EROGE developer explains blocking of foreign web access

[RollForInitiative]

EROGE developer Minori has apparently issued a statement of sorts - in English, no less - regarding the recent blocking of non-Japanese web access to their site. The English is a little bit broken, as you'd expect, but they get the point across nonetheless.

From Kotaku: http://kotaku.com/5302747/erotic-game-developer-explains-foreign-access-web-blocking

 

[shadow skill]

Probably because Illusion got owned by someone dumb enough to put Rapelay up for sale in a western country. Frankly I do not think this is the way to go. I don't have a problem if people like these types of games....Really no different from a romance novel in the final analysis.

 

[RollForInitiative]

I don't have a problem if people like these types of games....Really no different from a romance novel in the final analysis.

I'm of much the same mindset, though I've never heard anybody make that comparison before. A little surprising, considering how apt a comparison it is.

 

[NeutralDrow]

That actually sounds sensible, which makes me sad. At least, if I'm interpreting it right. Isn't the guy basically saying...

"Look, due to the whole Rapelay incident, we've gotten a ton of crap from people outside Japan who are associating the eroge we make with it. As such, we're blocking off our website to foreign access, until this thing blows over. We apologize to our fans outside of Japan...who, if they want to help, should talk to the Japanese government about freedom of speech."

Shoot, now I'm actually interested in their games. Wind sounds interesting, and it has a fan translation patch, so it's gotta be worth something...

 

[RollForInitiative]

Shoot, now I'm actually interested in their games.

Making this possibly some of the cheapest and best PR / marketing ever conceived.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Shoot, now I'm actually interested in their games.

Making this possibly some of the cheapest and best PR / marketing ever conceived.

Hey, if they care about their games enough to do this, then whatever works!

That's assuming I can come about a reasonably priced copy, or if I'll have to resort to torrent first...

 

[Therumancer]

Well, the big problem I have with this is that they are taking these measures rather than fighting the censorship directly.

A problem I see with game designers in general. Oh sure, they are hoping for fan support, and that is fine, but in general they need to start running point and going head to head with the censors instead of closing themselves off with a parting message.

>>>----Therumancer--->

 

[NeutralDrow]

Well, the big problem I have with this is that they are taking these measures rather than fighting the censorship directly.

A problem I see with game designers in general. Oh sure, they are hoping for fan support, and that is fine, but in general they need to start running point and going head to head with the censors instead of closing themselves off with a parting message.

>>>----Therumancer--->

I'm pretty sure the censors they're fighting are in Japan. They're closing themselves off from criticism outside the country.

 

[MasterSqueak]

Probably because Illusion got owned by someone dumb enough to put Rapelay up for sale in a western country. Frankly I do not think this is the way to go. I don't have a problem if people like these types of games....Really no different from a romance novel in the final analysis.

Agreed. Don't they have internet games like it anywa-oh crap I just screwed Australia over.

 

[shadow skill]

Seems like one of their regulatory bodies wants to ban everything, not just rape/loli/stuff that is truly not cool at all. This is getting kind of sad now. [http://negativegamer.com/2009/06/26/censorship-time-pregnancy-banned-in-japanese-hentai-games/]

 

[RollForInitiative]

Seems like one of their regulatory bodies wants to ban everything, not just rape/loli/stuff that is truly not cool at all. This is getting kind of sad now. [http://negativegamer.com/2009/06/26/censorship-time-pregnancy-banned-in-japanese-hentai-games/]

Oh, the hilarity of that list. I read it yesterday and I still can't find the words to describe the look on my face when I read that "student council" was banned.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Seems like one of their regulatory bodies wants to ban everything, not just rape/loli/stuff that is truly not cool at all. This is getting kind of sad now. [http://negativegamer.com/2009/06/26/censorship-time-pregnancy-banned-in-japanese-hentai-games/]

...how on earth does shoujo apply? Did they feel loli wasn't general enough or something?

The list seems awfully redundant. I'm trying to count how many of those items Tsukihime alone would violate...

 

[shadow skill]

They should just ban porn all together. Ignoring the stuff most wouldn't miss were it prohibited there wouldn't be anything left to put into these type of products. Just what is the goal here?

 

[RollForInitiative]

They should just ban porn all together.

When you consider that the "rape" genre is 10-20% of the total PC game market, one is left to wonder how much of the market the rest of the porn genres cover.

At least, those are the numbers as I seem to recall them. My memory isn't the best.