Rape-play video game banned by Amazon

[Flatfoot]

I see what you're saying, but I think murder is almost always worse than rape.

I would argue our greater disgust for rape is indicative of deep-seated cultural issues concerning sexuality. Logically, murder is more detrimental to human life.

I hope I'm not too off-topic by saying this, but that does get me wondering. Why permit dozens of games that portray physical violence and death towards others, but have a huge backlash against one that portrays rape? I'm not endorsing the game, but I can't help but think: Life is supposed to be the most precious gift anyone can have; the opportunity to live and experience existence. For someone to take that away, that should be a more serious crime than taking away someone's purity, which don't get me wrong, but not many seem to hold a whole lot of stock in that, nowadays. I think that if laws favor a murderer over a rapist, that's the sin of pride leaking in. It's about humiliation, the proverbial tea-bagging that causes us to show less mercy towards a rapist. BOTH crimes should be punished severely, but murder should definitely have a greater punishment.

As far as this game, I understand Amazon's knee-jerk approach at removing the game to appease the general public, but I know that I am a human being, capable of free-will, and that I can simply choose not to buy the game or play it.

Also, as a quick side-note, studies have shown that young gamers are typically not influenced to emulate the actions portrayed in video games. I remember that was a big issue with the whole Grand Theft Auto fiasco. I don't remember a specific news article, nor do I care to hunt for one, but I do remember reading it.

 

[Evil Dave]

Its an interesting debate. I've always thought that people who campaigned against games like GTA on the grounds that they were violent and encouraged violent behaviour were overreacting. Now I find myself in the position where this game seriously worries me.

The problem is that I acknowledge murder to be a worse crime than rape (killing someone is about as far as it is possible to go in a criminal sense, it does trump any other crime you can commit) so if I tolerate 'murder based' games then I should tolerate this.

But I really don't want to.

 

[Flatfoot]

Its an interesting debate. I've always thought that people who campaigned against games like GTA on the grounds that they were violent and encouraged violent behaviour were overreacting. Now I find myself in the position where this game seriously worries me.

The problem is that I acknowledge murder to be a worse crime than rape (killing someone is about as far as it is possible to go in a criminal sense, it does trump any other crime you can commit) so if I tolerate 'murder based' games then I should tolerate this.

But I really don't want to.

I feel ya. Where does our conditioning come from?

 

[MrMacphisto]

I hope I'm not too off-topic by saying this, but that does get me wondering. Why permit dozens of games that portray physical violence and death towards others, but have a huge backlash against one that portrays rape? I'm not endorsing the game, but I can't help but think: Life is supposed to be the most precious gift anyone can have; the opportunity to live and experience existence. For someone to take that away, that should be a more serious crime than taking away someone's purity, which don't get me wrong, but not many seem to hold a whole lot of stock in that, nowadays. I think that if laws favor a murderer over a rapist, that's the sin of pride leaking in. It's about humiliation, the proverbial tea-bagging that causes us to show less mercy towards a rapist. BOTH crimes should be punished severely, but murder should definitely have a greater punishment.

As far as this game, I understand Amazon's knee-jerk approach at removing the game to appease the general public, but I know that I am a human being, capable of free-will, and that I can simply choose not to buy the game or play it.

Also, as a quick side-note, studies have shown that young gamers are typically not influenced to emulate the actions portrayed in video games. I remember that was a big issue with the whole Grand Theft Auto fiasco. I don't remember a specific news article, nor do I care to hunt for one, but I do remember reading it.

Let me clarify what I mean.

I completely agree with you here, and I would think anyone who logically thinks it through would as well.

I despise it when the government gets involved to censor things. I think rape games should be just as legal as games with murder. I also see no reason to make a big deal out of nudity or drug use in games either.

Still, as you said, the social stigma is much harsher here concerning rape, so Amazon made a smart marketing move to drop this game, despite the hypocrisy of how games with murder are still sold by them.

But yeah, the public's response to things like this game is rather illogical given the general lack of outrage that GTA inspires by comparison.

