. 

[Bacon]

 

It was only like this on PS4 IIRC

[crispy4000]

5 minutes ago, Man of Culture said:

 

If your platform sells shitty, normally free mobile games for $, your platform never had anything resembling reasonable standards to begin with. All of these platforms are guilty of providing garbage for consumption, even Nintendo, whom I never thought would allow this kind of content on their platform. 

 

It's kind of hilarious to think about now. Where Sony and Microsoft are becoming more censorious, Nintendo is becoming more edgy.

 

Oh yes, I agree.  I'd be happy to see games with lootboxes slapped with an AO rating too.

[Keyser_Soze]

2 minutes ago, Bacon said:

 

It was only like this on PS4 IIRC

 

From the article:

 

For example, the American & European versions of "Devil May Cry V" used a lens flare effect to censor the buttocks of a nude female character on PlayStation 4, while the Japanese versions of the game for any platform didn't feature the same effect. A patch to the game eventually removed the lens flare from the American version of the game but left it in the European version, leaving fans confused.

[Keyser_Soze]

32 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Sounds fine to me.  If fucking Valve is banning this underage children garbage and you aren't, it's time to do some soul seeking.

I'd rather see porn games relegated to their own PC client.  A console manufacturer should hold their platform to a higher standard.

 

This isn't about porn games it's about m rated games getting censored for risque content

 

(Well risque content that isn't violence anyway)

[Bacon]

I'm still mad about Fire Emblem Fates 

[crispy4000]

9 minutes ago, Bacon said:

lol. That scene is censored. That is the point. 

There's been many M-rated games with nudity before.  If Capcom wants to make a choice to further censor, that's their prerogative.

Personally, I don't really care.  My experience with a game isn't going to be so much worse if I can't see 3d modeled ass crack.

 

9 minutes ago, Man of Culture said:

His point is that censorship doesn't stop at blatant porn games.

And that degree of censorship has little to do with the article.

 

4 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

This isn't about porn games it's about m rated games getting censored for risque content

 

Same.

[Bacon]

1 minute ago, crispy4000 said:

There's been M-rated games with nudity before.  If Capcom wants to make a choice to further censor, that's their prerogative.

I'd assume it wasn't Capcom's choice as it was only applied on one console, the PS4, in the American and European markets. That is the issue. 

[Bacon]

It's funny that there are now titles that are censored on PS4 but not on Switch. 

[crispy4000]

So you're saying its Sony who decided that?  Not Capcom or the ESRB?

... I still find it hard to care.  It's a solid 'huh' and move on.  Let me know when they start removing plot points and gameplay bits.
 

12 minutes ago, Bacon said:

It's funny that there are now titles that are censored on PS4 but not on Nintendo. 

I actually wish Nintendo was heavier handed with Xenoblade 2.  I prefer the censored Mythra design that was in SSB Ultimate.  Much sleeker.

[Xbob42]

If you think it's just about underage shit you clearly didn't read the post. Read it again.

[Bacon]

1 minute ago, crispy4000 said:

I actually wish Nintendo was heavier handed with Xenoblade 2.  I prefer the Mythra design that was put in SSB Ultimate.  Much sleeker.

That thing about opinions

[Keyser_Soze]

3 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

So you're saying its Sony who decided that?  Not Capcom or the ESRB?

 

If you read the article...

 

 A small group of gamers expressed concern about the censorship of sexual content in October 2018 when Sony delayed the Western PlayStation 4 release of "Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newel." Sony forced the game's publisher to remove a feature from the game called "Intimacy Mode,"

 

They basically won't release the game unless you censor it but will release it uncensored on any other platform.

 

 

 

[crispy4000]

20 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

If you think it's just about underage shit you clearly didn't read the post. Read it again.

 

It's not.  But per the article, that's the most "particular" concern.

[Bacon]

The thing about censorship is that it is almost never the fans and players that want it. And when it happens it is mostly vocal people getting real mad or people saying IDC. People who buy those shitty Senran games are buying it for the big titty ninjas. Kinda shitty to take features out that cater to them. And if you don't care then then great, there is no issue with it remaining in that case. 

 

 

[crispy4000]

24 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

If you read the article...

 

 A small group of gamers expressed concern about the censorship of sexual content in October 2018 when Sony delayed the Western PlayStation 4 release of "Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newel." Sony forced the game's publisher to remove a feature from the game called "Intimacy Mode,"

 

They basically won't release the game unless you censor it but will release it uncensored on any other platform.

Oh no.  A mode where you rub anime girls with Mickey Mouse hands got removed.
 

13 minutes ago, Bacon said:

The thing about censorship is that it is almost never the fans and players that want it. And when it happens it is mostly vocal people getting real mad or people saying IDC. People who buy those shitty Senran games are buying it for the big titty ninjas. Kinda shitty to take features out that cater to them. And if you don't care then then great, there is no issue with it remaining in that case.  

I'm sure a full nudity "Intimacy Mode" would appeal to them too.  Why not just make a porn game spin-off and sell that on the PC?

 

At least that way, no one is pretending.  The fans will finally be satisfied.

[Bacon]

10 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

I'm sure a full nudity mode would appeal to them too.  Why not just make a porn game spin-off and sell that on the PC?

They would if it would sell well. People want both a game and eye candy. People who don't care about T&A will still buy a good game and the other shit is just there. I don't even think people want porn games all that much. They just want games with tits. I mean, there are people who watch GoT for shit like that. Like, yeah all this cool fantasy shit, but also titties. 

Spoiler

I actually don't care about the nudity in movies and shows. I find the sex scenes in them boring. 

