UK Politicians outraged by eroge, want to make it illegal

Visual Novel Community Off Topic
#1

UK Politicians outraged by eroge, want to make it illegal. So what else is new?

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/amazon-drops-rape-simulation-game-1607820.html

The game that caused the uproar? Illusion’s RapePlay. Amazon has been selling Illusion’s products outside Japan. Who knew? Now they will stop. Politicians are mad and want to do something about these nasty, immoral games where people do bad things— like rape, shoot people, run people over, etc — because if 1 mentally ill person copies what they saw in the game, it means the game inspired them (but it is OK if it is shown on TV or in a movie, cause that could NEVER inspire such a person). So— they want to ban them all, forever.

Like I said earlier— what else is new? If they are going to ban stuff because it might inspire people who aren’t quite right, don’t they also have to ban knives, songs, tv, and movies? Just looking at a knife can cause those not mentally well grounded to have “dangerous thoughts”. And if it saves just one life, it should be done for the safety of that life saved (a quote of one of the politicians).

#2

…That they also started banning fellow EU citizens :evil: ?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7885918.stm

I’ve seen Fitna and it isn’t nothing new/special if you ask me, but apparently the British government has different ideas, I really hope that our government will give a lesson in REAL democracy to those UK politicians when Mr. Wilders will visit Italy, next week :stuck_out_tongue: :lol: .

#3

Whoa… rewind there…

Amazon was selling Illusion titles? WTF? I thought Amazon didn’t export any 18+ Japanese games outside of Japan: I always get an “product cannot be shipped outside Japan” error. Moreover: ILLUSION!? The same Illusion that hates Western customers?

#4

Yes, that Amazon and that Illusion. That’s why I thought it was interesting.

More info at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandte … mazon.html

So it was being done by people in Japan, to people in the UK. But now Amazon isn’t going to allow that anymore.

#5

It was a secondhand copy being offered for resale by someone who had imported it. They entered the details onto Amazon themselves, neither Amazon nor Illusion had anything to do with it. Not that this little detail was taken into account by much of the outcry. And some of the real idiots involved in the outcry went looking for more places they could ‘buy’ the game in order to get outraged and complain publically and ended up driving sales of pirated fan-patched ‘English’ versions.

#6

And so, it happened.

http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/03/0 … e-victims/

#7

Disturbing news for our English speaking cousins across the pond. :frowning:

On a side note: I thought I should point out that Sankaku Complex doesn’t do their homework before ranting on something. Not that I’m against lolicon - I’m totally against censorship - but they’re sorta like Wikipedia: a good start, but do a bit of hardcore research for yourself.

One example is the Virginia Lolicon trail. If you read that article, it seems as if the man was totally innocent. However… #1: He had actual child porn on the system. #2: Was previously convicted for child porn crimes. #3: Distributed the lolicon cartoons on a public owned system. Reading the actual Virginia case document reveals the following judgment:

Basically he’s trying to cancel out ALL his crimes (even the real child porn), by saying the court wrongly ruled against him for the lolicon cartoons… which isn’t true. The real legal threat in that case isn’t the court system, it’s Whorely himself for making the court system play this dangerous game to keep his conviction upheld.

So not that I’m saying Sankaku Complex is always wrong or anything… just that hunting around for more info might help.

#8

I wonder what papillon is planning to do if this manages to survive? She’s the first member that comes to mind here. In any case, what’s next, viewing any of the various “The Birth of Venus” paintings is banned? (Technically, Venus is a newborn in the pictures.)

#9

We’re annoyed about it and working on petitions, but what else can one do? I don’t even do loli (creeps me out, honestly) but when it comes to determining whether or not a ROBOT looks like she MIGHT be ‘17’ instead of ‘18’, it’s plainly ridiculous.

#10

One test the jury members should hold prior to any decision is to be given pictures of actual Asian girls and determine whether they’re under or over 18. I’m pretty sure they would be wrong more than 80% of time. Westerners are stupidly unable to determine correctly the age of an actual Asian person, least of a fictional one.

Got carded when in the USA whereas he’s mid-30 while his two male, Westerner friends were not, and they’re in their 20s

#11

I can personally attest to this, since I have partial Asian ancestry. When I was a bit younger (around my mid-20s) I was mistaken as still being in high school. In particular I remember when I was 23 and someone said I looked like I was 16. As I approach 30, I have less instances of this happening, but most likely only because of the increasing number of silver highlights in my hair.

#12

The title is now out of print in Japan, because of what Western media has done to it.

http://zepy.momotato.com/2009/05/09/ero … ese-media/

I’m sure this is just one more reason why Illusion HATES the West - and why they will continue to find measures in block their software from working on English Windows. :frowning:

#13

Really, they should just hate Anglo-Saxon countries: the USA, the UK, Australia… Seems like the hyper-puritan countries are the Anglo-Saxon ones.

#14

Humm… isn’t eroge illegal in most parts of the world? It isn’t like “puritan” or simple Anglo strongholds have a lock on that. All sharia countries (muslim) have it being illegal. Heck, even India has it outlawed— and they are WAY more prudish (based on their HINDU cultural heritage, they claim) then any Anglo country. A public dispay of effection will get you lynched or stoned in much of its hinterland, and in the more tolerant areas, it will get you a harsh beating.

Anywhere that catholism is strong (many African or central and south American countries) also have it outlawed.

I don’t get Australia’s problem with “AO” (Adult Only) content. Maybe its the gals putting pressure on their government. After all, they are one of the most actively sexxing countries in the world— and very casual about it. But I suppose Eroge and other AO material would be scary— why would a guy waste a whole evening on dinner and a date with her to get a tumble, if he could spend the same amount on an eroge and then have a jerk whenever he wanted— and not have to go through all that extra “trouble” like showering, shaving, getting dressed, or going out?

Oh well. I think the whole thing is a stupid cluster fuck. As long as rape is fine in the other media (films, videos, mangas, erotic literature), I just don’t see it being enforced. They’ll just find ways around it.

#15

I have actually heard a vaguely similar argument from one or two crazy girls, but it has to do more with after they’ve already started a relationship. Very few girls want to date a guy who’d rather stay home and jerk off than go looking for a date in the first place, because he sounds like a loser. They were more worried about getting together with a seemingly-good boyfriend and then having him slowly drift away… because once he’d “got” them, he stopped spending as much time pursuing them and went back to spending hours and hours with his porn collection. (Or, if they’re a serious couple with mingled finances, spending “our money” on porn tends to piss some girls off.)

However, these girls, when I’ve heard them complain, do not generally want to make porn more illegal. They just want their boyfriends treated for porn addiction. They’re also perfectly aware of other people’s boyfriends getting just as annoyingly addicted to sports or MMORPGs and otherwise failing to pay as much attention as desired to their girls.

I’ve never seen anyone feel threatened by the existence of porn and think that it will prevent them from being able to get dates.

IIRC Australia’s weird no-porn-games law has to do with their rulemakers just not accepting the idea that games aren’t only for children. ISTR there are plenty of legal strippers and prostitutes in .au…

#16

Please, someone tells them that guys often feel the exact same about their respective girlfriends. :smiley:

#17

Oh, I know, it’s hardly a girls-only problem. I’m sure there are plenty of boyfriends who’d like to check their girls into a shopping addiction clinic… :slight_smile:

(Me, I’m a computer addict! It’s pretty hard to keep me away from it for more than an hour or so…)

#18

papillon, I was really just kidding about “why Australia?”. I know its that they think toons and vidoe games are mostly “kid” things and they just haven’t accepted the reality— but I just found it funny that they are supposed one of the most “modern” in personal outlooks, but their laws aren’t— and they seem to be working to keep them that way.

Any guy that would prefer to stay home and masturbate over spending time with people he likes— yeah, he’s currently a loser. Doesn’t mean he’ll stay that way. He’s probably just depressed, unless he’s a permanent cellar dwellar. :wink:

I perfectly understand why any girlfriend or wife would be mad as hell about a guy spending HER money on HIS porn. Hey, I’d get irritated if my lady was constantly spending my money on her girl porn habit (you know, all those love dramas).

