Sony Pulls "PS4 Family Management" Video After Anti-Censor Backlash

"Sony’s recent video that discussed the PS4’s “Family Management” functionality that could be used by parents to keep their children in line whilst playing has been removed after it became bombarded by commenters complaining about Sony’s censoring ways." Sankakucomplex says.

[NarutoFox]

They have absolutely no reason to censor anything lmao

[Sonyslave3]

Well it their system they can do want ever they want too lol.

Like seriously where these devs going to go xbox? Switch ? Nope.

[PapaBop]

Yes, the devs will go to Switch at least. In Japan the Switch is arguably the more popular platform as the Japanese love their ability to game on the go. Seeing as most of the issues stem from Japanese developers, they'll happily "switch" for their local fans while putting our a censored version for the West on the ps4.

[SegaGamer]

I really hope Sony doesn't share the same arrogance. It's that kind of arrogance that pushes people away.

[gamer7804]

Actually alot of the devs are going to the switch, releasing the full games as intended on Nintendo's platform where censored versions are released on the ps4. Xbox doesn't really have this issue, because they have a bigger issue of not having a much of a presence in Japan so these games don't get released on that system regardless, I hope that will change in the future. Right now, vote with your wallet, buy the games on the switch instead.

[Kiwi66]

Your name suits you and what's the bet that if it had been the other two you would have very different opinion about it

[RememberThe357]

Yeah because Nintendo doesn't censor anything...

[StormSnooper]

First: Sony salve is a Xbox troll if his comment history is telling.

Second: as far as I remember, there was just a recent article about Nintendo censoring naked girl parts in a game. So I’m not sure about what you guys are saying. also, Sony recently responded by saying that they are merely following global standards applied by the laws of the countries in which they are operating.

[DogJosha]

@StormSnooper
Japan AKA CERO tends to be one of the most strict rating boards. If it can get through them then something like ESRB isn't an issue. Companies like Sony blame others when they are the ones choosing to censor. Stop believing the BS unless you want people to think you are ignorant.

Also the way Sony is handling this should get them major lawsuits. By forcing last second censorship they are costing companies too much money. If they wanted to censor games, they should have given companies enough time to handle the changes properly and not waiting until the game is about to release.

[fr0sty]

@Papa, are you really thinking Nintendo is going to let that go down? They've always been first in line when it comes to censorship, for over 20 years.

[beulahland]

"Well it their system they can do want ever they want too lol."

Well, you are Sony slave, so its completely natural for you to be such a sheep.

[travestyj]

Yes they do have the right to refuse games that sexualize children. If you disagree with that you have serious issues.

[CaptainObvious878]

Or maybe they just have more than 2 brain cells and can see the bigger picture.

Maybe they have this thing called empathy and can care about issues that don't affect them but affect other people because they're not a selfish little child.

No one should have the right to censor. If you disagree with that you have serious issues.

[RizBiz]

1) What?
2) There's nothing wrong with loli hentai because all of the girls are "very clearly 18 or older."

[travestyj]

Are you really disagreeing that it is wrong to sexual children? Do you think child porn should be legal? How many pedophiles are on this site? You guys are sick and should seek help.

If you have any empathy you should have an issue with sexualizing children. Getting mad that a company is against sexualizing children is selfish you lunatic.

[Rachel_Alucard]

Except they aren't censoring children but Adult women in their 20s too.

[travestyj]

No they are censoring characters that act and look like children. Doesn't matter if they say they are 5000 year old vampires, if they look and act like underage children that is on purpose.

[rainslacker]

Next time you decide to claim "sexualized children", how about instead you look at the topic from the view of the games which don't have sexualized children in them....or at least the representation of them, since these aren't real children.

There are more games being censored with that kind of content than there are with. Most of those games don't even make it stateside. One could literally count on one hand the number of those kinds of games which make it stateside every year.

In any case, that's just a western thing, and apparently the japanese aren't so stupid to think that a drawing is a real child. Maybe because they grew up with anime, and understand what the content is, instead of just immediately thinking it's a way to peddle pedophilia legally.

The amount of ignorance some people have on the content that this affects, or what is in these games is staggering. I thought we had gotten past this point where all Japanese anime games were kiddie porn last gen, when it was constantly used as a way to bring down the Japanese games, or shame gamers who the media felt should want to play western games more. So, since I've said it before, I'll say it again for you to ignore, but at least I can say I told you, A small percentage of the games being censored have the kind of content which is representative of young children being placed in provocative situations.

