Poll: What would you ban?

[NickCaligo42]

Heavy stuff, Dectilon.

In media there's a term known as the "chilling effect." It means that if you ban one particular product for a censorship transgression of some kind anybody who cares about making money will avoid that transgression at all costs, making sure not even to get CLOSE to crossing the line. Frankly I haven't seen ANY of those kinds of content in a game but for a few low-profile free things on the internet, but pick one and watch the writers misinterpret the rules.

"No sexually explicit content" = "Avoid all sexual references and jokes; don't even hint that characters may have a libido"

"No extreme violence" = "No more survival horror games, and that's JUST FOR STARTERS."

"No politically insensitive content" = "All villains should be Saturday morning cartoon villains and should not hint at real motives or bear any similarity to real-life bad guys."

The problem's not that someone might make a game that goes to such extremes as you've pointed out, it's that developers will take censorship too far as they always have. It's just not a good way of enforcing appropriateness of content. The only reason it seems like such a big deal is that games HAVE to reach a fairly broad audience in order to make any money, unlike books, which can be just as provincial and weird as they feel like. Want a book about a transvestite prostitute looking to scrape together the last bit of money for the operation? You got it, and it'll probably be a pretty good read. A GAME? Not happening and for a whole lot of different reasons.

Of course it doesn't help when politicians are raving, ignorant morons who'll represent games as accurately as they represent the people who elect them...

 

[sapient]

I think we'll have to tighten around the point where games incorporate tentacle monsters and Japanese schoolgirls.

 

[ComradeJim270]

None. Censorship is more vile and obscene than any game could ever manage to be.

 

[Count_de_Monet]

I'm glad the majority of voters believe there should be no censorship. Personally, I believe regulation is more than enough assistance. I'm not sure where the problem even is because my parents were never stupid enough to think a game named Mortal Kombat featured educational content and bunny petting... In a perfect world you should be intelligent enough to tell if a game is violent, sexually depraved, or just plain dumb by looking at the box or *gasp* God forbid you go online and read about it. Regulation is just an affirmation of my belief that the majority of humans on this planet have the cranial capacity of my pet dog but I won't allow myself to think less of humanity by believing censorship is a necessity.

Aside from that rather long rant I think the results of the poll show something fairly ridiculous about our society. Exempting the "no censorship votes" we see a spread of people who think sexual violence is more worthy of being banned than killing children, teaching people who to make weapons and other kinds of extreme violence... I have to say I think that putting a pitchfork through a toddler is more disgusting than rape and, if we were to have censorship, I'd hope that physical violence gets the rubber stamp before sexual violence.

 

[PettingZOOPONY]

Not to hijack the thread though who here would honestly play a rape simulator? I'm sitting here thinking why in the world would anyone want to play that type of game but at the same time simple human curiosity makes me wonder how the game works. I have killed children, stolen, commited genocide, enslaved whole populations in games but I don't know if I could cross that line into virtually raping a npc. Maybe its the fact that the other acts of violence and degradation in those games advanced the game or gave me resources that I needed, I just don't see how rape would advance a plot. Granted a good writer could make it so. To me rape is worse than murder because of what it can do to a persons soul.

All that said though I still stand by my original statement and would not ban anything.

 

[PurpleRain]

Holy crap. The the way the polls add: Everything combind together (not including the last) is at 37. 42 votes say that baby killing, terrorist attacks, rape, torture, school massacres and sexual violence is too soft core. I'm starting to worry about you lot.

 

[PettingZOOPONY]

Holy crap. The the way the polls add: Everything combind together (not including the last) is at 37. 42 votes say that baby killing, terrorist attacks, rape, torture, school massacres and sexual violence is too soft core. I'm starting to worry about you lot.

Its not our fault Jack Thompson was right and we love to eat babies after years of playing video games, we can still blame our fucked up minds on games right? If not its TVs fault, well at least the Fox networks fault.

 

[PurpleRain]

Hey, what's a Pulitzer Laureate, because I'm apparently one now.

Anyway, sometimes the media needs its boundries. It's not censorship to make bounries that people can obide by. Like laws I guess. They're not unfair, well most of the time. Even movies usually get try to avoid the baby killing scene. but movies are allowed to get away with a lot more because they're apparently not 'targeted towards kids as games are' which is just wrong. I would like to see more adult content released on games just not a rape and stalking simulator.

 

[Dectilon]

"Not to hijack the thread though who here would honestly play a rape simulator? I'm sitting here thinking why in the world would anyone want to play that type of game but at the same time simple human curiosity makes me wonder how the game works."

I doubt (hope) that no one here would like to play any, but they do exist. They are, however, so far removed from the mainstream that regulating them is close to pointless. It differs from the actual crime in the same way a movie depicting a murder isn't a crime. Saying this or that isn't meant for kids is, on the same token, equally pointless because kids will find them regardless. The only regulation I can really support is that done by parents with common sense. Parents are taking less and less responsibility these days, prefering to pass blame rather than deal with the actual issue that in general are personal.

Pulitzer Laureate means Pulitzer winner : P

 

[Mister_moi]

i do not think anything should get banned for what reason there might be. If people dont want there kids to grow up as baby killing raping suicide terrorist than they should tell those kids not to play certian games. Not that kids will grow up like that if they play a game, as long as its clear that its is just a game.

But the graphics of the games are getting so realistic lately that it might get harder for simpleminded people (or really sick and twisted people...) to look at a rape scene or baby murder by a clow scene and think: "It's just a game" so i can understand why certain people want certain sick games ideas banned.

 

[Axulciex]

I wouldn't ban a thing.

