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The UK's Video Standards Council Rating Board has refused to issue a UK Certificate of Classification (archive) for the JRPG game Omega Labyrinth Z, due to it "clearly [promoting] the sexualisation of children". The publisher's appeal of the decision was rejected. This is the first game to be banned in the UK since Manhunt 2, which was initially refused classification by the British Board of Film Classification, but eventually classified "18" after censorship, a second refusal, and an appeal.:
The game is explicit in its setting within a "school" environment and the majority of the characters are young girls - one child is referred to as being a "first year" student and is seen holding a teddy bear. The game clearly promotes the sexualisation of children via the sexual interaction between the game player and the female characters. The style of the game is such that it will attract an audience below the age of 18.
There is a serious danger that impressionable people, i.e. children and young people viewing the game would conclude that the sexual activity represented normal sexual behaviour. There is a constant theme of sexual innuendo and activity throughout the game that suggests behaviour likely to normalise sexual activity towards children. As a means of reward gained by successfully navigating the game, the player has the means to sexually stimulate the female characters by using either a hand held remote device or touch screen software.
The VSC Rating Board believes this content in a game, which would have strong appeal to non-adult players, is an issue which would be unacceptable to the majority of UK consumers and, more importantly, has the potential to be significantly harmful in terms of the social and moral development of younger people in particular.
Omega Labyrinth Z was released in Japan on July 6, 2017 for the PlayStation Vita and PS4 platforms, and will be released in North America and Europe in early 2018. The game was also refused classification in Australia and Germany, and will not be released in New Zealand or Ireland.
The UK's Digital Economy Act 2010 shifted responsibility for classifying most video games from the British Board of Film Classification to the Video Standards Council.
In unrelated news, Luigi may or may not have a penis.
Also at BBC, Gamasutra, and Kotaku.
(Score: 1, Redundant) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday March 18 2018, @11:31PM (3 children)
I don't know, you guys let the hilariously awful Nancy Reagan live there, and liked it so much you asked her back, along with that half wit husband of hers.
Tipper seemed almost human in comparison.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Monday March 19 2018, @12:58AM (2 children)
Tipper's from my ancestral home of Eastern Tennessee - ultra-conservative Baptist roots, she wanted to make sure the "F-word" and all the other words that go with it were minimized out of children's ears by whatever methods would achieve that goal, including censorship.
Nancy was relatively agenda-less by comparison.
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(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday March 19 2018, @01:13AM (1 child)
I have no doubt tipper is ultra consevative, because even the most liberal of American politicians are by the civilised world's standards, but Nancy was a long way from agenda-less.
Ignoring AIDs because only gay people got it, and "Just Say No" to drugs being two of her worst ideas, but she also ran the White House according to the dictates of her Astrologer.
Total weirdo.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday March 19 2018, @03:29AM
I'll grant you "Just say no to drugs" was/is as idiotic as the drug war, but I've always viewed that as a simple puppet act - pretty much how I viewed all 8 years of Reagan's administration - the 4 of Bush Sr. seemed to be a bit more personally led, but Ronnie was an actor, he read his lines and stayed on script the whole time as far as I can tell. I hated them all at the time for making me choose: don't want to sign up for selective service? Well, then we won't be backing your student loans and you can just drop out of college - and all the saber rattling against the USSR seemed like un-necessary brinksmanship, but it paid off in 1989 - I may have disagreed with the methods, but I think the results were net positive.
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