You've been informed.....now stop repeating this ignorant ad hominum argument as if you think it makes you look smart, when you can try to make others feel shame because you get to imply they're deviants or pedophiles. If that's what you want to say, then just say it without the pretense, because either way, people aren't going to take you seriously. But shaming gamers won't bring you much satisfaction when these policies end up actually becoming a global standard, and then the SJW brigade decide to set their sites on the next thing which these companies decide to capitulate on, and then it does affect you.

It's not about what Sony has the right to do. They have the right to censor anything on their system they deem fit. Involving children, violence, sexual content of any nature, or even not allowing a rabbit to be portrayed in any game. It's their right.

But having the right, and them being right in doing it are two very different things.

[TekoIie]

@travestyj

Okay, so anything that could be seen as sexualising children should be censored? Anything that a pedo may get aroused by should be censored yes? Well then I hate to break it to you but it looks like Sony is perpetuating a double standard: https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Didn't Sony get attacked for depicting domestic violence in Detroit? Why is it okay for Sony to censor 3rd parties but when they're the ones depicting questionable content in the eyes of the public its okay? I make the distinction of "in the eyes of the public" because that's been their reasoning for implementing these policies. But Detroit pretty much went out of its way to include content that brings out that exact same reaction.

Hypocrisy.

[Rachel_Alucard]

@travesty

That's not what's happening in reality, and I don't know what content you're looking at if you'd point me at it. They are only targeting Japanese games specifically, the age of the character has nothing to do with the policy. They are targeting adult women and everything else in that spectrum. Tell me how this is allowed again? https://pbs.twimg.com/media...

[travestyj]

Detroit is not sexualizing children, not sure how you think that, you might also have some serious mental issues if you think that is what is happening in Detroit. Detroit actually depicts the sexualization of a child as an incredibly bad and horrid thing. These anime games are sexualizing children for peoples entertaining including allowing you to fondle them. What a messed up argument that was.

What exactly in that clip would a pedophile get aroused by? If you think there was anything sexual about that scene go get some help.

[Rachel_Alucard]

@travesty

So you're just ignore the picture with the not even naked adult woman with the light rays covering her up? Yeah that's not an edit either. I swear, you people are very ignorant and think Sony is censoring just children, and calling everyone who would dare defend this backwards tactic "pedos." Go inside more.

[travestyj]

Steam actually just announced they to will start censoring games that sexualize children. And who is that character? Which anime is she from? Does she act like a child? Putting big tits on a little girl doesnt make it okay. And settle down, there are only so many pedophiles I can reply to at a time.

[Dirtnapstor]

Stand strong travestyi...lots of sick pups here defending prepubescent porn. It's ridiculous that they insist on having a console maker bend to their fetishes, masked by "rights" and "freedom of..." just to get off.

[Rachel_Alucard]

@travesty
@dirt

Both of you are worse then the pedophiles you claim to condemn. There's no reasoning with ignorant people raised by American media.

[travestyj]

Only a pedophile would have that mentality. Sexualizing children is one of if not the most disturbing and disgusting things a human can do which is why i am against it. I also know it goes widely ignored and is a huge issue in world, especially in the media. Let kids be kids, they are innocent. They should never be portrayed as sexual objects, especially in an interactive video game.

It is messed up that Japan only made it illegal just 4 years ago to possess chd porn. You are going to use their culture as an excuse that the rest of the world should be allowed to sexualize children? In some cultures it's ok to beat and rape your wife, so I guess with your logic it should be allowed everywhere else? Seek help, there is nothing worse than a pedophile, the fact that you think people that are against sexualizing children are worse than pedophiles says a lot about you. Rot in hell.

[rainslacker]

With pulling it, at least they can't state that they aren't aware that people are upset about it. Good on people for speaking out against this.

I'd say take it one step further, and start talking about this on all their official videos. Be respectful about it though, because otherwise, it gives them the power to claim "hater". It's not like they can take down every video they have, and to me, the more negative attention they get over it, the more they're likely to have to do something about it.

[Christopher]

Parental controls aren't censorship. It's parenting.

[dumahim]

No. Their censorship is censorship. The parental controls video is just where people focused their comments to point out that they don’t need to censor their games because parental controls are in place.

[JohnEMcGahan]

Good idea. Nice!

[AspiringProGenji]

Bad idea to come up with this now after censoring certain games. Should have done that first... this will show then how serious part of the community is with censorship

[RememberThe357]

It find this all of this to be ridiculous. I see no issue with informing parents how to limit the amount of violent and/or sexual content their children can access. How the hell is this a censorship issue unless your a whiny teen who doesn't want their mom messing with their PlayStation?

