PlayStation's new censorship making you move away from the brand?

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

41 minutes ago, Skurkitty said:

Wasn't even aware this was a thing. I mean I know the hentai visual novels are censored to cut out the well... hentai part. But outside of that genre of game, what would be an example of this? If I've played a game that was censored in any way I definitely did not notice at all.

 

Certain outfits/cosmetics being removed or altered in western localisations, certain scenes and/or text being removed/altered, etc. Most examples people think of are indeed Japanese games, some of them indeed having literal hentai scenes in their uncensored PC releases (even in Japan, hentai scenes are usually removed from their "all ages" versions of VNs and similar games on platforms like Nintendo and Playstation). There's definitely been some western games that have been censored, usually before release or at least in other territories (Nazi imagery has been censored in a lot of German releases of games, and certain scenes were censored in the European/Australian version of a certain South Park game).

 

Personally I'm only really irritated by censorship if it removes actual content. But it's hardly a black or white issue, I understand some developers and publishers basically have to censor certain parts of some games for any hope of them being granted a rating here or being allowed to be sold on certain storefronts. Refusing to buy certain games from Japanese devs because they've received censorship in the west just hurts the devs and means it's less likely for them to localise games in the future if sales are poor. A lot of more niche Japanese/Asian games already struggle enough in the west, not because of censorship but just because they aren't very popular here, like DRPGs and visual novels. Obviously if censorship is such a big deal to you, by all means, vote with your wallet, just know what that actually entails. It's the publishers and localisers that care the most whether or not a game sells well in the west, and if they see it doesn't, they're rarely going to think "hmm, guess the censorship of that cleavage of that one 13 year old character made this sell poorly, we must not commit the same mistake!". They're going to think "oh, guess westerners don't like this game, it's not worth the money and effort to translate the next game in the series".

 

Censorship and games being altered for the west in general from the land of rising sun has been a thing for a very long time. In the 1990 North American release of the first Final Fantasy on NES, the game was censored to not contain any vaguely Judeo-Christian imagery, Medusa's topless sprite was censored and even the mere mention of the word "death" or any references to it was scrubbed from its existence. In the 1989 release of Dragon Quest 1 (also on NES), a female NPC that offers to sell the player her "puff puff" services is changed to her selling tomatoes in the western release. There are several, several other examples. That's not even touching upon games that were more drastically changed in the west to decrease or increase their difficulty, and/or change their overall scripts to ones that were quite different from their original Japanese releases (Working Designs was very guilty of this), etc.

 

I honestly don't know why many people act like this some new issue that's plaguing "western society" or whatever. It's the same old, same old, and it's actually a lot better than it used to be. Back in the day when video games were a bit more niche and still had negative connotations attached to them from the general media and people not interested in them, do you think games like Senran Kagura or Gal Gun would be able to be released in the west on the PS1 or PS2? Maybe, but probably far less likely. Most likely they may have gotten PC only releases regulated to some adult-only stores or sites. And at least games usually aren't changed drastically for the west any more, we're not receiving localisations out of order (Legend of Heroes Gagharv trilogy), or receiving Final Fantasy 12 here but, oh wait, it's actually Final Fantasy 15 or whatever (FF3 in the west originally was actually FF6, for example). Western fans of Japanese games aren't being treated like complete morons any more at least. There's a few slip ups now and again, like with Ys 8's original translation, but at least nowadays there's opportunities for these things to be fixed in patches. Also it's not like Japan doesn't have their own forms of censorship, beheadings and more gruesome deaths in game are generally censored there. Heck, even Crash Bandicoot was censored there.

 

Unfortunately, it does seem to be a certain crowd (you know who you are) that cares about very specific types of censorship, and doesn't bat an eye to anything they don't care about, despite apparently often claiming censorship is the worst thing in existence.

 

I'm pretty sure I've already posted in this thread previously (or a similar one), and probably said pretty much the same thing, but that's my general stance on this anyway.

Edited October 7, 2021 by SuperSmexy500

[TheAbyssWalker61]

i hope to see a future where no one supports any kind of censorship just because they don't get affected, it's just selfish

[EverythingOnFire]

I've noticed a couple people in this conversation bring up the nudity & sex in The Last of Us 2. Reminds me of a trailer for the game that was revealed at some big event a good while back, showing a very lengthy/drawn-out scene of someone being hung to death. It was some brutal stuff. I haven't played the game, so I don't know if that was ever actually included in the final product, but at that point in time, Sony and/or Naughty Dog found that scene to be so enticing that they specifically chose it as a major selling point. I'm sure it angered & upset some people for half-a-minute, but not once have I come across any mentions or complaints about it. Meanwhile, I couldn't even guess at how many times I've stumbled across people discussing & arguing about the sexual aspects of the game.

