Escapist News Now: Bravely Default Censored in Western Market

[Escapist News Now]

Bravely Default Censored in Western Market

Square Enix's upcoming Japanese role playing game Bravely Default for the 3DS is coming to North America next month, but it won't have the same outfits seen in the Japanese version.

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[Something Amyss]

I was born in 1980. I'm actually surprised at how little comparatively gets censored. Regardless, I can get behind desexualising fifteen year old girls.

 

[Jeff Grigsby]

I wouldn't see this much as censorship as much as what it actually is: localization. Western audiences tend to frown on underage sexualization.

 

[IKWerewolf]

This is actually to comply with culture... The Legal Age of Sex in Japan is 13 which is why, in theory, they can get away with some of the amines and video games coming out of Japan have more younger sexual images. In Western Countries the average age of consent is 16-18 and bringing the age up to 18 would make sense for western audiences.

If it was left at the ages they were, how many people and groups would call foul? Mother's groups, etc.

EDIT Thanks for the spelling correction.

 

[SpyHunter29]

I would cry foul if this didn't involve sexualising obvious minors. You win this one, Square Enix.

No, seriously, I take this issue rather... seriously, if only because I'm fed up with all those loli-faces in the fanservice-sphere. But my reasons for that are tied into what every other poster thus far has said. You may be a small bunch thus far, but a smart one.

Also, the age of consent thing in Japan is a little more complex than what IKWerewolf described. If you wish to learn more, might I suggest the Nostalgia Critic's review of Sailor Moon [http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/40200-nostalgia-critic-sailor-moon].

 

[AdagioBoognish]

This is actually to comply with culture... The Legal Age of Sex in Japan is 13 which is why, in theory, they can get away with some of the amines and video games coming out of Japan have more younger sexual images. In Western Countries the average age of consent is 16-18 and bringing the age up to 18 would make sense for western audiences.

If it was left at the ages they were, how many people and groups would call fowl? Mother's groups, etc.

Shoot man, I'd probably call foul. I'm not saying I'd start a boycott or anything, but I wouldn't buy the game. I don't think it would encourage or promote child abuse, but it's an issue that is too prevalent in the states for me to be comfortable with in a game. I agree that this seems like a localization issue and not censorship. Censorship might be too strong a word for this anyway.

how many people and groups would call fowl?

P.S. Is it calling fowl or foul in this context? Lol, I've never tried to write down the phrase before, but it seems like one has you yelling about birds.

 

[Roxas1359]

I wouldn't see this much as censorship as much as what it actually is: localization. Western audiences tend to frown on underage sexualization.

Agreed, this seems more like localization than it does censorship to me. Now an example of censorship would definitely be from Nintendo of America in the 90s removing pretty much anything that could ever even possibly hint at religion. I always see people question though why Japan does this, but some people have to remember that the age of consent in Japan is actually only 13 years old, while in most European countries it's 16-18 and in the US it's 18.

Edit:

This is actually to comply with culture... The Legal Age of Sex in Japan is 13 which is why, in theory, they can get away with some of the amines and video games coming out of Japan have more younger sexual images. In Western Countries the average age of consent is 16-18 and bringing the age up to 18 would make sense for western audiences.

If it was left at the ages they were, how many people and groups would call fowl? Mother's groups, etc.

You Ninja'd me! >.<

 

[omega 616]

This isn't censorship, it's tact.

I'm not saying dress them in full nun garb but the fact the whole cast looks like a 12 year olds swimming party is disheartening.

I just had a thought, in Japan are females over 20 seen as past there peek sexually? Everything in the media is all about young girls, being 20+ in Japan must be like being 50+ in the western world.

 

[DJ_Bunce]

I wouldn't really call this censorship, either. I agree with the point about it simply being localisation. Generally speaking, I am all for the artistic direction being kept, as oppose to losing gore etc... but this I would say is fair play. Japan's age of consent is indeed rather grey...

Omega616, I would not say that they are seen as past their peak. In the west we sexualise 18 year olds for the most part, but I personally wouldn't say a 28 year old is past their prime. A lot of Japan sexualises teens - AKB48 is a fantastic example, where they "graduate" from the band when they reach a certain age - but there is currently a 25 year old in the group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukshima). Aaaas you can see though, she will be graduating soon...

For those of you who want a cursory glance at the ages of the rest of the "band", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AKB48#Members - I say "band" because it really is just young models pretending that they can sing...

 

[Roxas1359]

I just had a thought, in Japan are females over 20 seen as past there peek sexually? Everything in the media is all about young girls, being 20+ in Japan must be like being 50+ in the western world.