I'm cautious of censorship, but when it has to do with sexualizing child imagery I'm all for it. Keep that crap away from me.

[Aura7541]

Why do you need Sony to keep "that crap" away from you when you can just do that yourself?

[rob-GP]

I thought the videos on parental controls have been around for a very, very long time. It was probably a repost or something as they generally repost their instruction videos to help out new buyers at certain times of the year.

[AspiringProGenji]

The problem is not the video itself. It is the fact PS is already censoring mature Jap content and then come up with this

[XiNatsuDragnel]

First make a better censoring system

[TekoIie]

Wait, what?

[ninsigma]

This could be good. Being forced to pull the video will definitely not go unnoticed from higher up and maybe there's hope they'll go back on this censorship crap.

[PapaBop]

Well I'm hoping the decision to pull the video was done by the higher ups and is both them noticing and reacting to the censorship bollocks.

[rainslacker]

TIme to show Sony there is no global standard. I say that people should call out the censorship policy on every official Sony video. For TLOU2, ask about if they're going to censor the lesbian kisses or romantic scenes with some rays of light. Ask if they're going to censor the violence. Same with God of War, ask if the violence will be censored.

Just keep asking the question. Force them to address it. They can't pull all their videos. They're using social media too much to promote their games to have to pull them all. About the best they can do is cut off comments, and then, they look like they're scared and can feel the pressure.

But the key is to be respectful, and just ask the question. Don't poke the bear with hate, because that just undermines the criticism. It'll happen anyways, because there will be those that aren't respectful, but it's important to keep the pressure on. Don't let it turn into a gamergate, where the criticisms are dismissed by blaming gamers for being something they aren't.

Start of this gen showed how powerful social media can be to stop the stuff we don't like. Time to use it against Sony, since it's been such a strong thing for them this gen.

[dumahim]

lol. Would love to see that happening on the Tetris video uploaded yesterday.

[sampsonon]

you're comparing two women kissing to child porn? interesting

[blackblades]

Its pretty funny how they uploaded the video and received a lot of angry comments about the censoring and had to take it down. Well they now know a lot of people dont like it. Hopefully it helps them backtrack.

[Blastoise]

This is good, shows the community cares and Sony has inadvertently acknowledged it. It may only be niche games now but who knows what it'll affect in future. There is no upside to this, even Sony themselves risk losing sales and development partners. Pointless.

[gamer7804]

hopefully they learn, release games as-is on their platform as developers intend, like steam did after backlash, then let the free market dictate whether it succeeds or not, and make parents actually do their job.

[rainslacker]

What's ironic is that this video is informative to help parents know about these features to make sure their children aren't playing these games. But without it up, there's less chance of parents to become informed. Thus, those kids may end up having easier access to violent games, which is probably worse for them than some silly innuendo games which they likely wouldn't understand anyways. Kids understand violence representations, but not really sexual things. Ever see a kid play guns or how confused they are when they see someone sexual?

Even more ironic is that these censored games are still getting released, with the content still mostly there, just with some stuff covered up. The general intent is still usually present in most cases. Context is still there, and if a kid is old enough to understand it, they're likely already exposed to much worse through peers or the general internet.

[RememberThe357]

Funny, this video was about helping parents actually do their jobs, and people got pissed anyway.

Reality is they're just going to remove these games from their platform and folks who want more sexual games are going to have to stick to PC.

[sampsonon]

so a dev makes a game featuring child porn and you guys are alright with that? sony should allow it on their system? interesting

[Yi-Long]

I wouldn't mind my child seeing nipples in a game/movie. No child has ever died from seeing some breasts.

I wouldn't let them play a censored game or watch a censored movie/anime/cartoon/whatever, for the simple fact I don't believe in censorship, and won't support it.

The selective outrage over nudity/sex in entertainment, while extreme gore/violence is widely accepted, is beyond ridiculous and pathetic.

[rainslacker]

What gets me is that the US media isn't really that adverse to sexual content. Provocative or rather explicit content is quite common. Some of the highest rated shows on TV, through streaming or paid Channels like HBO, are one's that have gratuitous sexual content. I can't think of a single episode of Game of Thrones which didn't have a nude scene, often extended, and leaving nothing to the imagination, and at least half the episodes have sex scenes which are usually longer and much more explicit than they need to be to get the point across....in other words, gratuitous. Amazon and Netflix are getting into this some as well. Then you have movies like 50 shades of Gray, and all their sequels raking in the cash. Even the teen movies like Twilight have no problem showing off some sexy bits, and glamorizing romance in a provocative way. Disney channel has shows which have more cleavage or short shorts than what might be considered appropriate for their audience. Any random commercial has plenty of innuendo or suggestive content.