 

I'm not saying that I think extreme depictions of violence should be removed from video games BTW. I love some good old-fashioned shocking violence just as much as the next person. I just wanted to share what I consider to be an interesting & on-topic example of our fascinating relationship with sex & violence.

[Rick_Sanchez]

2 hours ago, MissShake said:

I find it interesting that no one complained about Mobius Final Fantasy's censorship, but the moment a waifu character gets any changes everyone is up in arms.

it's a mobile title. That's probably why.

[Skurkitty]

1 hour ago, EverythingOnFire said:

I've noticed a couple people in this conversation bring up the nudity & sex in The Last of Us 2. Reminds me of a trailer for the game that was revealed at some big event a good while back, showing a very lengthy/drawn-out scene of someone being hung to death. It was some brutal stuff. I haven't played the game, so I don't know if that was ever actually included in the final product, but at that point in time, Sony and/or Naughty Dog found that scene to be so enticing that they specifically chose it as a major selling point.

That scene was not removed, TLOU2 was viseral in a lot of it's scenes.

 

3 hours ago, SuperSmexy500 said:

Certain outfits/cosmetics being removed or altered in western localisations, certain scenes and/or text being removed/altered, etc. Most examples people think of are indeed Japanese games, some of them indeed having literal hentai scenes in their uncensored PC releases (even in Japan, hentai scenes are usually removed from their "all ages" versions of VNs and similar games on platforms like Nintendo and Playstation).

Maybe this is why I haven't personally noticed it as the amount of Japanese or Anime based games I've played I can count on 1 hand.

Edited October 7, 2021 by Skurkitty

[Redlinesi10]

Just the verbiage used shows a lack of critical thinking about these topics. 

 

Like others have asked, what exactly is censored? Games released this year have utterly brutal violence and graphic cinematics. 

 

Clearly the market is shifting towards games that don't include overtly lude behavior, if this is a problem it's not the gaming industry, it's the user. 9/10 someone complaining about censored is part of the problem. 

 

Americans idea of censorship is absolutely hilarious.  

 

Edited October 7, 2021 by Redlinesi10

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

32 minutes ago, Skurkitty said:

Maybe this is why I haven't personally noticed it as the amount of Japanese or Anime based games I've played I can count on 1 hand.

 

Fair enough, a lot of the discourse over censorship nowadays tends to be those kinds of games. Censorship of western games, particularly violence, used to be a much bigger thing, but I think as video games have become more mainstream and reached wider demographics, it's not really seen through the lens of moral panic as much nowadays.

 

Seems China is introducing more and more regulations on video games in recent times though, the kind that makes censored panty shots seem like a paper cut in terms of severity.

[Vulpine9Tails]

On 10/10/2020 at 8:40 PM, Dr_Mayus said:

What censoring are you talking about? And no I wouldn't switch, obviously i have 0 idea what they are even censoring so I am sure it doesn't really matter.

 

 

Exactly. The only censoring I've seen is on those weird Japanese almost porn type games, which sometimes, imo, need more censorship but I'm also not the one buying them so I don't care. They aren't even readily available here. Not a clue why I would feel the need to abandon my favourite console because of practices that don't even affect me. But it's also a free market economy: if you don't like it, don't buy it. And if you switch to Xbox, that's your choice. But we don't need to prompt a mass exodus when people aren't even aware there is an issue. 

[DrBloodmoney]

3 hours ago, TheAbyssWalker61 said:

i hope to see a future where no one supports any kind of censorship just because they don't get affected, it's just selfish

 

From an account with this as their profile avatar:

 

??

[Lance_87]

7 hours ago, MissShake said:

I find it interesting that no one complained about Mobius Final Fantasy's censorship, but the moment a waifu character gets any changes everyone is up in arms.

 

Who the hell cares now, the game's done.

[cubiCampla]

17 hours ago, Undead Wolf said:

The only reason you're not hearing about it as much these days is because the developers have had time to adjust to the censorship policy. In other words, the censorship was built into the product from day one. That's plainly obvious when you look at how toned down that Senran Kagura crossover game is compared to the older games. When the censorship policy was first introduced, it caught the devs off guard, and they had to make changes to the content they already made. That's why there were two versions of the game at the time: censored and uncensored. The devs these days either tone down the game so it can be the same on all platforms (and avoid the backlash), or they skip a PlayStation release entirely. A lot of the games that would have been censored if they were on PlayStation are Switch exclusives now.

 

It's a worldwide censorship policy. The Japanese versions of these games are censored too.

 

FYI, the PlayStation versions of Doki Doki Literature Club are the only ones that are censored. The PC, Switch, and Xbox versions are uncensored.

 

You make some good points! I did not know DDLC was censored on PSN!

