Censorship in games.

[nnnmmm]

I've been getting into alot of arguments lately concerning video games going "too far" when it comes to violence, sex, and so on. Personally I despise censorship when it comes to any form of art including videogames. It's because of the censorship mentality that many games end up getting banned in places like Austrailia and it really frustrates me (and I don't even live there) I want to know what you guys think of censorship in games.

[GhostHeLL]

Censorship in games = Epic ....................... FAIL
anyways yeah it takes out the whole purpose of the high rates games and also spoils the story ... (that is if they simply take out those scenes) but yeah if they rate it then don't censor
If they want to censor then rate it PG-13 or E {this rating includes censorship, for full version it shall be NC-17 or R+)
SO yeah if they plan to censor then notch down the ratings so that people who are enthusiastic about the game won't by it But if they plan to keep the high rating then they should not Censor them .

For Legal buyers (the people who come to the shop or online to buy {credit Card})
They should make it when buying Alcohol (Age Verification System)
Yeah that could stop some spreading but they can't stop the Online back upped copies
So end result the most effective procedure that they can think of is totally censoring the game but that could also effect their sales as many people will stop buying them
Oh well tough luck for them
A one-up for hackers and crackers who would take out anti-censoring patches
Take that Censorship

[Asymmetric]

Im gonna keep this short and sweet. We have ratings for a reason. I say developers should pull out all the stops when it comes to how they express their creativity. Whether that be massive amount of violence or massive amounts of sex, its paramount none of it is hidden from audiences should they desire such entertainment. It is the responsibility of the buyer or the buyer's parents/guardians to decide what is right for the player. Therefore, any specific complaint should not be thrown against developers or gaming in general. We are way too restrictive with game content these days. Why does everyone insist on bashing games for sexual content when there is a rather large and thriving porn industry right here in the US? Yeah, kinda hypocritical.

[nnnmmm]

Originally Posted by Asymmetric

Im gonna keep this short and sweet. We have ratings for a reason. I say developers should pull out all the stops when it comes to how they express their creativity. Whether that be massive amount of violence or massive amounts of sex, its paramount none of it is hidden from audiences should they desire such entertainment. It is the responsibility of the buyer or the buyer's parents/guardians to decide what is right for the player. Therefore, any specific complaint should not be thrown against developers or gaming in general. We are way too restrictive with game content these days. Why does everyone insist on bashing games for sexual content when there is a rather large and thriving porn industry right here in the US? Yeah, kinda hypocritical.

My point exactly. The ESRB does a damn good job deciding who a game is geared towards so to censor a game that's rated M is just mind boggling. Of course some games get censored just to avoid the dreaded M rating but that's just a cop out. I think developers should stick to their creative visions to the very end.
Take Xenosaga 3 for example. The sensoring in that game is so bad some scenes are completely incoherent.

[lightvale]

Artist should not fear the censor

[Asymmetric]

Whether they fear it or not, its still a reality. Breaking the rules is a very stupid maneuver on anyone's part, as it is likely to derail your reputation and your business. The fact is video game oppression is present. Its just that its not really a cause worth losing so much for. All we can do is agree to disagree with those who are too ignorant to see the truth.

[nnnmmm]

Hopefully in the future People will wake up and let artists fulfill their visions unchecked

[akibastyle]

I had to spot this as I go along deleting posts
As far as my take on it: it is a damn shame as far as freedom of expression is concerned, but gaming companies do give a damn (as far as the financial costs) when it comes to their games' rating from T to M or changing it from M to A(I.E. - the shitfire that came along when people cracked GTA:III San Andreas - Hot Coffee says it all lmao) You also have to take in that censorship varies all over the world: the US worries more about sexual content in games more than violence whereas in Japan, they're more sensitive to graphic violence than the sex(I'm not too keen on what's taboo in Europe though...).
But it's just something that folks will agree to disagree on, since total freedom of expression will only bring more controversy (and loss of sales) for developers, as conservative folks will find it a reason to toot their own horn(remember all the crap that rained on COD: MW2 when the No Russian scene got leaked on the internet???).
The demographics say that kids are the leading consumers so until their parents get tired of buying Wii games or kids can convince their parents that Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude is really a fun game to play because of the storyline(Thank goodness they put out a A verson as well since I really loved that game lol), there's no end in sight to censorship (or at least the scaling down of games - it's just a process I've come to accept from game developers ).As long as it doesn't affect the gameplay I won't go into cardiac arrest... but I still feel ya on this bro

[nnnmmm]

Yeah I try not to judge developers for trying to get sales (Some stores refuse to even carry AO games) My true hatred is focused a entities like FOX news (remember the Mass Effect incident?) and poeple like Jack Thompson who tried to blame the Virginia Tech insident on Videogames (along with every other problem in the world it seems) and that's what I'm really against.

[akibastyle]

That's right-wing extremists for ya bro: they don't have anything to report or bitch about so they gotta nitpick and go off on some tangent that's got nothing to do with the cause (what ever happening to being just CRAZY???)