That stuff that is far more extreme than anything you see in a game, which from every game I've ever played with gratuitous fan service seems to be greatly exaggerated, if not almost satirical in nature. I'm playing through Gal*Gun 2 at the moment, and they actually have many lines of dialogue which reference the first game, and how silly it is to think that that would be real. These games are aware of what they are, so it's not like they're trying to be something serious, and the nature of the content makes that apparent. The whole premise of Senran Kagura is a satire of the fan service type anime that exists out there, and it goes to the extreme to point it out.

The notion that the global standard is against sex, and doesn't want this content on the system is just wrong on so many levels. There is a small group of vocal people out there who make a fuss, and sometimes it garners some attention through the internet, but ultimately amounts to nothing. Otherwise, people are OK with the content, actually like the content, avoid the content because it doesn't appeal to them, or just don't care. Take a fair poll that doesn't frame it as blocking sexual representations of young girls, since this policy affects much more than that, and most people either would be OK with it, or not care.

Sony is really screwing the pooch here, and I hope it backfires on them hard. I like that people are taking it to Sony directly, and this commenting on the family management video to show that it's the parents job, and not Sony's, was a great idea. Now people just have to keep it up, and I'd suggest just doing it on every official Sony video on YouTube, or other sites where one can comment. They can't take down every video, and the more times they have to keep dealing with it, the more chance that they actually care about listening to the customers about it.

[blackblades]

Wall of text who the hell going to read your comment.

[Sgt_Slaughter]

Don't turn your back on your core fanbase. That never works in the long run.

[FallenAngel1984]

Sony only have themselves to blame

[kalkano]

That's good functionality, but it's just another reason that they don't need to censor anything. The responsibility is on the parents, to not let their kids play mature games.

[rainslacker]

The fact that Sony had the tools in place for parents was why some groups around the internet decided to comment on that video. While some obviously were stupid about it and made asses of themselves, the point was to show that the censorship wasn't needed.

The fact that Sony removed the video in response to that means they realize that people are upset about it. Now they just have to be made to realize that the people upset about it are paying customers, and outnumber the vocal groups who likely aren't affected by this personally, or aren't customers to begin with.

Sadly, I feel the only way to make Sony do something about it is to make them realize that the number of people that don't want censorship, and the bad publicity they can bring, will far outweigh the random times where they might get bad press for some games which come out occassionally on the system....which generally only lasts a week or two, and Sony doesn't even have to comment on it, nor do they usually.

In fact, I think a perfect response to people complaining about that content would be to take the opportunity to tell people about the family management features, since "think of the children", is a go to argument for that group. For those that are actually against the content because of moral hangups....well, you can't really placate them, nor should they try. You can't just change everything because someone has a problem with it. If they did that, games would be pretty lame right now.

[ChasingTheSun]

This is the new flavor of the month. The only people that seem to care are switch and xboxone players, just to troll and make the brand look bad, this has nothing to do with the playstation of america, yet we get spammed with countless articles about how playstaion is doing JAPAN players wrong here in an AMERICAN website.

We can ban articles on facts like how xboxone has no exclusives, free to play games locked behind live gold, but these articles litter this great site every day.

[CaptainObvious878]

Nope, you're dead wrong.

I'm an avid soyny fan. I've owned every sony console sans the psp. But this sjw censorship thats been going around is severely pissing me off. I'm heavily against censorship, but I also have more than 2 brain cells and so know that eventually the games I like to play are going to be censored too.

Soyny's new sjw management team in California don't get to dictate what I can and can not play. I will simply move to PC gaming.

[Dark_Knightmare2]

I don’t think it as to do with being sjw and more with the games they are censoring having blatantly underage girls having sexual things done to them regardless if it’s stated their “18”

[rainslacker]

I see plenty of known PS gamers on here who care. Myself included. I'm probably considered a Sony fan boy by many around here....so no, it's not the only group. Surprisingly, at least on here, the Xbox fan boys seem not to be criticizing Sony that much over this. Which is odd, because its actually the first real thing that I feel Sony should be criticized heavily on.

