In the aftermath of the tumultuous launch of SHIFT UP’s Stellar Blade, marked by a mandated bait-and-switch day one censorship patch, significant developments have unfolded.
For those unfamiliar with the backstory, a couple of years ago, during its early stages when it was known as “Project Eve,” the small Korean studio made a deal with Sony, the formally Japanese gaming tyrant.
Prior to this publishing deal, Sony has had an immensely strict censorship policy they’ve been imposing upon Japanese game developers. Which undoubtedly had dire consequences.
Marvelous’ Senran Kagura franchise saw its next installment collapse entirely due to these policies, ultimately leading to its creator, Kenichiro Takaki, departing from Marvelous after 13 years. Ultimately killing Marvelous and the Senran Kagura franchise.
Sony’s reputation for double standards is well-known, particularly evident in its treatment of “wholesome” titles like Cyberpunk 2077, The Last of Us Part 2, Life is Strange, and Baldur’s Gate 3.
Despite featuring gratuitous sex scenes and full nudity, these games have largely escaped scrutiny, likely due to their promotion of progressive themes or their Western origin.
Meanwhile, Sony has exclusively targeted Japanese developers, censoring their fanservice content and imposing restrictions. Additionally, Sony imposed a censorship patch on Devil May Cry 5 because of Trish’s naked bare bottom while the game launched uncensored on PC and Microsoft’s XBOX systems.
If memory serves, the scene was eventually uncensored through another patch on PlayStation systems, but that’s beside the point.
Sony’s progressive and globalized calls for censorship, aimed at removing “problematic” elements that contradict BlackRock’s ESG agenda, include fan service primarily catering to the heterosexual demographic and depictions of attractive women.
This stance has led many Japanese consumers to abandon PlayStation in favor of platforms like mobile devices and the Nintendo Switch, which have far more relaxed censorship policies.
Especially notable was the fact that mere days prior, SHIFT UP had proudly declared that the game would be released uncensored worldwide. However, with the day-one update, multiple costume designs were inexplicably altered to be less revealing.
This isn’t just deceptive; it’s outright illegal. Such modifications to advertised content can be construed as false advertising.
Needless to say, consumers were not pleased. Personally, I was thoroughly ecstatic because such a turn of events should have been anticipated from the start. For Sony to make such a drastic reversal and contradict its own agenda, particularly considering Sony Interactive Entertainment’s relocation to California, I should have seen this coming from a mile away.
Since then I’ve witnessed countless individuals defending SHIFT UP’s actions, attributing the censorship blame towards their publishers at Sony. While it’s evident that this censorship patch wasn’t intentional by SHIFT UP, despite the game director Hyung-Tae Kim’s statement that the altered costume designs were “always intended as their final design,” it’s abundantly clear that Sony is the one calling the shots.
Nonetheless, we shouldn’t absolve SHIFT UP of responsibility and treat them as innocent victims. By entering into a partnership with Sony, they knowingly entered into a deal with the devil.
They understood the implications when they accepted Sony’s financial backing, and unfortunately, the expected outcome manifested in the form of a deceptive day-one update that players are compelled to download if their PlayStation 5 console is connected to the internet.
As I’ve said before, consumers are outraged. Attempts are being made to have our voices heard by Sony, in the form of a campaign dubbed “Free Stellar Blade” orchestrated by Mark Kern aka Grummz with a change.org petition reaching over 53,000 registers at this point in time.
Despite previous attempts by gamers to address censorship issues with petitions for titles like Omega Labyrinth Z and Senran Kagura, these efforts largely went unnoticed. However, the situation is different for Stellar Blade, where there is currently a much stronger outcry.
Sony’s imposition of censorship on the game, which can only be avoided by owning the physical copy and playing offline, has prompted numerous individuals to hit the company where it hurts the most: their wallet.
Many have chosen to take a stand against Sony by canceling their PlayStation Plus subscription service. The controversy surrounding Stellar Blade’s censorship has sparked a significant PR backlash, but given Sony’s track record, it’s likely to be disregarded.
