Rape Video Game? Are you kidding me?

[Stac3y]

I had an acquaintance who lived in Japan for a while, back in the late 80s. She had an extremely low opinion of what she described as "a large percentage" of Japanese men. She said that she was regularly told by men she met there that all American women are whores, and was once assaulted on her way home from buying groceries. She whacked the guy in the head with a can of food and he ran off. Never having been to Japan, I can't say I have any idea how accurate her impressions were.

 

[Cryozombie]

Yeah, Bob, is right, these go back to the beginning of videogames.

Not to encourage anyone... but Custers Revenge is available for the Stella Atari 2600 Emulator. So it isn't even as if it was a here and gone thing...

And as was mentioned, the original GTA you could have sex with prostitutes, then beat them sensless and take your money back. That isn't exactly P.C. either.

Yet TONS and TONS of kids play/ed it...

 

[Empty Hands]

And as was mentioned, the original GTA you could have sex with prostitutes, then beat them sensless and take your money back. That isn't exactly P.C. either.

To be fair, teh sexxors was not visible. And it wasn't rape. Point well taken though.

 

[Blade96]

One of my friends is a huge fan of japanese anime. and she showed me vids of animes that would be totally banned or else censored in the States and most likely here as well (yes they were quite erotic and sexual)

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

I'd like to make note of The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife from 1820 by Hokusai.

The Japanese, for all their goodness, have as long a history of odd as any other country.

 

[Stac3y]

And as was mentioned, the original GTA you could have sex with prostitutes, then beat them sensless and take your money back. That isn't exactly P.C. either.

Yet TONS and TONS of kids play/ed it...

Not mine.

 

[grydth]

Anybody seen Grand Theft Auto recently? It sure as Hell isn't Pac Man.

Yeah, I have. I saw one version where you scored points for killing police officers.... so where do we come off acting as if we're better than the Japanese?

The rape game is stomach turning disgusting... as is police killing in Grand Theft.

Does such a game being played by a relative few indict either country as a whole?

 

[Touch Of Death]

I was at an internet caffe and saw the owner's son playing a tourture/kill video game. It was quite disturbing. It is somehow worse than the rape stuff.
sean

 

[Sukerkin]

One of my friends is a huge fan of japanese anime. and she showed me vids of animes that would be totally banned or else censored in the States and most likely here as well (yes they were quite erotic and sexual)

Aye. For context, the primary reason why what would be considered comics and cartoons in a Western context have developed the way they have in Japan is a direct consequence of their iron-bound laws on pornography i.e. what cannot be shown 'for real' gets an outlet elsewhere.

With regards to the OP tho', I am flabbergasted to the point of speachlessness (pretty much the same as I am by GTA).

 

[David43515]

Just goes to show how important it is to teach (and learn) self respect and respect for others from an early age. You can`t really have one without the other.

 

[MJS]

Whats interesting, is on games like GTA, they put a "M" (mature) rating on the package, basically giving the impression that its not ok for kids of a certain age to buy it on their own, but its ok for kids that're old enough? If its that bad, then you'd figure that it'd be pulled from the shelves.

Then again, if we look at pretty much any television show, we'll see sex and violence, toned down as it may be, due to it being on public tv, nonetheless, its still on.

Now, I'm not making an excuse for this game in question, but simply saying that in some shape or form, the everyday things people are exposed to are just as bad as video games.

 

[Cryozombie]

I was at an internet caffe and saw the owner's son playing a tourture/kill video game. It was quite disturbing. It is somehow worse than the rape stuff.
sean

There is an old arcade machine by Exidy (makers of some of the origial Light Gun games in the arcades in the late 70's early 80's) called Chiller...

The Game was basically a torture chamber with victims in stocks, chained to the wall, and on the rack, etc... and you scored points for shooting them, shooting and activating the torture equipment, blowing off knees, causing the screw to turn and crush a head, etc...

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7328

I am only aware of it (never saw it in the arcades as a kid) because recently Exidy released all of the ROMs to their games for the MAME arcade emulator as Public Domain and I grabbed all of them and this was one of their games from the set.

 

[Malleus]

In relation to the game mentioned by the OP, I'd have to concur that it's both disturbing and tasteless.

However, out of curiosity, do people dislike the idea simply because it's offensive to them, or is it that they are afraid that such games may propagate rapes in real life as well?

 

[RandomPhantom700]

In relation to the game mentioned by the OP, I'd have to concur that it's both disturbing and tasteless.

However, out of curiosity, do people dislike the idea simply because it's offensive to them, or is it that they are afraid that such games may propagate rapes in real life as well?

Rather than worries about leading to real-life rapes, I think it's more about the trivialization of the act that really gets people upset. Turning rape into a entertainment fantasy altering the person's perception of how much pain it causes, or something like that.

One could argue that popular TV culture has practically made this a non-issue (sex all over the magazines, games like GTA, etc.) However, I think the game mentioned in the OP takes it a few disturbing steps further.

 

[Malleus]

Rather than worries about leading to real-life rapes, I think it's more about the trivialization of the act that really gets people upset. Turning rape into a entertainment fantasy altering the person's perception of how much pain it causes, or something like that.

One could argue that popular TV culture has practically made this a non-issue (sex all over the magazines, games like GTA, etc.) However, I think the game mentioned in the OP takes it a few disturbing steps further.

Yes, that would be my counter argument alright. There's already been an erosion in what people find acceptable in the form of entertainment; many mainstream videogames could highlight the point quite well.

I'm totally in agreement that such a game trivialises the experiences of people who have suffered the act in real life. As to altering the perception of the pain caused, I'm more recalcitrant to agree. It would assume to a degree that people can't quite differentiate between fantasy and reality, and that empathy can be dulled by such experiences. I can only speak for myself, but as an avid FPS (first person shooter, á la Doom/Halo/AvP) afficianado I'm pretty sure that my empathy hasn't suffered. I'd posit that everyone I know who plays such games would feel similar, though obviously I can't speak for them.

So the question then becomes should we object to the game because it is insensitive to those who have suffered in the past? Possibly, but quite a lot of thing are offensive to quite a lot of people. If that was the basis for rejecting entertainment we wouldn't have Ulysses, Lolita or Resevoir Dogs.

(To clarify, I'm playing devil's advocate.)

 

[Andrew Green]

Just a thought though, how many "people" does the average gamer kill a year?

A rape game does seem rather distasteful, but it's certainly not a new concept, and apart from initial knee jerk reaction from a different cultural frame of reference I can definitely see a lot of western, main stream games triggering a similar response.

Regardless, this game has gotten a ton of free publicity as of late, and has probably seen a huge increase in players as a result. A better option would have been to just let it fade into a obscure wikipedia entry.