Actually, it is. Except, in this case, the reason for censorship is understandable.

To me, it's somewhat jarring that people, who are trying to discuss such things as censorship and freedom, usually fail to understand or to articulate properly what they actually talking about. In itself, censorship isn't unilaterally a bad thing. Sometimes it's necessary, as you've rightfully pointed out that you can't sell everything everywhere or show any content to everyone. And some things indeed need to be restricted.

The problem starts when censorship (or any kind of restriction) lacks guidelines. A restriction for restriction, if you will. In that situation, without clear rules and standards, it's far too easy for censors to abuse their power and just decide what they allow based on their own personal tastes.

This brings us to GOG curation, which is exactly the kind of process that lacks any standards or clarity, not to mention accountability on the GOG administration part. Honestly, I wouldn't really mind if they just declared that "adult games" aren't allowed. If they were upfront about it. However, since they already sell games with mature content (including their own Witcher and Cyberpunk), denying other games because of the presence of such content would be inconsistent (not to mention hypocritical). You can't simultaneously say that "in games, we shouldn't shy away from any adult topics and content, including sexuality and sex" and "boobs are bad".

And thus, I'm on the side of those who think that games with sex and nudity should be allowed.

I actually make a difference between "genuine affection" and "sexual attraction". They are not directly related. For example: I might have genuine affection to my son, grandmother or a puppy, but that does not mean I am sexually attracted to any of them. Not at all.

Similarly, I might find some woman "mentally incompatible" with me (meaning I wouldn't necessarily want to spend the rest of my life with her), but I might still find sexual attraction to her.

However there is still some correlation, e.g. if I found some woman totally repulsive mentally, I probably wouldn't want to have sex with her either. Depends on the size of her titties, really.

That is a similar question as me asking you "would you have sex with your brother or father?", and make assumptions on your level of "genuine affection" to them based on that.

Anyway, I thought this discussion was about games with digital titties, not real people. Naturally if the discussion is about real people involved (e.g. a live porn flick or a real strip dancer), then decent people expect that they are doing it on their own free will, naturally. If they are not, one should call the police.

So the actual question to me appears to be that should women be offended by the fact that men in general are aroused by the sight of beautiful female bodies, in this case digital bodies that are totally made up. In my opinion no, anymore than that men should be offended that many women like to watch or read romantic stories with totally made up men whose only reason to exist is to adore and compete for the female protagonist (think of e.g. the Twilight movies as a prime example), or that I should have been offended by that weirdo woman I used to know who rated men by their smell.

That similarly objectifies men, suggesting how they should think and behave (or smell), adoring and competing for the same women. Such stories stroke the ego of those women and girls who like to watch them, but I allow women to have their unrealistic sexual/romantic fantasies of men.

This is not a question of men sexually harassing women, unless you consider it "sexual harassment" towards you that some man is aroused by someone else's titties, not yours.

If women in general liked to buy and play lots of such games, then there would be such games too made and sold all the time.

However, since there is little demand among gaming girls and women for such games, and instead they like to read and watch unrealistic stories like the Twilight series, the entertainment industry concentrates on making the latter for women and girls.

Men and women just seem to be built differently there, getting aroused differently. Men in general appear to be more visual and can get more easily aroused by visual stimulus, while women may have at least partially different stimulus (like that smell thing that seemed overly important to that one woman).

We are in a dangerous path if we try to criminalize people simply getting aroused, as long as people are not harming other people, or animals, in order to get aroused. Inanimate objects, ok, you can harm them as much as you want, in order to get aroused.