Mark Kern’s petition is just one component of his plan. Other steps involve privately messaging Hyung-Tae Kim on Twitter, sending physical letters to SHIFT UP’s offices in South Korea, tweeting and tagging Sony’s North American department and PlayStation on Twitter, canceling PlayStation Plus subscriptions, and contacting YouTubers he knows to help spread the word.
Due to Stellar Blade’s scrutiny by Western feminists and media outlets over sexism and objectifying women, all of which likely intensified the games exposure and marketing, Kern has become the target of insults and death threats.
Some individuals have even gone as far as putting a $20,000 bounty on his head. However, death threats over the internet are unfortunately commonplace.
My perspective on the matter is quite different; I harbor a deep-seated hatred for Sony. I had no actual means of purchasing the game since I do not own a PlayStation 5 console. Why would I financially support a reprehensible globalist corporation like Sony by buying their console?
Nevertheless, SHIFT UP was fully aware of the terms when they signed the contract for “Project Eve” now Stellar Blade to be published under Sony’s label as a PlayStation 5 exclusive. While I had planned to purchase the game upon its PC release, the censorship has altered my decision, and I will no longer be doing so.
This is a matter of principle for me. Stellar Blade has been falsely advertised to consumers, and while Sony may be pulling the strings of censorship, SHIFT UP is equally responsible. They have lost my trust, as well as that of some others. As a consumer, you’re left in a lose-lose situation.
You own a game that has had its content arbitrarily modified and censored from its original form. There’s no obligation to reward companies that blatantly lie to your face.
All they had to do was satisfy their paying customers, but they couldn’t resist implementing bait-and-switch tactics. Blaming Sony exclusively and suggesting we punish and scrutinize them alone is ridiculous. They made a deal with the devil, and now they must face the consequences.
The only way to “resolve” such a situation is by doing as much damage to Sony’s wallets as you can. It’s unlikely that anything worthwhile will come from them again. Additionally, since Tencent is a major backer of SHIFT UP, users are now rushing to refund their digital purchases of the game, citing false advertisement.
Reportedly, Sony is indeed granting these refunds. A post on Reddit displays an email from PlayStation Support, which confirms and approves the refund for Stellar Blade citing false advertisement.
The day one patch also toned down the gore and violence, no longer splattering Eve with large amounts of blood and now Sony are accepting refunds for the game. This allows unsatisfied customers who purchased digital copies of Stellar Blade to reclaim their money from both Sony and SHIFT UP.
It gives customers the opportunity to send a message, although the impact of this message depends entirely on how many choose to refund the game. However, the idea that refunding the game would financially harm SHIFT UP, who are once again being praised while Sony is criticized, is unlikely to occur in significant numbers.
This cycle will persist until the gaming industry crashes and burns. Why should consumers bear the brunt after being mistreated and deceived? Refusing refunds sends a message to Sony that they can continue imposing censorship immediately upon launch, capitalizing on the peak excitement for the game rather than waiting for the hype to fade.
While people are genuinely outraged over this, they don’t appear angry enough or eager to reclaim their money. Canceling subscription services certainly impacts Sony’s bottom line, but refunding a game inflicts even greater damage, especially considering how Stellar Blade is a Sony third-party title.
While refunding may harm the developers, it’s a consequence they must face for partnering with toxic companies like Sony. It’s highly probable that the game will eventually release on the PC platform at a later date. When it does, I consider it justified to pirate the game, considering the circumstances.
SHIFT UP makes a decent earning from Goddess of Victory NIKKE, they should not be rewarded for bending the knee to their partners in crime, and as previously mentioned Tencent holds a 20% stake in the company as well.
If you’re someone who doesn’t mind corporate tyranny, purchasing Stellar Blade even in its censored form is still preferable to many other modern video games available on PlayStation. Personally, I’d choose it over titles like TLOU2 or Horizon Zero Dawn any goddamn day.
Ultimately, do what brings you joy, I for one doubt Sony will ever reverse their decision and thus I refuse to support any of them.
