Google bans Slavery Simulator game from its app store after controversy in Brazil

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See article from bbc.co.uk

Google has banned a controversial game called Slavery Simulator (Simulado de Escravidao) from its app store, after it caused a bit of an outrage in Brazil.The game, which allowed players to buy and sell slaves, was launched by Magnus Games on 20 April. The game was downloaded about a 1,000 times before it was banned. In a description of the game, the developer boasted that users could exchange, buy and sell slaves. It also allowed players to inflict various forms of torture on them. According to images of the game, users were offered a choice to either liberate the enslaved characters or use slaves for your own enrichment. Social media users in Brazil expressed their ‘fury’ over the game, and a number of prominent politicians urged officials to hold tech companies to a higher standard. Brazil’s Ministry for Racial equality said it had arranged a meeting with Google to help build anti-racist content moderation policies. It added that the developers would be held legally responsible.

Moralists hit the jackpot…

Australian government is set to impose mandatory censorship ratings for video games including simulated gambling or loot boxes.

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Thanks to Daniel See article from abc.net.au

Australia’s government is moving to require an R18+ rating to all video games that contain simulated gambling as part of a proposal targeted at restricting children’s access to popular casino-style games.It will also seek to change classification rules to require all games with paid loot boxes —  where players can purchase a box with a randomised in-game item — to carry at least a mature M-rating. The M rating is an advisory 15 rating like a PG-15 in US terms. Due to adverse publicity some game developers have already phased out loot boxes, including in the popular game Fortnite.Communications Minister Michelle Rowland says the proposals will require the agreement of states and territories to proceed and are designed to address concerns that these games can encourage players to migrate to gambling.

The Callisto Protocol…Video game has been banned in Japan

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Thanks to Daniel See article from gamespot.com

The Callisto Protocol is a 2022 single player horror survival game by Striking Distance Studios The game has now been banned in Japan after it was refused a CERO rating. The developers have decided not to pursue local edits to tryan achieve a rating. String Distance Studios said via its Japanese Twitter account that the localized version for Japan will be discontinued and that anyone who pre-ordered will get a refund, adding: We have determined that the game cannot pass the CERO rating in its current state and that changing the content will not provide the experience that players expect. The reason for refusing the rating have not been reported but it is assume that the refusal was down to the game’s violence and gore

HTML clipboard Massage Freaks (aka Beat Refle)…Banned from a Nintendo release

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Thanks to Daniel See article from comicbook.com

An upcoming and controversial Nintendo Switch game has been officially postponed and delayed indefinitely.The game Massage Freaks was reported by ComicBook.com as the most NSFW game released on the Switch yet. Now it looks like it is Nintendo itself that has prevented the game from releasing on Switch this week, at least in its current form. The game developer Qureate recently announced the game had changed names from Massage Freaks to Beat Refle and is no longer Switch bound. According to developer Qureate, the delay is the result of discussions with related parties. Nintendo isn’t name-dropped, but it’s unclear who else this could be referencing.  Querate said in a statement: The Nintendo Switch version of ‘Massage Freaks,’ which was scheduled to be released on August 4, 2022, has been postponed after discussions with related parties, We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers. Further background from article from en.wikipedia.org : The game received criticism for its depiction of women, which was considered discriminatory and reminiscent of real-world sexual crimes at massage parlors in Japan. It was also noted that female characters in the game shared their first names with members of the idol group Hinatazaka46. Following the criticism, qureate delayed the Switch release indefinitely, cancelled preorders, and changed the characters’ names. beat refle was silently released on Steam on July 31, 2022, albeit censored.

The government decides against introducing laws to ban loot boxes in video games

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See article from theguardian.com

The video game monetisation method of loot boxes will not be banned in the UK, despite a government consultation claiming evidence of an association between the features and problem gambling.Loot boxes have attracted comparison with gambling because they allow players to spend money to unlock in-game rewards, such as special characters, weapons or outfits, without knowing exactly what they will get. The features, popular in games such as Call of Duty and the Fifa football series, were effectively banned in Belgium in 2018, but the censorship culture minister, Nadine Dorries, said the UK would not follow suit. Instead, after a 22-month consultation, she said the government would discuss tougher industry-led protections with the UK’s gaming trade. Dorries explained the decision saying that Legislating to impose curbs or a prohibition on loot boxes as part of an expected overhaul of the UK’s gambling laws could have unintended consequences. For example, legislation to introduce an outright ban on children purchasing loot boxes could have the unintended effect of more children using adult accounts, and thus having more limited parental oversight of their play and spending, the government said, in a response to the consultation published in the early hours of Sunday morning. While the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) stopped short of proposing legislation, Dorries said: Children and young people should not be able to purchase loot boxes without parental approval.

RimWorld…Australian censorship board bans video game

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See article from nichegamer.com See also Refused Classification via twitter.com

RimWorld is a 2018 Canada building simulation game by Ludeon Studios The game was recently banned by the games censors of the Australian Classification Board. The ban applied to gaming consoles. The censors did not specify why the games is banned, just the usual worthless all encompassing stock statement. At the time, everyone thought the PC version would remain unaffected, including developer Ludeon Studios who wrote: We did not expect this to affect the Steam version because in previous similar cases, as with Disco Elysium for example, a Refused Classification (RC) rating on a console version did not affect the availability of the PC version on Steam. I’m sorry this news was so sudden and for anyone who is frustrated by this, Ludeon Studios said. We are working to resolve this situation and make RimWorld available to everyone again as soon as possible, but we don’t yet know what that might require or how long it may take. Australian users that purchased RimWorld at any point from its debut way back in 2013 can still access the game. New buyers, however, will now have to buy the game directly from the official RimWorld website. On March 4th Refused Classification reported that the ‘Refused Classification’ has mysteriously been removed from the censors’ database. No doubt an explanation will soon follow.

Defaced…Video game Martha is Dead has been cut for PlayStation

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See article from wiredproductions.com See article from forbes.com

Martha Is Dead is a 2022 first-person psychological thriller by Wired Productions Wired Productions describes the game as follows: Martha Is Dead is a dark first-person psychological thriller, set in 1944 Italy, that blurs the lines between reality, superstition and the tragedy of war. Martha Is Dead is only recommended for an adult audience and is not recommended for players who may find depictions containing blood, dismemberment, disfigurement of human bodies, minor nudity, and self-harm disturbing. It seems that Sony have found the game somewhat distasteful and have demanded cuts before it is allowed to be played on PlayStation. One example of controversial content is provided by a Forbes article: While there may be a few instances of “too far” violence, the one that keeps getting brought up is that a player cuts off the face of their dead sister. And it’s not just that they cut it off, it’s that the action is actually a minigame where you have to move the blade around and peel the face off. Wired Productions have down explained more in a statement: Martha Is Dead is a narrative adventure recommended for adult audiences only, with play consisting of potentially discomforting scenes and themes that may distress some players. Both Wired Productions and LKA have always been open and honest about Martha Is Dead content, with the sensitive depictions in play consistently communicated to the media since the game was announced in 2019. This content is also flagged clearly and repeatedly within the game itself before play begins. It is with regret that we have had to modify the experience on the PS5 and PS4 versions, with some elements no longer playable. After over four years of passion and hard work, Developer LKA now requires extra time to make these unplanned changes. Martha Is Dead, as a result, will still launch digitally on both PS5 and PS4 on Thursday, February 24th, 2022, but the physical retail release will be delayed to a yet to be disclosed date; although we anticipate this to only be a small number of weeks. Our physical edition will still contain the bonus content of a double-sided poster, digital tarot cards and Martha Is Dead Digital EP. We will update players with the date we ship this edition as soon as we have the information. The PC and Xbox versions of Martha Is Dead are both unaffected by these developments and will launch with the full unedited gameplay as planned. We look forward to players experiencing the work of LKA on Thursday February 24th, 2022.

Distributors of Disco Elysium video game successfully appeal against being banned by the Australian Censorship Board

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Thanks to Daniel See press release from classification.gov.au

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is a 2021 role playing game by ZA/UM A three-member panel of the Classification Review Board has unanimously determined that the computer game, Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, is classified R 18+ (Restricted) with the consumer advice High impact themes, coarse language, and drug references. In the Classification Review Board’s opinion Disco Elysium: The Final Cut warrants an R 18+ classification because the themes, coarse language and drug references have a high impact. The overall impact of the classifiable elements in the game was high. The Review Board also considered the appeal of the game to be skewed to an adult audience. In the Review Board’s opinion, while drug use linked to incentives and rewards cannot be accommodated at R 18+, this game does provide disincentives related to drug-taking behaviour, to the point where regular drug use leads to negative consequences for the player’s progression in the game. It was, specifically, the disincentives for drug use that influenced the Review Board in making their decision. Drug use is not explicitly depicted within the game. The game contains frequent strong coarse language, often used aggressively, which has a high impact. The themes within the game are related to a detective investigating a murder while also attempting to manage his own alcohol addiction, and getting his life back together after his substance abuse. The themes and drug references within the game are inextricably linked. The Review Board convened on 11 May 2021 in response to an application from the original applicant, Zaum Studio OU, to review the decision made by the Classification Board on 18 March 2021 to classify Disco Elysium204The Final Cut RC (Refused Classification). The Review Board is an independent merits review body. It makes a fresh classification decision upon receipt of an application for review. This Review Board decision takes the place of the original decision made by the Classification Board.

Intel is planning a system for sensitive gamers to block triggering language

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See article from citynews1130.com

Intel is planning to enable gamers to filter strong language and ‘hate speech’ from their video game experience by creating an AI censor program called Bleep.The company is working with Spirit AI to create a ‘safe space’ for sensitive souls. Bleep allows gamers to adjust a sliding scale that bocks problematic speech including xenophobia and racism, ableism, misogyny, and name-calling. The system includes an on-off switch for the N-word. Intel plans to launch the tool later in 2021.

The Australian Censorship Board has banned the video game Disco Elysium: The Final Cut

Read more inau.htm at MelonFarmers.co.uk

See article from nintendolife.com See article from classification.gov.au

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is the latest video game in a long line of censorship casualties in Australia.The game launches on March 30th for PlayStation and Stadia owners but the Australian government has banned it from sale in the country. The Australian Censorship Board hasn’t specified exactly why Disco Elysium’s been nammed and developer ZA/UM has yet to publicly respond on this. However the core gameplay mechanics prominently include drugs and alcohol and which is a bit of a no-no for the country’s censors.