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Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)

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Shortly after the game's release in 2020, the government of China ordered gray market online storefronts to stop selling the game. While no official reason was given for the ban, fans and analysts speculated that it was due to players in Hong Kong using the game's customization features and online connectivity to broadcast messages in support of protests that were occurring at the time against changes to the region's extradition laws. Around the same time, the game was also used by Joe Biden's campaign team to advertise his candidacy in the 2020 United States presidential election by creating a dedicated island and customizable items.

16 days after the election in November, Nintendo updated the game's Usage Guidelines for Businesses and Organizations, significantly narrowing how they could use the game for advertising. This included a rule requesting that offensive content be refrained from being created in-game, along with a statement asking to "refrain from bringing politics into the Game." However, this rule does not clarify what "politics" specifically Nintendo wanted to keep out of the game, and it appears to be in effect for any content created after the update, as it seems that none of the Hong Kong protest content or the Biden campaign's promotional content were taken down.

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person VinchVolt calendar_month March 28, 2024

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Franchise: Angry Birds

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During development of "The Angry Birds Movie 2", it was decided to break away from the original source material by having the birds and the pigs end their conflict and team up against a greater threat. This was done both in an effort to surprise audiences with a new experience involving the same characters, and as part of an attempt to outdo what was done in the first film thanks to the unprecedented level of freedom that the change made available to them. According to actor Josh Gad, the production team went forward with it not only because they thought the idea was "ingenious", but also because it would be most appropriate given the increasingly polarized political climate at the time, stating:

"The movie has some amazing messaging in it, not the least of which is overcoming differences with people you disagree with in order to find a common ground, which I think speaks to a lot of issues we’re dealing with right now."

While not explicitly stated, it's speculated that this change in the story may have also been made in response to theories that its preceding film, "The Angry Birds Movie", contained thinly-veiled political and anti-immigration undertones as an allegory on the European refugee crisis, most notably with the portrayal of the pigs being unintentionally similar to Arab and Muslim terrorist stereotypes. However, it is not likely this was intended by the film's producers as the pigs were actually inspired by the 2009 swine flu epidemic during the original game's development, on top of there being antagonistic, invasive, and explosives-based elements in the pigs and their weaponry dating back to the first game that are crucial to the series' gameplay and story concept, albeit in a less developed state than they are shown in the film.

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person chocolatejr9 calendar_month March 16, 2024

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General info:
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/interview-angry-birds-2-director-and-producer-on-defying-the-franchises-video-game-origins-178262.html

Josh Gad statement:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/josh-gad-new-cast-additions-political-messages-angry-birds-movie-2-1230727

2010 Ville Heijari interview with pig origin:
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Various/Angry+Birds/news.asp?c=24243

Film trailer review highlighting various political undertone theories:
https://www.vulture.com/2016/05/angry-birds-about-trump-probably-not.html

Alan Wake II (2023)

subdirectory_arrow_right Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (Game), Sweet Baby Inc. (Company)

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In October 2023, the narrative consulting firm Sweet Baby Inc. began receiving negative attention from websites like the forum Kiwi Farms for its mission statement and aggressive manner of "diversifying and enriching the video games industry", where one user described their work on Alan Wake II (AWII) as "possibly one of the biggest scandals in gaming history". This came to a head in January 2024, when a Steam Curator created a list of known games they worked on, citing Sweet Baby's own resume on their website and in-game credits to qualify for the list. While the curator initially expressed that it was not intended to try and "kill" Sweet Baby "or even convince people to not buy any game that they've worked on", it gradually built up a conservative userbase encouraging players to avoid said games due to the studio promoting a "woke agenda".

