Tim Worstall

Rule of Rose

When will these people ever learn?

COMPUTER games depicting brutal and sadistic behaviour, and the ease
with which children can obtain them, are to be the subject of a
crackdown by the European Union.

A new Sony PlayStation game, which shows a young girl being
kidnapped and tortured, led to Franco Frattini, the Justice
Commissioner, calling yesterday for urgent action to limit the
availability of “obscene” material to young people. He has summoned a
meeting of EU Home Affairs ministers next month because of his
revulsion after watching Rule of Rose.

The game is to be released in Britain on November 24, but is
available to order on the internet. It has already sparked an outcry on
the Continent: the Mayor of Rome has called for it to be banned.

That’s guaranteed sales of a few million, hasn’t it?

In

3 responses

  1. Gary Avatar
    Gary

    The usual bit of tedious detail: the game’s rated 17+ in the US, and over here ELSPA’s rated it 11+. As for the content, the kidnapped girl is *the character you play* and the kidnappers are other kids. By all accounts it’s more lord of the flies than Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Here’s a precis from game site IGN.com:
    “Rule of Rose follows the story of a young, vulnerable girl called Jennifer. Set in 1930s England, the game tells the tale of her encounter with the Red Crayon Aristocrats – a strange, dominating hierarchy of children, who use humiliating punishments and horrific violence to command both the youths and adults around them. As is the way with these things, it’s up to you, as Jennifer, to seek out the truth and put a stop to the Aristocrats terrible rule.
    …While we’re on the subject of the story, there’re some genuinely unsettling ideas at play here. As the Red Crayon Aristocrats live by their own childish ideals, you’ll see stuff which – although perfectly understandable in the context of a child’s logic – just doesn’t seem right when approached from an adult viewpoint. Within the first hour, there are scenes of children violently beating a dog, as well as the now-infamous (thanks to the trailer) rat-on-a-stick incident. Although the developers insist there are very important reasons for these scenes within the story, make no mistake – this is certainly adult stuff.”

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  2. angry economist Avatar
    angry economist

    Well, it sounds far to sick and sordid for me. I’ll be off instead for far more healthy and respectable gaming experience to “whack” some mafia hoods, rob old people and beat up prostitutes in “Grand Theft Auto III” and its variants and sequels.

    Reply
  3. madne0 Avatar
    madne0

    I searched wikipedia and low and behold, the game was made in Japan. Unsurprising to say the least. If you want brutally violent video games, look to the west. If you want brutally violent games with not very well concealed hints at pedophilia and other “philias”, look to Japan.

    Reply

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