Content Restrictions on Japanese ero-games

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Key Board

h ttp://zepy.momotato.com/2009/06/12/non-human-heroines-might-possibly-be-restricted/

and it keeps tumbling down~
tumbling down~
tumbling do~~~wn~

This blog post, as I pointed out in the comments, is definitely reaching. I'm not sure if people actually read through the source link he posted, but the game is already available for download as is. It's just the retail box version that's affected. We'll see what modifications are required in order to put it on stores shelves, but at this point it's still scheduled for a few weeks out. I bet that half of the objections are simply because of the not-very-clean-sounding (to say the least) title.

Not that I'm saying we should be cheering for this by any means, but this borders on fear-mongering with the way it overstates the situation. It's a blog post that uses a factual situation to express the blog poster's fears -- not to be confused with the actual news.

[Key Board]

Well it's apparent to me that they're giving Norn soft considerable problems.

But you see.. Norn soft games are tame. Very tame. They're not kichiku at all.

So this is not a good sign for me for times to come.

[relentlessflame]

Well, I should also say that, in the meantime, it's become clearer that it may be Norn themselves who are making a big fuss about this. We'll see what comes out in the wash. As I've basically said in the comments, I have trouble believing this claim. It just doesn't add up. The poster speculates that it might have something to do with restricting loli content, but that makes no sense whatsoever. There must be more to the story.

In the end, it bares mentioning again that this whole thing from the get-go is just talking about retail stores, so the net effect of all this could just be to push the market towards online distribution. That could result in a major change in the industry, but I'm not convinced it's the end of the world as we know it. I mean, in some parts of the world, it would be unthinkable to sell adult goods in stores where "normal" video games are sold. Obviously, it's going to be a big deal to companies during the awkward transition, but the main thing the industry needs to do to survive a storm like this is to lie low for a little while until things blow over.

When you have big-name games like Lump of Sugar's Tayutama becoming major mixed-media franchises where the lead character is obviously non-human (and even selling and heavily advertising a ero-fandisk being released to coincide), I don't think it's all that easy for them to put the genie back in the bottle now and be like "well, actually, that's vile and despicable, and you can't sell that in stores anymore". Keep in mind the CSA and EOCS are industry groups that represent the game makers at retail; they're not governmental organizations. I just can't see it; there's got to be something else at play.

[plmko]

Yeah what Relentless said at the end, I've noticed that these organizations are nothing legal nor official and don't in any sense have the right to punish or ban certain software, its just supposedly ethical to follow if you choose to.

This is where I feel puzzled by the situation, why don't companies just release the content anyway and ignore all those critiques etc I mean its not like the content they were making in the first place is respectable. Regardless of what happens in the media those who are interested in this stuff will buy it and thats all there is to it.

[arkhangelsk]

I think people that are being reassured by the fact they aren't "legal" are ignoring "soft" power. Breaking out would probably feel like a worker breaking out of a Worker's Union in a heavily unionized trade. It is legal and there's nothing they can do to stop him legally, but there's plenty they can do otherwise.

[mg1942]

Originally Posted by Key Board

h ttp://zepy.momotato.com/2009/06/12/non-human-heroines-might-possibly-be-restricted/

and it keeps tumbling down~
tumbling down~
tumbling do~~~wn~

now some of you might be going.. but oh.. it doesn't effect me! I only play eroge with consensual sex between a man and a woman in missionary position!

maybe.... for now... but let's see how long that lasts

lol@ banning nekomimi

hmmm i wonder what's gonna happen to other titles like Shuffle...
(yep... the shuffle girls with elf ears)

[Benoit]

Originally Posted by plmko

This is where I feel puzzled by the situation, why don't companies just release the content anyway and ignore all those critiques etc I mean its not like the content they were making in the first place is respectable. Regardless of what happens in the media those who are interested in this stuff will buy it and thats all there is to it.

Please read the whole thread. Many stores won't carry games that haven't been approved by these groups. No, not everyone has a credit or debit card to order online.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by mg1942

lol@ banning nekomimi

hmmm i wonder what's gonna happen to other titles like Shuffle...
(yep... the shuffle girls with elf ears)

Games already released are not affected by the new regulations, pretty sure.

It's just new games.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Benoit

Please read the whole thread. Many stores won't carry games that haven't been approved by these groups. No, not everyone has a credit or debit card to order online.

If they have to do it to continue their hobby, I'm sure they can adjust. And besides, in Japan, you can also do cash-on-delivery, bank transfers, and other means of payments beyond credit/debit. This is an adult market, so while it would be a cultural change that'd take a while to implement, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible.

