Topic: Censorship in Gaming

Can't say I agree with censorship, maybe in particular cases when a game is localised. Generally it should be left alone.

Dispatch has baffled me, mainly due to the fact I wasn't aware of it until this Switch 2 version was revealed to be censored. So now my only impression is "oh, it's been compromised. I won't bother".
The audience it's targeted towards will already know what they're getting into and will probably want the original experience.

Cyberpunk was more realistic, this isn't. So I could see some Nintendo executive saying that kids could get themselves in something they didn't sign up for. But that's why we have age ratings.
Wouldn't say I'm a regular on the eShop, but there's plenty I've seen which would raise an eyebrow. I'd focus on that.

@Kimyonaakuma, the thing about the eShop, is that parents have easy to access parental controls that they can use to block their kids from even viewing information about rated mature games. So if a parent doesn't use those parental controls, and their kid sees something that the parents don't want them to see, the blame should go to the parents, who didn't use the parental controls. Also, other people get way too involved with declaring what kids who aren't even theirs should and shouldn't see. Since parental controls exist, this censorship debacle shouldn't need to.

@Kimyonaakuma There's a likely talks going around, in that that the Switch/2 version is censored because of Cero's guidelines, since PS5 (Japan version) also apparently released at the same time and it"s also censored. This doesn't make sense since it was already out beforehand and not censored iirc?

So the likelihood is laws and regulations.

And from there it's figuring that they released the japan version worldwide for Switch/2

I have a pretty hardline stance against censorship, especially if the devs/publisher have gone through all the proper channels to get the game rated correctly and approved for release. That said, there are always exceptions and, for me, one area is when characters, usually in more niche Japanese games, are underage or look underage. Should be no sexualizing of that type of character. Doesn't seem to be any of that stuff in Dispatch so I think it's stupid not to at least give people an option to play it uncensored like the other consoles have.

Reading comments on the new Tomodachi Life game, I noticed that many people are upset about the option to play as a queer and/or nonbinary character, and some of the commenters seem to be the same ones who've previously been angry when some designs of female characters have been changed in video game remakes, localisations, etc. Is it just me, or does that seem like a huge double standard? According to these people, it's wrong to alter video game makers' artistic vision in any way when it's all about fanservice for straight men, but if said vision also includes queer people, then they throw a hissy fit.

@Polvasti Yeah, there are definitely some hypocrites around but for the most part, I think they're two different groups of people with only a little crossover.

I'm firmly on the anti-censorship side myself, although I think you've got to be realistic about it. Game consoles are just too much of a mass market thing to ever allow unrated or adults-only games. Similarly developers would prefer to make a single version of a game rather than having to adjust to the differing standards of every market they release into, and that does tend to lead to a lowest-common denominator approach.

The vast majority of censorship controversies seem to revolve around sexualized violence and the sexualization of underaged characters at least, though, and I'd think that those are areas of fair discussion; at least in terms of what's practical for a console release.

The people calling for the removal of queer and non-binary characters just look like they fell through a timewarp from the 1980s, in comparison though. I don't think they're getting much support for those views; it just feels like more grifting to me.

Yep it seems like it's true that the JP version is censored on JP. So it's a lot likely that the dev or publisher decided to not go with 2 versions for Switch unlike PS5

Another win for ol' Jax and his chipped Switch.

There's already an "uncensored mod" available for Dispatch. Download, drag and drop on SD, done and done. Game fixed.

Sound like a broken record but, best $100 I ever spent in my life. The dividends just keep on piling up.

Japan does not allow the showing of genitalia or nipples, requiring black bars or pixelation/blur, or simply a "void" / no detailed rendering. So that makes a lot of sense. Cyberpunk is also censored in Japan, obviously. I believe you simply can't take off your undergarments in the JP version?

whilst the female body is generally sexulised more in society, your view somewhat contradicts itself in that you want the female body with censorship and instead bare chested males with six packs. It works both ways.