This has to do with PS America, Because it's the American Headquarters of Sony which started this policy, and enacted it for all regions across the globe, without any regard to local acceptable standards. Sony is blocking this content in America, and everywhere, despite this content being legal, and available on other platforms. Sony is doing everyone wrong. Not just Japan. It's just Japan, and it's developers are going to be affected by it much more, because those are the games getting censored. No way in hell Sony tells R* that they have to censor GTA's sexual content or nudity, only to give the "definitive", or "uncut" version to Xbox. But a bunch of niche games that don't really get as much attention....sure no problem....lets take a moral stand to look like they're good citizens following a global standard which doesn't exist. A global standard perpetuated by a vocal minority who wouldn't play these games either way, probably don't play that many games anyways, and all in all, just Sony trying to avoid negative press for a game which may sell between 50-100K copies.

If N4G decides to ban these censorship articles, I'll raise holy hell at every opportunity with the mods. I begrudgingly accepted what they did with GamerGate, but this is most certainly a game related issue. The only people bringing hate into the conversation are those trying to claim it's only Xbox fan boys, or those trying to claim anyone who cares is a pedophile. Which is why I suggested to a mod that that be considered a personal attack, because it's a stupid argument, and an attack on one's character.

Plus, none of those topics you mentioned are banned on this site. They just aren't written that often.

And you know what? Switch fans don't really care about this. Why? because Switch fans aren't having these games censored on their system. But the one's that aren't a**holes still stand with the people who are upset about it, because it means that the games may have less viability, which means less chance to be made, or less chance they get localized if the player base for these games drops too low.

This censorship gives credence and power to those who criticize these games with false narratives, and a constant attack on games and gamers. The people who complain about these games are the same one's who will go around and call us misogynists, or change Gamergate into being about harassing women, instead of holding the press accountable. They're the same one's that got Gamergate on Wikipedia to be nothing about what it was actually about....to this day. The people that complain about them are those trying to destroy gaming, and shape it into what they feel is acceptable. That alone should be enough to keep most of us against this....without ever even getting into the slippery slope arguments.

[ShadowWolf712]

And yet you refuse to ever acknowledge that some of these games sexualize underage girls.

[rainslacker]

I never refused to acknowledge that. Back when this was a big issue with Criminal Girls, I completely understood people's criticisms. I didn't support them because I knew their reasons were not genuine, because it was the same people who were pushing gamergate, and it became a poster child for how gamers were misogynist pigs, but I said that the representation of children should be looked at.

I also said that for the content in CGI was not illegal, but may be distasteful to some. Because it wasn't illegal, I said that the censorship was unnecessary. The game ended up being censored for western release.

If you're going to address my viewpoints on this topic, at least know my history with the topic. I've been fighting against localized censorship in anime games since the SegaCD days when Working Designs was notorious for such things. That censorship wasn't even sexual in nature. I've had several long heated debates on newgroups with Victor Ireland(founder of WD) about it....when I was a teenager....and that content wasn't sexual in nature.

Over many years I've given grief to publishers who censor content. The extent of that grief depends on the level of censorship, if I feel it justified, and whether it has a negative impact on the game.

This is true with games that include young looking characters, and those that don't.

As to what I have acknowledged over games that have representations of underage girls, I have often said that I would understand why that kind of content may be censored. If that's all it was here, I would probably not be so adamant about speaking against it. But that's not the case here, and most of the games being censored DO NOT have that kind of content. I can personally only think of three or four game series I've played with that kind of content, and I don't play them regularly, and never once have I seen an actual sexual act performed on such a character. Those kinds of games don't make it to the west, if they exist at all. The games with more explicit sexual content don't leave Japan. And to my knowledge, they don't include any explicit sexual acts.

Its easy to dismiss my argument, with not retort, by implying I'm a pedophile. You have no clue about my feelings on this issue. It's not a topic that comes up that often. But other communities for these games, I'm vocal to publishers directly. Along with others. I've been fighting censorship for over 20 years now. I understand why it exists in some places and some content. I'm willing to concede that it may be necessary in some places, or some regions.

Never put words in my mouth on this topic, because I will tear down your argument and make you look like a fool. There are very few topics in gaming I believe in fighting as much as this. I do this regardless of if you like it or not, or if you think its necessary. I do it because I believe in developer freedom, so long as it's lawful. Whether you want to believe I do this for all gamers or not, I don't care, but censorship should be fought by all. Even if you don't like the content that happens to be censored. Because before too long, it's going to affect you. Violence, sex in any way, certain kinds of sex, certain representations....you name it. If it can be considered distasteful to someone, someone's going to complain about it, and you wouldn't like it if the next thing Sony decides has a global standard is something you may think is fine, or actually enjoy playing.

