Another day, another step towards American Puritanism in the gaming industry. Uncovered overnight by the dedicatedDevil May Cry 5fanbase, it appears that Capcom may be rolling out a new Day 1 update to the heavily-anticipated game which will cover up some partial nudity. Weirdly, enough – it appears that this update is only affecting one console (PS4) in one region (the West), which goes hand-in-hand with developments in censorship and self-censorship within the Eastern development scene. Obviously, the story is still developing so it is yet to be seen if this will affect the game at large.
As a quick disclaimer,some of the footage below will have light spoilers toDevil May Cry 5– if you are hoping to ignore all parts of the game before playing it, proceed with caution. However, I will not be discussing the specific scene within the body of the article.
Late last night, Twitter users began uncovering thatDevil May Cry 5had been censored via the recurring “lens flare” trope that has been implemented across both anime and gaming. While this is certainly not too much of a surprise – especially given that other revealing scenes ofDevil May Cry 5use this in other scenes in every region on every console – it is odd that an update needed to specifically go out censoring further after the original localization:
For those wanting to see the scene in action, you may watch a comparison video fromYouTube channel Naughty Gaming 2that chronicles the uncensored and censored version of that scene:
And while that video is framing it as a Western versus Japanese version, the issue is far more pronounced – it seems that this update is only being rolled out to gamers playing on PS4 in Western regions. In a comprehensive look on the current versions of the game,Twinfinite’s Giuseppe Nelvacombed through current livestreams of the official versions and noted that the update hasn’t changed the PC or Xbox One version of the game. Additionally, it is only actually affecting the Western PS4 version, whereas the Japanese version of theDevil May Cry 5on PS4 is still going around uncensored. You can see a gallery of those images below:
On one hand, this is a developing story – the game has just now rolled out, so it may simply be the case that this is an update that is being deployed in tiers over multiple consoles. Though unlikely (given that PC will typically receive any update first) it is in the realm of plausibility.
On the other end, critics of PlayStation and Sony’s latest stance on nudity and suggestive content may color in the picture. Notable developers and publishers in the industry have lobbied, saying that Sony USA iscensoring games and enforcing “puritanism,“a proven claim to an extent given that publishers and localization specialists have been blunt in criticisms that they have pulled games or modes from versions on the PS4 due to “wishes of the platform holder.”
And while Capcom has done their own aspects of self-censorship in the past, that is normallyto remain compliant with local regulation– not to hide some glorified plumbers' crack. Though Steam seems to be changing up its (previously-promised) no censorship policy, there is without a doubt an air of hostility for anyone making unnecessary changes to games.
As stated above, this is a developing story – if changes are made to bring the PC, Xbox One, or Japanese PS4 version in line with the Western PS4 version, we will update the story accordingly.
Devil May Cry 5is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One – all criticism aside, DualShockers loved the gameawarding it a 9.0 out of 10. If you are interested in picking up the game (perhaps the less-censored Xbox One version?), you cando so via Amazon. Otherwise, feel free to avoid updating the Day 1 patch if you would rather not have the game updated.
