How Much is Too Much? Should There Be Censorship in Video Games?

Being a developer or publisher of video or mmo games can be fraught with tension at times. There's the usual hassles associated with games, such as creating quality products and shipping them on time. Then there are battles to please as many gamers as possible and working hard to add new content to keep players involved with the game. Not to mention doing everything possible to ensure that the game is profitable. On top of all those issues, there is another headache facing developers: censorship. There's a constant tug-of-war over the idea of censorship in video games, and it's enough to give developers ulcers and have them pop antacids like candy. When do we decide when how much is too much? Should there be censorship in video games?

[Kalebninja]

Its not censorship if its not forced. What it is, is developers realizing what's acceptable by society and taking a second look at what they're trying to sell to that society.

[ZaWarudo]

It's censorship, plain and simple. It's not needed, not ever, but people are so sensitive today and some publishers/Devs are freaking spineless.

[Bansai]

Censorship and SJW requirements (e.g. you need to have a strong woman, gay character etc.) shouldn't even be a thing in games, either make a game you want, or don't bother at all.

[OB1Biker]

I agree. Rated 18+ should be enough and doesn't need censorship. Gaming media is way behind and it's ridiculous to see the fuss because a character is in bikini or showing some boobs for example. Why you get disagrees is beyond me.

[Death]

It really depends on who you want to target and how many games you want to sell. If you want nudity in your games or you want games that are simply tasteless, then be prepared to minimize your sales expectations. Devs aren't changing their games to appease the so call social justice warriors, they are doing it to maximize their target audience and sales. Making games that are rated M or 18+ narrows their audience considerably. Exploiting men or women in a tasteless way eliminates half of your potential customers.

[DarthZoolu]

Censorship is never ever ever ever ever acceptable.

[UltraNova]

Censorship is for oppressive regiments and monarchies.

Your either free to express your self or you're not. Those who can but are afraid to, are spineless and should start making kids stuff for Nickelodeon.

[deafdani]

"It's not needed, not ever"

That's simply not true. Tolerance towards various subjects differ from country to country.

Japan is much more open towards sexuality than the West, and this is why they had no issue with putting skimpy clothes on a 13 year old on Xenoblade Chronicles (which was taken out for the western release).

Conversely, the west is more receptive towards violence in videogames than Japan. This is also why No More Heroes was censored in Japan while it retained all the gore in the West.

I think we shouldn't be so quick to judge some of these decisions, especially when they're so minor that they don't really affect the game at all. I roll my eyes every time I see someone crying over Xenoblade Chronicles X's censorship, for example, which didn't affect the core game at all.

[mabreu]

To all of the publishers and developers out there...video games is an art form. Art should not be censored! Period!

Obviously, don't sell porn and tell people it's safe for children to play. We have a rating system for that. Just remember that Grand Theft Auto can make billions and they did not censor anything. Who cares about the sensitive people out there. Feel free to express yourself and create freely.

[DragonKnight]

Ah kalebninja, N4G's resident morality officer, doing their best to hide the fact that sexuality is not a bad thing, people act and dress immodestly, and what they want is wholly irrelevant to anyone but themselves.

"what is acceptable by society"

I'm glad you posted this because it says a lot.

Firstly it shows that you're a prude because you seemingly take great joy in censorship of the female form as it's "what is acceptable by society." And that's just sad.

Second, it is an argument that, yes, in fact it is forced. There's a such thing as majority influence that can influence trends, actions, and products. The use of shaming tactics, such as what Jim Sterling does regularly against any non-SJW conformist title is a method of forced censorship. An indie studio made a game recently that featured an exaggerated, black, obese looking transgendered protagonist and had the word Tranny in it the title. Jim censored the "a" in tranny, indicating that he considers the word to be at best a curse word, at worst a vile derogatory insult and made a video about that game. He also lambasted the dev on twitter which caused a dogpile of vile SJW fanatics to attack the dev who actually was trying to make a game showcasing love for transgendered people, as a result, he was forced to change the title and was STILL getting lectured and attacked afterward. So don't try telling us that it's not forced when it is.

