After watching the trailer, it’s pretty easy to see where MS and Sony are coming from here. Nothing of value was lost.
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Yeah, watching the trailer kinda changed my mind, I can see why Microsoft didn’t really want it. Just don’t want Microsoft to reach Sony levels of censorship. Still find it funny though that Xbox wanted to censor it but not Nintendo.
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Nintendo allows anything. They only take care of their own games.
In that case dozen shows should be banned on Netflix? I truly believe this is more about how such stuff is not well viewed in games in general. Anime stuff specifically.
This game especially is sexualized for men and targets well a very niche group of people, as such the potential revenue lost is minimal, for Microsoft.
In the end it is Microsofts decision to ban something. As a customer you can only voice your opinion.
I mean, if a series on Netflix has underaged pornography it shouldn’t even be produced and the director and everyone involved should go to prison.
What we normally see on TV shows are 22~25 years old adults portraying 16/17 years old teenagers, and as far as I know there is no explicit sex. Gal Gun’s girls seem to be under 14, which is not only below age of majority, but it is also below age of consent. Plus, the game is centered around the sexualization. That’s the game’s selling point.
Is under 14 somewhere mentioned? Regardless I have a very “against censorship” position as long as something is legal and by that I mean a high school boy gains the power to shoot girls with a stimulating beam is awkward but not illegal.
If the protagonist would be a old man I would think differently.
Drawings or computer generated stuff shouldn’t fall under it. Unless it is straight up propaganda for certain behaviour.
Though I understand Microsoft’s decision, yet not agree.
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It is not mentioned, and to be fair that is the only reason that this game is allowed to be sold. But yeah, I have a 14 years old niece that looks older than those girls:
I am against censorship in general. But I can understand Microsoft’s decision and I’m more inclined to agree with it than otherwise.
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Worth to mention is that most anime characters look younger than they are. Most teachers look like they became 20.
Currently I watch Higurashi (horror anime) and you couldn’t tell that this one teacher is older then their class or at least much older.
Note I don’t like this above. However it has to be taken in the right context.
I’ve made some research around this subject. Cause it made me curious how different the world reacts to fictional content.
In regard to cartoon characters US has some states where it is forbidden and under law.
This does tells me from a legal standpoint this game would be in law. In Germany and USA at least. Yet I think it’s fascinating how different this is viewed around the world. Entirely different topic felt like I want to share my knowledge gain:)
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The subject is quite complex. In Europe and western countries, people are really sensitive about paedophilia and perversions in general, even if the line between what could be seen as acceptable behavior between a man and a woman and what could be seen as perversion is tricky sometimes. So we have to draw the line somewhere and the “age line” is the most basic line you can draw.
But the anime and japanese culture are sometimes playing with this line, because they are more lenient with some odd behaviors. I think it creates a loophole that some people have found to normalize their deviant behavior, that it’s just “anime stuff”. So yeah, it is somewhat paradoxal that we seemed to have no boundaries with violence and gore in media (I myself think it’s too much in so many movies and shows nowadays), but underage stuff is seen as the ultimate offense, but it’s a mean of protection. Protection of our society and culture for what it means, but it is good protection, even if we also have to think about treating people with those deviant behaviors (most of them are not rapists or crazy killers).
Also, with shows, underage actors are dressed or covered, so it’s mostly ok. But in games, you can move the camera and “do” stuff, so it is, again, playing with that fine line. I think MS don’t want to mingle in that, so I think they took the right decision because even if they allow this game in one store, it is available everywhere with the region changing option.
See above mate I posted this. quite fascinating:
As it seems Germany has no law against any form of fictional content. I was searching for laws in regards to “lolli content” and found this.
For comparison thought unlike “us” the Japanese government has a lot problems with violence in games and cuts are common.
I think many people have to accept how different cultures and their rules are.
Yeah, but you’re tricking yourself with that map I think. Laws and how judges rules/rating boards rates are two different things. Even tolerance as a society is different one country from another.
Obviously, this game is crossing the line somewhere in the western region/for MS, but not in Japan, regardless of what’s legal or illegal here and in Japan.
We’re talking about Asia/Japan and western countries. We have different sensibilities. I’m okay with that.
Yep that’s true and Microsoft is a private company and can do what they want 
Still was interesting to me
From reading that statement it seems like this wasn’t an outright refusal of the game by MS, but more like MS made stipulations that the developer either could not (budget?) or did not want to make. I’m typically against censorship and prefer that there be proper restrictions and parenting, but this game…eh, I wouldn’t exactly go to bat over it.
Note that this is a game that wouldn’t play well with a controller anyway.
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Of course. Personally, I’m not comfortable with that stuff. I can’t seem to find it as “good fun” or innocuous in any way, but maybe I’m old, idk.
Not really related, but I was thinking not so long ago that with easy access to violence in movies and shows, video games even, we may desensitize ourselves to shock or our own emotions. It’s a double-edge sword : medias could make us more resilient, but also less reactive or numb.
I see that with covid, as I see people (even myself) around me are accepting the many daily deaths in hospitals. It’s natural, we are made to adapt to all kind of situations, but sometimes we have to keep ourselves from adapting too much or too quickly.
Sorry, it’s just a thought. Not related to the topic.
Of cause it certainly is. I watched a lot animes and are used to some kind of tropes and dont mind it for that reason. Such tropes are common everywhere. I still remember all the high school shows with the fit dumb guy who get all the girls and the nerdy guy. Things change for the better or the worse. Violence was very controversial in Germany not anymore. We just accept it.
You could make it a philosophical conversation.
The collusem in the Rome empire is basically a brutal show with real humans. Today we have media to fulfil our dark desires.
I imagine this could be referred to sexual desire too😅 yet we have put ourselves under restrictions with such even in fictional content.
I can’t deny that I love violence in games its exciting cause it’s different.
I guess anything related to children is related controversial. Even violence.
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Yeah, you get it. 
It’s hard to have a good grasp sometimes, but we are partly made by the stuff we watched/were exposed to as kids/teenagers. I didn’t watch too much violent stuff on TV, because that didn’t interested me much, just the good old shooting in an abandoned warehouse and bar fights, old James Bond movies and the like. That was very tame by today standards. So yeah, today I think it’s harder to avoid the violent stuff. I blame The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones that I think have pushed things a little too far imo. Nowadays, every action movie is a bloodbath with realistic car crashes, explosions, dismemberements and violent deaths.
It’s probably the natural evolution, we always push things further until it’s too much, then we go back. And…we’re back to the topic of boundaries, rules and lines. 
So yeah Rome, the Colliseum and the catharsis ! Sometimes, it’s just our curiosity !
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Wth did I just watch? Yeah no, this shit can stay faaar away from Xbox.
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This was a no brainer decision and I image Microsoft would be very happy to lose any customer who has a problem with it.
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Agreed.
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Yeah a no brainer also to not try and get Genshin too and lol.
You people would faint with anime and it shows.