Archive for June 2009

Japan Expands Ban Plan

June 24, 2009 NSFW No comments

game-censor-01.jpg

Recently, I’ve been covering stories for GotGame about RapeLay and the slippery slopes we may soon face from the world of censorship. I’d worried that I might be getting too sensationalist on the subject, but it’s looking like there’s some validity to my doomsaying.

The Ethics Organization of Computer Software in Japan recently amended their ban on lolicon and rape-themed eroge, to extensively ban all things kink. The complete list of topics that are now forbidden from not only in-game material, but also images, text, packaging, and titles (including the names of publishers) are as follows:

  • Rape
  • Loli
  • Gang Rape
  • Assault
  • Brutality
  • “Reverse” Rape
  • Young Girl
  • Adultery
  • “Reverse” Assault
  • Compulsion
  • Gangbang
  • Student Council
  • Bestiality
  • Bondage
  • Coercion
  • Train Molestation
  • Prostitution
  • Incest
  • Torture
  • Binding
  • Pregnancy
  • Violation
  • Slaves
  • Pregnant Women
  • Confinement
  • Conception

I can understand placing restrictions on games involving violent, victimizing sexual fantasies (I, too, think of the chil’rens!), but come on. Why should that rob me of indulging in consensual fantasies like hookers, threesomes, or even pregnant women (cuz they need love too!)? I guess even games with a wide release like Agarest Senki have their days numbered.

Japan’s ban frenzy this week isn’t limited to restricting players from games, some publishers are banning access to their own websites. Learning from the international jihad launched by the American feminist group, Equality Now, some Japanese eroge publishers are shielding their websites from foreign eyes.

Minori, a Japanese eroge publisher has blocked access to their website outside of Japan. When non-Japanese web surfers visit the publisher’s website, all they’ll see is this message:


minori official website.
This website cannot be browsed excluding Japan.

Some foreigners seem to be having an antipathy against EROGE.
Therefore, We prohibited the access from foreign countries, to defend our culture.
Sorry for you of the fan that lives in a foreign country.

minori Inc.


Well, I suppose it’s for our own good. Thank you, Equality Now, for protecting us from ourselves. It’s one thing to look out for the welfare of our homeland, but to go around dictating that the rest of the world live up to our cultural standards is a dick move. (Pun intended, for irony.)


Crimson Viper’s Meat Curtains

June 15, 2009 Uncategorized No comments

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A couple months ago, I picked up the C. Viper action figure (pictured above), made by Neco. I have so many figures of Cammy, I felt it time to begin building a collection of the new hotness. While there are plenty of nit-picks to be made for Neco’s Street Fighter IV figure line, I’d say it’s not a bad first rendering of her.

Though I do have one complaint…

Read more


AudioSurf: Okay Game or Awesome Visualizer?

June 10, 2009 Games No comments

For years, I’ve been a firm advocate of keeping tangible media in the market. And I still am. Meanwhile, I find myself again and again heeding the siren song of digital distribution à la Steam and PSN. I’ll always prefer a physical relationship with my multimedia (wait, that didn’t sound right), but I am warming up to accept the alternatives.

The latest snare to catch my maw is a game on Steam called AudioSurf. Think of it as a cross between Guitar Hero and F-Zero. Basically, it takes any audio file you have on your PC (MP3, m4a, flac, etc.) and turns the sound into a race track. The more tempo there is to the song, the more intense the course.

Multicolored blocks are scattered along the track; it’s your challenge to touch the colored ones while dodging the grey ones. There are different modes of play, each with their own rules and abilities. What made it worth my money is that the number of tracks for your to test yourself against is limited only by your music library. As someone who’s collected a few gigs of MP3s over the past decade, I’ve scored quite the bargain!

Here’s the video that first caught my attention:


The PSP Go is NOT an Upgrade

June 8, 2009 Games No comments
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If there’s one nitpick that I’ve been hearing from both the press and my friends about the PSP Go, it’s, “So how am I supposed to play my UMD games on it?”

Here’s the thing… People are looking at the PSP Go as the next stage of evolution in the PSP platform. It is not. The PSP Go is a lateral move for the PSP platform, not an upgrade.

pspgo-01Sony is very wise by supporting the PSP-3000 and the PSP Go side-by-side, much in the way that Nintendo is supporting both the DS Lite and DSi. This way, consumers looking to buy a new handheld has two options to choose from, depending on their needs. The “core” gamers are more likely to pick up the PSP-3000 for its larger screen and ability to play the older library of UMD games and movies. The more “casual” gamer may just want a smaller device and download games for $5-15 a pop without having to worry about where they’ll store a bunch of cases. Sony can reach a broader market by having more than one option.

Sony’s head of marketing, Peter Dille, has even stated that the PSP Go is intended for early adopters of new tech, not the current subscriber. PSP fans, the PSP Go is not for you. It’s for them.

So my answer to those confused about how they’ll play UMD games from here on: Keep your PSP. It’s the same solution for people who want to continue to play Game Boy Advance games: Keep your DS Lite. There’s nothing wrong with it and no reason why you have to get rid of your old model to obtain the new. If you have a PSP-2000 or older, you can upgrade AND you have the luxury to choose your next breed of the PSP. If you have a PSP-3000, consider yourself set.

When I bought my DS Lite, I held on to my GBA SP. Why? Because I wanted to continue playing my old Game Boy cartridges. Sure, I could have saved some money by trading it in for the DS, but I accepted that as the price I pay to have my cake and eat it too. At this time, I have no interest in buying a DSi unless Nintendo decides put out some extraordinary exclusives that won’t work on the DS Lite.

The PSP Go's control layout looks uncomfortable.

The PSP Go's control
layout looks uncomfortable.

Speaking of price, it’s the price tag on the PSP Go that does disappoint me. Taking into account the missing features while acknowledging the compact design, I fully expected the PSP Go to share the same price point of the PSP-3000. My best hopes envisioned the PSP-3000 core to stay $169 and the PSP Go to be marked for ~$149. No such luck; the PSP Go will debut at a ridiculous $249.

In the article linked above, Sony tried to justify the huge gap, but I don’t think they quite get it. Nintendo’s placed an understandable $40 difference between the DS Lite and the DSi, but the DSi is more of an upgrade and at least the prices are competitive. The $80 gap between the PSP-3000 and the PSP Go could be a deal breaker. Only fools and early adopters (same thing?) would be willing to pay that much more for a product that offers significantly less.

Money talks and we’ll see just how well the new PSP Go does when it appears later this year.