I can’t think of any law class action about any anime show. Underaged characters are very common among animes since many are placed in school.
But same argument could be taken for any teen show with nudity. Of cause the actors are always above 18 yet they play a role of somebody going to school…
Dark has it. Really the problem is this over protective behaviour of the gaming industry. In the meantime Netflix doesn’t care.
I think it’s because of the microscope gaming is held under. Fox News, Jack Thompson, etc. Because games are viewed by many still (particularly of a certain age) as kids content you grow out of, they get held to a higher standard of scrutiny. One of the best things Keighley has ever done was defend Mass Effect to those Fox News crazies.
I think over time, especially as late Gen X and especially Gen Y and Gen Z grow, the scrutiny will go away and games will be able to grow further without scrutiny. Now, for stuff like this, MS is in a difficult spot as it’s not their game, but still possibly their rep on the line. Nintendo and Sony can play the foreign company/policies card that MS simply can’t as the Apple Pie American company, which can garner more scrutiny. As such, the North American viewpoint of violence being viewed as the lesser of two evils prevails.
Ultimately, as is often the case, I believe it comes down to parents making good choices for their kids and adults making choices for themselves. Leave it to the ESRB to decide, ensure no illicit content is present and worst case scenario slap with an AO rating.
Ultimately, games are in the tough position of not being as prevalent in mainstream acceptance as Movies or Premium TV, but not niche enough to not generate significant controversy like anime.
Yeah, but I think thigs are different in that regards between the gaming and movie media. I fully agree that things should change, and that it is getting ridiculous with more censorships than ever. I mean, it is not like they would have been green-lighting a hentai game or whatever.
Unfortunate truth. At least Nintendo doesn’t care 
I agree completely. I do want clarification on something though - has Gal Gun Returns been cancelled completely for Xbox or is it just the U.S. version? Because I don’t understand why they wouldn’t approve the game for release in Japan.
For now, I hope it won’t end, though what @DeoGame just said makes sense too, even if I don’t like it.
Not 100% certain. I don’t see why it wouldn’t release in Japan except for maybe projected sales numbers vs. cost of hosting.
Okay. I guess they could always do a limited run release and if the demand is high, manufacture more copies.
Hopefully, this decision is overturned.
In case you want to make up your own mind about the game.
My opinion: this is stupid 
would not pay money for it.
Funny thing is, for all we know, the game just runs like shit and is bricking Xboxs. I don’t think that’s the case but 
Thats not the point
In regards to what @DeoGame said, I think it fell under “sexualization of under-aged girls”, or something like that.
Then you have to remove countless anime games, series and movies from the store. Remove the VRV, Crunchyroll and Funimation application (and game pass partnership in the meantime) since those are gates to anime.
Its nonsense.
Again, movies and games business are seen differently, MS as a US company is maybe under more scrutiny than Nintendo or Sony when it comes to this. I don’t know how certification works, it sucks yes and I think the game doesn’t come to PS for the same reasons either. Maybe, when people will get that video games are not just for kids, the mentalities will change, but for now, nothing can be done about it.
And who knows, maybe it is just the US version which is cancelled.
Underage sexualization is much more sensive than customizing your genitalia in a M-rated game. The first is a crime while the other is just mature content.
Edit: And you can’t possibly be serious about this decision affecting the relationship between Microsoft and Japan. Microsoft is not censoring Yakuza, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts, Tekken, The Evil Within, Dynasty Warriors… they are censoring a game in which you collect young-looking girls whike looking at their panties and touching their boobies. This affects a smal number of games like Gal Gun and Senran Kagura.
Edit2: To further illustrate:
This is ok. Mature content envolving adult women.
This is sensive content. Sexualization of underage-looking girl. I was afraid to even download the image in my cellphone.
This game is borderline pedo to be honest. They can say whatever they want about the age of the characters, but it’s very clear what the intention is. I’m not a fan of censorship but I don’t think this is a big loss.
I don’t think any controversy would have came from this game being on Xbox but i understand Microsoft’s decision.
As is many content. Yet it is a game. This is a difficult topic and as I mentioned before for some reason games and tv shows/ movies are viewed differently.
I think the difference here is that Microsoft would be selling the game in its store front. It is different from downloading a streaming app from the Microsoft Store and watching something in said app. That’s why you don’t see games like this on the Microsoft Store, and yet can watch related content on Funimation or something.
Nonetheless, I believe that underage sexualization is seen the same way across all media. Plus, we are not talking about 17 years old in Gal Gun.