This group received increased attention the next month after two Sweet Baby employees, Chris Kindred and Maya Felix Kramer, complained about the list on Twitter, with Kindred asking users to "report the fuck out of this group" for allegedly violating Steam's Online Conduct for discussion, while Kramer questioned why the list was up at all, claiming "any game at all" could be added. However, the list had aforesaid criteria, and Steam does not have rules restricting how users curate lists or write review blurbs since they are user-made and intended to inform and cater to specific topics/audiences, with Steam's site stating that curators have no obligation to add games sent to them by developers, or to play/review games for them to be on a list to begin with. What then happened was an example of the Streisand effect, where several users instead reported Kindred for violating Twitter's terms of service for encouraging targeted harassment, leading to their account being limited for one week, and the increased attention causing more users to follow the list. The matter was also exacerbated after it was noted that Kramer was previously associated with Zoë Quinn, a developer who was a prominent figure in the 2014 #Gamergate movement, where they were accused of performing a DDoS attack on the site of startup charity organizer The Fine Young Capitalists, based on tweets they made allegedly claiming responsibility. The list gained over 210,000 followers in under a month, and a related Discord server gained almost 2,000 members. After multiple reports, Steam Support while in talks with the curator decided to keep the list up, but its forums were mostly purged and locked as of March 2024. The curator later decided to start a separate website to expand the list.

Mainstream gaming outlets reported the controversy surrounding Sweet Baby as "conservative conspiracy theories", with several noting that users blamed them for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's (SS:KtJL) mixed reception rather than developer Rocksteady, and accused them of forcing Remedy Entertainment to change AWII/Quantum Break character Saga Anderson from white to black. These claims stem from Sweet Baby having a section in the credits of SS:KtJL featuring 13 credited writers implying a sizeable influence over the story, and a November 2023 article by Game Developer revealing that Sweet Baby story and narrative consultant Kim Belair worked with Remedy on AWII "to refine the character voice and story arc" of Saga. Her actress Melanie Liburd also "offered suggestions and other insights". AWII creative director Sam Lake commented on Saga being Remedy's first black protagonist and having Nordic origins, saying that while "she isn't necessarily that connected with it, there are aspects for us developing this game from Finland that are kind of close to home [...] these different aspects coming together to form a very unique and fresh character in that sense" was a big part of her creation. Game director Kyle Rowley also commented:

"I think that it took us a long time to find Saga. It was an interesting process, we had an idea in our head on what that character could be, but then, as the character evolves over time, being open to changing her based on input from the actors and from external sources really opened things up for us. I think that’s important for us as a studio to be okay with, because we don’t do it very often for our characters, this idea of how to create a new hero character, so it is kind of a big moment for us, and it was definitely interesting for me going through that process."

Rowley denied that Sweet Baby was directly responsible for Saga's race-swap, claiming "It's absolutely not true."

Stacey Henley of TheGamer claimed in defense of Sweet Baby that "all these firms do is make suggestions" and that developers can reject suggestions they do not like, claiming that Sweet Baby was being used as a scapegoat to complain about diversity in video games and "When you resort so quickly to falsehoods, your anger is probably misplaced and unfounded."

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"Sweet Baby Inc detected" Steam Curator list:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44858017-Sweet-Baby-Inc-detected/?appid=1934570

Sweet Baby Inc. front page:
https://sweetbabyinc.com/

General info:
https://kotaku.com/sweet-baby-inc-consulting-games-alan-wake-2-dei-1851312428

Article about the group (note the article is in German):
https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/sweet-baby-inc-detected-steam-kurator-hasskampagne,3409770.html

Accusation of "woke agenda":
https://www.eurogamer.net/spider-man-alan-wake-ridiculous-fishing-devs-speak-up-in-support-of-consultancy-studio-sweet-baby-inc

Employee statement:
https://dotesports.com/general/news/sweet-baby-inc-detected-drama-explained

Steam follower number:
https://www.themarysue.com/sweet-baby-inc-controversy-explained/

Kyle Rowley statement:
https://www.thegamer.com/going-after-alan-wake-2-for-being-woke-really-gives-the-game-away/

Kyle Rowley tweet:
https://twitter.com/TimePirateNinja/status/1764697135344202183

