Rule Of Rose Banned In Rome? Seriously?
Wait, what? Si, prego, the mayor of the Eternal City did a solid for the terrorized 1930s British schoolgirl set recently by vowing to seek a ban on that most obviously dangerous of games, Rule of Rose. Proving yet again that politicians know absolutely nothing whatsoever about gaming, Rome’s Walter Veltroni has set his sights on a game that, stateside, at least, was a huge hit with urban street culture and gang members, leading to a tremendous rise in…wait, what? Oh, that Rule of Rose. The one that was so under-promoted that some stores barely carried it at all? Si, prego, that’s the one.
While GTA is amping up a generation of wannabe thugs, Rule of Rose damages our children with a little girl’s trip to an orphanage in the English countryside, where she struggles against peer pressure and a clique of mean schoolgirls. It’s got “Ban me, I’m a danger to civilization” written all over. Especially dangerous is the focus the game puts on avoiding combat, not to mention partnering up with a trusty canine companion.
Because dogs are bad for children.
Wait, what? Si, prego, the mayor of the Eternal City did a solid for the terrorized 1930s British schoolgirl set recently by vowing to seek a ban on that most obviously dangerous of games, Rule of Rose. Proving yet again that politicians know absolutely nothing whatsoever about gaming, Rome’s Walter Veltroni has set his sights on a game that, stateside, at least, was a huge hit with urban street culture and gang members, leading to a tremendous rise in…wait, what? Oh, that Rule of Rose. The one that was so under-promoted that some stores barely carried it at all? Si, prego, that’s the one.
While GTA is amping up a generation of wannabe thugs, Rule of Rose damages our children with a little girl’s trip to an orphanage in the English countryside, where she struggles against peer pressure and a clique of mean schoolgirls. It’s got “Ban me, I’m a danger to civilization” written all over. Especially dangerous is the focus the game puts on avoiding combat, not to mention partnering up with a trusty canine companion.
Because dogs are bad for children.
Not that there isn’t a dirigible full of twisted sister in Rule of Rose, but it’s more surreal and disturbing than the raw desensitizing bloodbath of your typical (and apparently less offensive) ultraviolent video game. It’s also amazingly imaginative, as you can read in our benevolent despot’s first impressions – maybe that’s what the Roman finds objective, an excess of the imagination?
Alas, that seems not to be the case. Or if so, it’s well-concealed by your typical politico grandstanding:
“Our youngsters are living through difficult times, with violence present on a daily basis in all the media… Small
children have the right to be shielded from violence…there is no way that a violent video game should be sold and distributed in our country…this game must not enter Italian homes.”
Wait, what? Si, prego, the Mayor knows what’s best for his city and his country. A little tinge of discomfort at the game’s dark sensuality might have something to do with this random burst of anti-gaming idiocy. Says LifeInItaly:
Although the game relies more on psychological horror than gore, it does contain violence as well as hints of sadomasochism and lesbianism. It was allegedly the erotic bent that led Sony to drop the game in America, saying its content clashed with its corporate image there. The head of Sony’s Italian division, Corrado Buonanno, stressed on Friday that his company had “completely disassociated itself” from Rule of Rose in Italy and the rest of Europe.
“Probably, the sense of what’s acceptable in Japan and what’s acceptable in Europe are different so our Japanese division did not feel the need to block this game’s production and distribution on its own market,” he said.
Yikes. That’s a spicy meatball. Having played a little Rule of Rose myself, I think it’s safe to say that small children won’t be flocking to this game in droves anyway; anybody smart and patient enough to be intrigued by its slow-paced moodiness and bizarre insanity probably has the maturity to cope. But clearly some people, even within the company, feel otherwise. Maybe Sony just wants to be on the “good” side of an anti-PS2 game crusade for once? I mean, Rule of Rose hardly packs the same punch as the secret lesbian dismemberment level in Viva Pinata...
Rome Mayor Seeks ‘Rule of Rose’ Horror Game Ban [LifeInItaly.com]
[Via: Evil Avatar]
tiny dancer
Posted to Video Games on 15 November 2006
· Comments (7)
Other stuff like this: atlus, ban, dangerous lipstick eating lesbian schoolgirls, italy, mayor, ps2, rome, rule of rose
Name: Dave
I wonder if the ban is more because of the tenuous connection to Catholicism, rather than violence.
I don’t think so. From what I’ve read on the italian press (I am italian indeed) it was Sony itself who decided not to sell the game in Italy. Lately we have seen a rise in teenager violence reports in the newspapers and this is just their stupid way of handling it. I wish they’d censor football or Formula 1 games in order to prevent riots or car accidents. But they won’t. Religious coservatives do retain great power in this country and this Pope is a real pain in the ass especially since he’s too near.
It is truly amazing/saddening that blatant censorship can still occur in a place like Italy. Kinda makes me glad that it’s kind sorta better than that (a little) here in the U.S.
Oh, and kudos on that succulent keyword in there. I look forward to the next article on dangerous lipstick eating lesbian schoolgirls.
He wanted to get it banned, but so far he’s been unsuccessful. So, really, it’s just a nice bit of free publicity.
as kafkahigh said religious conservatives retain great power in italy, but it’s not only the religious power that make things censored, but the need of something to blame… in these days in the italian tv news we can see teenagers beatin’ children with handycap (in turin where i live), or raping 13 years old girl (in naples)... so can we start to blame parents and social contest? no of course we need something different, something distant that most of adult doesn’t know… videogame, cartoons, manga and so on, the farer east they come from the better!! exception from mtv, we see in berlusconi tv for example japanese cartoons with censored scenes and with europian name of characters…
it’s quite the same it happened in america about colombine, they accused everything from marilyn manson to videogames… but here it happens very often! to finish i tell u the last thing the pope said yesterday: “stop with satire on religious men, it offend priests and the religious feeling itself”
i will worry when we start with inquisition ^^
oh ehy is there someone in italy who cares about atheist??
I don’t see why everyone’s missed the one thing that could make Rule of Rose more “dangerous” than GTA in some cultures….. it’s not the sexual undertones, it’s not the vague allusions to Catholicism, it’s that presumably it’s pretty hard to play the game without seeing depictions of violence towards children. I don’t think GTA or any of its imitators have gone there.