In a recent interview on Brazilian website Uol.com, Street Fighter V producer Yoshinori Ono made the following comment regarding the omission of Rainbow Mika’s butt-slap sequence in the latest beta version of the game (full translation here):

We decided to remove that because we want the biggest possible number of people to play, and we don’t want to have something in the game that might make someone uncomfortable.

My reaction to this is:

Someone who is going to be offended by that animation is probably going to be more offended by R.Mika’s boobs and arse bouncing all over the place. If you haven’t guessed already, I think this is a travesty. I see self-censorship of any kind as the first breach of creative expression, even something as insignificant as a silly butt-slap. When a creator feels pressured by external forces — real or perceived — into altering, diluting their work, that is deeply troubling.

Before I go any further, I want to establish what exactly the definition of self-censorship is:

Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one’s own blog, book, film, or other forms of media. This is done out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities or preferences (actual or perceived) of others and without overt pressure from any specific party or institution of authority. -Wikipedia

What we have here is a textbook example of self-censorship — despite Ono’s denial of any external influence — and unfortunately it is not an isolated case. Over the course of the last month we have seen the following instances of Japanese developers altering their games in some way before their Western release (or not come to the West at all, in the case of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3), seemingly for no other reason than to avoid offending Western sensibilities:

You can also look through One Angry Gamer’s censorship tag for a convenient compendium of censorship going on in the game industry.

The above might not be clear-cut examples of self-censorship, as one can only speculate on the developers’ true motives, but it’s safe to assume that fear of a backlash from the gender politics-obsessed media played some part in their decisions.

I can understand why these decisions were made, even if I don’t believe they were the right decisions. Naturally these companies want to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of disappointing their most dedicated fans. Nintendo has a squeaky clean, kid-friendly image to uphold, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t call them out on their self-censorship, and the same goes for any other developers guilty of this process, especially when they botch the censorship itself by replacing a race with the people who oppressed it, or fail to consider the Western audience in the first place.

We as the consumers have to make ourselves heard and stand up against censorship when it arises, but the onus falls squarely on developers to show some spine in the face of Western prudes. Of course, I am not saying that games should be completely free of social or political criticism. Video games, like any other artform, do not exist in a social vacuum.

One game that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers

This is not a one-sided issue. As much as creators have the right to stay as true to their artistic vision as possible, the public has the right to criticise and scrutinise their work however they like (although if you can’t back up your arguments prepare for some pushback). Everyone has their own perspective; in fact, (unpopular opinion incoming) I’d go so far as to call characters like Bayonetta, Sorceress (Dragon’s Crown), Widowmaker (Overwatch) and indeed R. Mika problematic because of their sexualised depictions. But I am not so self-entitled as to demand a game cater to me, and I would absolutely draw the line at advocating censorship after the fact.

It’s really quite simple; if I don’t like something in a game, I don’t have to play it, and I certainly wouldn’t prevent others from playing it. There’s no reason why games can’t coexist for their respective demographics. Besides, there are plenty of female Japanese characters I do like: for every objectified Dead or Alive or Senran Kagura character, there’s a Chie (Persona 4), a Kat (Gravity Rush), a Lightning (FF XIII), a Milla (Tales of Xillia), a Kyoko, Chiaki, or Monaca (Danganronpa series)…

Developers and publishers should just stick to what they know best, rather than fretting over mass appeal and political correctness. There’s always going to be someone offended by their work, none more so than the perpetually offended. And once you give the perpetually offended an inch, they will take a mile. You could create the ideal feminist hero in Ciri (The Witcher 3), and rather than sing her praises they would complain about her heeled boots or how thugs throw gendered insults at her. Your game could pander to their every whim and it would still get a lukewarm review in response. So why bother?

Rather than forcing the issue through manufactured outrage and fearmongering, I want to see better gender and racial representation come about naturally from the ground up. I believe games can do better, and I believe the majority of gamers are behind that (just look at Undertale’s overwhelmingly positive reception on Steam). Censorship in all its forms, or creating a climate of fear of offending, is undoubtedly not the answer, though.

So how do we stop the scourge of censorship in the industry and give the figurative finger to its proponents? By fighting it wherever it rears its ugly head, and not standing idly by. Make your voice heard; send letters, emails, tweets to the responsible companies expressing your disappointment, and they will listen. Support the ambitiously named #1millionGamersStrong movement. Even share this article if you wish!

Some might not see the importance of protesting such minor instances of self-censorship in games. Sure, it starts with a boob slider here and a cheeky butt-slap there, but this is just the beginning of a very slippery slope which could well end with games consisting of nothing but bland, humourless rectangles (at least the rectangles in Thomas Was Alone had personality). Obviously I am exaggerating, but it makes you think, no?

Now, in honour of the butt-slap that started it all, please watch: