Sony Cracks Down on Sexually Explicit Content in Games (Article States That It Refers to Underage Characters: Check Threadmarks)

[Wandu]

Here OP. I will hook you up with some choice quotes from the article:

Sony officials said executives at the company have grown concerned that its global reputation could take a hit from sexually explicit content sold only in a few markets. One of their biggest concerns is software sold in the company's home market of Japan, which traditionally has had more tolerance for near-nudity and images of young women who might appear underage.

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Two factors last year combined to turn that unease into action, these Sony officials say. One was the rise of the #MeToo movement in the U.S., which pointed to the dangers of being associated with content that some might see as demeaning to women. The second was the emergence of channels on sites like YouTube and Amazon Inc.'s Twitch where gamers play in front of a camera and are watched by fans online. That means games meeting Japan's laxer standards can get world-wide exposure.

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In general, any company making a game for a platform like the PlayStation 4, Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox or Nintendo Co.'s Switch signs a contract with the platform maker governing royalties and other items. That gives the platform maker the ability to block games it doesn't like.

Nintendo said it doesn't regulate sexual content beyond requiring game makers to obtain a rating from national bodies. It said its game systems allow parents to restrict content based on the rating. Microsoft declined to comment.

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"You don't know what they will say until you complete the work and submit it for review," said the chief executive of a small game developer in Japan. "And if they are not happy, even if they allowed the same degree of sexuality a few days before, we need to take it back and ask our staff to make adjustments. That's very costly."

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On another note:

The PlayStation 4 is the world's most widely used videogame console, with more than 94 million units sold around the globe. About $11 billion in PlayStation 4 game software was sold in 2018, according to Sony

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There is a lot more, but I figured this would highlight a good portion of it.