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

[B1rvine]

1 hour ago, Skurkitty said:

It appears almost all of them remain unchanged in NA.

 

It's actually more than you realized. Roughly 90 of 175 games ( ~ 51% ) of the games listed are worldwide, which of course affects the US.  38 listed ( ~22% ) are either US, EU, or both.

 

It seems just about every genre is in that list, but there's definitely games you've played affected, such as Assassin's Creed Origins, Valhalla, Mortal Kombat 11, and sequels of games you've played like Mafia and Destiny. 

 

You probably didn't realize content was cut, since you didn't see it

 

 

Edited October 8, 2021 by B1rvine

[Skurkitty]

31 minutes ago, B1rvine said:

It seems just about every genre is in that list, but there's definitely games you've played affected, such as Assassin's Creed Origins, Valhalla, Mortal Kombat 11, and sequels of games you've played like Mafia and Destiny. 

 

You probably didn't realize content was cut, since you didn't see it

I saw those listed, I believe this then comes down to "how much do you care?". And when I think censorship I'm thinking large(ish) chunks of games removed. A prime example of this would be Outlast 2 reportedly has a whole scene removed.

 

However the vast majority of these changes, at least for NA, appear to be small. Valhalla was a name issue, Origins was the museum, MK11 made the women more... modest? And then you account that some of these changes have no alternative, like MK11 isn't Sony censorship, it's every platform. So I can't see how that would / should bother me.

 

Now when we start looking at other regions and see, reduced gore and dismemberment in a game like Days Gone, or removed nudity when it's so minor in Metro. This is when I start seeing a problem.

 

It's all perspective I suppose, and yes I understand it's a slippery slope. Seems these days censorship, cancelling, and negativity (Battlefield subreddit is a trash can right now) are a way of life. This is why I do my best to remain ignorant in life, because I feel if I don't there will be too much to take issue with.

 

Never the less, I've learned something new from this thread. ??

[Lance_87]

14 hours ago, ScarecrowsFate said:

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.

 

It's a hoax.

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

5 hours ago, Lance_87 said:

 

It's a hoax.

 

The Chinese government has had a long history of being pretty anti-video games in general. I'd be interested to know how that's a "hoax".

[RoastedPeanut]

I'm from Australia so I'm already pretty used to being shafted by the dreaded "RC" popping up and having to go out of my way to get certain games. Thanks for not allowing Mary Skelter: Finale....

 

As far as censorship, well I do enjoy my fair share of anime games which are the common type being hit. As long as it doesn't take away from the overall product, I'm not going to boycot over a couple of CG's being removed. I'm quite happy with my PS3/4/Vita, so I can't see myself moving to another console. 

[majob]

I honestly don't really care as long as it doesn't keep games from being localized or heavily affect the gameplay. Nudity or risque stopped appealing to me as I got older. I don't think it's justified but these companies are trying to appeal to what they consider the prime demographic right now. They're not doing this as moral crusaders, they're doing this because they think this is what their consumer base wants. Your beef is with those consumers, not the company, they're just following trends

Edited October 8, 2021 by majob

[Jelly Soup]

On 10/6/2021 at 7:16 PM, 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.

 

Probably because the playerbase in the West was much lower than you think it was. This is beside the fact that it wasn't well covered. Hell, I played the game for years and didn't realize it was censored until some months after it shut down. Which is likely the kind of censorship companies want to make, something you're likely not to notice unless you're scrutinizing everything.

 

Edit: And also Mobius wasn't on the PSN, so it doesn't really fall under "playsation's new censorship".

Edited October 9, 2021 by Jelly Soup

[barmyfollower89]

Why does it matter? (It doesn't)

[Lance_87]

On 8/10/2021 at 4:00 PM, SuperSmexy500 said:

 

The Chinese government has had a long history of being pretty anti-video games in general. I'd be interested to know how that's a "hoax".

 

I don't know about other cases, but many confirmed that the whole "effeminate" thing is a hoax.

[AJ_Radio]

2 hours ago, barmyfollower89 said:

Why does it matter? (It doesn't)

It does. You’re probably not the target audience for most of the games getting censored. 
 

I couldn’t care less about hentai stuff or even a lot of anime games. If actual gameplay was removed, then I see it fit to complain. If there was some clothing changes in regards to covering up certain characters, particularly females, then I don’t see a justified reason to complain unless the characters themselves were drastically changed. 
 

