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Please stop censoring our games Capcom

I originally intended to publish this article two days ago. However, I wanted to give Capcom a fair chance to answer my question that I presented to them on Twitter on the 10th of November. As I simply asked @Capcom_UK and @Capcom_Unity the following question:

To be fair though, I didn´t really believe that I would get an answer from neither Capcom Unity or UK nor any other Capcom representative for that matter (I was right). As it seems like they have already made up their minds about R-Mika´s butt-slap and split attack move in “Street Fighter 5” (Capcom also changed Cammy´s crotch view). And you know what? I think that it was a really cheap move by Capcom, as they didn´t give the Street Fighter fans a fair chance to have a say about the matter (Capcom could have made an online vote poll, or something like that). And to add even more damage to the injury, there are rumors going around that Capcom “might” censor even more female SFV fighters in the future. So “if” there is any truth to that at all, then Laura Matsuda is in the danger zone for sure (and maybe other female SFV fighters as well). Personally I find all of this to be rather hypocritical. As it´s only the female fighters that get censored or altered, but what about the male SFV fighters then? (I´m not asking Capcom to censor them as well, I´m just trying to prove my point) Just take Zangief and Necalli for example, both are buff to the max and wear very little clothes (not to mention all the poses and crotch views that they display in SFV).

Censorship and hypocrisy



My point would be this. It’s always female game characters that get censored, changed or what not. The male game characters, however, they can be half-naked, buff, and show their booty (and whatnot) without anyone even rasing an eyebrow over it. So it seems like feminists, SJWs and PC Bros couldn´t care less about the male game characters. They simply just keep a close eye on the female ones. Sure, some people seem to think that this is just a matter of a “butt-slap” and some booty, but it´s not. It´s a matter of putting the foot down for censorship, and like I´ve said many times before.

If you give the SJWs one finger now, then they will take the whole hand later on. It´s simple really, if you cave in for their demands one time. Then they will demand more things in the near future. I would also like to point out that R-Mika´s butt-slap´s is a taunting move. It´s meant to make fun out of your (Mika´s) opponent (s). Another thing, “Street Fighter 5” has a +13 age rating (I think it´s the same in both North America and EU?). And I hardly doubt that any kids would die from seeing R-Mika´s butt-slap (especially since there´s even worse stuff to be seen on MTV 24/7). And as far as I know, most kids (no matter the age) can go to WWE and TNA matches right? (or watch them from home). In other words, those kids have probably already seen female’s butt-slap themselves (and others) a thousand times before.

One should also ask him or herself why Capcom isn´t making SFV into a “M-rated” game? As Capcom would have to worry less about complains and such that way (and I hardly doubt that SFV would sell less due to a “M-rated” rating, just take GTA5 for example). As for the “sexist game design” and “misogyny” rants, like I stated earlier. Look at the male fighters in SFV, all characters are super buff and attractive (well, for most part) in SFV (males as female). And If you don´t like the game in question, then simply don´t buy the game. It´s as easy as that. I would also like to point out that there will most likely be mods for SFV once the game gets released to PC (the censored parts will be uncensored in no time), and we all know what that means (will the SFV modders be able to top the Dead or Alive 5: Last Round nude mods?). And let´s be honest now shall we. Most people have access to the Internet today. So that means that you could find (real as animated) XXX related content in just a matter of seconds (depending on your Internet speed). Simply put, I find the whole thing with Capcom censoring R-Mika´s butt-slap to be ridiculous. And I´m far from alone to feel that way as well, thus the fact that people (Street Fighter fans) have, in fact, canceled their SFV pre-orders to show Capcom that they’re not happy with having them censoring their games.



The Street Fighter 5 fans wants R-Mika´s butt-slap back, but will Capcom listen?

So what can be done about all of this then? Well, first of all. You should ask yourself the following questions. Are you okay with Capcom censoring “Street Fighter 5”? If not, would you still buy the game and support this kind of behavior? If no, then simply don´t buy the game. As that would send Capcom the message that you´re not okay with this. Other than that, you could always support the change.org petition to bring back R-Mika´s butt-slap. However, even if the “anti-censorship” petition for SFV becomes a huge success (the petition has over 4.100 supporters right now, the goal would be to reach 5,000 supporters). I highly doubt that Capcom will pay all that much attention to it, unless the petition starts to get like 15-30,000 supporters (or something like that). Nevertheless, it´s still a good way to get the word out about the censorship in SFV. And who knows? The petition might actually get 15-30K supporters? Anyhow, this is what the “Do not censor Street Fighter V” change.org page states (the petition was started by Daniel Young):

“Some time recently Capcom chose to censor this Critical Art animation, the original shows Mika slapping her butt to taunt before grabbing, and the final downward slam brings both legs down as is normal in a great deal of wrestling moves. In the newest version, the camera pans up to hide the slap and the severity of the final downward slam is lost as the legs are untouched. We do not want to accept any censorship of this kind, and we do not wish to purchase censored games. This content must remain uncensored, retained in its original form when the game is released, as should all the current content in the beta builds thus far that your company may wish to censor for whatever reason.”

I have to say that the petition description (and goal) are pretty spot on, in my opinion. So I wish Young and his supporters the best of luck (I will sign the petition as well). And one more thing before I wrap this article up. Game developers and publishers should NOT pay close attention to what the “loud minority” rants about. Instead, they should focus and listen to what the players (consumers/community) have to say.

With that said, what do you guys and girls think about all of this? And will you cancel your “Street Fighter 5” pre-order because of Capcom´s censorship? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below!

***Disclaimer***

This is a personal opinion of the writer, and it doesn’t necessarily represent the other writers (nor The Gaming Ground´s) opinions.

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Robin “V-Act” Ek

The Gaming Ground

Twitter: @TheGamingGround

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Tags: Capcom, Capcom censors R-Mika´s butt-slap, Street Fighter 5, Street Fighter V, Yoshinori Ono