Finally, I love how you use society as an all-encompassing term. The Western First World =/= "society." There are several societies in the world that you don't speak for, kindly remember that.

There's no legitimate reason for censorship. Censorship is a reactionary preventative measure that is taken because of just how many people think their sensibilities are special and must be catered to. Censorship is the direct result of dealing with an immature, humourless, juvenile audience who actually believe that forms of entertainment have real world impacts WITHOUT requiring the personal agency of each person to actually carry out said impact. Books, movies, and games don't cause anything on their own, they require someone mentally unstable to act in the name of their themes.

[Capps2020]

No it isn't, you don't know what censorship is. If a game developer makes a game different because consumers want them too that's not censorship, that's running a business. Your just hurt hurt because you don't like that more people disagree with you than agree

[Capps2020]

No it isn't, a develop making a change to their game because they feel it will be looked favorably upon by their audience is not censorship, that's being a business. You're just butthurt that the change is not to your liking. What you should be arguing is whether or not people should find certain content unacceptable.

[DragonKnight]

A dev can't know what consumers want until they release something. And if consumers don't want something, they're free to not buy it, changing it is reactionary to whining, either taken to prevent it based on market conditions or past experience, or done after mob tactics force the change. Devs have an original vision for their game, changes that they make on their own are because they don't think something fits any more. Forced changes are always obvious and always censorship.

[rainslacker]

Changes are made for two reasons.

1. The change is made because the dev/pub believe the change more appropriate to the audience that it's targeting.

2. The change is made because the dev/pub feel it's what would be appropriate based on "feedback" on the current state of the culture in which the game will release in. Or, to put it in easier terms, bowing to social pressure.

The first is actually pretty typical. Localized games from other cultures especially have this happen. In the case of the first, the reasons may not always be sound, but to the dev/pub, they have merit, and they make their changes based on those merits alone.

However, the 2nd is something that's happening more and more now, and it's happening because there is this backlash against some things which some people feel inappropriate or offensive.

In this latter case, it's not actually censorship, as censorship implies that it's institutionalized, however, in context it's the same thing...not unlike some movies may censor certain things.

For the former case, this is a bad trend to follow, as it means that those who have no real interest in the medium are having too great an influence on it, which will only serve to alienate the main audience in the long run. The devs/pubs are avoiding scandal which to the outsider makes it look like a bad thing due to pre-conceived notions, while those on the inside see the actual context being presented.

Going forward, the longer devs/pubs pander to a group of people who are not their target audience, the more they're going to lose their intended audience, and it's highly unlikely that those numbers will be made back from those they're pandering too.

As far as what's acceptable by society. Well, society and culture are two different things. Devs are focused on the society, but ignore the culture. Society is the people who raise a fuss, culture is the people who the fussmakers are trying to control. And in the end, all this fuss is about control, not creating vision or art.

Oddly enough, in the attempt to cater to everyone, these devs and pubs are only catering to no one. It's often been said you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all the people all the time. And that's never been more true than with all these instances we've seen lately.

All devs have to do is stop worrying about the backlash. Confront it head on and say this is our work, we'll do what we want, and be up front that their work isn't about offending or degrading anyone. Take the steam out of the opposing argument, and be assertive, because doing so, you'll gain a lot more respect from your intended audience, as opposed to your intended audience coming to have no respect for you, or desire to buy your product.

[SpiralTear]

I don't believe that people who aren't going to buy a game should get consideration over those who will buy it. Obviously, there will be situations where there absolutely will need some kind of modification to fit in with actual law, but denying a game localization or cancelling a project entirely because of potential outrage from people uninterested in it in the first place seems like nonsense.

[ICANPLAYGAMES2]

I completely agree, and also with Bansai's comment above.

[PeaSFor]

"what's acceptable by society and taking a second look at what they're trying to sell to that society."

by society you mean REAL SOCIETY or you mean the other loud minority of systematically triggered fascists "society"?