Stacey Henley quote:
https://www.thegamer.com/diversity-consultants-sweet-baby-inc-gaming-worse-live-service/

Curator statement about list purpose:
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/sweetbabyinc-detected/discussions/0/4302697419069965949/

Employee complaints:
https://thatparkplace.com/sweet-baby-inc-employee-begs-followers-to-report-steam-curator-that-tracks-sweet-baby-inc-s-involvement-in-video-games/

Zoë Quinn and Maya Felix Kramer DDoS tweets that were mentioned in the above article but not actually linked:
https://twitter.com/legobutts/status/439565200576892928
https://twitter.com/UnburntWitch/status/439565409780383744
https://twitter.com/UnburntWitch/status/439565723996655616

Steam Curator About page:
https://store.steampowered.com/about/curators/

Chris Kindred account limit and archived reaction:
https://thatparkplace.com/sweet-baby-inc-employee-who-tried-to-cancel-gamer-over-boycott-list-gets-x-account-limited/

Curator Steam Support tweet:
https://twitter.com/kabrutusrambo/status/1765907696887173127

Curator Steam Support community post:
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/sweetbabyinc-detected/announcements/detail/4128183566040620693

Article about claims of Sweet Baby's extent of their involvement:
https://thatparkplace.com/sweet-baby-inc-misinformation-campaign-about-how-much-influence-the-company-has-quickly-gets-exposed/

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League end credits with Sweet Baby section:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxWTfD9CHtQ#t=4475

Alan Wake II Game Developer article:
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/why-remedy-entertainment-went-all-in-on-saga-anderson-in-i-alan-wake-2-i-

Super Mario Maker 2 (2019)

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Super Mario Maker 2 is the first Mario game to be released during the Reiwa era – the reign of Naruhito as Emperor of Japan – following the abdication of Akihito on April 30, 2019. To commemorate this, Nintendo of Japan's Instagram account posted a video concurrently with Naruhito's ascension on May 1 where Mario travels through each of Japan's imperial eras since the franchise's inception, with each one being represented by a different style in Super Mario Maker 2. The Super Mario Bros. style represents the Shōwa era (Hirohito's reign), the Super Mario World style represents the Heisei era (Akihito's reign), and the Super Mario 3D World style represents the Reiwa era. Coincidentally, although Super Mario 3D World was released during the Heisei era, it would later be ported to the Nintendo Switch in 2021, two years after the Reiwa era's onset.

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Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012)

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When he was first released as DLC, General Winter's All-Star move effects had communist motifs. However, following complaints from the Russian populace about the portrayal of the USSR military as under-equipped in his source game Company of Heroes 2, and a voluntary recall of said game from Sega in that region, an update in 2013 would replace the hammer & sickle with a generic red star in all regions.

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person Rocko & Heffer calendar_month February 19, 2024

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Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed change:
https://tcrf.net/Sonic_%26_All-Stars_Racing_Transformed_(Wii_U,_Xbox_360,_PlayStation_3,_Windows)

Recall in Russia:
https://www.engadget.com/2013-08-05-company-of-heroes-2-sales-halted-in-russia.html

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (2007)

subdirectory_arrow_right Ace Attorney (Franchise)

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According to series creator Shu Takumi in a 2017 interview, Capcom executives issued two mandates affecting the writing of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. The first mandate was that the game had to include Phoenix Wright in the story, which went against Takumi's original idea for a reset of the series. The second mandate was to incorporate the Lay Judge system, a real-life judicial system, into the story, resulting in the creation of Spoiler:the MASON System game program and the trial run of a new Jurist System in the game's last case "Turnabout Succession". The Ace Attorney series began as a critique of how Japan's legal system handles criminal offenses, but around this time, that system was changing. While Japan previously suspended an older jurist system in 1943, their legislative body, the National Diet, gradually implemented a new lay judge system (裁判員, or "Saiban-in") from 2004 to 2009. This system, resembling more democratic systems in North American and European countries, calls upon six random common citizens to serve in serious criminal trials as inquisitorial judges sitting alongside three professional judges. Together they make up the judicial panel and actively analyze and investigate evidence presented to them throughout the trial before ruling on guilt and sentencing. Reflecting this, Spoiler:the Jurist System seen at the end of Turnabout Succession is made up of six random jurors guided by Phoenix Wright, where the player from the sixth juror's perspective has to rule the defendant Guilty or Not Guilty.