I never liked censorship groups. Never have, never will. Censorship has always been a hot topic that can generate some heated debate. Something to keep in mind whenever we post in these threads.

[RedDevil757]

Nope. But I'm less and less interested in modern gaming as time goes on. If it wasn't for indie games and rereleases of games like the recent castlevania advance collection, I'd probably be a 100% retro only gamer

[barmyfollower89]

54 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

It does. You’re probably not the target audience for most of the games getting censored. 
 

I couldn’t care less about hentai stuff or even a lot of anime games. If actual gameplay was removed, then I see it fit to complain. If there was some clothing changes in regards to covering up certain characters, particularly females, then I don’t see a justified reason to complain unless the characters themselves were drastically changed. 
 

I never liked censorship groups. Never have, never will. Censorship has always been a hot topic that can generate some heated debate. Something to keep in mind whenever we post in these threads.

But that is all it is. Showing less cleavage or a change of clothes really doesn't change the actual game and it's stupid. If people are into being a pervert and obsessing over some fictional character then they should go elsewhere, they're embarrassing themselves by letting their friends see the games they're playing and there are places for people who want to look at that sort of stuff. Also, aren't half of the girls in these "games" underage since Japan's age of consent is stupidly young. 

I also don't like censorship groups, but the things these groups are trying to get rid of have some impact on the game, such as removing swearing, or changing the colour of blood. Having a green blood stains breaks the immersion, however normal people really aren't going to care if they can't see some boobies. These people protesting and switching platforms are ridiculous and it just goes to show how pathetic and lonely they most likely are.

I think a lot of these changes aren't going to be noticed unless you look for them.

Edited October 9, 2021 by barmyfollower89

[AJ_Radio]

2 hours ago, RedDevil757 said:

Nope. But I'm less and less interested in modern gaming as time goes on. If it wasn't for indie games and rereleases of games like the recent castlevania advance collection, I'd probably be a 100% retro only gamer

I’m the same. Without stuff like Shovel Knight, Cuphead, Transistor, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and other fantastic indies, would probably stick to retro gaming as well.

 

I used to be really impressed with most AAA stuff. But I look at games like Far Cry 6 and think, “What am I really missing out on?” 

 

1 hour ago, barmyfollower89 said:

But that is all it is. Showing less cleavage or a change of clothes really doesn't change the actual game and it's stupid. If people are into being a pervert and obsessing over some fictional character then they should go elsewhere, they're embarrassing themselves by letting their friends see the games they're playing and there are places for people who want to look at that sort of stuff. Also, aren't half of the girls in these "games" underage since Japan's age of consent is stupidly young. 

I’d rather be a pervert for actual people than some fictional characters. People used to call those guys “furries”, but they got too offended over that term so people quit using it. 
 

We had somebody here several months ago who got banned for refusing to take off his anime porn. Some anime characters who are voluptuous, okay, I can get past that. It’s when such characters are underaged, and we have people that defend that stuff is where I draw the line.

 

I will probably never understand VTubers, but that’s just me. I know they’re not for me, but there are forum users here who will defend that stuff to no end. Sometimes you have to ask yourself what am I actually defending. 
 

Censorship has become so blurred in recent times that I don’t like either the censorship groups nor the people who want justice every time there is a little censorship.

Edited October 9, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

14 hours ago, Lance_87 said:

 

I don't know about other cases, but many confirmed that the whole "effeminate" thing is a hoax.

 

Do you have any sources?

[Valzentia]

If I wanted anime boobies i'd just go on this thing called "the internet". it's quite the wonderful invention.

[Eraezr]

Looking at some of the comments in this thread, I can't tell if people are really that dumb if they believe this all really boils down to the want of lewd stuff in games. There is a much bigger picture than this about consolidating authority to overwrite what an autonomous creator wants in their product/creation, under the guise of moral prejudice.

 

The common citizen must possess the agency to disagree with a government's or corporations views, even when that's against the law. Apartheid was once legal. Prohibition of gay marriage was once illegal. And yet, because there were no modern day censures on the topic, Australia's citizens were able to vote in a plebiscite to legalise gay marriage, even when the majority ruling party and the Prime Minister were steadfast against it. Even now, prohibition of homosexual relationships is still illegal in some countries.