[Kalebninja]

Don't kid yourself, put a commercial for a game like DOA extreme on TV or a billboard and you'd sure as hell would see the backlash. You really think that if the numbers didn't show that these devs would make these changes? The irony here is that you're the minority.

[KiRBY3000]

@Kalebninja

you sir make no sense. there is a lot of over-sexualized content on TV, especially in commercials.

people just like to bitch about stuff, it makes them feel good about themselves. end of story.

[Ogygian]

It's angry mob censorship.

Whether or not the police come and ruin your life for non-compliance, or an angry mob, it is still censorship.

[Death]

It's a business decision and has nothing to do with pressure to censor games. Culture plays a role in these decisions also. Many of the niche games from Japan that most consider to be porn aren't culturally acceptable in many regions. Nothing stops people that like these games from importing them, but the reason we don't see them is less about censorship and more to do with the fact the limited target audience doesn't justify the cost of making them available.

[Ogygian]

A business decision based on demand is fine.

However a lot of these decisions are made to avoid angering mobs. Angry mobs are the problem.

And I'm sorry, but I do not tolerate bigots who try to define what is "culturally acceptable" to their community. Don't like it, don't buy it. Other people can make their own minds up.

Also bear in mind that a lot of these games target niche markets, so what the majority of people think is totally irrelevant.

[SoulMikeY]

Deciding what adults should, and shouldn't be able to do is NOBODY'S job. If I think there's too much nudity, I won't buy it, plain and simple. The world is going in a very bad direction when we start into playing god. There should never be a time (outside of child porn) when we are regulated, if we are of an age to decide.

If "society" doesn't like it, "society" won't buy it. End of story.

[Fez]

I agree with you, and would be interested in hearing why you think child porn should be regulated whereas something like, violent racism shouldn't? Where is the justification a part from societal standards or personal viewpoint? I find this hard to get right in my mind, in that really it is no different to what you're arguing against.

Interestingly, Ground Zeroes has audio of child porn and abuse in it with Chico and Paz. Was this acceptable?

Obviously it's inherent in normal decent humans to want to look after the young which why we are repulsed by this, but is it possible to portray it for story purposes or character development?

[Stringerbell]

@Fez yeah I'm with you. Basically SoulMikeY's comment amounts to 'I believe in no societal regulation, unless of course for the thing(s) I dont like or approve of. Well okay?

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

Purposely changing a message or a creation in the fear of media backlash is censorship, yes self-censorship, however, it's no different than peer pressure and it should definitely be looked down upon that people are pressuring creators to 'pg-13ifiy' everything they make.

Frankly I can't remember the last time huge cleavage has caused anyone any actually problems past hurt first world feelings.

EDIT: That said It's not like I'm 100% against companies and creators being mindful of these things. In that case give the option of whether you want it or not. Don't take away. See: games that other no blood options for instance.

[N2NOther]

It's not censorship but there is still a disturbing amount of pressure being place on devs to not make the game they want in fear of offending people. It's obnoxious.

[stanr]

Well said but sadly most people can't tell the difference between censorship or social standards.

[MoveTheGlow]

It's a blurry issue. Censorship doesn't have to be imposed by government in order for it to be censorship - for example, the Hays Code was just the film industry policing itself through Catholic guidelines, and then the G-X rating system policed itself also. Those were censorship, but not national/state/political censorship.

Really, what games have to deal with is ESRB, PEGI, CERO, and whatever the heck Australia uses these days. That's where the industry forces itself to suppress forms of speech, and that is self-censorship, whether that reason is awesome or crappy. If something gets labeled Adults Only in the US, it's a mark of death for sales until distribution leaves physical retail behind completely. It's hardly ever something like Joe Lieberman freaking out over Night Trap or Jack Thompson being a jerk about GTA.

Anything beyond that is a business decision and has to do with money, not some ethical standard, unless you've got a real artist-driven project without more business-minded controls on top.

[ChickeyCantor]

> What it is, is developers realizing what's acceptable by society

>Its not censorship if its not forced

Please good sir, do tell, pray tell, what is contradiction?

