Lately, there has been a buzz around Sony reportedly telling developers what content is acceptable and not acceptable in games that are produced on their platforms, specifically Catherine : Full Body and Senran Kagura, due to the sexual content.
Many people have been up in arms about how this is censorship by Sony. It's not censorship - only governments can impose censorship on media. What Sony is doing is actually pretty common when it comes to any media outlets. They are specifically telling a studio that if they want their game to be published on the Playstation 4, they need to abide by certain rules.
It's no different than, well, running a podcast. As a podcast host, I am picky about what advertisements run on my podcast. If someone approached me with an opportunity to run an ad with content I don't agree with or that I find questionable, I have the right to turn them down (or to tell them to change their content of their ad, if I find it offensive). Am I telling the creators that they can not produce their content? Most certainly not. They have the right to create what they want to - I don't have to air it, but it doesn't mean that someone else won't take them up on it.
Same goes with game developers. Sony has the right to turn away a game that they find questionable, or ask the developer to change the content to better suite what Sony is looking for in regards to their image. Does that mean that the developer needs to make changes to the game? If they want to have it on the Playstation, absolutely. But they also have the right to take the game elsewhere and have it published there instead.
I've come around full circle on this topic - at first I found it ironic that Sony was playing the role that Nintendo has been known for - determining which content is suitable for what they feel is appropriate for their image. I don't blame Sony for making the choices that they did - and they have the right to do so as well.
As far as the censorship is concerned - as I stated, this isn't censorship - however, I will say that with the freedom of expression, you have a responsibility to express yourself in an appropriate way. And if the market doesn't find a place for your content, that's on you, not on the market.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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