I don't get the bawww censorship thing

[Ghaleon]

I've seen it a few times this week, and I can't for the life of me respect people who are like "bawwww, if this game has a single frame censored, I'm not buying it!" or whatever.

For example, I saw some people QQing about the word filter on Elsword, ok, the word filter is silly and stupid, yes, but seriously? You're going to let such a silly minor thing decide whether or not you'll play a game entirely? I think that's stupid and childish. Another example is how I saw people talk about Ar Tonelico 3. "If they censor a single scene in this game, IM NOT BUYING IT". Seriously? Do people ever really mean this or are they just bullshitting? I mean, I'd assume they were full of shit but I see this stuff so often, and nobody ever seems to tell them their reaction looks really lame and childish but me, and nobody agrees to boot.

WTF gives? Why are some people so against  a little bit of censorship? I'm not saying it's good, but "not going to try/buy/support/whatever" bad?! get a grip.

[Edible]

AT3 was censored?

I dunno, censorship really bothers me if it means taking content out of a game during localization (Hi, Yakuza 3).  If it's just a text censor or an edit to a movie so it doesn't look like an adult male is diddling a young girl (sup Xenosaga), I'm not really likely to care.  It's a problem with society, not with the games themselves.

[helvetica]

Word filters are one thing.  I can see why they'd put them in place to appease rating boards.  Oftentimes they lead to more humorous results from either common words being censored or the efforts people go in order to say their favorite 4 letter words.  The content itself and the experience of the game isn't diminished though just because you can't say fuck and fag and bitch.

But censoring actual game content is a whole different can of worms and something everyone should be up in arms for.  It's fiction, you shouldn't be censored because your content is "indecent" or "obscene" to some people.  If you don't like it, don't buy it.  Noone's forcing you to play it.  And "for the children" is retarded because 7 of the top 10 bestsellers this year were M rated titles.  Almost every retail chain has policies in place to restrict M rated titles from minors and It's obvious parents don't give a crap and are just buying games regardless of the ratings.

[Ghaleon]

AT3 was censored?

I dunno, censorship really bothers me if it means taking content out of a game during localization (Hi, Yakuza 3).  If it's just a text censor or an edit to a movie so it doesn't look like an adult male is diddling a young girl (sup Xenosaga), I'm not really likely to care.  It's a problem with society, not with the games themselves.

AT3 was NOT censored, but I just saw older posts about people crying about how they wouldn't buy it if it was, without even knowing what, if anything, would have been.

I can respect people complaining about something important being censored, even if it's a matter of opinion, but it seems like people have no middle ground with it. It's like if the slightest most simple unimportant thing is censored, they act like the product is 100% ruined and unfit for purchase. Or they'll use it as an excuse to pirate it. "DURR I was going to buy the game but I decided to pirate it instead because Sgt. Matthews says "get lost" instead of "fuck off" in chapter 2!".

Actually, I just thought of a real example, also fairly recently, I've seen a few people claim they WERE going to buy Hyperdimension Neptunia, but decided not to because they changed the box art so Neptune's hand is positioned in front of her cleavage. Totally a facepalm reason IMO, if anything, I LIKE the change since the game as a whole really isn't the fan-service porn fest that people make it out to be. After the first 10 minutes, the game really is pretty normal in that department. But even if I didn't like it, I certainly wouldn't claim to not buy the game solely for that reason alone.

[Janitor Morgan]

Oftentimes they lead to more humorous results from either common words being censored

In the case of the 5th gen Pokemon games, it's a slight inconvenience, actually. An English language Cofagrigus can't be traded over the global trade network without a nickname, because of word filters.

Other than that, I'm inclined to agree with Edible on this one.

[Letty Whiterock]

It's a problem with society, not with the games themselves.

OH MY GOD THIS ANIME CONTAINS A BATH SCENE WHY IS IT ALWAYS PANDERING TO THE PEDOPHILES

[Unassuming Squid]

I can respect people complaining about something important being censored, even if it's a matter of opinion, but it seems like people have no middle ground with it. It's like if the slightest most simple unimportant thing is censored, they act like the product is 100% ruined and unfit for purchase. Or they'll use it as an excuse to pirate it. "DURR I was going to buy the game but I decided to pirate it instead because Sgt. Matthews says "get lost" instead of "fuck off" in chapter 2!".

Actually, I just thought of a real example, also fairly recently, I've seen a few people claim they WERE going to buy Hyperdimension Neptunia, but decided not to because they changed the box art so Neptune's hand is positioned in front of her cleavage. Totally a facepalm reason IMO, if anything, I LIKE the change since the game as a whole really isn't the fan-service porn fest that people make it out to be. After the first 10 minutes, the game really is pretty normal in that department. But even if I didn't like it, I certainly wouldn't claim to not buy the game solely for that reason alone.

This reminds me how hundreds of people were up in arms against the game Alan Wake, calling Remedy liars and sellouts and cancelling pre-orders left and right because someone took screenshots of the game, zoomed in 500%, and counted pixels to ensure that every frame was rendered at the 720p that the 360 is capable of doing, and found that some parts of some frames weren't.

