Escapist News Now: Bravely Default Censored in Western Market

[[REDACTED]]

Voluntarily self-censoring [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-censorship] because your target audience is full of a bunch of prudes is still a form of censorship.

And tomatoes are a form of fruit. It may be censorship by some definitions, but it only matters if the creator was forced or coerced into making the change. As far as I can tell, this wasn't the case with Bravely Default. If this is censorship, every time someone has been tactful in a conversation was a also a form of censorship.

 

[Joseph Wallace]

this could also be a ploy to just create some dlc for it as well I don't trust game companies anymore and since they raised her age to legal age for America it would make sense for them to say you can buy it if your not offended.

 

[yeah_so_no]

My question is whats with JRPG's having the dumbest, most nonsensical titles ever? And no, I'm not talking about Final Fantasy, there was a logical reason for that it just became ironic when it turned out to be successful.

No I mean games like this: Bravely Default...Infinite Undiscovery...Ys....Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel...ok seriously wtf? Hard to imagine they sound any less ridiculous in Japanese either.

Actually, Bravely Default's name makes sense once you start playing the game - the name comes from the main game mechanic, where you can "default" (guard and store up your turns) and/or do a "brave" attack (attack more than once, and with stronger attacks). Even the "Flying Fairy" subtitle (which is "Where the Fairy Flies" in the western release) makes sense once you get to a chapter near the end. So the name actually did come from somewhere logical. Unlike most Tales of Alphabet Soup games.

 

[yeah_so_no]

I don't mind the changes, honestly. I played it in Japanese when it first came out, and those two costumes in particular annoyed me, especially the vampire costume. You can't tell since it's only showing you the female costumes, but the male vampire costume looks like a 19th century gentleman, whereas the female character's is...buckled straps and bunny ears. That was the only case where the gender differences in the costumes was a little too over the top and the only one in the game that made me go, "OH, COME ON!" at it - with all the others, the costumes were mostly the same, but that one was a bit much, so I can see why they decided to change it for the western release.

I also don't mind the aging up, since it seemed a little ridiculous to have a character like Edea be that accomplished at 15. Making her older actually makes more sense to me.

 

[Something Amyss]

]

You quoted my post about Nier to say that it wasn't localization, but censorship, because your definition of censorship is functionally identical to the world's definition of localization. Forgive me for being a bit confused about that.

It's still censorship, though.

I'm also going to point out that I didn't respond to a post on Nier, I responded a post where you likened this act (censorship which everyone and their brother is assuming to be due to child porn laws, though I don't think that's automatically the case) to Nier. Kind of a different thing.

Also, much as I hate to be the asshole with the dictionary,

It can be done by governments and private organizations or by individuals who engage in self-censorship.

As for corporate censorship, I was (somewhat stupidly) thinking of it in terms of the fundamental right sense, which isn't always going to match up exactly with the ways that the countries that believe in it choose to implement it in law. I'd argue that any repression of free speech is bad in the long run, regardless of it's legal legitimacy.

But if a company is censoring themselves only to conform to acceptable standards in a country (self-censorship), it's okay and it's not really censorship? You seem to be dicing a very fine line here. Altering one's self to fit the market is still censorship, and it's still due to repression of free expression. And worse, it's still due to the same forces you're supposed to be against.

Yeah, I mixed the two up there, used to searching for anything starting with "E" for europe...
However, the PEGI 12 rating which the game received allows for sexual innuendo. So I don't see why that would be the problem.

Again, as mentioned in various articles, it at least seems like Square did this because of prior problems with Dead or Alive.

I've referenced Dimensions (if not by name, because I can't remember if I did). I'm aware of the controversy and aware of the hivemind mentality of games journalism. I'm also aware that making costumes more modest and other forms of alteration is nothing new and games being banned in one part of Europe hasn't led to wider censorship before. I'm not sure the journalists who are copying each other on the DOA thing are aware or have the attention span. It doesn't necessarily change anything here. I also don't see any specific rating that explicitly covers 12 year olds in lingerie as a topic.

Although I have to ask: if it was pre-emptively altered to comply with child porn laws (which was the issue with DOAD), is this a particularly damning thing?

 

[Something Amyss]

]

It's not that the original version bothers me in any way; I just don't think it's a form of censorship if it's a voluntary marketing decision.

The decision in this case is (according to gamign sites) evidently "censor it or get banned."

Technically, by that argument all censorship that doesn't involve actively confiscating or after-market redaction is voluntary. But then, you've utterly made the definition of "voluntary" meaningless.

To all of you talking about censorship and self-censorship, I recommend you watch this video by Moviebob about this subject. If anything it may give you a better understanding of the situation.

http://www.screwattack.com/shows/partners/game-overthinker/game-overthinker-overbytes-dont-censor-me

That was largely not related to the issue at hand.

this could also be a ploy to just create some dlc for it as well I don't trust game companies anymore and since they raised her age to legal age for America it would make sense for them to say you can buy it if your not offended.

They'd run into the same issues as before. But again, unless something's changed, we don't know this is going to be the case for the US release anyway.