[Kalebninja]

how about you tell me how that's a contradiction.

[Number-Nine]

In the case of Xenoblade X, I think it's disgusting to have a 13 year old with clothing options that make her barely clothed. I cannot equip her with anything too revealing. It's too gross.

[ChickeyCantor]

It's pixels, if you feel like she is a half naked 13 year old, that really is on you though. ( she is made to be 16 in the EU version if I remember correctly )

Last I recall kids from the age of 3 already go in bikinis on the beach, but no one is sexualizing that. So why her?

[Number-Nine]

Chickey

Depending on the outfit, she IS a half naked 13 year old. I don't know what you're really trying to say.

You aren't sexualizing your child when you go to the beach. That's just normal beach attire. If a kid is in a thong and accentuating their cleavage then that would be sexualizing.

Plus there are plenty of 13 year old that dress skanky in real life and it's equally as disgusting so I don't want to see it in a video game.

[rainslacker]

While I don't disagree that young girls shouldn't be sexualized, or that young girls today do dress more provocatively than what I would consider appropriate even for an adult, you're still applying what you feel is acceptable as what should be the norm.

That's just not the way things work, as society and culture are built upon by a collective mind which makes compromises and tolerates things that it may not find acceptable, because it understands that not everyone believe the same things.

The societies which over-dictate what should be the norm through either institutionalized policies, or one that caters to extremely vocal outlyers who don't know how to compromise or tolerate is weakened because it means that fewer people have the ability to say what they feel is appropriate or acceptable.

Certainly there are things which as a society we've come to believe aren't acceptable and aren't considered social norms, such as murder and child porn, but that's come from the point of view of what is best for the society from common consensus of how that issue has or will affect society, and not from a place where a few people want to dictate control based on their own moral standards.

[MoveTheGlow]

You could make the case that the company simply figured Japan's okay with this, but other nations aren't, especially with laws being really different when it comes to the age of consent. That would make it less about censorship and more about "Let's change okonomiyaki to a hot dog and fries overseas to make sure they can actually relate."

That has its issues, too, but it's a different kind of discussion.

[ChickeyCantor]

You said it's not forced. Instead of freely expressing your creativity you cower to the will of society. That's self censorship. That IS censorship. It's nothing but forced.

so again, how are you so blatantly ignoring your own contradiction?

[Paytaa]

I believe in the right of creative freedom without censorship. I have my views and so do others and if you don't support what X game is offering then you simply don't buy it. Not everyone has the same views and or tastes.

There are a few exceptions like GEO9875 said if it exploits minors and things in that category, then yeah it makes sense to censor it based on a specific countries laws and what not.

[ninsigma]

Exactly. If it doesn't break the law of the country it's being sold in, what's the problem?? Tired of people deciding for everyone what we should all enjoy.

[Death]

The problem isn't lack of creative freedom as much as it is games are made to be sold. Adding sex and nudity to games limits the potential audience and hurts sales. Parents in many countries aren't in the habit of buying what they consider pornography for their children. The market for animated porn video games is smaller than you think in most countries. The reason we don't see Mature rated or 18+ games isn't societies pressure on developers, it's pressure by publishers to make games that sell to a larger audience.

[drizzom]

But which games are adding "sex and nudity" though? All I see are girls in bikinis. Where the hell are you seeing sex and nudity? And Parents shouldn't be buying games that are rated M for their children anyway. That sounds like lazy parents.

Games with "animated porn" are not released on consoles in the videogame market. They are released on PC in the adult entertainment market and you'd be looking pretty foolish waving your finger at a market thats main goal is to produce porn.

[Death]

That's kind of the point of censorship, we aren't seeing these games because they are being censored or they aren't being localized. You can google search for a list of imports that have nudity and or sex.

[rainslacker]

We're not really discussing adding those things, but taking away of the suggestive content which in some way expresses those things. The adding of such things isn't really the problem here...rather the taking away of them

If a game is built around the premise or having that suggestive or provocative content, even if something minor like in Chronicles X, and then it's taken away for another market, despite having the same intended audience, it's censorship of some form.