It probably also helps that GTA is produced by a pretty powerful developer (Rockstar). If this rape game was made by them, they'd probably get a ton of flack for it (more than even Manhunt got), but they'd probably still sell the game in some stores.

Of course, the censorship groups would be even more fanatical than before in pushing for the restriction of its sales.

That being said, I still have no interest in buying this game.

 

[Redmage]

I wonder...

The theory is that media depictions of socially unacceptable behavior lead people to do these things when they otherwise would not. So we have remove the depictions from public view.

So, logically Amazon should stop selling any book, movie, video, or song that depicts socially unacceptable behavior.

What will they have left?

 

[GodlessTickler]

The general lack of logic when it comes to hot button issues will never cease to amaze me.

 

[LD_Tickler]

I wonder...

The theory is that media depictions of socially unacceptable behavior lead people to do these things when they otherwise would not. So we have remove the depictions from public view.

So, logically Amazon should stop selling any book, movie, video, or song that depicts socially unacceptable behavior.

What will they have left?

I believe that theory is just an excuse. It has been debunked so many times, I can't see how anyone would form an opinion with that as its locus. The real issue here is people unable to govern knee-jerk reactions. Some will claim "it's just wrong" and start making demands, others will recognize the fragility of normative claims and so cling to semi-intuitive but empty theories before making demands.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Indeed. Playing games like Postal 2 does not make me more homicidal, it just serves as a way for me to vent my homicidal tendencies. So I believe the opposite is true. That only doesn't apply to children for they can't tell the difference between fiction and reality.

 

[Oddjob0226]

How are the graphics on this thing?

 

[Saeria]

How are the graphics on this thing?

for serious, yo. I mean, if it's anything like those shoujo RP games, count me out. Is there a man raping option? Raping women, not so funny.. raping men however, HI-larious...

on a sidenote i'm investigating the cost of a flame proof coffin in the next few years 😉

 

[Oddjob0226]

Raping women, not so funny.. raping men however, HI-larious...

Well, dependig on the perspective, they both have their humor qoutients!

 

[Musicroxmysox]

Wow....sounds like the dumbest thing ever.

 

[tickmankyle1]

i have seen it all i guess it is still legal in japan so sick

 

[kis123]

I believe that theory is just an excuse. It has been debunked so many times, I can't see how anyone would form an opinion with that as its locus. The real issue here is people unable to govern knee-jerk reactions. Some will claim "it's just wrong" and start making demands, others will recognize the fragility of normative claims and so cling to semi-intuitive but empty theories before making demands.

Well maybe someone could tell that to the parents of the 15 year old boy who died from hypothermia after running away because his parents took his video system from him.

Or maybe, tell that to the Ohio family whos son killed his mother and critically wounded his father because they took his Xbox away.

You have some people in society that for whatever reason, do not have the same mental/emotional constitution everyone else does. They don't need to be exposed to some of the garbage available on video. That's right I said "garbage"-it's insane for any of the nonsense that's on videos today. Anything past pac man and galaga is Chinese to me-I don't understand it nor do I see how people can sit in front of it for hours and hours. I'd just as soon shoot myself if that was my only means of entertainment!

I never have been into gaming; my computer is for business and education purposes. My forms of recreation and stress relief do not include world of warcraft and grand theft auto. This is a free country so if that floats your boat, I don't have a problem with it. But I firmly believe that there is a segment of the population that would be best served if never played a video game, watched violent or sexual content in any medium at all. They're mentally unstable and too succeptable to the fantasy world IMO.

 

[Goodieluver]

Its available on torrents

I checked it out

It was what it was, played maybe 5 mins of it and got bored. I mean guy fondle girl, guy screws girl and moves on.

Graphics are rather impressive but id rather be playing other stuff and it doesn't contain enough appeal for me to sit thru the entire game. Its quite literally only 3 interactive scenes but just switch out the girl in each one

The outcry on this game reminds me of when stuff like jfk reloaded came out about "how horrible!" showing how Oswald killed him, yet on the same aspect they had a Army game that in the commercial showed you with gunsights on Saddam's head and nobody pitched a fit. I remember when GTA first came out in the 90s and it was banned in brazil for its content, how look, where is GTA not sold?

