Doki Doki Majo Saiban, a little game (which almost surely will go no further than Japan) from SNK that was shown at TGS is suddenly back in the news. Has it been released? Are there videos? Not so much. Instead, people have been busily photoshopping some very risqué images that are being passed off as official screens. Of course, that's nothing new -- and it wouldn't be surprising if they were actual screens. However, some of the outcry around this particular set of faked screens is that some of the "characters" look extremely young. A certain p-word has been bandied about in reference to the game, and we hate to see misinformation spread, particularly when it comes to branding something as being a part of the "rapist game demographic" (a horrific quote if ever there was one), so we looked into the rumors. And we'll warn you up front that some of the sites linked herein further link to images that are most vehemently NSFW.
Doki Doki Majo Saiban thrusts the player into the role of an intrepid young man hunting witches who appear human but are not. How can you tell the difference? By touching them. Seems innocent enough off the top, but the game is designed in a rather mature anime style. Now, this is common in Japanese media, and there's an entire genre of games (eroge) that, to non-Japanese audiences, might seem a little ... unusual. That's par for the course – what is anathema in America is acceptable in Europe and common in Japan, and vice versa, switch it around, etc. Sex and violence are handled differently in different countries and cultures. Doki Doki Majo Saiban is a Japanese game, and many Japanese gamers enjoy eroge. Until someone starts talking about releasing it elsewhere, who are we to impose our cultural sensibilities and sensitivities on it?
The anime-inspired art of Doki Doki Majo Saiban.
It probably wouldn't even be an issue, if not for two things. First, it's Nintendo, everyone's number one choice for the family system. Nintendo has traditionally shied away from mature content, though that seems to be changing. It's all about touching with the DS, however; who couldn't anticipate that this would come along eventually?
The second problem comes in when armchair designers leaped on the first screens from Doki Doki Majo Saiban, creating new "screens" that looked real, but took the action a little further, and with much younger-seeming characters. Another faked picture even featured a Wiimote, and suddenly the title was being reported as a release for the Wii. Art from Japanese blogs and forums was suddenly linked to the title. And as it spread across the Internet, the story changed. It was no longer a silly, risqué "touching" game for the DS. Suddenly, it was a little disturbing. (See here; note that the images are certainly not work safe and may not even be mind safe ... and these are only a few. There are others we won't link.)
We're all in favor of more mature games for Nintendo consoles. In fact, we'd like to see more mature games on all consoles, as a reflection of the fact that many adults enjoy games that may not be suitable for children, and we don't think that children should determine the entire face of the market. And many gamers complain about the perception that gaming is just for children ... and a large developer like SNK produces a game that is somewhat adult-oriented and well within cultural bounds for what is sexualized in Japan, and what happens? People outside Japan treat it as some sort of dirty pedophiliac mini-megaton because someone faked some screens.We're reminded of all the guys who lament a lack of gamer girls, but treat any gamer girls they happen to meet with disdain and derision simply because they are women. It's the same sort of hypocrisy, and not only does it limit the gaming market, but it tends to make us all look foolish as well.
Wouldn't it be nice if more Internet sources hesitated before plastering fake images all over the web? Unfortunately, the story around this game now has nothing to do with the gameplay, but whether or not someone is a potential child molester if they express an interest. Tongue in cheek remarks are one thing, but rape and molestation jokes generally go over like a lead balloon.
There is definitely a line of demarcation between blogging and journalism. We're hyperaware of the division. However, news bloggers of any sort have the same responsibility to their readers as journalists when it comes to making sure that what they're posting is factually accurate (or at least tagged as questionable). In fact, considering the wildfire speed with which rumors spread across the tubes of the Internet, we perhaps have more of a responsibility even than journalists. That means taking care (something these guys didn't do) when linking to sites in other languages that feature disturbing images ... the language barrier makes some of the pictures, which are not a part of the game, seem legit. Blogging should mean checking into things. Blogging should mean explaining what is and is not official. At the very least, we need to be honest. If we don't know whether or not something is official, it should be tagged as such. Photoshop artists are very good at what they do and, for the layman, the difference is often impossible to spot. When it comes to images of undeveloped preteens in sexual situations, the blogger's responsibility to check the facts becomes paramount. Is the traffic from the buzzwords more important than the truth? We hope not.
