29 réponses à ce sujet

[CrystalCousland]

Hi everyone. I'm from Germany and over here we do have the problem that many games are actively censored because of graphic violence or exaggerated violence (e.g. there were no rolling heads in Age of Conan in the German version of the game.)

But my problem lies elsewhere:

Why is it that American (government/religions, etc.) seemingly have no problems at all with very violent games. GTA, GoW, the Doom series, etc. whereas there is an outrage whenever there is any miniscule mention of SEX (god forbid!). I'm asking this because Bioware seems to be following that same trend: their games get more and more violent (compare Dragon Age to KotOR or ME2 to ME1) ... on the other hand, their sex scenes become increasingly soft (compare ME1 -> Dragon Age -> ME2).

Basically, this tendency says: 

KILL PEOPLE (yeah, ok)
LOVE PEOPLE (omg, stop!)

Regards from a German fan who would like to see more 'avant garde' sex scenes in her favourite game.

[Divine Flame]

Lol i don't actually have an answer for you but am shocked that Germany would be more strict as opposed to less strict on content. That surprises me very much. Learn something new everyday.

[Red Viking]

It's mainly due to cultural issues. Over here, you get in trouble over nudity, not violence.

[CrystalCousland]

Yes, RedViking, that's obvious - just wondering what those cultural issues are.

[challenger18]

We're a young violent country. We're used to it. We're full of religious hypocrites who are more apt to cite pages involving getting revenge than those that tell us to be passive. Because of the Victorian era, sex is quite the intimate and taboo subject and because of that most people are uncomfortable watching it with other people (movies, games, etc.)



*Shrugs*

[neubourn]

Yep, you basically hit the nail on the head. Violence is ok, sex...not so much. Blame it on your Puritan/Protestant roots.

[Frotality]

becuase the attempts to depart from classic christian morals in our country leads to wildly hypocritical definitions of 'appropriate' and hoards of double standards. progressive and traditional morality are waging war against each other in public media right now. IMO ultimately the battle hinges on whether the all powerful FOX news can be defeated or not.

[DharmaIniative108]

We are a country founded by prudes that were persecuted in Europe.



Nudity and Sex are still unfortunately a social stigma in the United States. Its mostly due to family value conservatives and the high amount of religion.



United States now lives in a society were everything has to be politically correct.



End Rant

[Azuraft]

Actually there usually is quite the outrage. There has been for about two decades now. There were even times of protests over the violence in Mario Bros. 

The reason why you see all the sensationalism over sex in video games now is because it wasn't as rampant as violence has been. Violence has always been a part of video gaming history from the cartoony to the explicitly visual. And while sex has tested its toes in the water to make sure it wasn't too cold, its never really been there.

As for why sex in video games gets softer and softer is really left on the developers. if they put in hardcore raunchy (oh god let's get some nice 18+ DLC going!) sex scenes then they'll be restricted to AO (Adults Only) releases only. Parents won't buy the games for their teens, some adults won't play it, etc. By keeping it tasteful, they maintain a "respectable" rating that allows them to sell their product to a larger audience.

Let's face it, sex in games is great, but that's usually where a mod community takes over. Shame its not exactly easy to mod any Mass Effect games.

[TheDove]

I can't really contribute as to why this is. However, in my opinion neither things should be censored. If we have faith in the rating system at all, then there should be no restrictions beyond the creativity of the game makers, as we're all old enough to handle whatever events might come our way.



Games are still somewhat held back as far as acceptance goes with nudity and violence, compared to say books or film. Definitely far less socially acceptable to delve into either.

[Bio Addict]

Americans are a people like any other. We are the way we are because of where we come from and because of the things that have happened to us in the past. I'd say it's mainly to do with religion. Europe experienced a drop in church attendance after the world wars, when the idea of an all loving god watching out for everyone started to seem a little more far fetched then it once did, our country has never really been devastated in a similar manner. Plus some of the first settlers of the North American continent were Puritans. Hope that helps to answer your question.

[DharmaIniative108]

is it me or does a country get really weird sexually losing a world war ?

[Andaius20]

I would say it mostly has to do with the religious background and political reasons.

[topekaguy]

The only reason German games are so heavily censored violence-wise is because of "He who cannot be named". *Not Voldemort

[SidNitzerglobin]

I would agree it's stupid.

