
Massage Freaks, the raunchy rthythm game from publisher qureate, has been quietly released on Steam. Not only that, but it's also received a complete name change and is now called 'beat refle', which sounds like a bit of a play on the term 'Reflexology'. It's certainly a more "neutral" title, that's for sure.
The release follows a storm of controversy following the initial reveal of Massage Freaks. Its depiction of women and the scenarios in which they find themselves caused many to draw comparisons to real-life sex crimes in Japan. In addition, the forenames of the in-game characters were identical to some of the members of Japanese idol group 'Hinatazaka46' before qureate swifly made moves to alter them. Indeed, the Steam page for beat refle contains a few choice statements to potentially avoid any future controversy:
※ All characters involved in sexual content are over the age of 18.
※ This game is a work of fiction.
※ It has nothing to do with any real person, group, or incident.
※ This game is not intended to incite or encourage crime. Do not imitate.
In addition to the name change, much of the game's steamier content appears to have been cut out from the vanilla release. Players can still access this via a patch from qureate's official website and experience beat refle as it's intended, but it seems that in order to get the game out there with minimal fuss, qureate has opted to leave out content that might cause significant backlash.
Perhaps most noteworthy, however, is that the game's release on Switch is still very much up in the air. Despite launching on Steam, beat refle's console launch is not mentioned anywhere on qureate's official website, and the eShop pages are still missing at the time of writing. Granted, there are likely procedures that need to be followed to get the game relisted, particularly after a complete name change, but we wouldn't be surprised if the launch has been canned entirely.
At the time of the indefinite delay, qureate refrained from providing any explicit reasoning behind its decision, only that it was “the result of discussions between relevant parties". Should the game see an eventual release on Switch, we imagine the cut content from the Steam release will also be missing on Switch, albeit without any option to manually patch it in.
What do you make of this continuing saga? Do you think Massage Freaks / beat refle will make its way onto Switch? Let us know in the comments!
[source automaton-media.com]
Comments 51
That last statement is all kinds of yikes. I mean, if something like that needs saying, they know what they have made. No thanks.
@GrailUK Yeah, it's devastatingly revealing, right? Not good.
All characters involved in sexual content are over the age of 18.
🤢🤮
Amazing statement as they don't look over 18..
Seems like this game wasn't very well thought through, huh.
I'd prefer it if ecchi games were more respectful in general.
Looks boring anyhow. I've purchased the AO version of 'Lust for Darkness' on Nintendo Switch before they removed it and released a toned down version of the game. My point is, why can't we have an Adults Only Eshop on Nintendo Switch like Steam does with their online store?
We allow violence in games, but when it comes to nudity, people lose their minds 😆 🤣
@GrailUK Pretty sure a comment similar to this is made every time a new GTA comes out.
@LordPieFace Kids love GTA.
@GrailUK they made it because people are stupid enough to think that if you play this game, you're gonna go around massaging random girls in the hope they'll get turned on and make them like you.
Luckily, those who enjoy this kind of games are unable to speak to real women so there's nothing to worry about.
I guess you could say this game really rubbed a lot of people the wrong way...
OK BYEEEEEE!
I’ve always been baffled by this weird niche of sexualising young girls in gaming, anime etc. - who likes this stuff? I don’t buy the ‘sexualised characters are over 18’ clause for this game one bit. Seems a bit sad to me - If you’re an adult & into this stuff it’s time to get out more. Preferably away from children.
I'd prefer developers not to make games involving sick sexual fantasies anyway. Seriously people, this is just wrong on so many levels.
It’s not like changing anything is gonna matter, people are going to complain about it anyway, even tho (Opinion) that they addressed the issues people were talking about, with it not being consented, the age, and even for some reason they have to state it’s fiction.
I enjoy rhythm games, and I enjoy fanservice, put them both together, alright!
@Not_Soos No wait!! Don' leave!!!!
※ All characters involved in sexual content are over the age of 18.
※ This game is not intended to incite or encourage crime.