But I also know a LOT of American girls that want all men’s pornography to vanish. Gone. And never to return or be replaced. If they could press a button and kill every photographer and publisher of pornography and make every naked picture ever taken vanish, they’d do it without a second thought. It isn’t that they are prudes or against people masturbating— they are just against KNOWING that there are pictures of women that might be PRETTIER or SEXXIER then them that the guys they are interested in are looking at. How do they compete against that? Especially when it’s a fantasy— so it is always perfect. Porn pictures don’t feel bloated, get back pains, get the pinches, break out, get mad and vent, etc etc etc.

#19

I suppose, if you know girls who’ve been raised to think the only thing they have of value is their appearance. By virtue of my social circles it’s extremely unlikely that I’d ever know anyone like that. :slight_smile:

People do get all bent out of shape when their sense of worth is questioned. Like on those silly Wife Swap shows, whenever you have a family with a domineering husband and a wife who waits on him hand and foot, does all the housework, isn’t allowed spending money or to go out, etc… and swap her into a family where the husband does the housework and she just gets to sit back and relax? She is NEVER grateful for the vacation. (In any case I’ve seen.) Instead, she always seems to get royally freaked out, bullies the husband to “BE A MAN!!!”, chases him out of the house, cleans it herself, and serves him breakfast in bed.

I guess if your whole sense of self-worth is bound up in being a “proper wife”, the idea that a man might not NEED you is pretty scary. And if you’re pretty and used to being praised for it and seeing the power it gives you (which sure as hell ain’t me or anyone I’ve known), knowing that you’re not the Fairest Of Them All could be threatening.

#20

It isn’t really appearance— so much as it is “body”. Girls aren’t treasured for their mind— they are treasured for their body. At least, that’s what I “hear” when girls are talking. It’s all body and issues associated with their body. Guys really aren’t that focused on a girl’s body— yes, I hear that laughter, but its true. It is VERY important to us that you have a body, but unless it’s our fetish or kink, the exact shape or “closeness to perfection” of your body really doesn’t matter. To the regular guy, it really doesn’t matter to us if a girl we like has huge breast, or small ones. What does matter is that she is willing to let us look at them or play with them (rather than get mad at us and storm off and never talk to us again). It doesn’t matter to us if a girl has the prettiest face on the continent, or if she’s just got a nice face— but it is very important that she SHARES it with us, letting us look at it, and occassionally putting it up against us or very near us (snuggling, kissing, or talking quietly, etc).

Guys are really simple like that. We don’t think freckles ruins the attractiveness of your back— we think you screaming at us that we are insensitive butt-wipes because we left the toilet seat up DOES ruin your attractiveness (at least while you are yelling :wink: ). But to girls— girls knock each other down. Girls are constantly picking out the tiniest thing that no normal guy is ever going to notice on his own, and certainly isn’t going to care enough to NOT want to spend some time with her because she’s got a few freckles or a mole or because she doesn’t enounciate perfectly. What we guys care about is that you are SHARING yourself.

Professional porn pictures, like other professional modelling pictures, are tweeked (airbrushed and otherwise touched up)— so they set a standard most girls wouldn’t ever be able to meet— unless she too poses for pro pictures so she can get the same “help”. But since most won’t get that opportunity— well, having them, especially the very WORST of them like porn cease to exist or go away would be best. Less “measures” to try and measure up against or compete against.

Women dress for other women, and worry after their appearance really because of other women, not for us guys. We guys don’t care if you wear the same outfit down to the river this weekend that you wore last weekend. We just care that you are GOING with us down to the river, or that we will see you there and get to hang out together for a while. We don’t care if you’ve put on 10 pounds over the past year— we just care that you spent the last year getting together with us.

(Note: this, again, is talking about the “average” or “normal” guy. Some individuals do have particular obsessions or replusions, so in other words: it would matter to some guys that you have very large mammalries— or that you have very large feet, or you do NOT have freckles. Everyone is unique.)