If you genuinely want the representation of young character to be looked at seriously, then remove it from the debate over censorship. Otherwise, it's just a red herring, framed to shame someone else into submission.

[Rachel_Alucard]

How can you state this has nothing to do with Playstation America when they are the ones orchestrating the whole affair? Their CEO lives in CA for shits sake. The fact that they are forcing japanese developers to communicate only in english is another disgusting new change that benefirs nobody except a select few. Their tactics are just scaring people away and it's going to bite them in the ass come next gen.

[moomoo319]

Listen, for all you nimrods saying nobody has the right to censor entertainment. They have every right. Stores universally do not sell Ao rated games. Movie theatres universally do not show A and X-rated movies. So unless youve been up in arms about this shit your whole life, i dont want to hear it. You probably didnt know or didnt care, so spare us from your ideological crusade.

If hypersexual anime games with suspiciously young characters is the hill YOU want to die on, be my guest. I will never agree in this case. You can play them somewhere else.

[Traecy]

So true!! The mainstream entertainment industry are always censoring something no matter what it may be.

[moomoo319]

Yes, always, and everyone has seemed perfectly fine with these standards until....anime sex games with underage characters? Thats the tipping point for these people?
Its fucking absurd.

If you think this will lead to further erosion of the ESRB or PSN, i would love to hear why, because that is a goddamn stretch and a half.

[Traecy]

Totally agree!!

[rainslacker]

That's nice. But what about the games without suspiciously young characters also getting censored? You know that's happening more than those with the young characters right?

And the requirement to hit the AO rating is quite high. That AO rating is not allowed on the system. On any system. It works itself out, because no retailer wants to carry the games anyways. There is a huge difference between an X rated movie, and a rated R movie in terms of content, and none of the games which are getting censored fall into the AO category. Most I would say are more PG-13 in terms of movie standards, but the ESRB has different metrics for what's considered adult. Most don't even have as much nudity as you see in some highly rated games....including some from Sony. There are a couple games without a single piece of nudity in them, but there is cleavage, panty and bra shots, and usually some implied sexual content, or at least exaggerated innuendo, where people who aren't stupid, and aware of sexual things, would understand what it implied....such as the Atelier series, which always has some sort of weird lesbian happenstance with the main character, but ultimately is pretty tame, and a child wouldn't even understand it.

To put it in perspective....Dead or Alive 5 would have been censored under these policies....especially the Vita version with the interactive Jiggle Cam. That game is pretty tame in terms of sexual or provocative content. Does it need to be censored? What about that one game where the girls are personified war ships(forget the name)? It's a Korean game. Not a single bit of nudity, or even sexualized content. But there are scenes which need to be censored.

Personally, and I think there are others who agree with me, if this were just about the possible sexual representation of underage children, then I think a lot of people not happy with the policies would understand them. In fact, if that's all this was, I'd understand it. I'd speak out against it, but I'd begrudgingly accept it.

[moomoo319]

Thank you for the extra info. I thought established japanese franchises like Atelier, tales, dangonronpa, persona, DoA, megami tensei etc etc... were basically unaffected by this, but if you have examples to say otherwise I will definitely take that into account. I figured this discussion revolved around so-called "fan-service" games which I would 100% argue have no place on the PSN. But yes its obvious that basic sexuality should not be removed from japanese games, considering we play games like The Witcher 3 with no problem.

I guess this is more of a glacial shift in japanese devs/consumers/culture who knows. I would not want PlayStation to receive the neutered version of established franchises, but if the content in question falls into that fan service category then I would say their product should be brought up to scratch. Maybe Sony could create a more clear standard of what is acceptable.

However, my main point is that people who think this equates to some communist scrubbing of art and culture on the part of Sony, or think they are entitled to an entirely uncensored platform despite consuming censored media with no problem their entire lives, really need to wake up and take a more sober perspective on this. A perspective a lot like yours i guess, haha

[Rachel_Alucard]

Except nothing being censored here is AO or X and in some cases they are even rated T. Like the rest of the ignoramuses on this site this censorship has nothing to do with underage characters because Sony has been targeting Japanese games with no underage characters in it as well, you guys all think this has to do with age when shit like Catherine is getting hit too. It's complete ignorance and the fact you get called a pedo for not wanting this policy to spread further is nothing but a false dilemma.

