MangaGamer sparks outrage over Soul Link

Game publisher MangaGamer announced Soul Link CGs would be removed, leading to cries of hypocrisy over their initial plans to produce an “uncensored” version.

A total of 6 CGs from the game will be removed due to having an arguably underage looking character naked.

soullink600

Comments so far have been unilaterally negative:

“I fear Mangagamer intends to take the censorship even further than JAST.”

“Decisions such as [this] will cause your fanbase to turn against you.”

“It’s taken a good 2 years (or more) and tons of bad translations and delays for Manga Gamer to establish the reputation that they have right now and virtually overnight, with the announcement of “censorship” it’s on the brink of shattering.”

Several countries view attempts to sexualize underage persons with alarm, and Anime Diet has previously reported on efforts in the United Kingdom and the Philippines to ban all works that portray minors in a sexual context. It is unclear what laws, if any, would be applicable in the United States, where such works are legal, provided no actual children were used in their making.  Still, the official MangaGamer website prominently features a young girl as its welcoming image, indicating the company intends to court loli eroge buyers.

MangaGamer is better known in some circles for its upcoming release of Higurashi no Naku Kokoro ni, scheduled December 15th.

Author: moritheil

One might be forgiven for thinking that Moritheil is a postmodern literary critic who started reviewing video games in 2001, and spent the early 2000s learning at the right hand of con staff and fansubbers. However, those rumors are spurious: Moritheil is actually a distant relative of Genghis Khan who stands poised to conquer the world via the Internet. Follow along at http://twitter.com/moritheil.

10 thoughts on “MangaGamer sparks outrage over Soul Link

  1. Oh bloody hell. >_>
     
    They might as well update their welcome image if they’re gonna seriously remove loli CGs… because their little welcome girl is also a loli.
    And if they’re gonna go kill loli-ness, then why not remove all the Primula H-scenes in Shuffle and any other Loli scenes in their games?
    Good grief.
    I mean, I know people are trying to kill pedophilia and all around the world and all, but come on…
    I think lolis in anime and eroge are needed to keep pedophiles under control. It also satisfies any such fantasy. It’s looked down upon by society, but the girls aren’t real so no harm can possibly be done.
    Unless some stupid soccer mon learnt it. >_>

  2. Question: will any fangroups be makinga custom patch to  restore the censored content?

  3. That’s bizzare, especially considering they translated Shuffle! which also has “an arguably underage looking character” having sex with the protagonist.

    Srsly MangaGamer, make up your minds.

  4. @Jubbz, @BlueGenome – Yes, I do find this decision at odds with their chosen mascot and with their other work.  I’m not certain what has changed.
    @Heavens_Feel – There is speculation that it will happen (as it’s not terribly difficult to do), but I have yet to hear of any actual plans.

  5. @moritheil:  well, no one’s certain about their decision. Alas, it’s just a little abrupt for them to do something like this unless someone did indeed get on their asses and threatened to sue them to hell and back… >_>

  6. @Anon
    I am very glad to hear that. Not only because am I interested in playing this title, but also because releasing it uncensored helps establish a precedent for other manufacturers to follow.

  7. It’s interesting how they got just over 20 comments on the initial post, and almost 60 on the follow-up.  Even more interesting is their justification – due to public opinion, companies are afraid to challenge the majority.  In Japan this would be unremarkable, but to see this kind of behavior in a country that glorifies individualism is an eye-opener, and a clear indication of how powerful the groups that targeted ero games are.

Comments are closed.