The Dark Furie

I was reading an article about pornography recently and it got me thinking about rape games. Hey, put down the pitchfork and flaming torch, I'm talking about the rape simulators that are so popular in Japan - more on that in a moment. The article I was reading (which you can read yourself by following this link) is from 2006 and discusses the correlation between internet access and the sexual crime figures in the United States during the internet rollout. In short it assesses that in states where people had ready access to internet pornography the rape figures fell by a noticable percentage.

This got me thinking about a game called Rapelay, unsurprisingly a Japanese rape simulator, that has been in the headlines recently. You see, despite being released three years ago and available worldwide for that long, anti-rape activist groups have started to lodge complaints against that particular game in an attempt to get it banned. As it's such an old game I can only imagine that someone high up in one of these groups found a family member playing the game, which sparked the recent singling out of this title. After all, having looked up the reviews, it seems that Rapelay is quite tame compared to most of the games in this rather disturbing genre, so I can't see any other reason it would be singled out when so many worse games aren't. Something else you may find of interest is that the developer of this game only created it for the over 18 market in Japan and doesn't export to other countries. The only way this has shown up in western countries is through individuals who have purchased multiple copies and are selling on the web, or through hackers who have translated the game and removed the mosaic cubing effect that obscures the genitals in the game, an effect that is required by Japanese law. At the time of writing this Rapelay has been banned from most online retailers as well as several countries starting with my own and swiftly followed by the United States. Furthermore, it seems that the United States government has put pressure on Japan to ban the game there as well, pressure that has paid off in this case as the game is no longer listed on the publisher's website and the developer has been forced to recall copies from shops.

Now I wont get into the moral argument of whether the US had any right to interfere with the workings of a Japanese company over a product that was legally released in that country and that they haven't even attempted to bring to the United States themselves, but I will return to the actual point of this post - the correlation between access to pornography and rape crime figures. If we're to believe the article I was reading Japan, with the hundreds of rape simulators that get legally released there every year, should have a slightly lower rape crime figure than my own country or America as these countries have banned these games. However, if the politicians and activist groups are right, Japan will have a much higher amount of rapes. Considering this I hunted down the crime figures. These are presented as the number of reported rapes per 100,000 people who live in the country so the ratio stays the same no matter how big the country is.

USA - 32.05 rapes per 100,000 people. Now that's not actually a bad number if you think about it. Still about 32 rapes too many in my opinion, but a lot better than I thought it would be.
UK - 16.23 rapes per 100,000 people. Again better than I thought it would be, even after seeing the US statistics. Again too many to feel comfortable about.
Japan - Aha, the moment of truth. Will it be higher, lower or somewhere in between? My gut instinct says that Japan will probably have a rape crime statistic of somewhere around the same as the UK. And the magic number is... 1.78. Less than two people per 100,000 get raped there despite rape simulations and rape anime being so prolific there! Could it be that women in Japan simply don't report rapes? Maybe so, but the same can be said about women in other countries too and it wouldn't account for such a high statistical anomaly. Is it possible that this statistic is really down to potential rapists living out their sick little fantasies with simulators rather than taking a victim in real life? It seems so (although I believe that culture has a lot to do with it as well) but that raises some rather unsanitary questions about just how far these things should be allowed to go, questions that I wont even bother to talk about here. It just seems that, in the right context and as part of an entire culture, these "games" are actually doing the country some good. Think about that next time a politician launches a campaign to ban the latest game as too violent, too sexual or "a paedophile training ground" (as Hilary Clinton famously called The Sims).

One final thought. Australia is infamous in the gaming world for having the strictest ratings board. Many games get content cut because the Australian board deems it unacceptable and some games are even denied release at all. The Australian rape reports list 77.79 rapes per 100,000 people. You do the maths.

Garrett's coming back! As Mart is probably the only one with a chance of understanding why I'm excited, I'll leave you with this too.

Due to a problem with my usual mailing address I had to use one of my private e-mail addresses to send this months mailing list out. As it's the one I use mainly to collect spam these days that shouldn't be a problem but I do hope that no-one will risk shutting down this mailing list by sharing that address with anyone. I also had to cut the batch sizes down to less than ten at a time due to the new sending address so if anyone got left out by accident please let me know and I'll send it to you. Hopefully this change wont reveal anyone's e-mail addresses to each other, but let me know if there's a problem and I'll make sure not to use that address again.

Anyway, on to this month's feature presentation on my game mailing list is a new game in a long running life simulation series, Paris Nights. This is a pretty huge game with more to do than can possibly be done in one playthrough. You'll find yourself coming back to the game and trying out different character types. Not only that but I've bulked up the package by including New York Nights 1 and 2 and Las Vegas Nights as well. Unfortunately I couldn't find any others in the series to send out, but four games of this calibre should be able to keep most people going for a while. Enjoy.

Press Release

The future of Albion awaits discovery. In the latest game add-on for “Fable II,” the award-winning role-playing game that has sold more than 2.6 million copies worldwide, players will encounter challenges unlike anything a hero has faced before. Available in May exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, Microsoft and Lionhead Studios keep the "Fable II” adventures going in “See the Future,” an action-packed journey that requires players to lift the curses placed on three mysterious items that have come into the possession of Murgo the Trader.

In “See the Future,” players will be given the chance to heed the call for a hero to restore color and balance to the world, or let Albion fall to the wayside. Those who emerge victorious will receive the ultimate reward: a quest that provides a vision of Albion’s future and what lies ahead for those born into the heroic bloodline. The fantastical new quests in “See the Future” will bring players face-to-face with new characters, creatures, events and legendary artifacts, including:

Murgo: Having first met him during the childhood sequence of “Fable II,” Murgo returns to Bowerstone Market to bring an amazing array of new wares, including potions that can transform canine companions into new breeds.

The Ghosts of the Snowglobe Quest: Holding a disturbing secret, the small model village inside it was once a real town in Albion. The people who once inhabited it are now ghosts condemned to endless torment until the shadowy threat that cursed them is defeated.

The Cursed Knight Quest: Forever banished to a land beyond the dead, the Cursed Knight awaits a hero who has the strength and will to dress up in convincing costumes, even imitating a hobbe or balverine, to save him from his fate.

The Colosseum: The Colosseum puts even the Crucible to shame. Only the greatest heroes have triumphed here. Players’ abilities will be put to the test to prove themselves in combat once and for all, to win the ultimate in prizes.

In addition, “See the Future” offers free unique items to all, including Welley’s soldier helmet and other clothing, a braided ponytail and other hairstyles, psycho Jester make-up, a new hero expression, the back flip trick for canine companions, and a collectible Murgo the Trader gold statue. The “Fable II” “See the Future” game add-on will be available for download exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace in May for 560 MS Points for the premium content package.