The game is not gonna cause a rash of rapings in the world. Kids arent that dumb.

 

[LD_Tickler]

Well maybe someone could tell that to the parents of the 15 year old boy who died from hypothermia after running away because his parents took his video system from him.

Or maybe, tell that to the Ohio family whos son killed his mother and critically wounded his father because they took his Xbox away.

You have some people in society that for whatever reason, do not have the same mental/emotional constitution everyone else does. They don't need to be exposed to some of the garbage available on video. That's right I said "garbage"-it's insane for any of the nonsense that's on videos today. Anything past pac man and galaga is Chinese to me-I don't understand it nor do I see how people can sit in front of it for hours and hours. I'd just as soon shoot myself if that was my only means of entertainment!

I never have been into gaming; my computer is for business and education purposes. My forms of recreation and stress relief do not include world of warcraft and grand theft auto. This is a free country so if that floats your boat, I don't have a problem with it. But I firmly believe that there is a segment of the population that would be best served if never played a video game, watched violent or sexual content in any medium at all. They're mentally unstable and too succeptable to the fantasy world IMO.

Yeah, I'm sure there's a segment of the population that would be better off kept away from games. Just like there's a segment of the population that would be better off kept away from guns, from fatty foods, from driving cars. There's some nuts and some unstable people out there.

If unstable people are motivated by images like this, the problem is with the unstable people, not the images. I mean, Charles Manson claimed that the beatles' song Helter Skelter was telling him to murder people.

I'm willing to bet money that the son in Ohio who killed his parents for taking his xbox had some emotional problems, games or not. It seems silly to me to blame that kind of behaviour on video games - especially since the multitudes of studies into the issue have shown no connection

 

[Redmage]

Well maybe someone could tell that to the parents of the 15 year old boy who died from hypothermia after running away because his parents took his video system from him.

Or maybe, tell that to the Ohio family whos son killed his mother and critically wounded his father because they took his Xbox away.

I'd suggest that anyone who makes suicidal or homicidal decisions based on the loss of an X-box has problems completely unrelated to the game itself, and for which the game is not responsible.

You have some people in society that for whatever reason, do not have the same mental/emotional constitution everyone else does. They don't need to be exposed to some of the garbage available on video.

I'd call that possible but unproven. If it is true then it should be treated the way we treat allergies. No one wants to ban peanuts just because certain people will die if exposed to them.

Those who can't handle video games shouldn't play them. That decision should be left up to them or to their parents, depending on age. But in any case their decision should affect only what they do, not what anyone else is allowed to do, play, or sell.

 

[LindyHopper]

It seems silly to me to blame that kind of behaviour on video games - especially since the multitudes of studies into the issue have shown no connection

That's actually not what I've read. From Myers' Psychology:

• Ballard & Wiest (1998) observed a rising level of arousal and feelings of hostility as they played Mortal Kombat. As in most research on catharsis, it's apparent that expression aggression intensifies it, as opposed to diminishing it.
• Bartholow et. al. (2006) found that people randomly assigned to play a violent video game (rather than Myst) became more hostile in an experimental task against a fellow student. They also showed blunted brain responses to violent images.
• Gentile (2004; 2007) found that even among kids scoring low in hostility, 10 times more violent game-players had been in fights than their non-gaming counterparts. Furthermore, the non-gamers only became more likely to have fights if they started playing the violent video games.

This is in addition to lots of studies finding correlations between playing violent video games and committing actual acts of violence (obviously to be taken with a grain of salt, because violent people are more likely to choose to play violent video games). And of course, there's no experimental evidence linking violent video games to big things like school shootings - that's a leap we can only infer.

Looking at rape in particular (in this case, in porn), male college students randomly assigned to watch a video depicting a rape behaved more aggressively towards a female student later in the experiment, especially when the video depicted the woman as enjoying the assault (sorry, can't find source at the moment, I can get it later if anyone cares).

Anyway... from a political standpoint, I don't favor censoring this kind of material. Clearly, the vast majority of people who play these games don't shoot up schools, nor would they rape women just because they play this new game. But I think we should still be aware of research evidence that points to a pattern of increased hostility, rather than pretending that such a connection doesn't exist.

