Bravely Second: End Layer

[Tyrath]

I just wish DQ4-6 was on 3DS eshop. I have them pirated on my DS but I don't really wanna play my DS anymore.

[vivbiibasjiu]

So apparently one of the jobs that wears Native American garb as its theme has been censored into a Cowboy job instead due to I guess people in the west being offended by cultural appropriation... even though ironically it's more offensive since the cowboys killed them

[Taim Meich]

This kind of censorship is getting really absurd. I'm not from the US, but I don't see how it can be offensive that the characters wear native american costumes. Maybe they are stereotyped and a generalization not representing a specific tribe, but this kind of generalization is present in all the cultural references in media, and does no harm at all.

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[Scythiroth]

Tired of them wasting time and money on censoring. The people that complain about stuff like that probably wouldn't have even bought the game anyways.

[ronin sparthos]

Well... the last game had to up everyones age to match what's legal in NA since sexualized 15 year olds will probably set off someones creepmeter.

Stuff like boob coverage on summons is silly though. Gotta cover those nips, yo.

[Ratatapa]

Well... the last game had to up everyones age to match what's legal in NA since sexualized 15 year olds will probably set off someones creepmeter.

Stuff like boob coverage on summons is silly though. Gotta cover those nips, yo.

Sure censor those summon boobs, while our kids run almost naked to the american music awards

[Scythiroth]

Upping the character ages AND censoring them seemed pointless though. Couldn't they just have done one or the other?

[Serra]

I'd want to know more about the job/costume before saying something one way or another, but at first glance, I can appreciate the concern for sensitivity. Japan is a homogeneous population, so yes, publishing a game in the west requires greater consideration of the people who could be exposed to the game. And saying that the people who would complain aren't going to play the game (or even would be a small minority) is like saying the Washington football team can keep their name because the people offended by their name wouldn't cheer for them (or are a small minority).

[Scythiroth]

I guess that is true, I just hate censoring in games.

[Serra]

I mean, yeah, the word censorship has a generally negative association, and it's easy to make that criticism, but this is less about censorship and more about appealing to your market and avoiding controversy. At the end of the day, selling games is still a business.

[Charismatic]

If they wanted to make more money, they'd apparently not want to avoid controversy.
Time and time again, games get brought up for being insensitive in some way and then they go on to sell boatloads.

Lets not forget that Dragon's Crown (the only VW game to ever have lots of negative press prior to release) was far and away their best selling game ever.

[ronin sparthos]

Controversy only sells more copies if your game was sure to bring in plenty of contrarians looking to give a middle finger to the censors. Like say, Grand Theft Auto.

In the case of a niche JRPG like Bravely Second, it'd just be needless drama around a game that would offer the company little and surround the title in unneeded drama. It's honestly that big of a censor. We've seen similar shit in other Japan -> NA titles.

[Charismatic]

So... are you trying to say Dragon's Crown fits that mold in a way that Bravely doesn't? I... huh?

[Tyrath]

And isn't it already causing needless drama by word of this coming out?

[TheDirtyHobo]

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, etc. The game has a certain following, people who have seen the Japanese version and have said "I want to play this game in a language I understand." That's what 90% of its sales will be from. So when a company comes along and says they'll give you that game, but then ends up changing noticeable portions of it, you are getting a different game than what you wanted. They'll argue that it's to not offend people (and therefore broaden the target audience), but they're doing it at the expense of some of their actual consumers.

I'll still (probably) buy the game myself, because slutty Indians wasn't the main reason I was interested in it to begin with, but it's still offensive to see people making changes to another group's work. It makes me want to brush up and get back into moonrunes to circumvent these shenanigans.

[vivbiibasjiu]

Unless they completely change the backstory to the Tomahawk asterisk wielder who is a very spiritual tribal member it's gonna be pretty awkward when you slaughter her and get rewarded with the Cowboy job

[Serra]

So when a company comes along and says they'll give you that game, but then ends up changing noticeable portions of it, you are getting a different game than what you wanted

Noticeable portion?? It's (seemingly) one costume.. It's not like they're changing the game or story in any significant way.

[Cream Soda]

While it won't change whether or not I buy the game, Tomahawk was something I saw and thought "Holy shit this looks awesome, can't wait to play this class"

So it is a letdown.

@_@ probably more offensive to have changed it anyways. The tomahawks used to live here; but they've been replaced and now this land belongs to the cowboys!

[Serra]

Again though, based on what has been reported here, it's just an aesthetic change. Changing how the class looks has no impact on the class/how it plays.

And as far as the criticism regarding which is more offensive, I kinda feel you guys are grasping at straws -- just compare how many protests and campaigns there have been against the Cowboys versus the aforementioned Washington football team.

[TheDirtyHobo]

Again though, based on what has been reported here, it's just an aesthetic change. Changing how the class looks has no impact on the class/how it plays.

And as far as the criticism regarding which is more offensive, I kinda feel you guys are grasping at straws -- just compare how many protests and campaigns there have been against the Cowboys versus the aforementioned Washington football team.

Even if it's "just" an aesthetic change, that can cause gameplay dissonance as mentioned above. The other option is they change the asterisk holder to make sense, in which case they're changing the actual story of the game. Both options are noticeable changes.

And honestly, I don't care about the cultural appropriation angle at all, but you have to appreciate the humor in removing an Indian class and replacing it with the people who genocided the Indians.