I think the percentage of people (even in the fundie population) who genuinely believe it is more acceptable for someone to commit mass murder than to have sex is actually pretty small over here, but those that do have an undue level of influence due to ineffective restrictions on PACs and campaign finance, a prevalent political cowardice from the tools we wind up electing into office, and irresponsible "journalism".

In the end though, I mostly blame what effectively amounts to economic censorship from the franchise retailers (and in the case of console games, the console manufacturers) for publishers and devs caving, personally.

Just my .02

Modifié par SidNitzerglobin, 22 janvier 2010 - 09:29 .

[CrystalCousland]

Thanks for the great answers!



And Azraft, don't get my post wrong, I don't want pornography in ME, I was just totally amazed by the public debate that seemed to be raging in the US in the wake of MEI ("deviant sex is possible" o.O). And Bioware seems to submit to these (unfounded!) accusations by removing harmless things such as an Asari breast which was, seriously, asthetically pleasing for both genders.



I'm sure glad House MD was an American invention though. They seem not to care to much about puritan and victorian roots (as far as I can see at least.)



Zevran was a great way to go for Bioware. I hope they will stay on that path in the long run.

[casedawgz]

All kinds of innapropriate, but hilarious:

[Binny Gill Alfa]

If you look at the history of the USA versus Germany, the role of guns and violence mean completely different things. The USA has not experienced a large scale local war since the Civil War in the 1860's. Europe, on the other hand, has experienced several large conflicts in the 20th century alone. In a way, Europe's perspective on violence has been shaped differently than the USA. You'll see gun laws in Europe often reflect this (there are exceptions, Switzerland, Finland, etc...).



Also, the USA is more religious than Germany and religion has historically been rather prude (Christianity, in particular).



But violence does garner a large amount of controversy. Remember the outcry during the heyday of Mortal Kombat? The aftermath of the Columbine shootings?



I think it comes down to a different cultural perspective (based on history) on violence and guns.

[Kelanil]

Sex will always be a bigger issue in the United States. Its not that people aren't outraged over violence in this country but when you country is founded by Puritans there is going to be a social influence. (FYI-I'm not bashing Christians or Puritans just making a point that a country founded by a certain religion is bound to influence its society.) So yes sex seems to anger the masses more then violence in the United States.

[PoiSIN-XIII]

pretty much religious issues =\\ its rather insane and sad games -can- and -have- done more but most games dont want the heat for it mass effect 1 got splattered all over the news iam sure you heard for something that -any- kid can see by turning on the tv video games however get it much more harshly then moives or tv shows for some reasons i've noticed mostly because people still think video games are for kids and thus having sex in it is bad think of the children... despite the fact that the games rated M and you have to be 18 years old to buy it... sigh i hope one day we can move past it i really do its sad to hear me2 is taking steps back from it =\\ what they did befor was already pretty lite in it self compared to others god of war and such and now theres even less so.

[Azuraft]

casedawgz wrote...

All kinds of innapropriate, but hilarious:

mmmm sandwhiches.

[CrystalCousland]

topekaguy wrote...

The only reason German games are so heavily censored violence-wise is because of "He who cannot be named". *Not Voldemort

Well, Hitler may play a (small) part here, but the more serious concerns are actual killings (comparable to the Columbine high school incident) which have happened in the past few years. Since all those kids played games (jeez!) German politicians have come to the genius conclusion that playing counterstrike will turn you into a mass murderer.

Then, of course, Germans DO have a violent history and we are (rightly!) ashamed of what we did to the world. So yes, violence, militaristic attitudes, the right to own weapons, all these things are considered dangerous over here. It does make our country kind of peaceful though.

And while violence is frowned upon, we are actually very open as far as sex is concerned. I guess our early evening TV shows might get the ban hammer in the US just because they show sex with completely naked people.


PS: If the level of intelligence displayed in these texts is any indication of the average cleverness of Americans, you seem to be an awfully educated nation. More reason for me to fight the (local) stereotype of uneducated Americans.

Modifié par CrystalCousland, 22 janvier 2010 - 09:34 .

[topekaguy]

It wont get any better until the old, pruddish people who yield power in this country are all dead and gone.

[Marlina]

Censoring for adults is stupid.

[Binny Gill Alfa]

Besides sex and violence, language and substance abuse are other issues that often create controversy, like Fallout 3 in Australia. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe Singapore temporarily banned ME1 in 2007/2008 due to the sex scene.