Idea Factory on Monster Monpiece censorship

[koutoru]

This was a very difficult decision since we work very hard to satisfy our fans and want to bring the same content being offered in Japan. However, Western society is not as lenient as that of Japan when sexual images are involved—especially images of humanoids that appear to be younger than a socially acceptable age. The borderline of what is “acceptable” will always be extremely gray and vary from person to person, but as a responsible company working in the U.S., we had to make the difficult decision that we did. We sincerely apologize for those who do not agree with any level of censorship, but we greatly appreciate your understanding with the decision we have made.

http://www.siliconera.com/2014/01/2...ship-in-monster-monpiece/#iPzt8oCdcPxQCeXo.99

 

[kadotsu]

If the last thread about this was any indication they made the right call.

 

[kewlmyc]

If anyone has seen the cards they've censored, they wouldn't question as to why they were censored. Some pretty damn risque stuff, by console standards that is.

 

[zeopower6]

Hopefully this doesn't end up like the last thread...

Anyway, I'm fine with the changes since all of the cards are still present in some form.

If anyone has seen the cards they've censored, they wouldn't question as to why they were censored. Some pretty damn risque stuff, by console standards that is.

Not exactly IMO... For most of them, I think it was the age thing. There are more risqué cards kept intact, I believe.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

If anyone has seen the cards they've censored, they wouldn't question as to why they were censored. Some pretty damn risque stuff, by console standards that is.

.

Some of them look pre-pubescent. Japan is too lenient on shit like this.[

 

[TomShoe]

I'm not too happy about it myself.

However, I suppose it's better to just let them censor the game as they wish, rather than have some loud, oversensitive fool make a huge fuss over this. Everyone in GAF knows how powerful a minority can be if they're loud enough.

 

[Dambrosi]

Of course they made the right call. It's called localization, not censorship - though censoring certain unwanted or unacceptable content is certainly a part of that. Especially if said content could get you arrested in certain parts of the world.

By the way, the first person to mention my anime avatar gets a swift kick in the virtual nuts through the Internet.

 

[zeopower6]

.

Some of them look pre-pubescent. Japan is too lenient on shit like this.[

It must be because of the "humanoid forms of mythological creatures/other things like brownies or whatever" that allows them to have the artist's interpretations look so young.

 

[Riposte]

Too gray for me.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

At least someone out there is looking out for those poor animated children.

I don't really consider this censorship. It's localization - it's a culture thing. Something that is acceptable in one region of the world may not be acceptable in another, that's completely normal and I think they made the right call. Sure it sucks for those that are okay with it and don't want to see any changes, but I highly doubt they would have been okay releasing the game in its original state at all.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Of course they made the right call. It's called localization, not censorship - though censoring certain unwanted or unacceptable content is certainly a part of that. Especially if said content could get you arrested in certain parts of the world.

Then why does Idea Factory call it censorship?

Wait, never mind, I got it. It's still censorship, even though it was necessary.

 

[PixyJunket]

Hmm, is it "socially acceptable" to murder other humans?

Because there sure are seem to be A LOT of games being made that reward the player for murdering humans without any censorship.

 

[Xerotwo]

Yep, not surprised when in this society absolutely makes that kind of content taboo. It wouldn't be able to be localized if they kept that in.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Hmm, is it "socially acceptable" to murder other humans?

Because there sure are seem to be A LOT of games being made that reward the player for murdering humans without any censorship.

Different cultures are okay or not okay with different things. It's not that difficult to comprehend.

 

[The Cartographer]

Hmm, is it "socially acceptable" to murder other humans?

Because there sure are seem to be A LOT of games being made that reward the player for murdering humans without any censorship.

Viva double standards.

 

[EvilKatarn]

Hmm, is it "socially acceptable" to murder other humans?

Because there sure are seem to be A LOT of games being made that reward the player for murdering humans without any censorship.

This argument is so old and busted that it's boring.

Not that I disagree, really. A lot of things about games are gross.

 

[gryz]

there are plenty of adult women with flat chests. why do you all have to body shame them ?

 

[Falk]

I'm going to make the first ever English game where the game mechanics involve images depicting insulting ancestors so that it'll get censored

Spoiler

I mean localized

for Asian countries.

