In the past month, PlatinumGames has indicated that Bayonetta 3 will have an optional censorship mode. The developer does not call it a censor mode, but the Naive Angel Mode. This removes certain sensitive elements in the game. This means that the times when female characters are shown naked are now wearing clothes. In the tweet below, they give an example of what is meant. After this announcement, the discussion broke out. One side was disgraceful about adding this option, while other people thought it was a good idea. To find out what our editors think about this, my position is therefore: the choice to add a Censorship Option for Bayonetta 3 is a good and responsible choice in these times.
Peter:
I don’t know Bayonetta further, but on the other hand I have never been bothered by functional or less functional nudes. Sex is part of life and it strikes me that for a number of years now under the name of freedom for every individual it suddenly seems to become an even bigger taboo than it is in strict religious groups. What is striking is that it is always women who are depicted naked and you could still choose to also show men in their nudity, but it is now decided to optionally no longer show the nudity of the woman. What I find especially funny is that Bayonetta has a pretty violent context. It’s basically chopping, kicking and hitting the enemy without trying to resolve the conflict in a less violent way and apparently that’s not a problem. But the moment a woman comes into the picture naked, the children have to close their eyes. That said, it doesn’t really matter to me personally. I won’t enable the option if I ever choose to play the game someday and some people will. Everyone is free to do that. The creator could also have chosen to remove all nudes, but luckily they have made it an option, so that it remains fun for everyone.
Stefan:
I think this is a bit of a difficult statement and I don’t know if I completely agree with it. I know that more and more people have all kinds of norms, values and principles, but sometimes I have the idea that we are all going a little crazy with this. A studio should (to a certain extent) be free to decide for itself what content they want to show. If you don’t like it, you are free not to play this game. No one is forcing you to play this game. People are more and more on their toes these days and we are still talking about a video game here. As said no one forces you to play it and there is no one who has had to expose themselves (in this case) without wanting to. There is no compulsion. I understand that studios like to serve a large audience, but how often will this functionality be used. I expect this to be a very small percentage. The addition is therefore purely political in my view. As I’m typing this I’m thinking no, I don’t think this is a good choice.
Sil:
In order to answer this question properly, it is necessary for me to put into words what in my view is censorship. I have spoken out against the practice several times in the past, but that does not mean that I directly condemn it. In the case of Bayonetta 3, for example, I don’t find it a problem at all. Censorship is a problem when it affects the creator’s creative vision. When scenes need to be deleted or changed or the game even needs to go in a completely different direction. That is not the issue here. Instead, you’ll be given an option to customize the game to your liking by doing something that basically amounts to a different skin for Bayonetta. I can’t be bothered about that.
Relax, the witch is back and sexier than ever
We’ve added the revolutionary “Naive Angel Mode” to Bayonetta 3 so more people can fully enjoy it
By turning it on, you can play right in the living room without having to worry about what’s on screen… we think#Bayonetta3 pic.twitter.com/SEs3vqrdYc
— PlatinumGames Inc. (@platinumgames) July 13, 2022
–