Standards will change and eventually all explicit content will be allowed, its a natural progression. why hold back progress?
Theres a ratings system for a reason, people of age have to be responsible for their own actions, regardless of stimuli from entertainment. Censorship is backwards and primitive.

 

[Leenix]

I don't see date rape or sexual violence particularly tasteful, which is a nice way of saying that I think it's extremely fucked up.

There are games with sex and there are sex games. its the latter that I think that we should be wary of. Sure, if you really need to beat a girl to a bloody and unidentifiable chunk of flesh to get a hard on, then its much better that you do it in a game and not go any further and redo the scene in reality. Of course, failing that you could always raid a butcher's deep freeze.
This has gone on for far too long...

My point is that it doesn't matter if you do, lets say "socially unpopular" things as long as it stays in the game. It's when those retards who don't know the difference between games and reality show us how clever they are by re-enacting those things on the unknowing and innocent that I get thoroughly pissed off! Especially when its the games that get the blame.

So if you are one of those previously mentioned retards, do us all a favour and repeat a game that has suicide or something. At least cut off/out your sexual organs so you cant breed.

 

[PhoenixFlame]

I can't really go for banning any of those things, mostly because regulation, as many people have said, is not strong enough and should be better in deterring people who shouldn't be playing the games in question. The problem isn't in media - time has shown that media standards and ideas of what is and what isn't allowed can be changed and the envelope pushed, with little problems on "society". For evidence, look no further than what was allowed on TV 30 years ago vs. what is allowed on TV today.

The key is not banning the content, it's making sure that the people who experience the content (such as children) are educated about it. Education starts with the idea that what is in the game, stays in the game, that what is in a game is in essence a simulation, a fantasy, and not something that should be replicated in the real world no matter how ridiculous or edgy it is.

I don't particularly like that games which sensationalize extreme violence or rape or any of those taboos are made. But because there are ways in which to properly regulate and educate in order to diminish the chances of that one child, teenager, or adult who takes the game world too seriously, I can't in good conscience say we shouldn't have those games published at all.

On another angle, I do think that if people were properly educated that games which were published with that kind of content would sell less, telling "soulless" marketing companies that it's not only morally questionable to make said games but also more importantly, not profitable to do so.

 

[KypFisto]

As horrible as some of these ideas are, I don't believe they should be censured. Either their vulgar content will be filtered out by consumers because they won't buy it or it will gain a cult following like snuff films. Maybe one of these games is trying to make a political point. Maybe it'll get people thinking. I don't and wouldn't support anyone banning such content.

 

[The Irrelevant Gamer]

I wouldn't ban any of them, but not because I don't think they are offensive. I just don't believe in censorship.

 

[KurtNiisan]

Ok. I'm going to compare all this to an Anime movie...

KITE

In the movie Kite, the main character is a pre-teen to early-teen girl who is essentially a slave to the bastard who murdered her parents. She is violently raped numerous times in the film, and it is actually shown, not just alluded to. Yes this movie has graphic sexual content, but to censor it out would ruin the movie. It is NOT a porno, it is very much about the story of this girl's life, and to cut out the rape, is to cut out the entire reasoning why she ends up doing all that she does in the film.

The rape in the movie is part of the plot. If it were just an add-in for no reason beyond perverse pornography then fine, censor it out. The same applies to games, if the taboo content is part of the game because it is part of the plot then don't fracking censor it.

- Yes, but have you taken into account that there is in fact multiple censored versions of the Kite film? Germany was the only country to release an uncut copy outside of Japan, until the US did in 2006 (I believe?)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_%28anime%29

 

[Girlysprite]

A little side track here, but many people say something in the lines of 'people can blow off steam in such games so they will not do such things in real life'. I always wondered if this had some scientific backup, if any research has done for such an effect. I know I have read about a research that people who blow off steam in another way when they are angry, by boxing, throwing stuff around and cursing stayed angry much longer then people who managed to count to 10.

 

[Fire Daemon]

Holy crap. The the way the polls add: Everything combind together (not including the last) is at 37. 42 votes say that baby killing, terrorist attacks, rape, torture, school massacres and sexual violence is too soft core. I'm starting to worry about you lot.

Where not saying its softcore, where saying that banning media is wrong. But I think that this type of games should be banned to people under 15. Showing 12 year olds graphic violence and pornography is plain wrong. and because 12 year olds will find their way to this game after a time. So hence I'm saying that these games should be banned as a precution against those that should not play these games.

Although I beleive that banning media is wrong I think that not enough parents put enough effort into controlling what videogames their kids are playing. So I think that games like the one in the poll should not be made, and if they are made then parents should be held respsonsible for letting their kids playing these games and receive a fine and go to forced parenting lessons. pretty much making extreme violent (and sexual) games illegal for people are not old enough to play them.

Maybe that way people can stop saying that games are "warping" young children.

 

[Drong]

Well be glad you don't live in the UK, our government here's answer is ban anything and everything, handguns went about 7 years back (you could only have them with a license before that but then they banned them all regardless to stop gun crime...which has gone up every year since ;P)

Manhunt 2 is still banned (the appeal was overturned)

spam was banned (ok i'm not going to argue with that one)

Samurai swords are getting banned in april

most fireworks are banned

The smoking ban

And they even banned the i-pod radio add on! there's lot more I just can't think off the top of my head, all you ever seem to hear on the news is "so & so politician calls for a ban"

 

[Sylocat]

Last time I checked, it's up to the audience to choose what games to play, and it's up to the parents to decide what games their children can play. If parents can't take responsibility for what their kids see on TV, that's not the fault of a games manufacturer.