But who knows, maybe certain gaming sites are just looking for a piece of the pedophilia news pie. It's the hip thing to be jaded about right now, isn't it? After all, thanks to Mark Foley, it's all over the news. And why should he get all the attention?
In what is certainly the most laughable part of the story, half the screenshots that are being presented aren't even from Doki Doki Majo Saiban, they're from Denshi Maid Techou: Koi, another SNK game from TGS that features a robotic maid. It's difficult to say if tagging things with the wrong title is worse than making mountains from molehills, but if you're going to be aghast over the content of a game, make sure it's the right game.
_thumbnail.png "Defenders of Law, Inc: Crime in Willburg (PC Screens)")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-11-2006 @ 11:18AM
chris said...
Thank you for you well-thought and researched post. It seems too many people are quick to condemn things, but very slow to admit they were in the wrong. (I know you've done nothing wrong, but I still haven't found a news site that has retracted their story.)
Reply
10-11-2006 @ 11:34AM
Gunner Gunnar said...
"But who knows, maybe certain gaming sites are just looking for a piece of the pedophilia news pie. It's the hip thing to be jaded about right now, isn't it?"
yes it is. and the fact of the matter this stuff works just fine in the US and EU too. (the only differance is the in US materil like this got the funny "all characters depicted is 18 years of age or over" even when they clearly as a jello tentacle are not even clearly over 12.
the wolf cry the P-word and all gets a little stirry, missing out that lill red riding hood is allready missing.
Reply
10-11-2006 @ 11:37AM
blue sam said...
darn, that's big for teenage. •.-
Reply
10-11-2006 @ 12:37PM
Gonzo said...
Too true.
There are allot of pussies in this country when it comes to sex. Well... not that many but they're all retarded loudmouths who start useless organizations like the PTC. The funny thing is that these idiots will go nuts if a breast is flashed on tv because their children might see it as if that's the worst thing in the world but they won't think twice about letting their child watch crazy violence; which I don't necessarily have anything against either but... I'd rather my kid watch two people making love than two people trying to kill each other.
It's kind of like this whole hypocritical right wing "culture of life" idiocy. Fact is that most of the people who claim to care about the "culture of life" approve of capital punishment, every war, and throwing away frozen embryos that if studied could save lives. As George Carlin said: "When they talk about 'right to life', they're talking about their right to decide who lives and who dies."
Reply
10-11-2006 @ 1:23PM
Crazylink said...
I bet /b/ has something to do with this.
Reply
10-11-2006 @ 2:10PM
Nushio said...
Props to Alisha (And the DSFanboy staff) for doing good journalism and not just reporting what others are saying.
Reply
10-11-2006 @ 2:25PM
JBGUY2K said...
know what? It's not /b/, it's actually 2ch that might be behind it. But then again, it appears to be official... which I'm just confused about. Heck, I might as well just believe this little report.
Reply
10-11-2006 @ 3:08PM
Alisha Karabinus said...
Someone just e-mailed me another link that included the fake screens, from Destructoid, where they called it a "child molester's dream." It just kills me, how these things can spread and no one bothers to check into them. The "screens" were some person just asking "oh, maybe now something like this can become reality." That's it.
And yet now half the world thinks that they're official.
Thanks for the props, guys.
Reply
10-11-2006 @ 9:13PM
DownloadingData said...
But the bottom line is: the game will never reach the states or any other country outside japan for that matter. thus it shouldn't concern us. Not that it should even if it does get a port.
Well written article though.
Reply
10-11-2006 @ 11:34PM
dice said...
someone tell me how to get my hands on this game i must have it for the cool gameplay....
Reply
10-12-2006 @ 1:29AM
JK87 said...
So, this game is not about pedophilia. It is about molesting ADULT women. And it is perfectly acceptable to do this as long as you are trying to decide if they are witches?
Please...try this in public. Right in front of a cop. Then report back in 2-3 years if this a harmless concept for a game.
