Valve because of pornography kicked out one more game from Steam
Steam this year has been flooded with a record number of new video games, most of which you've never heard of nor you will ever hear. The exception amongst them is a game called "You Must Be 18 or Older to Enter" which appeared on Steam through the former Greenlight system. It is a textual adventure that simulates the former problem of seeking sexual content on the Internet - in the early days of the global network. Although the game in question is far from the worst thing you can see today on the Internet, for Valve is more than explicit enough to be removed from Steam.
This also has happened last week, after a month how long the game was available on Steam. Since Valve earlier this year, in the case of the House Party, has already trained strictness about erotic content, does not surprise that also this game had to take a hike from Steam. However, it is a surprise that the developer game was not even informed that this would happen, nor before it was removed was offered an explanation explaining why this game was inappropriate. Only after the developer complained to Valve that his game was removed, followed an answer that is being considered as pornography.
Developer of the game says how Valve is unlikely to change its stand and that it raises the question of whether Valve restrains development of videogames as media.
"This means that players have limited language for behaving towards game and that language modifies to the games that players have access to. If a game like 'You Must Be 18 or Older to Enter' is pornography, then players lose one copy of a non-violent, alternative horror game. If someone tries to expand pallet of the gaming experience and is badly treated, that developer will probably leave the gaming community", said James Cox, founder of the team that made the controversial game.
Cox claims that this kind of discrimination by Valve is particularly damaging to independent game creators since they can only break through on the market with innovative ideas and original games. He further points out that his game can not be defined as pornography by any definition, but although it contains erotic motives, the question is why it is so damaging that he deserved to be ejected from Steam while a simulator of killing civilians, game by the name Hatred, sells reguraly without any complaints.
In other words, to Valve is a bigger terror a game where sex is displayed with images of ASCII code rather than scalping of the skulls of innocent civilians.
Tagged with: 18+ Content, Controversy, Steam, Valve
