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NEWS: Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue PS4 Game Removes 3 Scenes in West


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Moontei



Joined: 20 Aug 2019
Posts: 65
PostPosted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 11:51 pm Reply with quote
tomdean wrote:
But on the other hand, I don't think it's fair to blame Sony, they simply did not plan to have over 18's stuff on their platform, therefore they are not equipped to accommodate them. Imagine the lawsuits from parents

I have the original Aokana and I will not pay the new version, but to blame Sony and boycott seems a bit much.

Nah, this is completely on Sony. Considering the said censored/removied scenes are on the Switch version with both having the same rating, it has nothing to do with the rating boards and everything to do with Sony's policy of censoring anime/japanese titles.
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El Hermano



Joined: 24 Feb 2019
Posts: 450
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 12:40 am Reply with quote
As far a double standards go, I think the answer is quite simple. The console market has effectively shrunk to nothing in Japan over the past decade, which has forced Sony to all but abandon the Japanese market in favor of America and Europe where consoles are still popular and thriving. If you look at any top selling game list in Japan it's completely dominated by Nintendo and the Switch all the time, which is seen as a handheld system in Japan. Handhelds and mobile have completely taken over the Japanese market. So while Nintendo still has a good place in Japan and reason to cater to their home market, Sony does not. That's why they've moved their PlayStation headquarters to America and now answer to American executives with American sensibilities. And anime has a stigma in America so of course Sony is going to crack down on stuff that makes them look bad to their western market and the average Joe, which is a big breasted anime boobs or cat girls or what have you. Games like Grand Theft Auto V or the recent Last of Us 2 having graphic sexual content is okay because it's done in a realistic mo-capped actor style, and thus it's not seen as "weird" or "perverted". Even when there's similar "touching" minigames that often get outrage in Japanese games it's seen as far more acceptable, like the stripper groping minigame in GTAV where you fill a meter by touching her when the bouncer isn't looking to get her to sleep with you.

It is also worth noting that big AAA companies like Rockstar have far more weight and influence in the industry than a small visual novel developer does. If they want to put stuff in their game, they can lean on Sony. Meanwhile, Sony is easily able to call the shots with smaller companies and make them dance to their tune.
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