Mugen Souls (PS3)

[Redsonic]

It's more an issue of the character's apparent ages, as that crosses into legal and ethical minefields, and a mere 'M' won't cover that.

I suppose. Their ages don't matter as much in Japan like I said, where the age of consent is far lower, low enough that fanservice like this can probably be "legally acceptable", i'm not an expert on the matter though so don't take my word for it. But like you said, just because it flies there, doesn't mean it'll fly here.

Rant incoming:

Spoiler:

Most people on this forum and most NISA fans probably understand that, but what really ticks me off is the people I notice on other forums that say "Cut this crap, why did the developers think this would pass in the West? Why are they making this crap?". Simply put, CH isn't targetting America/Europe, that's what NISA is for, isn't it? Japanese companies focus on their Japanese audience while western publishing companies like NISA translate/localize their better releases for the western audiences.

I mean, imagine being a NIS fan in Japan and hearing your game is being censored for your culture simply to cater to a culture halfway across the globe. You'd be ticked. Censorship like that I believe anybody could find unacceptable.

There is no reason in my mind why CH should be creating their games with the rules of foreign cultures such as what we're seeing here, because that's what companies like NISA are for. And with that in mind, I wonder what NISA will do with Mugen Souls, and that's where we're at. We can't really speculate much further than this until we have more information, which will hopefully be sometime soon.

/rant

Can't NISA, at the very least, pull a Record of Agarest War and have a behind-the-counter version of the game? Or, they could pull a Nightclub and have some sort of DLC voucher so that you can see the censored content, but you have to be logged online to do it. IIRC, the Saboteur did exactly this because they were in the same exact situation that NISA is finding themselves in now.

Also, NIS isn't making this game by the way, just so you know.

Oops. well, Mugen Souls was really more of a collaboration so it slipped my mind. I still stand behind my rant.

[Obake]

Just because you might be mature enough to partake of media beyond your years, it doesn't mean everyone else is.

This is why assigning ages to maturity is stupid.

They're also there to help educate parents what might/might not be suitable for kids, what they do with that information is up to them.

I feel this would be served well enough by the listing currently there (sexual content, violence/gore, etc.) without assigning 'T', 'MA', or 'AO' ratings inviting kneejerk reactions and uninformed decisions.

Besides, no-one seems to have a problem with movie ratings, so why should game ratings be any different?

I have exactly the same problem with movie ratings, they just don't affect me as much because I don't watch many. Music censorship as well, although that's a slightly different situation.

[Ringwraith]

Can't NISA, at the very least, pull a Record of Agarest War and have a behind-the-counter version of the game?

Doing something like that would require a lot of confidence in that it would sell rather a lot to sustain itself normally, as those kinds of things don't typically sell well.

Also, NIS isn't making this game by the way, just so you know.

[Redsonic]

Doing something like that would require a lot of confidence in that it would sell rather a lot to sustain itself normally, as those kinds of things don't typically sell well.

Hmm. So you're saying this "limited edition" would have to have a lot more content to justify the purchase, and in addition to that, be sure you have an audience willing to pay?

If they wanted, they could do some sort of vote or polling to see how many people would be willing to pre-order such a thing and make a decision based on that. I recall that working out for the Black Rock Shooter White Premium Box, which had a Siliconera-run poll to test the waters.

also, edited the post in light of that, thanks for the tip.

Hell, i'd be down for a poll for something like that. Just don't call it "Really naughty edition" please, that was embarrasing enough at Gamestop last time. Limited Edition is just fine -_-;

[shymel94]

Hell, i'd be down for a poll for something like that. Just don't call it "Really naughty edition" please, that was embarrasing enough at Gamestop last time. Limited Edition is just fine -_-;

They'll call it the Loli Bathing Kit Edition.

[vertical09]

Hell, i'd be down for a poll for something like that. Just don't call it "Really naughty edition" please, that was embarrasing enough at Gamestop last time. Limited Edition is just fine -_-;

They'll call it the Loli Bathing Kit Edition.

LOL Even that would be better though since the majority doesn't know what loli means XD

[Obake]

Hell, i'd be down for a poll for something like that. Just don't call it "Really naughty edition" please, that was embarrasing enough at Gamestop last time. Limited Edition is just fine -_-;

They'll call it the Loli Bathing Kit Edition.

Hell, I'd buy that for the lulz even if I didn't want the game.

[Ringwraith]

Just because you might be mature enough to partake of media beyond your years, it doesn't mean everyone else is.

This is why assigning ages to maturity is stupid.

It's not an exact science, but that's basically taking stock of an average. You can't base it on every single individual.

They're also there to help educate parents what might/might not be suitable for kids, what they do with that information is up to them.

I feel this would be served well enough by the listing currently there (sexual content, violence/gore, etc.) without assigning 'T', 'MA', or 'AO' ratings inviting kneejerk reactions and uninformed decisions.

They do list those, and the age rating is indicative of the combined severity of all of those.
It's to give a rough guideline, if anyone wants to look into it, they can. Heck, this is why people in game stores (are supposed to at least) exist, to ask.

Besides, no-one seems to have a problem with movie ratings, so why should game ratings be any different?

I have exactly the same problem with movie ratings, they just don't affect me as much because I don't watch many. Music censorship as well, although that's a slightly different situation.

Well, not much I can do to dissuade you from disliking ratings in general with that then.
When you refer to music 'censorship' I'm assuming you mean radio edits of songs? That's because of age limits and it's the same why TV often has a 'watershed' where only certain content can be shown after a certain time.
In fact, bleeped-out words in TV programs aren't any different from edited songs.

