ESRB Rating Forces Cleavage-Filled Game's Cancellation

[Keane Ng]

ESRB Rating Forces Cleavage-Filled Game's Cancellation

Ikki Tousen: Shining Dragon, a beat-em-up in which scantily clad female college students unleash moves that shred up their opponents' clothes, was rated M by the ESRB, leading publisher Valcon Games to halt plans to bring the game to the US.

If you thought Street Fighter's Ikki Tousen: Shining Dragon [http://www.fightersgeneration.com/characters3/sakura-highkick.gif] for the PS2. In this brawler, short-skirted and busty female college students do battle with one another, resulting in a barrage of panty shots as high kicks are thrown as well as plenty other sights for naughty boys to see.

The most unique feature? Something called "battle damage," which is really just a euphemism for the ability to use moves that, as the ESRB says in its product description, allow "some characters to rip opponents' clothes to shreds - exposing even more of the female anatomy (legs, breasts, partial buttocks)."

The ESRB slapped a big fat M for Mature rating on Ikki Tousen, which evidently forced publisher Valcon Games to put an end to all plans to bring the game to the US.

"A number of factors really hurt our options with that game. The biggest problem being that it received an M rating from the ESRB," Colin Goron of Valcon said. "We could remove all the stuff that makes it an M-rated game, but then we don't think the customers would be very happy buying an Ikki Tousen game without all the shredded clothing..."

The man clearly knows his audience.

So pity poor Ikki Tousen: Shining Dragon. In a world where Dead or Alive games can succeed and something as gratuitous in its over-the-top T&A-worship [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z27ZQox2UYI] as Atlus'Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier can make it by with a Teen rating, Ikki Tousen will never get its chance to shine. What harm has a little "battle damage" ever done to society?

[Via Siliconera [http://www.siliconera.com/2009/05/19/would-you-buy-an-ikki-tousen-game-if-it-cut-shredded-clothing/]]

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[ElArabDeMagnifico]

I'm laughing at the absurdity of this all.

 

[asinann]

Remember, it's the US. The only western nation that is more sexually oppressed than the Middle East. Where I can blow up the world with blood and guts everywhere and show it on TV, but the instant someone sees a bare ass I have to either digitize it or cut it out of the movie.

 

[Internet Kraken]

Why you would want to have a fighting game feature naked females? Wouldn't it be hard to masturbate while mashing buttons on a controller?

 

[magicmonkeybars]

Some how I am not surprised...

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

Exposing even more of the female anatomy (legs, breasts, partial buttocks)

Wait so we get full breasts but only partial buttocks?
That sucks.

 

[Anachronism]

This game sounds about as fun and memorable as Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad.

It really is lowest common denominator developing, I have to say. I'm unsure of how much work they've put into this game, but I'd be prepared to bet money that they spent more time making sure the clothes shredded properly than actually making it a decent fighting game. It's like the whole jiggle physics thing in DoA games; you can tell they spent inordinate amounts of time and effort making something irrelevant, and, let's be honest, infantile, look good.

I realise that there are people out there who will buy and enjoy this game, but I really don't think people will miss out on much not playing it. For the record, I have no problem with sex and/or nudity in games, so long as it's used tastefully and in a context that makes sense (which is how I feel about it in all forms of media). But here, you can clearly see that it's just done as an attempt to rope in as much money as they can through the promise of digital boobs.

 

[Keane Ng]

This game sounds about as fun and memorable as Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad.

It really is lowest common denominator developing, I have to say. I'm unsure of how much work they've put into this game, but I'd be prepared to bet money that they spent more time making sure the clothes shredded properly than actually making it a decent fighting game. It's like the whole jiggle physics thing in DoA games; you can tell they spent inordinate amounts of time and effort making something irrelevant, and, let's be honest, infantile, look good.

I realise that there are people out there who will buy and enjoy this game, but I really don't think people will miss out on much not playing it. For the record, I have no problem with sex and/or nudity in games, so long as it's used tastefully and in a context that makes sense (which is how I feel about it in all forms of media). But here, you can clearly see that it's just done as an attempt to rope in as much money as they can through the promise of digital boobs.

It's based on a manga/anime franchise, so they're really just appealing to the fans more than any lowest common denominator. Of course those fans could be considered that, I suppose.

 

[Captain Urahara]

They stopped it because it got an M rating? We buy plenty of M rated games over in the US. Why stop it?

That being said, the game looked terrible. Also, I'm surprised that the ESRB only gave it an M instead of an AO.

 

[SageOfCalm]

Yeah, this should get a mature. It doesn't even look that good.

 

[Seydaman]

Remember, it's the US. The only western nation that is more sexually oppressed than the Middle East. Where I can blow up the world with blood and guts everywhere and show it on TV, but the instant someone sees a bare ass I have to either digitize it or cut it out of the movie.

so sad is it nod D:

 

[CNKFan]

Why you would want to have a fighting game feature naked females? Wouldn't it be hard to masturbate while mashing buttons on a controller?

Second

 

[SageOfCalm]

Remember, it's the US. The only western nation that is more sexually oppressed than the Middle East. Where I can blow up the world with blood and guts everywhere and show it on TV, but the instant someone sees a bare ass I have to either digitize it or cut it out of the movie.

Dude I think you're exaggerating.

 

[Mstrswrd]

I'm laughing at the absurdity of this all.

So am I, but for, presumably, a very different reason.

The second I saw "Ikki Tousen" I instantly thought "They're not bringing the game over, are they? I've seen the anime. A game about it wouldn't fly in the US. Hell, a game about it wouldn't really fly anywhere but Japan. It was all cheescake and fanservice." Yes, I understand those two terms are pretty much interchangible. And then I was right, they're not. For a second though I thought they were, and that's when I started laughing. And then they weren't bringing it over, and it became funnier, because the reason they aren't bringing it over is the only reason anyone woul dever play it.

Also, I'm running on no sleep, so please excuse all really screwed up wording and spelling. I can't find my own mistakes right now with how much my eyes are blurring.

 

[SageOfCalm]

They stopped it because it got an M rating? We buy plenty of M rated games over in the US. Why stop it?

That being said, the game looked terrible. Also, I'm surprised that the ESRB only gave it an M instead of an AO.

Actually M rated games do not get as many sales as you think especially without a big marketing advertisement. This game would be easily marked by parents as immoral and put as a weapon against gamers on why kids should not play video games. He did the smart thing.

Also how can you say that that the game is bad? the only picture you and I have seen is the one for the news article and the models are pretty solid constructed. Also who knows what the gameplay is like, for all we know it could be like Bushido Blade or Power Stone a solid fun beat em up with anime characters without the gross imbalance of the Dragonball games.

The official website has gameplay. And it looks like shit. Everything is just an excuse to have these little creatures called 'females' fight each other and rip their clothes off.

The models look ridiculous.

 

[roboosh]

Noooooooooo!!