If it was taken away because the company truly felt it inappropriate for the audience in another market, then I don't really have a problem with it, although I do feel it kind of sucks.

If it was taken away because the company felt it would anger some, and they don't want to deal with the backlash, or they feel that the market won't accept it because they feel that a vocal minority speaks for the intended audience, then it's not OK, and sucks royally.

Otherwise, you're right. The reason we don't see 18+ games is due to the smaller audience. However, if a game is rated M, the audience is probably going to be OK with whatever they would see in a game that would be within that classification, because there is only so much you can do, and it's much more stringent than the way a movie would be rated which could have copious amounts of that kind of material with no problem.

[FrostedFire]

There should not be censorship not even 1%,end of topic.

[Ferrethat22]

Censorship is fine if it's showing something illegal in a certain country due to culture kr morals.

Censorship coz some butthurt SJWs won't quit crying on the Internet is wrong hhowever.

[Trilithon]

Its just art.

[Ashlen]

Any censorship is too much censorship.

[trywizardo]

isn't that the reason why there are rating , like games with +18 will have sexual stuff ?!
so why nagging for god sake !?

[Dyldog69]

Uh, I'll take the one on the right

[madjedi]

Here is an idea let the market decide what lives and what dies according to it's taste.

Can the people that want everything censored and sanitized, go create another society online separate from this one thx.

[rainslacker]

They don't need to go make another society. They just need to go make their own games, and stop worrying about what other people play.

There are games out there which cater to these people, some have even gained some popularity of late. Why they insist on continuing to try and control what we play, or try to tell us what it is we should want to play, or shame us/devs continuously for what we play is just them trying to control others to shape society to their own moral view. It has nothing to do with video games, because if they cared about video games, they would go support the games which give them what they want, but ironically, those games which give them what they want, mostly don't sell, despite getting high acclaim from both them and the media which wants to pander to them.

[madjedi]

It is only about power and control for them, it is happening in both Europe and much of the west.

We look as though we will be repeating history from almost a hundred years ago one way or another.

We have some very serious issues that are quickly coming to a head in the western world.

At the rate we are headed the far left is going to get the race war that it is trying so hard to bring about.

Among other things.

[DivineAssault]

Let the esrb do its job and thats it.. Censorship shouldnt exist at all these days when there way more foul things underage kids can look up/hear much easier

[Enigma_2099]

My opinion of censorship will be two-faced. Sometimes you just need to be decent and not put something in a game. The whole"shock value" angle is just dumb.

On the other hand, it's your game... put what you want in it. Just be a man and take the heat when people call you on your content.

One last thing. If people are gonna cry censorship so loud, why the hell does the ESRB even exist?

[mochachino]

Any form of censorship.

[JMyers]

If a Game is rated for Teens, or 18 then it should only be played by that that age group. Judge it by the same standards in other entertainment media.

Games are often ridiculed for showing too much skin, when you can go on any social media network, website and magazine and see real people reveal a lot more. This is also free and easy to do. Yet games you have to buy and there's an age rating.

[Tzuno]

keep in mind that many kids play games and some level of censorship is needed.

[FernDiggidy]

Folks are so sensitive now a days. Such a shame.

[MegaRay]

Futurama has worse things than any Japanese game I ever played. Why is it okay in cartoons and books but when videogames do it, OH NOOO Think of the children!

[Rachel_Alucard]

Please tell me that thumbnail isnt real. I just bought a founders pack for that game....

Edit: its a change made in the chinese version apparently, the censorship in the US version is changing the writing to remove any offensive quests and making the hero into a generic cookie cutter good guy while making the villians saturday morning cartoons. I hate the localization teams that do this.

[_LarZen_]

Censorship is for the weak.

[Relientk77]

Censorship is lame

[Jag-T1000]

The fact of the matter is Japan doesn't care. Here in the U.S people complain and are offended by everything.

[InTheZoneAC]

despite how screwed up the US is, Japan is full of weirdos in their own way. Ever look at how they'll practically eat anything? Ever watch their shows?