Doing something like that would require a lot of confidence in that it would sell rather a lot to sustain itself normally, as those kinds of things don't typically sell well.

Hmm. So you're saying this "limited edition" would have to have a lot more content to justify the purchase, and in addition to that, be sure you have an audience willing to pay?

Of course convincing places to stock it is another problem entirely, and there's other problems with releasing the game with questionable content, like the aforementioned legal and ethical timebombs. NISA could very rapidly damage their own reputation to the majority of people if they're not careful, which would quite likely lead to their finances re-enacting the Titanic.

[Obake]

They're also there to help educate parents what might/might not be suitable for kids, what they do with that information is up to them.

I feel this would be served well enough by the listing currently there (sexual content, violence/gore, etc.) without assigning 'T', 'MA', or 'AO' ratings inviting kneejerk reactions and uninformed decisions.

They do list those, and the age rating is indicative of the combined severity of all of those.
It's to give a rough guideline, if anyone wants to look into it, they can. Heck, this is why people in game stores (are supposed to at least) exist, to ask.

I know they list those, and I'm fine with that. Like I said before, can't argue with a list of facts. I just don't want that rating symbol next to it.

Besides, no-one seems to have a problem with movie ratings, so why should game ratings be any different?

I have exactly the same problem with movie ratings, they just don't affect me as much because I don't watch many. Music censorship as well, although that's a slightly different situation.

Well, not much I can do to dissuade you from disliking ratings in general with that then.
When you refer to music 'censorship' I'm assuming you mean radio edits of songs? That's because of age limits and it's the same why TV often has a 'watershed' where only certain content can be shown after a certain time.
In fact, bleeped-out words in TV programs aren't any different from edited songs.

I meant to say rating, not censorship. As far as I know music is either Explicit or not. Censorship, in the form of radio edits, is something I'm also against. TV as well, of course. Sex and violence censorship on-air I can understand, if not agree with. But words? C'mon, people just need to get over their hypersensitivity.

And this is getting larger than my phone can reasonably handle, also getting a bit offtopic. But if there's anything else in particular I'm happy to continue.

[Ringwraith]

I know they list those, and I'm fine with that. Like I said before, can't argue with a list of facts. I just don't want that rating symbol next to it.

So you don't people to easily be able to tell what kind of levels of material are present?

I meant to say rating, not censorship. As far as I know music is either Explicit or not. Censorship, in the form of radio edits, is something I'm also against. TV as well, of course. Sex and violence censorship on-air I can understand, if not agree with. But words? C'mon, people just need to get over their hypersensitivity.

Hypersensitivity? Swear words are swear words for a reason, and the reason for cutting them is to avoid exposing those who shouldn't be hearing them, like children, to such language. Kids pick up on things quickly, so teaching them new offensive expletives isn't going to help. (Personally, how much people throw certain words around makes me sad).
That's the main reason why.

[Rednal]

On the other hand, overuse of things will effectively annihilate their ability to be offensive. It's a... complex issue, really.

[Obake]

I know they list those, and I'm fine with that. Like I said before, can't argue with a list of facts. I just don't want that rating symbol next to it.

So you don't people to easily be able to tell what kind of levels of material are present?

I don't want people to as easily jump to conclusions about what may or may not be present by looking at an 'MA.' I do want them to see a list possibly offensive things like violence, drug use, or boy bands to make as informed decisions as one can make by merely looking at a box.

I meant to say rating, not censorship. As far as I know music is either Explicit or not. Censorship, in the form of radio edits, is something I'm also against. TV as well, of course. Sex and violence censorship on-air I can understand, if not agree with. But words? C'mon, people just need to get over their hypersensitivity.

Hypersensitivity? Swear words are swear words for a reason, and the reason for cutting them is to avoid exposing those who shouldn't be hearing them, like children, to such language. Kids pick up on things quickly, so teaching them new offensive expletives isn't going to help. (Personally, how much people throw certain words around makes me sad).
That's the main reason why.

Swear words are swear words because people are irrationally offended by particular combinations of alphabetic characters. I.E hypersensitive. I find it ludicrous.

[Ringwraith]

I don't want people to as easily jump to conclusions about what may or may not be present by looking at an 'MA.' I do want them to see a list possibly offensive things like violence, drug use, or boy bands to make as informed decisions as one can make by merely looking at a box.

But then how do you compare two different things which may have different 'offensive' things but under a rating system would be the same?
It just makes it easy to make comparisons and to give a rough guideline of things.

Swear words are swear words because people are irrationally offended by particular combinations of alphabetic characters. I.E hypersensitive. I find it ludicrous.

It's their connotations that make them what they are. Regardless of someone's personal views on it, due to their general status with society their usage has to be treated with care.
Besides, if they're only just 'mere' combinations of letters there's nothing stopping anyone from making new, nonsensical words to put in their stead.

[RonXSilva]

on a lighter topic I came across a sort of Disgaea Reincarnation mechanic where shu shu was brough back to level one with all her stats fully intact same exact stats she had when I had her at level 1000

I found it in the character creation area... I dont understand a word but im just assuming since all the stats are still there

haha I also found a Neptunia reference... Those werid rabbit's there are ALL kinds of them and they make your ship stronger... Well two rabbit types are wearing the outfit and Ram and Rom~ Also there hair styles xD

[Rednal]

Yup; saw those two rabbits in one of the pictures... I think it was from Dengeki. Actually, there seem to be a lot of rabbits dressed up, so I'm wondering if more of them are references (and we just haven't noticed yet).