 

Edit. I want to add is that I doubt games like Senran will see increased sales because of censorship. Those games have a niche market and there will be people who bought the previous titles but won't buy the new one because of this. 

[Keyser_Soze]

8 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Oh no.  A mode where you rub girls with Mickey Mouse hands got removed.

 

People certainly aren't playing those games for the gameplay.

[Bacon]

15 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Oh no.  A mode where you rub anime girls with Mickey Mouse hands got removed.

See this is the thing. You mock it because you dislike it or think it is silly. Will you buy the game because it is removed? Do you even care one way or the other that it is removed?

[crispy4000]

The way I see it, they're just trying to be as 'softcore' as they can be in a retail console title.  They have broader reach that way.  Sell porn games without actually being a porn game.

They're seeing how far they can push the limits with the interactive caressing stuff.  If anything, I'm most concerned that the ESRB didn't slap an AO on it.  Just read this description:
 

Quote

In one mini-game, players can repeatedly slap/squeeze/grab a character's body while she states, “I see you're a pervert” and “That…is not allowed...” The dialogue also references suggestive/sexual material (e.g., “This boobslap…is going to hurt,” and “Why would you massage my t*ts?”).

https://www.esrb.org/ratings/Synopsis.aspx?Certificate=35688&Title=SENRAN+KAGURA+Burst+Re:Newal

Interactive molestation.  I think Sony's got this one right.

[Keyser_Soze]

I've played a Senran Kagura game (Peach Beach Splash to be specific) that mode is in it.

 

I'm not outraged or saying it should be adult only or whatever.

[Bacon]

2 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

The way I see it, they're just trying to be as 'softcore' as they can be in a retail console title.  They have broader reach that way.  Sell porn games without actually being a porn game.

The removal of that mode won't really do them any favors. If there are parents who won't allow kids to own the console because it, the same parents won't allow the kids to own that console simply because that game exists on that console. 

[crispy4000]

1 hour ago, Bacon said:

See this is the thing. You mock it because you dislike it or think it is silly. Will you buy the game because it is removed? Do you even care one way or the other that it is removed?

 

You can care that a game is rated and classified correctly without wanting to play it.  I definitely want the ESRB to do their job properly.  And think it's in the console manufacturer's rights to be a gatekeeper, and to refuse any game on their platform for whatever reason.  As walled gardens, its their privilege.

Naturally, they're going to lose a lot of business in Japan for not letting these games on their platform.
 

1 hour ago, Keyser_Soze said:

I've played a Senran Kagura game (Peach Beach Splash to be specific) that mode is in it.

 

I'm not outraged or saying it should be adult only or whatever.

Haven't played it, or care to, but if it matches the ESRB description I posted about the other title... it really should be AO.
 

1 hour ago, Bacon said:

The removal of that mode won't really do them any favors. If there are parents who won't allow kids to own the console because it, the same parents won't allow the kids to own that console simply because that game exists on that console. 

Sony?  I don't blame them for not wanting to have a molestation mode playable on their console.  If they want to maintain an image that's above that and sexualizing the young, then sure.  I'm in full support, and appreciate them having standards.

The DMC5 and general censorship thing beyond this, I understand the issue.  I just have little passion for that part of the discussion on a personal level. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

There is some pretty horrific shit out there -- that was already being censored.

 

I don't particularly care if they make that line a little more strict.

 

I have no interest in this content, and I respect the right of any store front to set guidelines for themselves.

[Bacon]

Wait? You think that deserves AO? You can see R-rated movies and buy M-rated games at the same age. Movies can literally have worse. Hell, GoT has full on nude rape. Senran should get an M-rating, but AO is overkill. I don't even think there is any nipple in Senran games. 

[Chris-]

I am in full support of censoring anime titties. 

[Bacon]

2 minutes ago, Chris- said:

I am in full support of censoring anime titties. 

I am in full support of censoring you.

"I could say the same thing about you," or some other similar comment 

[crispy4000]

12 minutes ago, Bacon said:

Wait? You think that deserves AO? You can see R-rated movies and buy M-rated games at the same age. Movies can literally have worse. Hell, GoT has full on nude rape. Senran should get an M-rating, but AO is overkill. I don't even think there is any nipple in Senran games. 

AO sounds perfect for a game that allows you, the player, to molest a girl while she says to stop.  And furthermore, the gall to call that an "intimacy mode."

[XxEvil AshxX]

It's an interesting discussion. I'm not above hitting up some pornhub every once in a while, but holy shit, like 90% of all porn nowadays is simulated rape. 

 

I miss the old days where the hot chick orders a pizza and can only pay for with hot sex with the delivery boy.

 

Nowadays it's all "show your tits."

"No."

"How about now?" *Flashes money*

"No."

"How about now?" *Flashes more money* 

"No."

"Fuck me!" *Throws wad of cash*

"Okay."

 

I mean, its no wonder teens now have such a fucked up view of women.

Now we get to deal with the over-compensation.

 

I mean, i like porn, but even i can sit there sometimes and think "man this is awful" and not the good kind of awful.

[crispy4000]

30 minutes ago, Man of Culture said:

This is the thread where we discover who is boring in the sack.

 

Oh please.  They aren't related, unless you think (pseudo-)porn games are an exciting way to spice things up.

[Bacon]

Just now, crispy4000 said:

AO sounds perfect for a game that allows you, the player, to molest a girl while she says to stop.  And furthermore, the gall to call that an "intimacy mode."

proceeds to brutally murder people in every other M game