Now Street Fighter V is one of the more interesting examples of censorship in recent times.
Whilst, for most games, censorship consists of differences that can be found in certain
regions or platforms, Street Fighter V has been repeatedly toned down of objectionable
content both during development and then following release via updates, which means the censorship
is applicable to all versions.
The first case of censorship made headlines all across the gaming media.
During the beta phase of the game’s development, it was noticed that R. Mika no longer gave
her butt a playful slap during her Critical Art.
Instead, the camera has been repositioned higher up, simply cutting it out of view despite
her performing exactly the same motion.
You can even still hear the slapping noise.
This was not all though.
A similar change was made to Cammy’s scene at the start of the match, where she jumps
into battle.
Somebody thought that being able to see an upskirt shot of her nether region was too
much and the camera now cuts this out just the same.
Outranged at the seemingly unnecessary changes, fans demanded answers from Capcom, to which
they explained they were due to it being a Teen rated game and there being rating issues.
See for yourself in this interview with Capcom’s senior product manager.
This explanation brought nothing but even more confusion though.
Those of you familiar with the game will know that these changes were made despite there
being tons of saucy content still in the game that was left untouched.
Series producer Yoshinori Ono came in to clear things up and at last revealed that these
edits were being made not due to rating issues but due to not wanting anything that could
be seen as “offensive” in the game.
This still doesn’t clear up how hypocritical some of the stuff still being in the game
is though but, then again, the tale of Street Fighter V’s censorship is far from over.
Prior to release, people spotted something really unusual going on with the some of the
female character models over on Player 2’s side.
Pay close attention to the breast bouncing motion and how it compares with Player 1’s.
Quite the difference right?
It seems like the second player’s boobs are made of helium or something.
Capcom explained that this was the result of a glitch but when release day came around,
nothing had been changed – Player 2’s breasts still bounced around like a pair of
pogo sticks.
It wasn’t until months after the games launch where this was suddenly patched out, leaving
them just as motionless as Player 1’s.
If it was the result of a glitch, then this action would of course not be classed as censorship,
but it was felt as important to mention – especially with all of the other acts of toning down
sexual content in Street Fighter V. You see, boobs were toned down yet again following
release in a whole nother way.
Taking things back to the character select screen, where it’s much easier to notice,
one aspect of Cammy’s chest was completely removed in a later update.
As you can see in this comparison, the bumps of her nipples were removed and this affects
her model during matches as well.
No statement has been given on this change and there were seemingly no complaints from
anybody about this, prior to the change.
Juri is another female fighter that has come under censorship controversy, this one is
a bit different though.
The character made her first appearance in Street Fighter V in a 2D illustration in the
game’s story mode.
This was the only time she was seen until a later update, which added her to the roster
as playable character.
However, notice the drastic alteration made to her character design?
Whilst the original outfit exposed her cleavage, this section had now been coloured in black.
Now, illustrations do not always match up perfectly with how characters look in game,
but what makes this even more interesting is that one of her costumes in the previous
game, Street Fighter 4, looks extremely similar to the 2D design.
So this outfit is in no way out of place for her character.
Was it censorship or was it done due to artistic choice?
We may never know but the next point adds a lot of credibility to the censorship side
and possibly even offers an explanation for all of the other changes made to the game.
Evo 2016, the number one destination for esports in fighting games, reached new heights with
it being the first time for the tournament to be broadcast on TV's ESPN, this being a
major milestone for not just the fighting game community but the whole of esports.
However, this came with a sacrifice.
The event now found itself in the palms of television executives and I'm sure you can
understand the types of problems that could come with this.
Street Fighter V was the only game to be broadcast on the channel and the tournament had already
run into resistance from the bigwigs at the ESPN.
One player faced issues part way through the tournament.
Whilst his competitor was allowed to fully focus on the match, R. Mika user Fuudo, who's
shown on the right however, had been told he would not be allowed to wear the costume
used for his previous matches and that he would have to choose a different outfit.
Apparently somebody at the ESPN didn't approve of Mika showing so much skin, as told by one
of the tournament's Japanese interpreters.
You can see the difference in attire here.
This is from the first set of matches, with R. Mika wearing her regular, chest popping
outfit, and then here's what she wore for the following matches.
It's not in any way proven, but perhaps this is why Capcom made the changes they've made.
Also, what would have happened if Mika didn't have a less revealing costume?
And what does this mean for fan service heavy fighters such as Dead or Alive?
Only time will tell, but, to just finish the video with something that adds heaps to the
whole contradictory factor to the game's changes, and something that I'm sure you'll all find
rather amusing.
Ever pay attention to the girl in the background of Guile's stage?
She performs a rather interesting gesture with her hand and mouth... and to think, a
girl slapping her butt was deemed too much whilst another inciting oral sex was not.
Thank you for watching.