Reply
10-12-2006 @ 2:00AM
not important said...
Hey JK87. You even play videogames? 90% is either impossible or will get you into a lot of trouble. In ANY RPG I'm running around people's houses trying to take stuff from their cabinets. Try that in real life see how well you do.
Reply
10-12-2006 @ 9:23AM
Mark McKay said...
You said:
"People outside Japan treat it as some sort of dirty pedophiliac mini-megaton because someone faked some screens."
Nobody knew the screens were faked until now, so how did you expect people to react?
Reply
10-12-2006 @ 10:35AM
Ran said...
To the guy who still thinks the game is about molesting adults specificly--give Nintendo a bit more credit than that. The description says 'touching' which is pretty much a staple of every nintendo DS game to ever come out. It could mean anything; in Megaman, you use your thumbs, fingers and stylus to tap on a PDA like menu...in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, touching the screen directs you at enemies, items and lets you use a menu.
Since 90% of Nintendo games are extremely family oriented, and Nintendo is the MOST family oriented, kid friendly system, you'd think they'd consider this before putting out a game that might dash that reputation.
Besides, if you want creepy pedo stuff, look no further than America's own baby Bratz dolls--you can go to any walmart and buy skanky, creepy dolls that come with pacifiers, bottles, teddy bears, *thing* diapers and more make up than you see on most prostitutes.
Perhaps you should be protesting *that* sort of toy instead; you know, the kind that sexualises children to the extreme, and is then AIMED at selling itself to children. Teaching children that they, too, can dress up like their favourite whore toy, and that it,s okay to do so, is more likely to get them raped or molested than a game where you may or may not be able to poke a teenage witch in the boob with a stylus.
Reply
10-12-2006 @ 12:23PM
idioteraser said...
Actually in regards to number 13 anyone with any sense could have spotted several of the fakes.
Reply
10-12-2006 @ 2:27PM
Alisha Karabinus said...
@13-
The images were tagged -- albeit in Japanese -- with a sort of wistful "hey, maybe" line. It took me about 12 seconds in Google translation to work out that those images were not real.
12 seconds is not a lot of work. You'd think people could do that much research.
@11
We do a lot of things in games that we don't do in the real world. Luckily, games are made up from tiny little magical pixels, so the police usually don't arrest you for touching them... or running them over, as often happens in games like GTA and Saint's Row.
Ran makes some very good points, particularly about those creepy Bratz dolls....
Reply
10-12-2006 @ 2:34PM
Cain Highwind said...
Great to see someone finally posting the corrct info, because this has gotten ridculous as it's been said. Everything I was thinking of pretty much has been said.
I really do wonder how this title works and wonder how Nintendo could've approved of it. I know it's a different culture and all, but I just never would've imagined seeing a game like this released officially on a Nintendo system.
And while we're on the subject of correcting info, that second title is Denshi Maid Techou: Koi no Iroha which is some kind Maid raising sim that also works as a personal organzier. Iroha is not a robot but a character from SNK's recent Samurai Spirits title
http://www.fightersgeneration.com/fightgen/characters3/iroha-a.html
Reply
10-12-2006 @ 3:16PM
graphicartist2k5 said...
this just goes to show how messed up those Japs really are. WTF is the point in creating a game about "witch hunting" in the first damn place, then to say that the game that was shown is an entirely different game from the "witch hunting" game, as if that makes it all better? sure, it's "only a game", but the real truth is that there's gonna be some sicko out there that's gonna play both games, and will inevitably be driven to want to fondle little girls afterwards. of course, nintendo isn't to blame for allowing such crazy ass games to be played on their system, are they?
Reply
10-16-2006 @ 8:30PM
Nobody said...
The game looks cute and funny too. Even if a bit ridiculous.
As a real-life male witch, I would mind being touched in various ways by a cute,
*non-violent* "witch hunter girl :) lol
Reply
10-18-2006 @ 2:21AM
Trick Master Mint said...
Thank you so much for this. I've seen a lot of the stupid photoshops, and I'm fairly sick of the pedophilic stigma this game is receiving. Misinformation causes idiocy.
Reply