Virtual raping video game shows disgusting lack of morals in modern society!
SEATTLE, Washington - February 14, 2009 - Amazon.com has just banned a video game from its offerings: "Rapeplay," developed by the Japanese company Illusion, allows the player to assume the role of a first-person virtual character who racks up points for assaulting and raping women. Extra points are given for getting the women pregnant and forcing them to undergo abortions.
When made aware that this game was being sold through the Amazon portal, the company did the right thing and immediately pulled the game. That's not the story here. The story is that the Japanese game developer is now defending the ethics of the game, saying that, "We believe there is no problem with the software, which has cleared the domestic ratings of an ethics watchdog body."
There is a disturbing trend in modern society where people who violate laws and ethics are increasingly claiming they didn't know such laws of ethical standards even existed. Stealing from others, harming others and lying have become an "accepted" way of life in our modern world, across many cultures. Just look at Enron, or Wall Street, or the entire U.S. banking system.
The disturbing news here is not that Amazon.com briefly (and accidentally) sold a virtual raping game, but that some software developers would believe it was okay to offer a game that puts players in the role of a rapist!
At some point, society needs to grow up and have the courage to limit children's exposure to violent video games and TV programming. Ideally, this oversight would come from parents, not from government, but it also seems that far too many parents today would rather turn their children over to video games than actually make the effort to spend quality time with them.