Having said all that, I personally prefer games don't have sexual content, but for totally different reasons, like that they are safe to play also among my family, and also I fear such sexual games are not necessarily good games as games. I similarly oppose that games try to include political identity politics and shit, e.g. I never needed to know whether Garrett in the Thief games is hetero cis-male or gay or anything, and it is good that the games didn't make any number about that. (The only hint was that Garrett seemed a bit... interested in Viktoria, but we all know what happens there...)

https://tinyurl.com/2p8cpzau

Sorry this is very long, but I wanted to respond to those who took the time to respond. Had to brake up over more than 2 post

Patrikc, Companies have to choose their own moral compass. There are companies who strive to be upstanding. There are those who will do anything as long as it is not illegal. GOG needs to go on the record about what it really will allow in its store. Yes sex sells, but GOG which used to stand for Good Old Games with these titles now becomes Good Dirty Old Games, not really.

Actually I have seen places where gambling is allowed that are wealthy but they are small and lets just say the first time I went into one as I was lost (yes lost in my own backyard) I could tell it wasn't a place I would want to gamble in (restrictions as to what games they play and so on - I don't know if it was an Indian Reservation casino but it was tiny). In terms of women working in high income areas, well I never go around counting as some woman will dress the part but aren't so you can't profile. I don't want this topic to be locked because it diverts into things that aren't exactly for those younger than 18.

Yes GOG is free to decide what games it sells. However the patrons or us the buyers can send them a signal we don't want that in the store.

The Leisure Suit Larry series, I don't sweat about. As they are from from realistic and are games for the silly market. I am talking about games that try to be as realistic in terms of the women looking more like women and not goofy cartoons.

Banning games based on Puritan-based reasons is actually a surprise to hear. The Witcher series which is part or directly/indirectly associated with GOG has content considered adult. There are other games, that also have more adult themes to them, but they are hard to name. The problem is that once you let them in, it will become very difficult to remove later. After all you will attract that crowd that likes these "unrealistic" female attributes and having power over them. They then will gripe if GOG feels that the games are going to far. These games are purely not gaming but a way to play with sexual themes under the cover of "gaming".

As FrodoBaggins said, she is a female and it insults her (paraphrasing) and I am sure she is not the only female gamer that shops GOG.

To me those adult intended titles should find their own home to distribute their software. I don't have a problem with those who make or buy but where they are made available. Also since they are tasteless in my view, having to run into them every 3 real games titles while looking through the catalog is not what I like to see. Steam when you do your badge building during sales and look through a group of titles they present, it is one hentai game or attempt to be realisitic porn game after another. As I said you can't block the content as then many games who have to declare the content but where it isn't the main theme then would not be listed. These might be called games to escape reality but can't they find their own storefronts that also will put more safeguards as well to prevent younger gamers from seeing the content. This you must be 18 to view isn't going to stop a kid from buying we all know that.

Should GOG lower its standards because it isn't getting any of the adult business? You don't follow others selling questionable products because someone else is. I don't see the other game distribution sites rushing to take this business away from Steam. I wish we had sales figures from Steam to show us just how many people and revenue actually is brought in from these titles. Should I manage girls because I see these other people doing it and getting all that commission from it I want a piece of the business?

Timppu, how many games do you see that are geared towards the female crowd? I don't know as I don't really worry about that but it seems to be an extreme rarity. Remember what they say about Porn, bad scripts, bad acting and only purpose is to sell nudity and sex. Where does one draw the line.

Look I am not being some sort of Religious Gaming Board of Review or anything but just saying do we need these games now on GOG? If Steam wants to grant access then let them as it then affects people on their service. I am tired of the Steam failing to find a way to truely put these games in a category of their own. Objects, I don't know if that is the right term. However how many games where you can play a female character can you increase the assets to the extremes. It just seems childish and potrays gamers as being the immature, iresponsible, or whatever that these religious groups have used to attack the gaming industry and have come close to damaging games we play.

I am not sure what smelling good or bad means in terms of objects. You can't smell anything in games yet, even though they are working on that but aren't close to begin selling games like this.

Orkhepaj, "it is a horrible thing, puritan based = dignity and morals, the things most people sadly lack", exactly. Look at how covid 19 was turned into a political issue and now hospitals are filling up again because of those who see it politically and follow political rather than sound advice. These games they only teach us to want something that just isn't there or isn't reality.