It seems like the majority of people who play video games are the kind of people who overreact, have no sense of perspective, and take what they get for granted. Or if it's not a majority, then it's a very, very large and vocal minority. Cancelling a pre-order and crying foul against a game company because minor changes that have some relationship to censorship are made is infantile. I could understand it if the changes made alter an important part of the game, like if they removed or changed the scene in Silent Hill 2 where Pyramid Head performs very suggestive acts with two Mannequins on a counter, but if it's removing unnecessary fanservice or changing an inconsequential word or two, then it's just ridiculous.

[Phlegeth]

Do these people think that boycotting is going to do anything?  I mean to me, it's like some fat spoiled pervy potty mouth isn't getting there way and complaining and since they aren't getting their money the company would be better off without them.

Also I kind of have the opposite problem.  I get confused when there aren't any censors and my words aren't replaced, I come off sounded a lot dumber than I do in real life.

[Tsubame]

In the case of the 5th gen Pokemon games, it's a slight inconvenience, actually. An English language Cofagrigus can't be traded over the global trade network without a nickname, because of word filters.

Wait. Is that for real? That's just... Silly.  :3

Sharing a point with some people here. If the censorship is only a couple of words then there's no problem, and you can still enjoy the game fully. Other minor details go here, too. Taking the Pokemon example, in Pokemon Colosseum they made your sidekick's skirt longer, as well as her shirt.

But it it means removing an entire important scene, then... It's a bit of a let down. Not enough to make one avoid getting the localized version at all costs, tough. They'd have to remove enough stuff that the entire story makes no sense at all for that to happen, and I don't know of any game that had such a thing happen.

[helvetica]

Actually in the case of censorship, boycotting does the exact opposite of what you think.  It means that companies will have less and less reason to fight pressure from rating boards and groups, and in the end it's exactly what the censors want, you to not buy those products.

If anything you should be buying those products, but at the same time putting pressure on the producers and developers and on the boards to loosen said restrictions.  Even better (if you can) would be to import out of region copies to stifle sales of in-region censored products while still supporting the company.

You have to realize, the enemy isn't the company but the ratings groups.  By boycotting the games you're not hurting the ratings groups at all, in fact you're helping them by removing incentives to produce such products and directly punishing companies who do.  What you should be doing is supporting those games so companies grow clout to be able to push back at the boards, and then pressuring the boards yourselves with your votes.

[Janitor Morgan]

Wait. Is that for real? That's just... Silly.  :3

Yup. The way I understand it, part of Cofagrigus' name came from "sarcophagus" and "egregious", and due to space constraints, had to be shortened somehow. At the same time, there's a filter in place to keep people from trading Pokemon with offensive words in their names over the GTS. So...yeah.

[日巫子]

If I recall correctly, La Pucelle: Tactics was censored when it was released in North America; they removed all the crosses/religious context or something.  That was silly.

[Suikama]

Actually in the case of censorship, boycotting does the exact opposite of what you think.  It means that companies will have less and less reason to fight pressure from rating boards and groups, and in the end it's exactly what the censors want, you to not buy those products.

If anything you should be buying those products, but at the same time putting pressure on the producers and developers and on the boards to loosen said restrictions.  Even better (if you can) would be to import out of region copies to stifle sales of in-region censored products while still supporting the company.

You have to realize, the enemy isn't the company but the ratings groups.  By boycotting the games you're not hurting the ratings groups at all, in fact you're helping them by removing incentives to produce such products and directly punishing companies who do.  What you should be doing is supporting those games so companies grow clout to be able to push back at the boards, and then pressuring the boards yourselves with your votes.

this is too logical to ever be tried :fail:

[Seian Verian]

If I recall correctly, La Pucelle: Tactics was censored when it was released in North America; they removed all the crosses/religious context or something.  That was silly.

Um... Yeah, no, they didn't remove religious context :V The main characters work for the Church of a Goddess and fight demons.

[orinrin]

The Australian version of Left 4 Dead 2 had a perfect amount of censorship.

[trancehime]

The Australian version of Left 4 Dead 2 had a perfect amount of censorship.

>Australian version

Anyone at all surprised by this? :] I'm still curious as to why Australia are implementing censorship in this manner.

[Wisp]

The Australian version of Left 4 Dead 2 had a perfect amount of censorship.

Lmao, it got banned IIRC.

Back on topic, I'm fine with bad words or bloody stuff being censored or not, but stuff like nudity (private parts showing) definetely needs to be censored.

[Tengukami]

It seems like the majority of people who play video games are the kind of people who overreact, have no sense of perspective, and take what they get for granted. Or if it's not a majority, then it's a very, very large and vocal minority.

I'd say this is the root of the problem. Case in point? The lead up to the release of any new Touhou game. The inflated sense of entitlement some players have is astounding, and their reactions to not getting what they want, or getting something different, make old Sicilian widows at a funeral look composed and understated.