There is a huge mental disorder, in their own ways. Only reason people complain in the US is because everything can be sued. If there was no benefit to complaining then people wouldn't...

[il-JumperMT]

Lets not mention how US is offended by cleavage yet violence is ok!

[rainslacker]

Maybe the US should take a cue from Japan and stop caring so much about what other people do.

[deafdani]

Violent games are more easily censored in Japan than the U.S.

Sexy games are more easily censored in the U.S than Japan.

Also, Japan censors their own PORN.

So much for your argument of "Japan doesn't care". They do. Just about different things.

[cyber_daemonx]

So long as videogames have clear age ratings, they should be treat like any other form of entertainment. Too many people see gaming as a kids pastime and should be treat accordingly. Also the media is to blame with their constant demonising. Its ridiculous tbh.

[AgentSmithPS4]

For adults, any amount of censorship is too much. I don't care if I have to drive to a porn shop to buy the game or scan my eyeballs with the PS cam before being able to play, adults should never be treated like children. Why isn't there better adult verification systems yet, and why aren't people demanding it so we don't get gimped games?

[InTheZoneAC]

I just want to play a game, not play a virtual edition of playboy or hustler in whatever genre of a game I'm playing

If they simply don't implement the tease from the beginning then you won't have the kids on here crying about censorship because it'll have never existed to begin with. So no tease, no censorship. But they add them anyway and make changes to the tease and all crying breaks loose.

People say they're not obsessed/fascinated by these exposed characters and the point is all about censorship. That is bs.

[il-JumperMT]

I clicked for boobs. Am disappointed.

[OldGuyStillGaming]

I came here for the wrong reasons..sue me

[taijutsu363]

Should there be censorship in video games?

Yes. And while your at it please censor films and television where youll have more people seeing what shouldnt be seen!

[skratchy]

Guys like boobs. Let the guys see boobs!

Don't worry, fellas, there's still plenty of boobies on the internet. You don't need boobies EVERYWHERE you look. Show some restraint.

[slappy508]

I f****** hate censorship!

[upallnightgamer]

Being a red-blooded male, and one more attracted to animated characters, I don't mind skimpy outfits to a point. Games like DoA Xtreme Volleyball never appealed to me because I don't see them as anything more than an excuse to prance the girls in them around in barely-there clothes. I like my games to have a little more meat in them. Example: Myuria from Star Ocean 4, a mage with a penchant for battle bikinis and gainaxing. She's fanservice, but the game doesn't revolve around it, nor does the marketing depend on it.

Even more blatant example: Senran Kagura. There's a new game coming out in the States in a few months, and they are known for blatant fanservice in their promotion and marketing, but it's not the only thing in the game. There's also a strong Musou/Dynasty Warriors gameplay mechanic, which works beautifully for people like me.

What ticks me off is when people assume that they know better than game designers and publishers. If you don't want your kids playing such games, don't buy them and don't let them buy them. That's why we have the ESRB in the first place. Do some research and find out what is in the game before you yell about moral outrage and accuse games of being the new cause of the downfall of society.

[ninjahunter]

I personally think games shouldn't be censored. Generally its just to protect the younger crowd and that task should come down to the parent or guardian. I mean, it says right on the box "Sexual themes, extreme violence", if you are buying them a game that they will spend a large amount of time on, reading the rating doesn't take that long.

[shadowraiserx]

People need some kind of law to enforced them to read ratings on movies and video games, if they buy that to their kids they can have serious consequences.Parents have the responsibility not devs or fine artists and etc.

[shadowraiserx]

They have ratings already, censorship is unnessesary is incredible to heard people say america is the greatest country in this world the land of the "free".

[swiftjay]

I'd probably switch if some government tried to censor witcher 1-3 because it has sex scenes and nudity, same with any other game like it. If that's part of the game then let it happen no one asked people who aren't interested in nudity to play it. Simple as. Alot of click bait articles today, first TLOU being a bad game and now this n4g going in.