That being said, it's in the store's best interests to not drive away too many sales as well, and they're apparently the ones (in response to the special interest group complaints and threat of government regulation) pushing the self-regulatory groups to impose stricter guidelines. This is why I just can't imagine them "regulating out" content from the major brands (Leaf, Key, Type-Moon, Circus, etc.). If the goal here is to sort of white-wash the market and get rid of the most "prurient" stuff, then we'll see the final regulations (once things settle down) be more precise and clearly-worded. Right now, it seems like it's just "panic mode" until they can figure out what to do.

[Kylaran]

I think we should consider the retailers too: there's always the possibility that some retailers are being cautious about what they sell until the whole censorship and banning business is over with. Considering you can find porn with pregnant women (Really, how can they target fictional media when stuff like this exists?), there's just something incredibly ridiculous (in a stupid way) about the whole situation that more resembles mass hysteria/over-exaggeration more than anything.

[FateAnomaly]

Perhaps they just want to push those gamers to actual porn instead.

[MrTerrorist]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

Perhaps they just want to push those gamers to actual porn instead.

So it's actually a secret plot by the Porn Cabal to destroy the hentai industry?

[Dagger]

That would make a pretty amusing premise for a meta-eroge...

[Ashlotte]

Yes thank god for Equality now for saving me from myself otherwise I just might have turned into a loli-raping deviant...

"With ABC deleting dynamite gags from cartoons, do you find that your children are using explosives less frequently?"
- Mark LoPresti

That pretty much sums up my feelings on the absurdity of these Moralists groups basis for restricting Freedom of expression...Heres hoping the Eroge's creative freedom makes it out of this mostly intact...Its bad enough they already have to adhere to a ridiculously archaic law forcing genitalia to be censored...

[yezhanquan]

Personally, I think this whole episode is a storm... in a tea cup. Someone should drink up the tea and move on.

[izmosmolnar]

I'm so looking forward to see Rance as a gentleman and a noble, considerate protector of all female-kind.
"My dear Lady! Would you disagree with me, if we both could utilize my Hyper weapon and have a consensual sexual encounter, where my honest, utmost desire would be to personally please you to the edge of sexual satisfaction, without any selfish ulterior motive for myself?"

Anyway, how credible is that thing?
http://www.new-akiba.com/archives/20...ost_18857.html (NSFW)

As far as I understand it claims that panty-shots, impregnation (? I'm not sure) and sex in school (and school uniforms?) might also receive some kinda limitation.

[arkhangelsk]

To be fair, if they are ever going to get serious on "anti <18" sex, uniforms just have to go. I like them very much myself, but let's face it, the whole "college" and "uniform" just makes a hash of the intent of the anti <18 policies and regulations more than any other genre. They can't say they are going to be anti-loli and continue to put a blind eye to this.

Not that I agree with it - I think that there shouldn't be limits on anime/game porn: they don't even involve real human actors, so the bit about harm to living humans during production is ruled out. Just pointing out they are at least being consistent.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by izmosmolnar

As far as I understand it claims that panty-shots, impregnation (? I'm not sure) and sex in school (and school uniforms?) might also receive some kinda limitation.

What I'm still wondering is whether or not these restrictions apply to JUST ero-games or ALL visual novels...

...It's not like you need porn to tell a good story, guys. Just saying.

[Vexx]

A sankaku report on the sudden ban on "non-human heroines" (NSFW site)
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/0...nned-in-eroge/

Well... there went Spice&Wolf... hell, there went almost all of science fiction like Star Trek (Kirk+Rigellianspacecadet, Uhura+Spock, etc). I don't normally curse but ... what the fuck, moonbat loonies rule the world now?

Take the Greek/Roman mythology out of the schools... omg, non-humans and humans frolick in those, ya know.... sheesh.

I suppose this is a good argument that witchburning moralists don't actually need religion to motivate them. Their irrational compulsion to control the thoughts (and sexual activities) of everyone else is a self-starter.

[Kylaran]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

What I'm still wondering is whether or not these restrictions apply to JUST ero-games or ALL visual novels...

...It's not like you need porn to tell a good story, guys. Just saying.

Much of the controversy so far has been specifically about ryoujoku games, but I think the main question on a LOT of people's minds is whether these restrictions will spread from that specific genre (10-20% of eroge sales, if I remember correctly from that Japanese news clip I watched), which could be possible. It's sold as adult-only material, and I think games with sex scenes are considered pornographic. Well, at least a lot of people I know usually have the impression that games with 18+ content tend to be all やりゲー filled with lots and lots of hentai, unless they're familiar with the genre somewhat.

Originally Posted by Vexx

Take the Greek/Roman mythology out of the schools... omg, non-humans and humans frolick in those, ya know.... sheesh.

Yeah, like that's going to happen. It's funny how people can easily accept thing they're more intimate with or used to when they can just as easily jump the gun in judging something else to be an evil.