SXEPhil is talking about this, Kotaku is talking about this .... Let's talk about this. The game is a game where you get to rape someone. Yes, that's right. Rape. To quote Kotaku:

To bring everyone up to speed, Rapelay allows the player to have his way with the game's three female characters. The title is out of print and after the game started to get flak, Illusion, the company that created Rapelay, pulled the title from its website.

Now in the game maker's defense they didn't break any laws. The made the game for Japanese in Japan, and not focusing on the world market. To again quote Kotaku the companies (Illusion) spokesperson states:

"We are simply bewildered by the move," said Illusion spokesman Makoto Nakaoka. "We make the games for the domestic market and abide by laws here.

In my opinion, this is distasteful in whatever country you sell it in. The argument of sex crime is cropping up in this discussion as well. Whether this game or other erotic games like it cause a rise in sex crimes, and along with that ... a rape chart is floating around. Check this out:

UN Rape Rates per 100,000

Canada: 78.08
Australia: 77.79
USA: 32.05
Sweden: 24.47
UK: 16.23
France: 14.36
S. Korea: 12.98
Germany: 9.12
Russia: 4.78
Taiwan: 4.08
Japan: 1.78

So statistically they win that argument, but in my opinion they aren't comparing apples with apples. What do I mean by that? Let me explain. Japanese culture has a much looser concept of sexual misconduct than most other countries. I would present you with references on that statement, but unfortunately doing a Google search for Japanese and any reference to sex presents links I won't give to you guys.

What do you guys think? The game has been out since 2006, but this is hitting CNN which is giving it steam. Also, according to Kotaku the game has been ceased:

While these game makers broke no Japanese laws, the country's Ethics Organization of Computer Software held an emergency meeting in June 2009 in which nearly 100 representatives from various erotic game companies concluded that the manufacturer and sale of rape-type games should cease. This was not a government decision or even a legal one, but instead a self-policing policy on the part of the EOCS.

The link back to CNN is located here. I want to hear your opinions. Do you think it's right that they were forced to stop the game? Do you think that they should be ashamed of creating something like this?

Embed CNN video (Not safe for work)



Did you hear that? 38 more games like this. Also, back to the rape count chart. Just think... That's REPORTED rape. I wonder how much that Canadian number would go up if they were all reported.