If you thought the infamous butt flare in Devil May Cry 5 was a bit random, there may actually be more *ahem* behind it. According to Sony when pressed by Wall Street Journal, they have enacted a stricter system for when it comes to sexual content in PlayStation 4 games.
They now have their own guidelines and restrictions in place, which almost totally disregards the findings of ESRB and the like when it comes to designating what is overly sexual or not. According to a spokeswoman, this is by design to “offer well-balanced content” that doesn’t “inhibit the sound growth and development” of young people. Read: Sony are coming over all evangelical all of a sudden.
Beyond this, however, the WSJ believes that Sony officials are antsy about the PlayStation brand being negatively impacted by the sale of sexual content that sexualizes underage girls, specifically those developed in Japan, where there’s typically a higher concentration of “racy” games being developed. According to an American official, Sony are worried that they could be a “target of legal and social action”.
The guidelines aren’t public and seem to be on a case-by-case basis, which may cause some irritation with developers who have to go in and tweak their game to appease one platform when every other one is totally fine with the content they’ve submitted. Lens flare isn’t a one second fix, you know.
This is a bit of bonkers over-protectiveness, especially when ratings boards have already passed their judgement and limited the sale of more adult games to minors with specific age ratings already in place. That Sony would become extra wary even with multi-platform titles, as seen in the aformentioned DMC 5, is also strange and just comes across like panicked curtain-twitching from a company that’s terrified of being knocked off of their perch. It’s a wild time to be alive when Nintendo are apparently more relaxed with this kind of thing than Sony.
With the PlayStation 5 on the horizon, it will be interesting to see if Sony carry this thinking over into the next generation or loosen up a little. This news hasn’t exactly gone down well, and, as history has proven time and time again, just because you’re on top for one generation, it does not mean you can get away with pushing your players’ buttons in the next.
Besides, if there’s anything that’s corrupting the youth of today, it ain’t anime titties. It’s TikTok.
h/t: engadget
MORE PS4
– PSVR Aim Games: The Complete List
– PlayStation Now PS4 Games: The Complete List
– All PS4 HDR Compatible Games: The Full List
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