[moomoo319]

Considering i took this person's input into account, responded, and have not called anyone a pedo...im not sure what you're getting at. The rating systems were brought up as an example that everything is censored, for those acting like media outside of PSN is some sort of free-for-all. That is the real false dilemma being presented over and over.

[Rachel_Alucard]

@moomoo

I'm not specifically targeting you with that, but if you look through this very comment section it's a handful of people calling just anyone against censorship a pedo, just because of an assumption. The issue with rating systems and Sony's stance, with the rating system you know with a standard what's not allowed so you when you set forth to make a game you generally avoid putting things in that may shoot a game to AO. With Sony and now Valve again, it's not only a free for all but also a hamper on the actual development since both parties don't tell anyone anything and will remain silent for weeks. Developers are being harmed financially because of this new policy that Sony seems so passive about.

[moomoo319]

@Rachel
I hear ya, i think we can agree Sony needs a much clearer standard on what is and isnt acceptable. Atleast something tangible to discuss.

[kevnb]

It’s not sonys job to decide what is ok for children. This should be done by parents and on a child by child basis.

[plmkoh]

FML this is a NSFW link remove this crap.

[Smokehouse]

Yes. Let parents censor their kids content instead of uncle Sony. If parents don’t give a shit then their kids will suck. It’s not Sony’s fault you are shitty parents.

[WelkinCole]

FFS Sony just cut the crap. I am a die hard Sony fan but this censorship crap needs to stop.

Its really sad because variety is one of the key reason I love PS.

Weird and awkward games. If we look at Japan most don't have gun violence or high rape statistics or even pedos.

Its not games damit

[mastershredder]

I love how the header is a huge banner of an anime girl holding a freak’n controller. How very weeaboo of you. Can we get anyone to post censorship news without instinctually posting an anime girl picture?

[ajax17]

What censorship is everyone talking about? I'm out of the loop here.

[Rachel_Alucard]

Sony stealthly implemented these new policies in the last few months that makes things like Senran Kaguras intimacy mode suddenly not allowed anymore, because of them that game got delayed to who knows when just to remove it even though its still in the steam version intact. They don't even tell anyone anything until its time to submit the game for approval. They've been censoring many VNs like nekopara that are fully untouched in the steam version and the same with many other japanese developed titles. They are also forcing developers from Japan to communicate to Sony in english only and they are telling them to keep quiet about the whole thing and just reference the phrase, "New policy" without ever giving any other details. But of course there's people defending the whole thing since it's an attack on games they don't like so it's ok.

[ShadowWolf712]

Senran Kagura took out a mode that lets you fondle underage girls, the horror.

[Rachel_Alucard]

@shadowwolf

That mode has been in every single title prior with no issues, this has nothing to do with underage girls. This has everything to do with the act of touching girls. Besides the ages aren't listed in the NA version and the game itself is built around Japanese laws, so underage in the states isn't the same as Japan. Being an ignorant American who thinks the world should revolve around them is exactly why this shit seems acceptable to people like you.

[ajax17]

Well that sucks. Hopefully Sony will pull back on the ridiculous censorship.

[Silly gameAr]

This is pathetic.

[AK91]

Good Censorship is never the answer

[TheColbertinator]

We must pressure Sony to eliminate censorship and leave the gaming industry.

[jaycptza]

oh look entitled gamers...

[michellelynn0976]

@RememberThe357 some of their content, yes, but you miss the point. It is Sony forcing devs to censor M rated games. Nintendo is not nearly as bad as Sony. It isn't 1993 any more.

[Persian_Immortal]

The funny thing here is 99.9% of the people even crying about this dont even like Echi/Eroge/pedophile school girl games or whatever they are going by sales most of these titles sell less then 100K some even selling as low as 5 thousand copies. The real beef is likely censorship but looking at stuff like Death Stranding, The Last Of Us, Ghost Of Tshushima the ultra violent content will be untouched i.e.

TLOU Saraphytes cutting a dude open and his intestines hit the floor and blood ensues in a trail, Ghost Of Tshushima Jin has gory finishers, slicing limbs off and executing enemies. See Cyberpunk 2077 already confirmed to have sexual moments and I doubt CDPR's game will get censored its going to sell double digits just like the other aforementioned titles which is why they will be the exception to any type of censorship cause money talks this is essentially another case of shit storming a small issue even if Sony reversed their policies these junks would still sell then 100K and less and most of people crying would never even notice besides the declining Japanese population who likely make up the majority of the audience that actually play these games. Furthermore Japan already censors sex and violent games strangely if its underage school girls with massive tits they dont flinch haha.

http://www.dorkly.com/post/...