Takumi revealed that as part of the game’s promotion, Capcom collaborated with the Japanese Ministry of Justice and even gave a presentation of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney at the ministry's head office, implying that the system's mandated inclusion in the game was political propaganda. Despite Capcom cooperating in the Japanese government's push for this new system and despite participation experiences being reported as positive and easy to understand, the reception to other aspects of the system were largely negative. Complaints included gradually more severe sentencing since its implementation, the risk of criminal penalties for lay judges publicly discussing confidential deliberation room details after trials come to an end, and most starkly, calling upon Japanese citizens to put aside time to participate in the system, who have been increasingly unwilling to do so. This decline in interest has been largely attributed to the length of lay judge trials and even the length of pre-trial proceedings increasing significantly over the next decade, and due to aging populations and people simply not being able to make these commitments, more citizens refused to serve or even show up to be vetted for serving in the first place, making it harder to fill out the jury.

As a result of this reception, the Ace Attorney series has not used Spoiler:the MASON System and the Jurist System since, sticking with the series' traditional Initial Trial system in future games.

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Apollo Justice dev team 2007 interview:
https://gyakutensaibanlibrary.blogspot.com/2016/09/4-isnt-change-from-old-to-new-but.html?m=1

Shu Takumi 2017 interview:
https://news.capcomusa.com/2017/11/18/the-making-of-apollo-justice-ace-attorney-feat-shu-takumi/

Articles explaining the lay judge system and first case under it:
https://www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/japans-new-jury-system-evaulated
https://web.archive.org/web/20160611021725/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2009/12/08/issues/ichihashi-trial-key-test-of-legal-reforms/#.V1t0vCXP1S8

Articles featuring criticisms of the lay judge system:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/08/03/japans-new-unpopular-jury-system/
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00468/japan-marks-10-years-since-start-of-lay-judge-system.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20190508022405/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/05/05/editorials/evaluating-lay-judge-system-10-years/
https://apjjf.org/-Mark-Levin/3141/article.html
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Sexual-Violence-in-Japan%3A-Implications-of-the-Lay-Suzuki/67b28807c51160297bb80bdb3b7fdcda95f50a74?p2df

Platform: ZX Spectrum

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Warajevo was a ZX Spectrum emulator made in 1993 during the Bosnian War by Samir Ribic and Zeljko Juric. It was created in an attempt to provide nostalgia and escapism from the horrific circumstances they were surrounded by after the duo were disappointed by the Roman ZX emulator. The developers only had 2 to 3 hours a night to work on their emulator due to a low energy supply. Zeljko worked on the emulator at home, while Ribic worked on it at an army camp using a computer connected to a car battery - the latter computer would turn off whenever someone used the coffee machine, which eventually lead to its hard disc being destroyed. At one point Ribic risked his life walking through a river bed while dodging bullets to find the last Spectrum pirate in his town, who lived in one of the most dangerous areas. The first version of the emulator would be released in 1994, one year before the war ended. Juric and Ribic would survive the war, and continue working on Warajevo after peace.

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Story of Warajevo:
https://worldofspectrum.net/warajevo/Story.html

Roman ZX:
http://spectrum-zx.chat.ru/faq/emu_pc.html#ROMANZX

Kirby's Return to Dream Land (2011)

subdirectory_arrow_right Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe (Game)

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Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe redesigns Wing Kirby's costume, changing the pattern on the headband to a series of straight lines, adding a red jewel on the front (similar to the kind seen on other Copy Ability hats), and replacing the rows of feathers on the back with arrangements that more closely resemble a bird's wings. As the original design was based on a Native American warbonnet, the redesign was likely to avoid cultural appropriation, as real-life warbonnets are regarded as sacred in tribal cultures and consequently can only be worn by those who have earned the right to do so.

