Would you ban this computer game?
| 20:08 UK time, Friday, 2 April 2010
Hi I'm Kai and I work on World Have Your Say. I have seen a lot of people are discussing about a Japanese video game called RapeLay in which the player must stalk and rape women in order to win. It's part of a wider craze in Japan for Hentai - films, games and comics that feature cartoon images of a pornographic nature.
RapeLay is out of print and delisted from , but some think the Japanese government should ban the sale of similar games. , a women's rights organisation, is calling for people to write to Japanese politicians demanding a ban. Its executive director, Taina Bien-Aime, said these games "promote and normalize sexual violence," and perpetuate gender stereotypes of females "that lead to violence and discrimination".
But is the depiction of rape worse than the violence in many more widely-available games? says a ban would perpetuate the old fallacy that people copy what they see in video games. He says it implies that "we are all rapists ... and all we need is a video game to just push us a little way".
thinks gamers can commit virtual violent acts because they are normally heroic and in the name of a higher cause. He says this is never the case with rape. But he doesn't think these games should be banned because people can distinguish between fantasy and reality.
Lots of the comments I have been reading on gaming blogs agree that it's a matter of context and that adult themes should not be banned outright.
Do video games have an impact on what happens in the real world? What would be gained by a ban? Should we be concerned about what gamers do in the privacy of their own homes?
