I'm not particularly good at video games. My brother always beat me on the original Nintendo and I never graduated to another system. Once in a while I'll try someone's Wii, but don't seem to have the attention span gaming requires. Guitar Hero never made much sense either--I'd rather jam on real instruments. Still, from a distance I can appreciate the leaps and bounds of progress in virtual technology. Yesterday, I even learned avatars can now give birth in Second Life. Go figure. That said, there's a boundary that should NEVER be crossed, imaginary or not. I draw the line at rape. Rape is NOT a game. Unfortunately, the Japanese production house Illusion seems to think it provides quality entertainment. In 2006 they released 'RapeLay,' after the previous titles 'Battle Raper' and 'Artificial Girl.' The premise... well, ready for this? Players stalk a female character as she waits for a train in the subway station. Apparently, you can even virtually pray for a gust of wind that blows up her skirt to peek at her underwear and fondle her body while she tries to fight back. Sure sounds familiar so far--can anyone say post-traumatic stress? Next, the goal is to rape the woman... followed by her two virgin daughters (pictured on the cover above). According to Persia:
One of them resembles a girl of about 10 and, horrifically, you can see tears coming out of her eyes. “Sniff… sniff… I w-w-want to die,” is one of the comments she’s automated to cry.
It still gets worse. Players invite friends to participate in gang-raping the children and if the woman becomes pregnant, she must be forced to have an abortion. Otherwise, she becomes more visibly pregnant with each subsequent rape. Should she finally have the baby... GAME OVER. According to a spokesman for the company:
We believe there is no problem with the software, which has cleared the domestic ratings of an ethics watchdog body.
Seriously? There's a big problem. And I can't decide which is worse--that this abomination was created or that there's enough of a market to distribute it. Although words fail me, I will not be silent.