Crying about censorship is just a part of this, like you said. In the bigger picture, there is a prevalent attitude in the gaming world that the developer works for ME, and must cater to every single one of MY exact standards, or else the company has done something so terrible they should be dragged behind a train by their ankles.

[orinrin]

Lmao, it got banned IIRC.

It did, but then Valve made a censored version a month later.


TBH, I really don't mind censorship in my games, mostly because I'm too busy appreciating the actual gameplay.


Edit: I'd like to point out the L4D2 Cut version has a notable advantage over the UnCut one.  No riot infected.   :getdown:

[HakureiSM]

QFT.
Case in point: I mentioned the Xperia Play once in a conversation, a friend of mine got curious upon hearing about a PSP-enabled phone.
When I showed him pictures, of all the things he could have an opinion over, he said "well the buttons are small, that's disgusting."
... uh.

On censorship, there are though rare occasions when 'censorship' is done on purpose by the developers as part of the experience.
The example I know of this is Kane & Lynch 2. All scenes of nudity or possible disfiguration and gore have censor grids on the explicit areas, but in this case the effect that has is opposite of common censorship, in the sense that it increases the feeling of pure violence of the acts being commited, instead of trying to mask or reduce it.
It's something I love about that game, it's so intelligent.

[Suikama]

It did, but then Valve made a censored version a month later.

The uncut one actually looks more gruesome cause there aren't comical amounts of blood covering the screen to obscure your vision of the violence :V

it increases the feeling of pure violence of the acts being commited

you freak :V :V :V :V :V :V :V :V

[Ghaleon]

Actually in the case of censorship, boycotting does the exact opposite of what you think.  It means that companies will have less and less reason to fight pressure from rating boards and groups, and in the end it's exactly what the censors want, you to not buy those products.

Yeah, once I tried to say pretty much the same thing to such cryers, that their "voting via wallets" aren't communicating what exactly they are voting for. The game sucks overall? They don't like the censoring? They don't think it has enough censoring? They don't like the company? They don't like regional non-censor related changes?
It's stupid to assume not doing something to a big company expecting to sell thousands of something will get a message other than "not worth making as much as we hoped".

[Hello Purvis]

Back on topic, I'm fine with bad words or bloody stuff being censored or not, but stuff like nudity (private parts showing) definetely needs to be censored.

This is very weird to me. Why is nudity more offensive than than people being hurt and/or killed?

[HakureiSM]

you freak :V :V :V :V :V :V :V :V

man I totally play L4D for the romance :V

[Tengukami]

This is very weird to me. Why is nudity more offensive than than people being hurt and/or killed?

Applying the censorship question to other media, this question still fits. I personally think it's a holdover from Puritan days, when the body was regarded as the source of sin, a prison for the soul. The body was to be hated. This grim Protestant shame of the body has carried over to present day in America, making it outrageous and offensive when the body is exposed and/or experiencing pleasure, but acceptable and even desirable when it is being punished.

[Ghaleon]

This is very weird to me. Why is nudity more offensive than than people being hurt and/or killed?

I don't know the logic myself, but I too, as a born and raised North American, get weirded out a bit by nudity, but not violence. A LOT of people are like me, and while I don't think games should be made to cater to that admitably screwy aspect of myself and others, it should be made to fit in the image's opinion of what's considered "acceptable content".

Of course, as TSO stated, games rated 'M' are more than capable of being great sellers regardless. But I can understand if the developers/localizers want to keep the game's rating down to what their target audience is at the very least. Though, game developers have started to realize that the ideal target audience (in terms of sales) is everyone, and by everyone, non-"tomboy" girls and children too, and that the ESRB rating as a whole, doesn't really alter that significantly I don't think.

Anyway, point is there's a very large number of people who find nudity creepy, and violence ok here in NA, and even if it's weird or doesn't make sense to have that mindset, it's simply true, and I reckon localizers don't want to alienate that very large, very real portion of the area with their game.

[Wisp]

This is very weird to me. Why is nudity more offensive than than people being hurt and/or killed?

Like what Ghaleon said, I get weirded out by nudity but not violence. I find excessive swearing to be funny, though. "OH MY MOTHER **** KNEE IT **** HURTS" and I start giggling.

[Hello Purvis]

Like what Ghaleon said, I get weirded out by nudity but not violence. I find excessive swearing to be funny, though. "OH MY MOTHER **** KNEE IT **** HURTS" and I start giggling.

And why don't you question why something that is harmless bothers you while people being hurt does not, rather than advocating one be censored as though it were objectively bad and act as if the other is fine?

[HakureiSM]

So uh, you two admit that you don't know the logic behind being weirded out by nudity, but you are, and so it should be censored, period?

fakee: What Purvis said.

[Suikama]

I will fully admit that I am more comfortable with violence in media/entertaiment than sex. Maybe it's because I've been socially conditioned that way after being born into such a society, but as unreasonable as is it, the discrepancy exists. :ohdear: