Scottish Politicians Are Pissed about Rape Day

So last week, Valve decided that letting someone self-publish a visual novel about torturing, killing, and raping girls in a post-apocalyptic zombie world was just a little too much for their humble storefront, and they eventually pulled the game from the store before it could release. Most people agreed it was the right thing to do, a few people had a few discussions about censorship, but I think by and large people were willing to move on and put it behind them; even the developer just said they would publish the game somewhere else.

However, not everyone is moving on. Specifically, Scottish National Party MP Hannah Bardell released a statement the other day, according to Gameindustry.biz, citing Rape Day, urging governments worldwide to start investigating the kind of content you can find on Steam.

Hoooo boy.

"The content of this game is utterly perverted and abhorrent. It's time for the UK government to undertake a full review into how tech companies and gaming platforms -- specifically Steam -- are able to get away with this kind of stupidity. The culture to seek forgiveness rather than permission is a stain on an industry that otherwise has the potential to be a real force for good."

Her statement was followed by the First Minister of the Scottish Parliament Shona Robinson, who urged a similar stance be taken:

"For any online gaming platform to allow the publishing of a so-called game, which glorifies the killing and raping of women, would be disgusting and deeply offensive… Therefore, I am delighted that Steam has rejected the distribution of this incredibly shocking game on their online platform."

They’re not calling for anything specific as of yet, but it’s clear that they’re at least urging people to pay attention. And while I think no one especially cares if games like Rape Day didn’t show up on Steam anymore… government regulation is always a bad idea when it comes to content censorship.

I, personally, would rather avoid it if at all possible.