 

[Dussicar]

So, logically Amazon should stop selling any book, movie, video, or song that depicts socially unacceptable behavior.

What will they have left?

Books: Windows XP for Dummies.

Movies: Mary Poppins.

Video: [Circa 1954] Wash your hands, clean behind your ears, be polite and respectful to your elders, and always obey traffic signs. [Alternate title]: What good Americans do to defeat the impending Communist invasion.

Song: None! All music is the devil's way of saying that you are not having enough unprotected sex!

 

[jk666uk]

Its available on torrents

I checked it out

It was what it was, played maybe 5 mins of it and got bored. I mean guy fondle girl, guy screws girl and moves on.

Graphics are rather impressive but id rather be playing other stuff and it doesn't contain enough appeal for me to sit thru the entire game. Its quite literally only 3 interactive scenes but just switch out the girl in each one

The outcry on this game reminds me of when stuff like jfk reloaded came out about "how horrible!" showing how Oswald killed him, yet on the same aspect they had a Army game that in the commercial showed you with gunsights on Saddam's head and nobody pitched a fit. I remember when GTA first came out in the 90s and it was banned in brazil for its content, how look, where is GTA not sold?

The game is not gonna cause a rash of rapings in the world. Kids arent that dumb.

its on torrents
i may have to download this , see if its as bad as half the members on here are making out it to be
(FUCK PEOPLE ITS ONLY A GAME ITS NOT REAL)

 

[LD_Tickler]

Looking at rape in particular (in this case, in porn), male college students randomly assigned to watch a video depicting a rape behaved more aggressively towards a female student later in the experiment, especially when the video depicted the woman as enjoying the assault (sorry, can't find source at the moment, I can get it later if anyone cares).

I'd be very interested in taking a look at that, if you can find it right handy.

As per the studies you listed, you're right in that there's a fair bit to be dubious about. Especially that first one, which I've also read, monitoring brain responses to see if catharsis is in fact a release... but that particular kind of testing has no bearing on predicting behaviour, only involuntary responses.

Although, still I probably shouldn't have said "no connection." It's more like "nothing conclusive."

 

[Oddjob0226]

The game is not gonna cause a rash of rapings in the world. Kids arent that dumb.

It's not really meant for kids, though, is it, even in Japan?

Oh I have not doubt plenty of kids will want to try it. Plenty of kids will get their hands on it. And yes, most of them who play it will NOT end up raping women, Japanese or otherwise. But still, "kids" are probably are the segment of society that shouldn't have the game, and I think even the designers know that.

Does Japan have game ratings like the U.S. does?

And as far as all the Japbashing hapnen', like it says in the thread title, I belive it was the U.S. that had the first rape video game on the market - at least it was marketed for the U.S. and sold well here (albeit only for adults). So, in effect, we were the bad guys first, 30 year before.

'But we should have learned something in that time, Oddjob!"

Well, the graphics and music did imporve over the years.....

 

[The Fallen Angel]

its just a game, there are offensive aspects in everything in society, tv,music,movies,books etc etc. As some other people have said if it offends you then ignore it, and for people who cant seperate a game from reality they have problems beyond their gaming life.. but they dont need to be playing games then

 

[LindyHopper]

I'd be very interested in taking a look at that, if you can find it right handy.

Whoa, sorry for the intense delay! Anyway, it's Donnerstein and Berkowitz (1981) “Victim Reactions in Aggressive Erotic Films as a Factor in Violence against Women." Let me know what you think, if you ever see this post. 😀

 

[SlaverTickler]

I know how this is going to sound, but all of this rape/snuff "entertainment" seems to be Japanese, and anime-related.

The company which maintains the free graphical MMORPG, Rubies of Eventide, is now creating a soda called "Tentacle GRape" with a picture of tentacles reaching for a Japanese schoolgirl on the front of every bottle.

What is worse, being the world's biggest consume of this kind of trash (America), or the world's biggest producer?

I'm not sure... but if it wasn't there to consume in the first place...

La Blue Girl... nuff said.