One Japanese eroge (that is, porno games) company has figured out a clever way to get around the country's impending ban on rape games: Don't call them rape games anymore.

Okay, recap time. Are you ready? Back in February, a listing on Amazon.com for a Japanese hentai game called RapeLay - where you play a stalker who rapes and enslaves a mother and her two daughters - caused outrage. After some controversy here in the States, the game's home country of Japan dealt with the controversy on its own, even if the Ethics Organization of Computer Software couldn't seem to make up its mind.

When the dust settled, though, it seemed that rape games had been unofficially banned, and the manufacturers thereof now had to do their best in order to adhere to the ban as lightly as they possibly could. Some responded by changing the titles (Gang Raped by the Entire Village ~Girls Covered in Milky Liquid~ became The Trap Set by the Entire Village ~Bodies Covered in Milky Liquid~) without changing the content, and some responded by assuming that the games wouldn't offend our delicate foreign sensibilities if we couldn't access their site.

Now, yet another eroge company has tried another tactic - maybe if they don't call them rape games, nobody will notice! PC Game download site BGameBox posted a notice that the categories "ryoujoku" (rape) and "choukyou" (sexual slave training) had been removed from the site as of July 31st. However, as Canned Dogs reports, their (separate) e-mail newsletter says that the games will be rehosted on their site under new categories.

The Rape category will be renamed "Platinum" games, while the Sexual Slave Training category is now known as the "Thoroughbred" category. I... don't know about you, but that actually sounds more creepy and demeaning to me, and I didn't know that was possible. Then, of course, there's also the scenario where some poor sap mistakes the Platinum category for something not unlike a "Greatest Hits," and has his mind irrevocably scarred.

Though come to think of it, knowing Japan, it might actually be their Greatest Hits category. Nevermind.

(Via Kotaku)