 

[BakedYams]

Japan if a completely different culture than the west. As we can clearly see there are different frustrations within the country than that of Europe and America. The japanese seem to be more frustrated in the procreation sense while others are more frustrated with jobs and the economy, as to why different games prosper in different area. GameTheory did an awesome video explaining this. What may be appalling to one may be something exquisite to another, and oddly enough Japan loves prepubescent woman. I say that with a grain of salt because I had a friend who went to Japan, pretty famous guy and everyone knew him so he got a lot to see with no limit to money. He told me one and only one thing, the Japanese are obsessed with youthfulness, especially with woman. The more youthful and slender they are, the "better" looking they are considered, takes the saying "the eye is in the beauty of the beholder". That is such the case for Japan, it is a very different culture farther down on the spectrum on what's considered normal in progressive countries (not saying that Japan isn't, but you gotta look at what they are dishing out usually and it isn't US friendly usually). So it is a matter of youth and look who has the most youth out of all women in Japan, girls who look as if they are in the range of 13-18 in Japan. Connecting these two pieces together may give some insight as to why Japan is what it is.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Hmm, is it "socially acceptable" to murder other humans?

Because there sure are seem to be A LOT of games being made that reward the player for murdering humans without any censorship.

Two wrongs don't make a right. Also its no joke that the West is way too lenient on violence as well.

 

[TxdoHawk]

This would be an interesting test if we had more robust DD systems: Lock the "uncensored" copy behind age verification with a $5 upcharge and see who bothers to jump through hoops. I'm genuinely curious how the numbers would turn out.

Edit: Regarding the "some cultures are more/less tolerant of certain things" argument, that's a boring old-world excuse for censorship in a modern, globalized world. It's an especially odd argument for a game like this, where it's "foreign weirdness" is inherently what makes it interesting to the target market.

 

[Traumahound]

Too gray for me.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

Here we go again.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Be it localization or censorship, I'm not supporting this game because of it.

Even if I still kinda get why they have to do it, it would still sour my experience.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

That last thread was a blast, especially the finale.

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Of course they made the right call. It's called localization, not censorship - though censoring certain unwanted or unacceptable content is certainly a part of that. Especially if said content could get you arrested in certain parts of the world.

This is absolutely correct. Not every culture is the same or has the same idea of right and wrong. What if we were talking about a game that was extremely racist? Like 1940s Disney level racist? You can't bring stuff like that over as is.

 

[entremet]

If the last thread about this was any indication they made the right call.

What happened there? I missed it. It blew up I remember and I was to tired to read it lol.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

What happened there? I missed it. It blew up I remember and I was to tired to read it lol.

Things got pretty crazy. Then some wackjob started defending his consumption of child porn (not lolicon hentai or anything, actual child porn). You can imagine how off-the-rails things got at that point.

 

[BinaryPork2737]

What happened there? I missed it. It blew up I remember and I was to tired to read it lol.

Creepiness happened.

 

[Htown]

Hmm, is it "socially acceptable" to murder other humans?

Because there sure are seem to be A LOT of games being made that reward the player for murdering humans without any censorship.

How many of them let you murder kids?

I know it's hard for a certain segment of posters to understand, but children are different from adults.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

What happened there? I missed it. It blew up I remember and I was to tired to read it lol.

A crazy guy was saying there isn't anything wrong with being a pedophile and that CP is fine if you aren't directly involved in its creation.

Yeah....

 

[Griss]

That last thread was a blast, especially the finale.

The very reason I will be staying well away from this one. I'll just peek in every so often to see how far the rabbit-hole it goes.

If you haven't seen the cards, you don't get it. Would not be legal in most of europe.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

How many of them let you murder kids?

There are a few, though they aren't mainstream.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

A crazy guy was saying there isn't anything wrong with being a pedophile and that CP is fine if you aren't directly involved in its creation.

Yeah....

Wow, I assume that poster got banned.

 

[BakedYams]

How many of them let you murder kids?

I know it's hard for a certain segment of posters to understand, but children are different from adults.

Sadly its a double standard, neither concepts of girls being portrayed in such a fashion and gun crazy enemies spluttering blood should be acceptable for a humane and sane society.

 

[Riposte]

How many of them let you murder kids?

I know it's hard for a certain segment of posters to understand, but children are different from adults.

Not enough.

Best game ever: Deus Ex.

 

[Griss]

Hmm, is it "socially acceptable" to murder other humans?

Because there sure are seem to be A LOT of games being made that reward the player for murdering humans without any censorship.

There is a context to violence. Fighting for freedom, for example. Fighting in self-defence. Most games have some kind of a context to frame the violence as acceptable. Those that don't, or do so weakly (say, Manhunt) tend to get a lot of shit.

There is no context to sexually suggestive drawings of preteens. It's there to get perverts off. That's it. The two things aren't really comparable.

 

[baekshi]

This thread is off to a great start

Because there sure are seem to be A LOT of games being made that reward the player for murdering humans without any censorship.

im pretty sure they're countries that censor games like COD including japan

 

[cosmicblizzard]

Wow, I assume that poster got banned.

Yes.

I think his viewpoint was more "it's already been made, so it isn't hurting anyone", which is at least somewhat logical (if not gross and a clear indication said person needs help) if you don't take into account the fact that consuming it creates a market for it, meaning more kids getting harmed.

 

[bishoptl]

If this turns into another chickenhawk apologist thread, God help you all.

edit: "chickenhawk" in the gender-neutral definition of the term, that is. Leave them kids alone.

 

[Busaiku]

Of course they made the right call. It's called localization, not censorship - though censoring certain unwanted or unacceptable content is certainly a part of that. Especially if said content could get you arrested in certain parts of the world.

By the way, the first person to mention my anime avatar gets a swift kick in the virtual nuts through the Internet.

Bravely Default, I can agree with, as something was done to compensate for that outfit change (I even like the costume change myself). However, this is completely removing content with no substitutes. If they made the monsters they removed look older, that would be localization, this is completely censoring it.

 

[biggersmaller]

A crazy guy was saying there isn't anything wrong with being a pedophile and that CP is fine if you aren't directly involved in its creation.

Yeah....

Also, bans for posting CP

Spoiler

pics from the game

. These types of games are terrible, and those defending them lack the sense to pick their battles.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

There is a context to violence. Fighting for freedom, for example. Fighting in self-defence. Most games have some kind of a context to frame the violence as acceptable. Those that don't, or do so weakly (say, Manhunt) tend to get a lot of shit.

There is no context to sexually suggestive drawings of preteens. It's there to get perverts off. That's it. The two things aren't really comparable.

Ding ding ding.

 

[zeopower6]

Yes.

I think his viewpoint was more "it's already been made, so it isn't hurting anyone", which is at least somewhat logical (if not gross and a clear indication said person needs help) if you don't take into account the fact that consuming it creates a market for it, meaning more kids getting harmed.

Honestly, it probably could have been avoided if porn hadn't been brought up like every 5 posts for whatever reason.

Also, the cards (for the most part, anyway) are still in the game! It's just that they don't have as much clothing taken off in the Western version. So the Goblin? She's still there and rubbable, but her clothes will remain on.

 

[Devolution]

there are plenty of adult women with flat chests. why do you all have to body shame them ?

Do they have the faces of 8 year olds too?

 

[JBourne]

That last thread was a blast, especially the finale.

Shit got really weird.

 

[buddha0991]

That last thread was a blast, especially the finale.

Oh lord that was something else man

 

[RoboGeorgeForeman]

Not enough.

Best game ever: Deus Ex.

I liked Fallout 1/2's approach to child killing a bit better, but I hate that devs are so afraid of having it in their games that they'd make children immortal godlike creatures (and rub it in your face by making them the most annoying characters in the game).

On Topic: The positive buzz for the game kinda had me a bit interested, but I won't support censorship. I may get the Japanese version if I really really want the game, but I'll probably just skip it.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

Shit got really weird.

In a thread about animated child porn, who could have predicted that?

 

[Griss]

there are plenty of adult women with flat chests. why do you all have to body shame them ?

That's a magnificent strawman you put up there. You should get into farming. Could make the big bucks.