During the second Monday of January there is what is known as &#25104;&#20154;&#12398;&#26085;, or Coming of Age Day, and it celebrates when people turn 20 years old as they are indeed recognized as full-fledged adults for the first time, sorta like how being 18 is considered being an Adult in the US, but you can't do everything until your 21. It's celebrated to commemorate all of those who turned 20 in the past year, and is celebrated by a festival. However there has been increasingly low attendance due to the fact that Japan is going through a population problem in that not many young people are having couples, and the life expectancy in Japan has increased over time.

 

[Penguinplayer]

As I said on the other thread, I am okay with then changing the ages of the characters, but I didn't like the clothing changes, so I won't buy it.

This isn't censorship, it's tact.

I'm not saying dress them in full nun garb but the fact the whole cast looks like a 12 year olds swimming party is disheartening.

I just had a thought, in Japan are females over 20 seen as past there peek sexually? Everything in the media is all about young girls, being 20+ in Japan must be like being 50+ in the western world.

Boy, you don't know how close you are.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChristmasCake

In case you don't want to waste your evening browsing TVTropes, basically japanese woman over 25 are undesirable for marriage because they are "too old". As the page says, it's becoming a discredited trope, but it's not uncommon and it shows up a lot on media.

 

[Jarlaxl]

Based on those images, they've gone from cuckoo-bonkers-oversexualized-15-year-old girls to just bonkers-oversexualized-18-year-old girls-who-look-like-15-year-old-girls.

Progress?

 

[Alfredo Jones]

I said it in the other thread and I'll say it here again: this is fine because really the art style doesn't really lend itself well to making the characters look "sexy", no matter their age. If the art style was more realistic and the characters were deliberately designed around sexiness, ala the Sorceress from Dragon's Crown or all the girls from DoA, then these changes would probably have more impact.

 

[babinro]

I agree with people who say this feels more like localization than any true form or censorship.

That said, I'd prefer the game as originally intended or at least have the loli-setting for the 'purist'. It's merely a preference though, this isn't news that would influence my buying decision in any possible way.

 

[Scarim Coral]

You know, I am somewhat ok with it when I saw the compared images but in saying so realism is never a thing in video game!

 

[AuronFtw]

What else are we missing out on?
How many games, movies and books have in some way been altered by middlemanagement or accounting to widen the market?

Hard to know for sure, but it is a solid point. It's sort of annoying because, on the one hand, the game developers use what they know (their own personal culture, mores and beliefs) to craft their games; an unaltered product, straight from the heart, would be the least tarnished. But at the same time, game developers need game sales to stay in business, so they have to temper what they think and feel to cater to a wider market... or become an indie dev, I guess.

In this case I don't care one way or the other, 12 year old cartoon characters don't look sexy whether they're in full plate or a bikini. I just want the armor they wear to match the aesthetic of the world they're in, and not be artificially altered from the original to placate some herpderps who have no sense of cultural significance or no ability to look up age of consent laws in the game's country of origin to figure out why it might be the way it is.

I wouldn't be opposed to a different version of the game specifically for those people, like Bravely Default: This Time For the Sexually Insecure, but at least keep the original available as well :/

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Which do you prefer? Devs tiptoeing around outdated sensibilities or feminists and conservatives deriding a game for its outfits? Decisions, decisions.

I wish people would get over the underage thing. Child porn is banned so that children aren't exploited. I have no idea why anything that does not at any point involve an actual sexual act by a child is persecuted. And I don't even consider these kinds of characters sexy. They're too cute for that.

Lastly, I think I prefer the censored versions because they're not blatant fanservice and probably make more sense in-game, but I don't think they should exist because of irrational bullshit.

 

[MorganL4]

Y'know its funny.... When I was 15 I had no problem with the sexualization of 15 year olds. But now that I am an adult, I find it pretty creepy (go figure).

 

[Yopaz]

This is actually to comply with culture... The Legal Age of Sex in Japan is 13 which is why, in theory, they can get away with some of the amines

I don't mind sexualization of amines, but amides and nucleotides is where I draw the line! (Sorry, I had to, your overall comment was actually great and you make an excellent point that I have nothing to add to except my agreement.)

OT: Honestly I don't really care about this one way or the other. This is a sprite based 3DS game meaning the characters are quite small. If I were a person who got turned on by 15 year old girls in skimpy outfits I'm not sure I would squint at my screen just to get my fix. If I were a person who got offended by it I wouldn't have noticed unless it was pointed out to me.

HOWEVER the fact that it does bother people makes it a good idea to do these small changes. As someone else have already pointed out this is primarily a matter of tact rather than censorship.