DOAX3 and Censorship

Allow me to start off by saying this is going to get slightly political. Chances are, unless you're a fan of Dead or Alive, or at least aware of the series' existence, you know there is a spin-off franchise known as Dead or Alive: Extreme Beach Volley Ball. It's a niche game by definition, targeted at a very specific demographic or audience. Personally, I'm not fan of these types of games. However, I always find hard not to defend them and I'll explain why in a bit.

In Western Culture, we are entitled to and guaranteed the right of both Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Speech. Koei Tecmo, the publisher of DOAX3, while technically an Eastern developer, decided not to sell this product in the West due to "SJW nonsense". Very simply put, this looks like self censorship, right? After all, they are choosing to do this on their own right? No. In recent times, we have a small, but vocal minority of neo-progressive millennials championing against a medium that isn't even in their own interest. In other words, you have a group like right-wing Christian extremists telling developers their shit is wrong. If they don't like it, no one can like it. It's the same puritan bullshit we've been fighting for years.

To be more specific on the matter, let's look at Pillars of Eternity and that fateful joke the devs made in their game;

Yeah. It was a fucking joke made at no one's expense. I find this quite humorous, but then again, I have sense of humor and the ability to discern when something it meant to be taken seriously. Most people do. However, small, but vocal minority made the push to have it removed. Sadly enough, Obsidian caved to the very people who wouldn't have bought the game in the first fucking place. Yes, they did it under an extreme amount of pressure "on their own" but this is censorship.

What's the connection, you ask? Welp, if PlayAsia made the push to sell the DOAX3 over in North America, no doubt they would have gotten the same push back. Oddly enough, you have shit journalists spouting nonsense about how the game was terrible and wouldn't have sold over here anyways while ignoring the sales figures where the highest percentage of sales of the previous titles were sold in the US. This article for reference is where I got the sales data. In other words, certain media outlets outed their own agendas here. Gawker media at its finest.

Why do I give a fuck? I consider games to be art. I have no problems with criticism at all. What I do however, find the issue with, is a forceful agenda behind those critiques. I love video games. They are by far, my favorite past time and hobby. But supporting gaming, and Freedom of Expression means supporting the games I don't like too. Grand Theft Auto is a series that comes to mind right away. The only game in the series I actually liked was 4. The other games of the series, I find to be juvenile and not to my liking. However, I own the entire series in some form or another because I openly support Rockstar's right to make whatever they want and their obvious passion, blood, and sweat put into each of their games. As a libertarian, I find this to be an extremely admirable trait. If gaming is an art form, it should be immune to the counterproductive nature of censorship.

I'm not saying surrender your money to every game that comes out. Don't do that. Cookie cutter games like Call of Duty that have annual releases are a cash grab. But people buy them and they have a place in the market. They're not my cup of tea so I avoid them. I don't buy them and I don't buy into their hype. Do the same. If something coming out isn't to your liking, ignore or avoid it. You're probably adult enough to know you're either able to avoid it or you're just not the target demographic. I don't bitch that chick flicks don't have enough action in them, because I'm smart enough to know I'm both an adult and not the target demographic so why the fuck should they pander to me? They fucking shouldn't.

If anyone reading believes pressuring a developer into changing something you don't like is okay, you are in favor of censorship. You're playing with fire and this is a warning. If you keep crying over trivial bullshit like this, you will get what you want and when that day comes, you'll realize that the rules apply to you as well and those freedoms you so willingly gave up because of some butthurt notion and hurt feelings, were something you took for granted.This is where we're headed when people cry so frequently over shit that doesn't even effect them. It's time to take a cold, hard look at where we're going because stuff like this is not a good sign.

This is a problem coming from right, and now the left wing as well. Neocons and neoprogressives  are two sides of the same coin in this debate.... Oh, right, and before I get the shit I so lovingly get from the far left debaters, I'm actually left-leaning, middle of the road, not Right at all.

Edit: PlayAsia is just a retailer. Koei Tecmo is the publisher and Team Ninja is the developer of DOAX3. My mistake. Thanks for pointing it out