[Doge]

Lmao so this is an issue but Sony blocking Epic accounts from being played on other consoles if someone played Fortnite on PS4 and vice versa wasn't??

Freakin' ecchi games. People crying about the weakest type of games.

[Kolosseo]

If you can't tell a difference between fictional character and real person, you should stay away from any kind of fictional/fantasy content. Saying loli hentai is being watched by pedophiles is pretty much saying violent games is being played by murderers, or people who plays as germans in WW2 games are nazis.
For some reason I think real criminals have little interest to do those things in video games, when they are doing them in reality.

With that said I think Sony can do everything they want with their platform, but it doesn't mean you can't criticize and push them to make better and more open console for different kind of games and experiences.

[Aura7541]

Sony re-uploaded the video in what I would assume an attempt to sweep the negative criticism of the first upload under the rug. Turns out that the second upload was criticized just as much. If you think the like/dislike ratio is very skewed towards the dislike side, the comments section is even more skewed. You have to try hard to find a comment that sides with Sony's censorship.

The reception of that video is a clear sign that a significant amount of consumers are still vocally against Sony's censorship and this will not merely just blow over. The maker of the Change.org petition postponed his talk with Sony UK towards the beginning of next year, so the conversation will continue.

[blackblades]

Sounds funny

[MrBeatdown]

I just let retailers and the ESRB do the censoring because I am woke.

[Pantz]

Parental controls have nothing to do with the censorship that they've been doing but if it helps get the point across, so be it then.

[blackblades]

It actually does.

[oriana]

Thank you for this post. Best of luck!
http://io-games.site

[toyzombie]

I have no idea why people are bitching about it. If they want to use it then use it... if not then dont use it. Cable boxes have the same option but i dont hear people bitching about that.

[rob-GP]

To all those people going on and on about censoring the games - grow up... You do realise that there are certain things which could be deemed borderline illegal in certain regions, that's why censoring comes into play - regardless of if you think it looks okay, it may not be for all 80m+ users of the system.

also, would you rather a game came out with one or two images altered or the game to never come to that platform? That's the options Sony pretty much has at the moment with certain games. With all your constant moaning and complaining about things, you do realise we'll start to see more and more games getting cancels. They won't revoke their rules and guidelines for a vocal minority of people who like to look at underage girls undressed...

And before you moan at me, I have a lot of anime-style and based games which would probably fall into the 'censored' category in certain aspects. I enjoy the games for the games, not for being able to fondle a 15yr olds boobs or watch all the teenagers boobs get bigger with a potion...

[T2X]

How are they "Censoring" by telling people about the settings parents can set for kids? Some kids,are out of control with their gaming. It's not remotely the same as censoring game content. Did I miss something?

[Indigon]

Apparently standing up against pervert games where you grope underaged women is Sony doing "wrong".

[AnubisG]

Sony should not act like our parents. However, these family management options are good for us parents to manage our childrens accounts. Small children should not be able to see and play whatever they want as many games are not appropriate for them and certainly I won't let my child play online on a microphone with who knows who. I played online since the early 2000 and it's full of sick, mentally unstable people and I will not expose my child to such things. Also, they don't need to see certain games that are M rated for example and they don't need to surf any website they want. So it's up to us parents that we control the content that they can consume. When they become an adult, it will be up to them. However, we adults are not children and Sony has no right to decide what we can or can't see.

[kevinsheeks]

I get why some are mad but I also get why some aren't I hate censorship leave my games alone I like god of war because of it's brutality and mortal kombat because I can pull a skull out someones head . . will they be coming for that? I mean if it's just censoring visual novel type games I don't really care cause I don't play those, but what if it spreads to other games? rainbow six siege tried that recently tried removing blood lmao . . .a shooter where you lob bullets into someone and they don't bleed lol

[AnubisG]

They can always replace blood with money like they did in MW2 online😆

But yeah, let adults decide what they are willing to put up with. We don't need Sony or anyone else playing the role of an almighty parent figure over adults. Children on the other hand, well, they are the responsibility of adults and their parents are responsible to censore and filter stuff for them and not Sony. Basically, Sony should not be doing any censoring.

[sampsonon]

I'm surprised how many pedophiles are on this site. wow!

[CaitSith]

For the players, amirite Sony?

[Valkron1]

Nice! Now give us DOA Xtreme in VR in the US, elsewhere too!