We’re reaching levels of globalization never thought possible.
Video game companies of late have been fixated on reviving dead or long forgotten franchises such as Activision reviving both Crash Bandicoot and Spyro but in most cases many such large name companies like Square Enix have been repackaging ancient games such as Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy and more as supposed Pixel / HD “remasters” that incorporate censorship or altercations to the original game.
Now obviously, repackaging a twenty year old game with a HD text font and for whatever reason censoring the base game to appease nonsensical feminists has lead to many such remasters getting negative reviews and terrible sales, so much so that the likes of Konami and Capcom have apparently decided that it wasn’t worth the extra investment to plague their latest cash grabs with modernized censorship.
For instance, Capcom recently released the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, a HD revision of the GBA spin-offs of the Mega Man franchise, instead this collection doesn’t have any major altercations or censorship imposed upon unsuspecting buyers, instead the game contains a sensitivity warning depicting that the re-released collection may contain “insensitive cultural depictions”.
Capcom values diversity and inclusivity, as previously seen with Street Fighter 6, so with the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection throwing up a disclaimer of so called insensitive cultural depictions that remain present in the games to “preserve their authenticity” what Capcom means by this is that the Legacy Collection doesn’t feature ethnically diverse characters such as black people.
Apparently we need a pandering warning from Capcom that a game released almost two days ago doesn’t contain black people.
It isn’t just Capcom who are taking such an approach, Konami have basically all but abandoned the video game industry when they kicked Hideo Kojima to the curb back in 2015, they’ve gone utterly quiet since releasing the disastrous Metal Gear Survive, only to come out of left field by announcing several Silent Hill projects late last year.
Konami obviously looking to cash in on Kojima’s efforts have sought to re-release the old Metal Gear Solid HD collection on all modern platforms as the “Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Volume 1” featuring both forms of Metal Gear Solid & Metal Gear Solid 2 alongside Metal Gear Solid 3
The initial HD re-releases for all three games came out on the PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360 back in 2011 and managed to land on the PlayStation Vita the following year, although the core games on offer have barely changed in this new collective cash grab, the Master Collection does come with a bunch of other digital goodies like sound tracks and other bonus content, a re-release of a re-release for just $60.
Oh, and the collection does not support mouse and keyboard controls either despite releasing on PC, so that goes to show how much Konami truly cares.
But obviously, given the nature of how the Metal Gear Solid titles found within this aforementioned collection released during the early 1990s, with the main focus being on 1998’s Metal Gear Solid and Sequels, naturally these games aren’t inclusive enough for Konami’s liking.
The Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection is apparently uncensored, despite the fact that Konami’s Director of Brand Marketing, Ben Kinney had this to say about the collection:
“We put the white gloves on and just whatever needed to be touched up or trimmed just to modernize them. We did that and then the rest we just left as it was, because that was the intent.”
And what modernization can be found in this recycled HD collection? Well a warning that the games instead may include “outdated content”.
Obviously, I prefer this alternative compared to companies nonsensically butchering their old titles for a quick and easy cash grab with barbaric censorship for modern audiences, but we all know why they are throwing up content warnings of this manner, it’s due to simple laziness rather than the fact that they don’t want to censor the games themselves.
It takes far more time removing pixelated panties than to just throw up a content disclaimer that cries out “we’re sorry that the game might contain insensitive content” like feminine women, skirts or the lack of ethnically diverse characters and genders or maybe because the main protagonist happens to be a White male in both instances, I can understand why that would be “insensitive” for modern audiences.
Nah, it’s probably the posters, because attractive women in a video game is sexist.
You can also attribute such disclaimers as gaslighting, while not censoring the game companies like Konami and Capcom are pointing the finger at fans and shouting “the content inside these games are bad and you should feel bad for liking it” painting a target on what other game devs and modern audiences should avoid.