 

I've really liked Sony because PlayStation was the main way to play Japanese games but now that Steam has stopped censoring their marketplace and more Japanese games like the .//hack series and stuff like Code Vein and Scarlet Nexus are getting released on other platforms it seems that PC is the way to go for the best gaming experience. Plus even if a game was censored someone could mod it back in on PC lol. The only thing that sucks is that the Steam achievements don't really mean as much to me because they can very easily be cheated through basic computer programs like Steam Achievement Manager (SAM). I guess another issue is that people could have different PC specs when on console everyone has an even playing field more or less. I also like that consoles can be used more easily from a couch compared to a PC. I know Steam has big picture mode but it runs so bad and connecting a controller can be a pain something. Especially if you need a third-party program like DS4Windows. I personally don't like the Switch either because it has low processing power and it's uncomfortable to use.

Edited October 7, 2021 by FrostyMcNugs

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

3 minutes ago, FrostyMcNugs said:

 

You make some good points! I don't even really like a lot of these games that are getting censored like Senran Kagura so I guess since it doesn't really apply to the games I play then I brush it off. I do enjoy the Neptunia series though. I did not know DDLC was censored on PSN!

 

The censoring in DDLC was done by the dev themselves. It's very minor and the devs claimed they would not have published it on certain platforms if scenes had to be removed entirely, so it's not the most egregious form of censorship on Playstation, but it's a very weird one.

 

The censorship in question was a single scene, and I have no clue why, I don't think it was ever explained. I assume it has something to do with Sony's policies but, without spoiling anything, other similar scenes in the same game are not censored, nor are other games with similar content.

[cubiCampla]

7 minutes ago, SuperSmexy500 said:

 

The censoring in DDLC was done by the dev themselves. It's very minor and the devs claimed they would not have published it on certain platforms if scenes had to be removed entirely, so it's not the most egregious form of censorship on Playstation, but it's a very weird one.

 

The censorship in question was a single scene, and I have no clue why, I don't think it was ever explained. I assume it has something to do with Sony's policies but, without spoiling anything, other similar scenes in the same game are not censored, nor are other games with similar content.

 

Yeah, I saw that article/blog post when I was searching of the censorship myself. It is rather strange when so many things that are much worse than that are shown in other PSN games.

[FocusDR]

Nudity and sexualisation isn’t really something I look for in games. 
There’s more depth to a lot of games than just half naked CGI women.

[StraightVege]

Nope, can't say I give a shit about Sony keeping literal lolicon off their platform, if that is indeed what's occurring. The one case of censorship I did find quite silly—a blurred butt in DMC5—was supposedly restored in a patch anyway.

 

11 hours ago, SuperSmexy500 said:

Seems China is introducing more and more regulations on video games in recent times though, the kind that makes censored panty shots seem like a paper cut in terms of severity.

 

Glad someone mentioned this; I read an article about it, and it's pretty terrifying. Apparently, they're keen on regulating games featuring moral choices (why?), LGBT relationships, "effeminate" male characters, and non-binary characters—now that's censorship. Haven't really heard the usual subset of Gamers (capital G intended) ranting about this like they do those blasted SJWs, though. Hmm.

[ThatMuttGuy]

Not to be a "both sides" kind of guy, but literally both sides of the argument I find super annoying. 

 

I'm not devastated by the current games or changes in said games due to any sort of censorship policy or whatever. That said, I do find it really annoying when things get censored, as the choice to view content shouldn't be dictated by other people's moral interpretations. There's ratings guidelines for a reason, so "think of the children" isn't a valid argument.

 

That said, the people losing their shit because a single panty shot in a game is removed are pretty fucking annoying too. I don't think a creator's vision should be altered because of someone's outside influence, but I'm certainly not going to lose it over things like that. 

 

Either way, I find most people in this thread to be too hyperbolic for my tastes on this subject. 

Edited October 7, 2021 by ThatMuttGuy
.

[cckerberos]

15 hours ago, TheAbyssWalker61 said:

i hope to see a future where no one supports any kind of censorship just because they don't get affected, it's just selfish

 

Like 90% of Twain quotes on the internet, he never said that.

[Lance_87]

 

 

[TheAbyssWalker61]

5 hours ago, cckerberos said:

 

Like 90% of Twain quotes on the internet, he never said that.

Well fake or not, the quote it's a truth . The people complaining about China censorship doesn't say nothing about western censorship hmm, i can use the same logic lol. censorship it's censorship but west it's worst for this 

Edited October 7, 2021 by TheAbyssWalker61

[Sendai-Horatio]

25 minutes ago, TheAbyssWalker61 said:

Well fake or not, the quote it's a truth, and China it's based, so it's different.  The people complaining about China censorship doesn't say nothing about western censorship hmm, i can use the same logic lol. censorship it's censorship but west it's worst for this 

China's policies do the same thing as the western policies though. They're demanding their favored groups and propaganda messages to be prominent and also want to remove any possible sexual undertones.