I put 2 and 2 together on the most probable reason for these warnings, and I'm very okay with the idea of the game never being released on Switch.
I just 100% Peach Ball and was looking forward to my next shameful game on my Switch
@NintendoEternity Because all three console makers have banned ALL AO games from being on their platform, period.
Will buy it if it comes to Switch uncensored. If not, might get it on Steam.
@GoldenSunRM I play ecchi games and I no bigger problem speaking to women than I have speaking to guys.
@Royalblues So do you wish to ban all games rated 18+ by PEGI since they are obviously not ment for kids?
They don’t even have foot stuff in it!
🤣😂🤦♂️🤦♂️
@GrailUK It needs saying because some people, for some reason thinks people playing this game would do such crimes just because they saw it in a game -_-
@GrailUK That only appeared because some people claimed that it does encourage crimes. You know, the "video games make children behave badly" crowd. Except this is an 18+ game, so that attitude makes even less sense.
@AG_Awesome Off my wishlist then
@SmaggTheSmug @Tobiaku Well, to each their own I guess. But it all sounds rather gratuitous to me.
@SmaggTheSmug LOL!! ❤️❤️
@Royalblues
"I honestly don't know why games like these are available on the Switch in the first place, as it's supposed to be for children."
If the console was INTENDED for children, you wouldn't have Nintendo publishing M-rated games, third parties bringing games like The Witcher 3, the hands-off approach to content curation on the eshop, etc.
To be clear, game consoles are INTENDED for anyone who buys them, and companies publish a variety of games to appeal to as many demographics as possible. That's how you make a console that roars past 100+ million sales in record time.
@GrailUK They said they would proceed with legal action against people "spreading false rumours" and "making harmful social media posts" about their game. That would be difficult to pull off, but this disclaimer should in theory shut them up.
I would be cheeky and add "any well-adjusted adult should already know this" to that statement, but I'm guessing it's not a Platinum game
A lot of people here seem to have forgotten the previous news post about this game.
All those statements are here to fend off the screeching twitter crowd that for some reason decided to target Japanese erotic games (I would bet a lot of the same people praised those awful sex scenes in The Last of Us 2).
It's just another attack on Japanese media by cultural imperialists.
If you wonder why they needed to specify all those things in those statements: it's because there was a crowd of stupid people accusing them of wrongdoing. The kind of moral busybodies that back in the day claimed D&D was satanic, hip hop would be the downfall of society and Counter Strike taught people how to perform school shootings. All while studies show otherwise.
@Ralizah nintendo is catering more to the young adults to older adults this time around with the switch not just for kids reason why nintendo is letting rated m and ecchi type games on the switch for a reason which why some people need to start wondering why the switch is big seller to the adult crowd especially with nintendo not censoring as much like sony is doing.
@RiasGremory I agree. While I reject the notion that any mainstream console is "for" any one demographic, Nintendo is explicitly targeting an older demographic with the Switch. We saw that in the marketing (which primarily featured adults in their 20s and 30s), the sort of games they're developing for the platform, decisions they're making regarding third-party support, etc.
@SmaggTheSmug The impression I've had is that most of the anger over this game is coming from Japan, where the subject matter is actually socially relevant and thus controversial. I doubt small Japanese developers like this would even notice if the Western SJW crowd got worked up over it.
To see such things like that, it just tell how problematic to being adult with such of fetish like that. In my opinion, it's beyond disgusting to become an adult people and liking such things like that. From my point of view, sexualize female characters like that even from video games or entertainment, it just so disrespectful. It's not entertainment anymore, it's pure audacity. That idea should be cancelled.
If an 18+ version with H scenes releases on Jastusa then I'll get it for my laptop. I love Qureate's stuff.
@NintendoEternity Jastusa and Denpasoft is where you go for the real goods. Less trouble to just purchase, install and play something then have to patch the all ages Steam versions, lol
“Video games aren’t meant to encourage crime” I dunno every time I play a GTA game I commit a real life crime.
Seriously though, it’s sad people don’t understand that these days. When did people start having issues separating fantasy from reality?
