Moral panics and ‘Ban this sick filth!’ headlines are to expected in the video game industry, but Scandinavia has stunned Nintendo 3DS gamers by banning recent release Dead or Alive Dimensions.
Released in Irish stores last Friday, Tecmo’s fighting game is the first 3D handheld installment of the long-standing Dead or Alive series, which has received criticism in the past for its sexist depiction of its female characters, including the games’ realistic ‘breast physics’ during fights.
Despite being realised without censorship in Japan, much of Europe and North America, Dimensions has been banned from Sweden, Denmark and Norway after warnings that it may violate the Scandanavian countries’ strict child porn laws.
Under Swedish law, the depiction of underage girls in pornographic situations, while it was quickly spotted that three of Dead or Alive‘s scantily-clad female characters are underage (aged 16).
The issue, however, isn’t that the characters of Kasumi (pictured above), Koroke and Ayane are underage – it’s that an in-game ‘Figure Mode’ allows every fighter to be posed and photographed from various angles – of which it’s conceivable that players could then depict a ‘pornographic’ viewpoint.
Swedish distributor Bergsala and Nintendo have released a joint statement informing fans of the decision to ban the title:
“Nintendo of Europe have decided not to release the game in Sweden, for various reasons. However, they do not want to list any details regarding their decision.
“We are sorry for how this impacts the Swedish fans of Dead or Alive. Thankfully, it’s extremely unusual that these things happen.”
A justified decision or a politically correct over-reaction? Here’s a clip of the aforementioned ‘Figure Mode’ – it’s actually quite tame but it makes us a little uncomfortable nonetheless.
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