 

You're getting the same thing in the end. The government in China already heavily rewrote the educational curriculum over there and nothing can go against what they're teaching, be it entertainment or otherwise. It's an authoritarian regime and they've already forced many western companies like Linkdin to bend to their will. You cannot speak out against China, you cannot depict or say things that China finds displeasing. And China has an even larger list of what they find displeasing, this isn't an "enemy of my enemy is my friend" situation.

 

I don't think you know enough about what China has done or how it operates.

Edited October 7, 2021 by Sendai-Horatio

[cckerberos]

Look, I don't like censorship of any stripe.

 

But the idea - all too common online - that corporate censorship of anime titties and upskirt shots is somehow morally equivalent to government repression of fundamental political speech is bonkers. You can argue against Sony's policies without making yourself a caricature.

[B1rvine]

On 10/6/2021 at 9:53 PM, Skurkitty said:

Wasn't even aware this was a thing. I mean I know the hentai visual novels are censored to cut out the well... hentai part. But outside of that genre of game, what would be an example of this? If I've played a game that was censored in any way I definitely did not notice at all.

 

Here's a giant list of examples.

https://forum.psnprofiles.com/topic/85087-list-of-censored-games-ps5-ps4-vita/

 

Sony seems to be going full politically correct in their entire decision making processes these days, in general.

[Dangisuckatgamin]

7 hours ago, Lance_87 said:

 

 

I bet somewhere he actually wrote that down. ?

[AJ_Radio]

On 10/6/2021 at 3:41 PM, Eraezr said:

Just vote with your wallets. That's all I can say. The same corporations that put out rainbows during specific months or BLM, also run illegal labour camps for their manufacturing in China, while supporting the Uyghur genocide. Disney filmed their Mulan  in locations where the Uyghur genocide happened, supporting CCP. This California HQ might be patting themselves on the back, but really it's just another facet of Western imperialism, pretending to wear the mask of good. Look between the lines. Catherine Full Body (an adult only cast) gets restricted in its censor but a Life is Strange game gets to have minorities fucking each other. It's clandestine racism.

 

I can count more than 10x when I had a polite disagreement with SJWs, only for them to snap in racism as I'm a PoC or another form of incivility. The last SJW I argued with on Discord, got banned last year for sending lewds to a minor in DMs and I only found out about it because I was a moderator rank on the server. In the end, their twisted colours show.

 

To the best of my understanding, I've tried to vote by buying games that weren't restricted on PlayStation, to give anecdata to Sony that they don't need to go full sociopaths about this. I don't think I'll fully leave PlayStation yet because I like the platform, been with it since I was five. However as a contingency, I will buy a Steam Deck this December. On that, I will be able to play both Switch and PC games.

 

Which is honestly nothing new, it's been done for generations. The form has changed, but it's the same kind of racism that put African Americans at a disadvantage for so long, and practically any minority for that matter. Caucasian people had it good, everybody else had to work several times harder to meet the same ends.

 

I feel it's more about a culture looking down at another culture. Western culture has always tried to censor Japanese content in some form or fashion, twisting it far beyond what it originally was just so it would be viewable to younger audiences.

 

Disney was never really clean, Hollywood has gone full on SJW and it's just amazing the kinds of crap that comes out of there. Western imperialism is a disease.

 

On 10/6/2021 at 4:24 PM, MaeveWileyy_ said:

I find it disgusting that games like The last of Us 2 were allowed to have actual nudity in very realistic graphics but they're censoring poor quality anime girls that are fully clothed. They're allowing actual pornography but blacklisting mild erotica.

 

I don't really play these games that are getting censored but I feel that the entire community should come together to stop it from happening. Once we accept it in those genres of games it's going to spread like wildfire across everything else. Just look at what they did to TV, movies, and comic books.

 

Personally, it feels like the top guys in the tech world in America are seeing the rapid rise in popularity of Japanese products such as anime and manga becoming more mainstream, decreasing American revenue streams and profits, and instead of making their own products better, they're trying to reduce the quality of the competition.

 

To answer the question, no. I'm not going to switch brands but I don't spend nearly as much money on Sony anymore.

 

Not restricted to America as I feel the UK as a part to play in this as well. But it's just insulting that western products are continuously becoming lower quality. How many times do we need to see a Marvel superhero movie that is the same plot every single time?

[Skurkitty]

2 hours ago, B1rvine said:

 

Here's a giant list of examples.

https://forum.psnprofiles.com/topic/85087-list-of-censored-games-ps5-ps4-vita/

 

Sony seems to be going full politically correct in their entire decision making processes these days, in general.

Oh wow that's a lot, however it appears almost all of them remain unchanged in NA. NA isn't perfect, don't get me wrong. But this is likely why I've never noticed it, in addition to my lack of gaming in certain genres that ARE effected.

 

I feel terrible for all the regions effected by this though, that's utter bullshit some of the things altered.