 

This is how art plays a role in our cultures, it's not limited to video games. The material we consume helps contribute to the framework of an individual deciding what is right and wrong, which then further translates to his/her civic participation in the betterment of society. I've played dozens of hours of GTA V and there are two things which that video game rewards the player on. Murdering NPCs and convicting the militaristic CIA/FBI (colloquially known as FIB in-game) as the bad guys. GTA V merits those two things by game-design. Obviously even before picking up playing video games, I knew murder is wrong and I still hold steadfast to that creed (despite American politicians calling for censors on violent video games) after playing all these games. Yet something new which GTA V showed me was how the FBI would violate civilian rights with torture, kidnapping and espionage; showing those horrors in its viscera. A government agency, doing all that. Now imagine if, this series had been neutered/nipped off at the bud in its earlier days with censorship - going back to the GTA3 or San Andreas era. I wouldn't have gotten such storylines.

 

Even the official channels are no longer reliable on such matters. My country's local state TV network - the ABC, will never explicitly call out our PM's complicit cooperation in allowing Indonesia to oppress and commit genocide on the West Papuan people; our neighbours. CNN isn't going to show footage of children who died from chemical weapons in Syria, weapons authorised by the Obama administration. For hundreds of years, the outlier content creators have been there to deliver material which is polemic, as the mainstream fails to do so.

 

The moment you allow any form of authority to censure the outliers, the system becomes ruined. The mainstream authority has never had the absolute grasp of what's right and wrong. Sony PlayStation California most certainly doesn't grasp that.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Eraezr

[XchocomanX]

OP, the only solution I can provide is to either get a Switch or a PC. Not the best solution, but it's something.

[ColinReady]

Definitely. Heavy handed and unnecessary censorship without reference to context. Maybe it's pressure being exerted by Disney, but wherever it is coming from it is no friend to innovative or atmospheric gaming.  

[Nelson_]

Not just censorship but also tons of shovelware while Sony being mostly western based these days which means nothing is appealing to me anymore

and lol when i googled sony neglecting jp games i found something funny:

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/why-do-you-think-sony-are-neglecting-so-much-japanese-games.1633452/page-3#post-265895464

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by Nelson_

[BlinkWinkel]

(post deleted)

Edited June 22, 2022 by BlinkWinkel

[Mellenthin]

I can't say I'm losing any sleep over some overtly sleezy and creepy Japanese titles.

 

I have a far bigger issue with the PS4 generation and forward when it comes to lesser and worse features when viewing a profile, and not to mention the mountain of glitchy and untested games compared to the PS3 era.

 

Sony has completely dropped the ball when it comes to Q&A - take Fallout 76 and Cyberpunk 2077 as prime examples. And as service based games are becoming more and more common, these type of games usually take years before they're finished, and until then you're basically treated as a guniee pig - with Sony's approval, of course.

 

The course gaming has taken in general, in my opinion, is completely unacceptable, and is a big reason why I'm stepping back to revaluate what the hell I'm doing.

 

Ironically enough, I'm thankful for it. If you've ever needed a helping hand to step away from gaming for whatever reasons, it's never been easier than now.

Edited April 13, 2022 by Mellenthin

[Eagle]

53 minutes ago, Mellenthin said:

The course gaming has taken in general, in my opinion, is completely unacceptable, and it's a big reason why I'm stepping back to re-evaluate what the hell I'm doing.

 

There's still a lot of good stuff if you look past the mainstream – saying gaming in general is heading towards ruin because of the profit-driven big companies with their AAAs and ignoring the bigger picture is just a really rose-tinted way to look towards things, considering there were still plenty of bad actions done by big companies back in the day (as much as I agree it's far easier for them to adopt predatory mechanics now, and the rampant increase in the gaming market has made that significantly more profitable).

 

59 minutes ago, Mellenthin said:

I can't say I'm losing any sleep over some overly sleazy and creepy Japanese titles.

 

This I can fully agree with, however.  

 

Jokes aside, the things considered as censorship by the "East rules West drools" crowd get increasingly laughable by the day. I take a look at the "censored" games thread every now and then to see what's the latest outrage in that circle and get a few good laughs out of it, and I see stuff like EA removing Mason Greenwood (a sexual and physical abuser) from FIFA being labeled as "censorship" by them. Like... even ignoring what the guy has done and the implications that dismissing that as "SJW snowflake pandering insert other trending buzzwords here" has, how does that fit into the definition of the word in any way? I swear I try my hardest to avoid bashing on these people, but they just keep choosing the worst hills to die on.