I honestly can't explain my answers to these questions as they are leaving the realm of gaming, gog and what should be sold. Not saying take away free speech but you don't have to go to the other extreme of letting anything pass the values of the company.

I didn't mean for this to get into a man vs woman in gaming. I am looking at it from not truly living up to gaming and only insults us the gamers that games are being made that just prove to those who are anti-gaming that games are yet another area where porn is present and might not be able to be controlled.

Do you want to have to sift through dozens of titles like this, after all look at all the games they have right now on GOG, now throw in another 150 hentai or adult themed with a pretense of gaming in them, do you want to waste your time sifting through them since filters could prevent you from seeing more mature games that just happen to brush through some sort of content that meets that filter. Most games usually do offer a way to block offensive material but because they don't have that they don't need to put that into the game settings.

Once you open the flood gates, you can't push the water back behind the gates. We will then see anyone who has bought various inexpensive game creating tools start cranking out titles. As I said it just isn't something gamers on GOG really need, I don't know if someone on gog forums people have been begging for nudity and sex games and ones whose only purpose is to bypass many of the restrictions that porn I guess would have on these and in terms of treatment. Yes many games we hunt rats when we are lvl 1 swordsman or whatever. However that is greatly different.

The more of these titles, the greater the risk of alienating your current community and tarnishing the reputation of the purpose of the site. Let someone else peddle these fantasy woman, let them deal with the stigma. GOG use to stand for something good and now bowing to possible pressure to allow these games on is silly.

If we are just let people play and they are not hurting anyone. So why don't we have games where you can pimp girls under 18, or beat a woman who doesn't meet some goal you set or fails to complete a quest. Why not run a brothel game? Do we as gamers want to show that we have no more maturity that helps to feed into those who keep trying to regulate or even ban the sales of games. Why GOG needs to sell them, after all they don't have a gun in their back forcing them.

1st Amendment, if you don't have it then you have learned something. I know this isn't all American site or owned by Americans, but it just provides a frame of reference, as I am sure other countries have something similar but just addressed differently.

Yes I have grammar and spelling errors. Should proof read more but I assume the theme of what I am saying will explain itself. Prude, I don't feel adult content like in things labelled porn should be restricted, people will feel to do whatever they want but to say it doesn't need to be in games or a gaming store is just saying the games should be sold elsewhere as they do clutter the store. On steam everytime a cartoon/anime like title shows up the first thing I do is look at the hashtags for the game as that is the only way to know if this is a game or a childish boobie game.

No I don't think if GOG didn't sell these games that it would cool down those who think games influence people to mimic what they see in games. However why put more wood on the fire to make it hotter, that doesn't help. Why create more reasons for them to point at gaming and say see they have these smut titles as well and it justifies why all gaming needs govt. regulation.

As a guy I haven't noticed many games where the guy is all but hanging out, but then I don't exactly go looking for it either. Now characters with unrealisitic muscles is that something you feel, GamezRanker meets the tone I am setting I don't know.

It isn't an issue that people will expect woman to become like those in the game as much as do we really need these titles on GOG? I don't see Monty Python as a problem.

Sorry the site won't let me post part 3 and 4 right now so will post rest later I guess

Time to dismiss the dishonest discussion tactic of "GOG used to stand for Good Old Games." Unless anyone can refute the content in my post here, let's lay this tactic to rest already.

Explanation:
GOG did indeed originally stand for that phrase from what I understand. However, I also understand it rebranded and stopped standing as an acronym for "Good Old Games" many, many years ago. What is happening in this topic (and another one or two probably) is that people are trying to couch their dislike of these adult games by pretending as they go against GOG's original mission [therefore the games allegedly don't belong here].

The flaw in such thinking is multifold.

