Eroge Websites blocked
You may have heard about the RapeLay incident: None Japanese gaming sites/feminist groups/ politicians using one of the most extreme sort of Eroge as reference for all games of this genre. And banning them. This lead to the situation we are in atm: Foreign visitor are blocked from most Eroge producer’s websites.
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After a lot of reactions from foreigners minori added the statement on the left to their homepage.
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The blocking was quite a strict move but after thinking about it I guess it was the right decision for the current situation.
How should they deal with politicians who have no insight (especially the foreign ones) and who tell them that foreigners are offended by their games? How would you react?
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Wikipedia might not be the most awesome source for otaku related stuff but maybe some anti-eroge folks should have fired up their IE6 (sry for mentioning such an awful piece of software xD):
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Definition from Wikipedia below:
An eroge (エロゲー, erogē, a portmanteau of erotic game: erochikku gēmu) is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork.
Most eroge are visual novels or romance sims. However, there are many other kinds of eroge:
- Other common video game genres such as RPGs with eroticism.
- Conditioning game, in which the female character, by performing different types of sexual activities, changes her stats, unlocking additional types of play.
- "Strip"’ versions of traditional games, including but not limited to mahjong, pachinko, poker, chess, and blackjack. Many adult arcade games fall under this category.
- Interactive video, which is essentially nothing more than an eroge that plays in a DVD player (also known as DVDPG, DVD player game).
- Sex simulators, often in 3D.
- Puzzle games with erotic background images.
- Ero-cha is online sex chat employing full voice chat with voice actresses in real time. This system uses 2D eroge-type characters, as well as erotic game style point-and-click functions.
Eroge may be bishōjo games, GxB, or BL games, although bishōjo games are the most popular.
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Unfortunately the game which got attention was not one of the most common sort of Eroge. But aren’t there sick movies out there too for example? Let’s say someone is offended by a horror movie, does this mean we should ban love stories too? Don’t know how RapeLay got approved @ Amazon. “We don’t sell ecchi stuff, but a rape game is fine?“
Those of you who ever played a VN know that those are beautiful and awesome stories and not perverted/sick/whatever at all.
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Is this something that needs to be banned in western countries? I think not. Those are pieces of art!
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What’s your opinion? Do you think writing to Japanese officials is going to change anything? I’m not sure about that but a huge amount of complains may have an effect. “Little strokes fell big oaks.” Please think about this and support the game companies by spreading this story in every possible way if you would like play great games in the future too.
For example… .…
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Another thing I was thinking about is the fact that Japanese otaku-related companies seem to have no idea what’s going on overseas. Maybe because they just focus on the Japanese market?
Japanese otaku are discussing the website blocking too. But according to some sources there are also statements like:
“This can’t be helped”, “Damn foreigners are attacking our culture!”, “They are all just dirty pirates anyway!”, and “All eroge makers should ban foreigners!”
I understand those reactions quite well, but aren’t the ones messing around with the laws in Japan actually Japanese officials? If you have more insight feel free to enlighten us/me, please! Would be interesting to hear some Japanese opinions on this but I guess that’s not something that’s likely to happen on this blog.
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The figure photo-session which should have been up by today is delayed for some reasons. Going to blog about them later. Have to get some food now.
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Hopefully without blowing anything up ^^;
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I’m strictly against censorship. I don’t care if it comes from the inside or the outside (other countries ‘n shit). Censorship in every way is shit. So I support actions against this.
I also don’t care about the oppinions of the japanese otakus. I suppose these comments are taken from 2ch. And I think everyone knows what that means.
Also, these guys @minori are cool.
The whole situation reminds me a little be about this “Stopp”-schild censorship on the german web wich is kinda recent.
I don’t think people can stop the web and anything wich make it avialable (in this case Visual Novels)…
The are always ways around it and we still can download mp3’s of our favorite songs and every recent TV series for free if we want to. Banning Eroges? After the next comiket Tokyotosho is full of stuff made from fans for fans with every genre.
I kinda understand the japanese otaku’s xD
Yah, and it’s just like the ban-”killer”-games shit German politicans are up to. (ーー;)Blocking stuff doesn’t work in 2009, but looks like some officials don’t get it.
that eden game looks awesome. I’m completely against censorship.. we’d think that in the year 2009 censorship would be a thing of the past, but it looks like the rich politicians are just trying to make the world retrogress back to the days when even showing a little skin was obscene. It’s quite ridiculous especially considering the excuses given for why they’re doing the ban. I wish the nonsense would stop but apparently soon it’ll be illegal to do just about everything.
This is seriously stupid and pisses me off! It’s so stupid to use RapeLay as a reference. And even if they use it, I still don’t quite understand why they would “ban” them. There are tons of porn out there with rape stories. And games like Postal where you can use cats as a silencer for your machine gun, light people on fire and put the fire out by pissing on the dead body.
Just let people play whatever they like, it’s not real life!
Yah exactly. You can even buy those games at Amazon.com!
It´s the same problem as ever. Politcans don´t know whereof they talk. They don´t take their time to inform about the themes they talk about.
It´s comparable with the censorship here in Germany about pages with pedophile content. Use a homicide agument and the most people would agree or say nothing.
I´m anyway curious about, how that progress and if someday every product of the anime industry would be ban for foreigner.
So, non japanese Otakus unite and tell the politicans in Japan your opinion!^^ Ok, if it would have an effect? Maybe not but isn´t it better to do something than to do nothing? *blog entry write*
Well…I can truly understand why they are doing this since the first step that started this whole talk was the Rapelay incident that popped up on Irish(?) Amazon Marketplace.The Western World started to pressure the Japanese Government to do something about this and it turned into the if you arent with us your with the perverts/pedos argument.Its a stupid logic but many people still think that way.The Japanese Government had to show some reaction and the only politically correct reaction is out the eroge industry in chains.
Minori is locking the ones out that started the whole avalanche: the foreigners.Im pretty sure that they know that most of us arent the problem….
And about the 2Ch Statemnet that were all pirates…Thats true.I bet my ass that 85% of us download the VNs and arent importing them.