@MetalMan When people got a issue with the content in said fantasy and are willing to use any excuse to attempt to get said fantasy banned so nobody can enjoy something they themself don't like.
There probably are some who can't tell the difference between fiction and reality, but most of it is probably just excuses.
This again, huh?...sighs
There's some decent fanservice type games out there, too...and people are just scaring them away from coming to Switch. They're video games, it's anime, get over and move on, people. :/
I get it....but are we pretending games with mass murder don't exist ?
I thought Nintendo doesn't censor or disallow lewd 3rd party games?
If I had to guess, I would say this will eventually come to Switch.
@Fake-news Reminds me of those old MS-DOS Japanese erotic games back when translating them was still fairly new. They would insist that all characters were over 18 and in college despite the visuals screaming at you that they were high schoolers. I recall one game even clearly modeled the characters after high school girls from 90's anime such as Rayearth and Evangelion (forgot the title of that one).
@yuwarite Nintendo don't force censorship upon them, but they might give in to public backlash. But hopefully you are right and they will release it.
@steventonysmith I dissagree about the shanefull part, but youy can check out 7 Pirates H, Omega labyrinth life, Dead or alive xtreme 3 Scarlet, the Gal Gun games and Gun gun pixies.
@Royalblues No, children aren't the main target audience for Nintendo. (Haven't you seen Switch ads?) Plus, they're only a tiny minority of the players according to a business presentation held by Nintendo last year.
This is mostly unrelated but it's not that hard to not make the characters look like sixteen year olds... That would make it less weird.
And no it's not just the art style, I'm an artist myself and there are ways to make characters not look juvenile even with cartoony/anime artstyles (like more anatomically correct proportions in comparison to younger characters, smaller eyes further apart, etc.)
I am not afraid of sex. I am not afraid of sexuality being expressed in ways that are somewhat risque. There's nothing here that isn't in dozens of dating/romance games and just because those package the content in a slightly different vibe, no one has an issue with those.
What a shame, I wanted to play it for the gameplay.
No one seems to understand that this game is a satirical comment on society’s failure to help the lumpenproletariat.
@NintendoEternity I know right? This is even a bigger issue for Japanese developers. Even in Japanese porn they have to blur out the naughty parts! Europe is getting an exclusive Switch game, Pretty Girls Game Collection, because it has full nudity! (It's just a game of Mahjong and Qiix, so no lose.) In Europe, they are more concerned with violence in games, and don't care about nudity. It's the opposite.
@Royalblues Bayonetta would like to have a word with you!
@Snatcher I can't wait for Bayonetta 3!!!!
@NatiaAdamo which I think is outdated! Bring AO rated content Back!
Where has the orthography gone, Ollie? Capital letters for titles and companies.
@Tobiaku
I'm sure someone with a porn game as a profile Pic would enjoy a game like this, no doubt.
@MetalMan it's what I try to say to people on Twitter, every time they say that those who likes japanese ecchi game are pedophile.
People have completely lost any reason. At least in America. The moment you talk with someone outside of that country you can mostly have a rational discussion.
@andykara2003 Its a game.
The bit I never understood was why the outrage over this game, when another ecchi massage game with some...erm...'interesting' scenarios already exists on the Switch in the form of Senran Kagura Reflexions? Were the people who were acting like Massage Freaks was some kind of 'moral panic' actually personally bothered by the game and felt that it was somehow worth voicing an opinion about in a way Senran Kagura Reflexions seemingly wasn't? Or was it, as I suspect, more of a case of some Twitter screecher just happened to notice it on the release schedule for whatever reason and start throwing the usual boring and unfounded accusations around, and then others joined in more because they didn't want to be tarred with the same brush rather than because it was a genuine issue for them, and Massage Freaks ended up being unfairly thrust under the spotlight because of it? I could MAYBE understand if no other ecchi 'massage' games existed on Switch but as I pointed out, nobody batted an eyelid with Reflexions (and it was even eventually given a Western english cart release by Limited Run) 🤔
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...