1. Whether GOG used to release adult games or not, there is no logical reason why an "Old" adult game couldn't be considered "Good" and worthy of release. For example, 1997 game https://www.gog.com/game/lula_the_sexy_empire. In other words, to release adult games now would go against GOG's "historical tendencies of releases" but not necessarily against their original "mission."


2. There is no way to differentiate the modern adult games releasing on GOG from other modern games releasing on GOG. In other words, if you are going to say GOG has to stand for "Good Old Games," logically you must also be against all non-classic releases. Literally no one in these adult game topics has called for "classic games only" when appealing to "GOG used to mean Good Old Games," so please drop the intellectual dishonesty.

Have to speak against that thought. It isn't a matter of popularity among women - in fact, otome games have been around for a long time...in the east. Until the last three or four years, hentai games for all genders weren't "walking the streets" of a public space like Steam. Now that perverted games aren't being hidden away, people are starting to expose their sexual interests.

Given several more years, puerile games may become normalized. Popularity comparable to that of non-sexualized games will likely follow, because people now know and indulge in the medium.

Tell that to game/media makers, and those who make laws about said content....who seem to equate one as ok/tame to show, and one as vulgar/not ok to show.


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Maybe in the case of those not old enough, but in such cases I think the parents should do their jobs and bar access to said content irl/online.

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There are a number of such games.....Gog just doesn't sell them(yet).

Agreed

No offense intended, but: why should what offends someone else have a large amount of influence on what Gog chooses to sell? If enough people get offended by Hot Dogs, for example, should stores ban them as well?

True, but the sad fact is they gain access to said materials somewhere at some point anyways.

This is not to say I think it should happen, just that parents should parent, and not stores/sites/etc.
(I agree with a content filter, though, for those who want it)

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Or the other types where some claim to not be prudish/censorship happy, then say things that suggest otherwise.

Yes, they should. But that's exactly the point - parents would have to bar access to GOG to their children if GOG wouldn't have a proper filter for content that isn't children-friendly.

One thing: only those 16 and older are allowed to sign up for Gog....so those younger than that shouldn't be here.
Also, beyond those under 16: if a parent feels their kid shouldn't be here then that should be their call go make and they should do so if they feel the need to.
(I agree with a filter, though....for that and other uses, like catalog sorting during sales)

How I love this snowflake filled world we live in where everything is considered censorship and makes people cry in despair about their "rights" being violated.

I am really interested to find out what people who are actually being censored are saying about this. You know, those people whose lives are completely ruined by firing them or imprisoning them for talking against corrupt political regimes and not those who are censored so harshly that they will have to go buy games on different website.

Censorship has been the tool of authoritarians for ages, and they do not care about the source it comes from. What they value is whether the tool can be effective. Be it sexuality, race, socialism, or poverty, the elite will gladly use any and all means to have power.

By taking away the shame of sexuality and orientation, evil people are weakened. By trying to encourage a false "morality", you are ensuring that those who lack ethics will be able to abuse others.

the only weakened is our culture , false morality?political rants are not allowed here
you are so wrong...

Says the user who resorted to insults/name calling as the lead in to their post.

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Including using some people's dislike of lewd/s*xual content in games/media.

Exploring one's own sexuality requires opportunity. Be it mutually snogging with a classmate or enjoying the Sagara Family, they are a means for discovering oneself.

The ability to access porn is an indicator of whether society accepts a person's sexuality. You can bet conservatives much prefer it if people couldn't play Boy Love games, because the gays might escape their closets to find friends, or daughters may discover and indulge the boy next door.

It wasn't through silence that women, blacks, or gays obtained a measure of equality in society. By being loud and proud about their existence, they eventually overcame most of their repression. Recreational sexuality is no different. Every piece of lurid art, perverted discussion, or salacious game contributes towards a like-minded community of perverts. They deserve the opportunity to associate with other people who enjoy the things they do.

By denying them media, you are telling sexual folks they have no culture, worth, or even the right to be happy.