La Pucelle Tactics Publisher Explains Alleged U.S. Censorship

Thanks to 1UP for its interview with La Pucelle: Tactics publisher Bill Swartz regarding alleged censorship to the PlayStation 2 SRPG from the developers of Disgaea, after an eToychest interview with the game's Japanese producer revealed: "We did take out a very few things we felt would cause problems in North America." Following sustained noises of discontent on the GameFAQs messageboards, it's explained: "Alloute wore cross earrings a few times and we took them out. We also removed a few other cross accessories and changed a handful of devices that looked like crosses (unless you looked carefully) to devices that looked a little less like crosses." Swartz laments: "There are well organized forces that work hard to punish software makers and sellers for what they consider religious transgressions", and clarifies the changes were "...not things that either carried meaning to the game's original audience or were in any way part of the substance of the game."

Comments

explain please

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would crosses be something to censor for America?

Re:explain please

[NNKK]

As a Christian, I can tell you they can practice in peace, and many of us do; as do many Jews, Muslims, etc. In fact, important parts of my personal religious beliefs are that religion has no place in government, and that trying to force religion on others is inexcusable.

I have no explanation for you about those that do try to force their beliefs on others. All I can say is please don't paint us all with the same brush.

For what it's worth, aside from it not being my place to tell a company what it can or can't put in a game, I find the controversy generated by things like crosses in games to be fundamentally ridiculous. People are ascribing far too much importance to objects that lack inherent meaning. If I could say one thing to the people that get so worked up over it, I would ask them why they seem so much more concerned about earthly objects than their relationship with God.

Re:explain please

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think that saying that the symbol of the man who suffered a lot to wash us from our sins lacks an inherent meaning... It's THE most important symbol of the Christian religion, and is expected to be respected as much as a country flag, maybe even more.

And why is the flag of a country to be respected?

I'm being serious. The USA is the only country I can think of where the flag is considered sacred. I hear things about schoolchildren being forced to swear allegiance to this flag and, as a European, I'm just bewildered. Set fire to a Tricolore or a Union Jack and the French or British people will think, oh, he's making a political statement. Set fire to the Stars and Stripes and you'll have Americans frothing at the mouth and acting like you just admitted to forcing nuns to boil babies in their own urine.

Flags aren't sacred - they're bits of cloth with pretty patterns on them. Crosses aren't sacred - they're just one pattern that commonly appears on flags. I'm a Christian too, but as far as I'm concerned when I see someone "desecrating" a cross it's just, well, someone pathetic doing something silly and pointless. It doesn't hurt God, why should it bother me?

It's like flag burning...

[Anonymous Coward]

or all kinds of things.

They can't get past the 6th grade tit-for-tat of it. Sure burning the flag can be a powerful insult. But it can also be a gesture of honor as when a flag is soiled (or even just touches the ground) and is burned. (Which can also have tragic consequences). Someone wants them to feel bad, so they do. Because for whatever reason it's not possible to make the other people offending them feel bad, they want to enjoin the general behavior that made them feel bad. What that completely ignores is they had a choice to feel bad or not. Like your faith, if I may presume, the wellspring they're searching the outside world for lays within. Lacking the feeling, they need something to focus on or identify with. To have that challenged probably feels like an unwelcome intrusion in to what is ones personal space.

Look at the extent this goes to in the muslim third world. Women wearing heavy opaque sacks in 100 degree heat, enduring mutilation, and being butchered when a family member rapes them to preserve some sense of honor. And we've our less graphic pecidillos too.

Well.

[SuiteSisterMary]

There's censorship, and there's localization. Don't confuse the two.

For example, where an American would say 'can you throw this in, to sweeten the deal,' the equivalent Japanese phrase would be 'can you throw this in, to add a little sexy blush to the deal.'

The first phrase would be a perfectly good translation of the second phrase, but not a transliteration. So which is the more appropriate? Depends on what you're going for.

Well, Christian symbology means more to the average North American than it does to the average Japanese, even the Christian ones. Actually, they tend to be pretty pragmatic; you see your Christian priest for this, your Shinto priest for that, and your local Budhist monk for the other.