Women's Group Campaigns Against RapeLay, Developer "Bewildered"
May 8, 2009 10:00 AM | Eric Caoili
Equality Now, an organization devoted to "the protection and promotion of the human rights of women around the world", began a letter-writing campaign this week to demand that Illusion Software and Japanese government officials, including Prime Minister Taro Aso, to remove and ban rape-simulation game RapeLay from sale in Japan.
The 2006 PC game, which has no official English localization, was a controversial topic in February of this year after the game was made available for sale in the West by a third-party seller through Amazon Marketplace. The online retailer swiftly removed RapeLay from its site after receiving complaints over the game's content, as it encourages players to stalk and rape a virtual family.
"Please write to Illusion Software asking it to withdraw immediately from sale of all games, including RapeLay, which involve rape, stalking or other forms of sexual violence or which otherwise denigrate women," Equality Now asks on its site, arguing that the title normalizes sexual violence. "Suggest that corporations have a responsibility to consider, as good business practice, any negative impact their activities may have on society and the public interest. Please write a similar letter to Amazon Japan."
The group continues, "Write also to ... Japanese government officials, calling on them to comply with Japan’s obligations under [the country's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women] and the Japanese Constitution to eliminate discrimination against women and particularly to ban the sale of computer games such as RapeLay, which normalize and promote sexual violence against women and girls."
Oddly: "We are simply bewildered by the move," says Illusion spokesman Makoto Nakaoka, according to a report from Australian news site ABC.net. "We make the games for the domestic market and abide by laws here. We cannot possibly comment on [the campaign] because we don't sell them overseas."
However, "[We realize] the problem is there," a spokewsoman for the Japanese government's gender equality bureau commented. "While we recognise that some sort of measures need to be taken, the office is currently studying what can be done."
[Via Game Politics]
Categories:
4 Comments
As a person who is in favor of diversity and creative freedom, I think the concept of "rape" within a videogame sounded interesting at first. But after trying RapeLay I was severely disappointed since it only focused the sexual/vindictive approach. The level of perversion is the modern-day parallel to the early Swedish Erotica series for the VCS, and so is the level of redundancy.
Rape and sexual abuse are two serious problems our society is faced with: it's about time videogames start tackling some of these issues as well. But RapeLay, similar to the so-called "war simulation" games, ignores the tragedy, trauma, pain and loss associated with the act it portrays - therein lies its ultimate flaw. The game is so immature and shallow to a point where it is not worthy of any controversy.
(I wonder what Equality Now has to say about Noé's 'Irreversible'?)
dieubussy | May 9, 2009 3:12 AM
I don't quite understand why all the protest from the western front. Assuming that this title is unavailable outside of Japan, and abides by laws in Japan, is it really fair that a group of concerned westerners intervene? After all, it's quite a different culture over there when it comes to issues such as these. I'm sure if the Japanese had issues with it, they'd be protesting, I'm not sure why people who can't even access the game need to intrude. Hmm..
Daniel Primed | May 9, 2009 8:02 PM
Assuming that this title is unavailable outside of Japan, and abides by laws in Japan, is it really fair that a group of concerned westerners intervene?
Well - IF the game were actually pure evil and involved, say, the torture of real women for fun - then it would be understandable that people who aren't involved should be protesting. Wrong is wrong whether it's happening to you or someone halfway around the world.
I'm a feminist. I'm also pervy and have a much more in-depth knowledge of hentai games than these protestors do. Reading their article, they don't have a clue about what hentai encompasses (inability to tell the difference between loli and legal teenager for one) and they're just picking a random target because it's been in the NEWS.
The profusion of violent and nasty hentai goes way beyond RapeLay and is, indeed, occasionally disturbing. (Visit something like DLsite and notice what a minority of the porn on offer appears to involve pleasurable-for-the-woman or even consensual sex.) Perhaps it would be a good thing to try to change attitudes. But this is not the way.
Whiner | May 10, 2009 5:13 AM
Japan needs to stop theses evil publications
samuel welsh | May 11, 2010 10:31 PM