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YouTube video highlighting various changes made in the Nintendo Switch remake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiLRSBsOiFA

Indian Country Today article on cultural appropriation of warbonnets:
https://web.archive.org/web/20170706114746/https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/culture/sports/houska-i-didnt-know-doesnt-cut-it-anymore/

Native Appropriations article on why wearing warbonnets as generic headgear is considered offensive among Native Americans:
https://web.archive.org/web/20160513074733/http://nativeappropriations.com/2010/04/but-why-cant-i-wear-a-hipster-headdress.html

Texas Law Review paper on Native American perspectives on cultural appropriation:
https://texaslawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/RileyCarpenter.FinalPDF.pdf

Fate/Grand Order (2015)

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The Chinese Version of Fate/Grand Order, published by video sharing website bilibili, features several changes and censored elements compared to the original Japanese release. These were all likely done as to comply with Chinese law. Some examples of changes are as follows:

• Boudica: Attire altered to reduce cleavage and panties were changed into shorts. She and Mata Hari also temporarily had their portrait artwork removed before being put back in place
• Shuten-Doji: Ascensions were altered to reduce visible skin throughout.
• Mata Hari: Bikini top was made larger to reduce cleavage. She and Boudica also temporarily had their portrait artwork removed before being put back in place
• Cú Chulainn: Second Ascension was altered to cover his chest.
• Minamoto-no-Raikou: The cloth covering her breasts in her first ascension is retained in her second and third.
• Hassan of the Cursed Arm: Second Ascension adds a cloth obscuring his face and chest.
• Yu-Mei-Ren (Assassin): Name was temporarily changed to Assassin 230, then later 雏罂. Reduced the size of her cleavage window and added fabric to hide skin showing in her second and third ascensions. Her bust size is also notably smaller in the Chinese version.
• Yu-Mei-Ren (Lancer): Swimsuit was adjusted to be less revealing.
• Gorgon: Attire adjusted to cover chest more.
• Wu Zetian (Assassin): Name was temporarily changed to Assassin 170, then later 周照. All appearances of the character were scrubbed, as well as any mentions of her by name, replacing her with the default Assassin Card. Spoiler:This affects the story of Agartha as she is the true identity of Assassin of the Nightless City, one of the story's antagonist. Was later given fabric covering her stomach on her second, third, and final ascensions.
• Xuanzang Sanzang: Cleavage is covered. Artwork was temporarily disabled until adjusted artwork was provided. Was renamed "Pilgrim To The West" (西行者) to comply with Chinese depiction laws.
• Yang Guifei: Second ascension adds frills to her attire's lower body, while her third and final cover up her chest. She also had some of her ascensions disabled until new artwork was added.
• Orion (Artemis): Removed cleavage from first ascension artwork and icon.
• Carmilla (Assassin): Added clothing to areas otherwise not covered in the original version.
• Ushiwakamaru: Was given skintight clothing covering her torso. Coincidentally, this resembles her design in Melty Blood: Type Lumina, which was also censored in a similar fashion.
• Tamamo Cat: Reduced cleavage and bust size.
• Fergus Mac Róich: Added bandages covering his chest.
• Phantom of the Opera: Blood was removed from his second ascension's knives.
• Giles De Rais (Saber): Blood stain removed from his second ascension.
• Scáthach (Lancer): Skin Tight suit made less see through.
• Darius III: Body paint was removed and his expression was changed to be less angry.

In addtion, several other Chinese-originating Servants had their names changed to their Class, followed by their Servant ID. Other Servants also had their names changed. Jack The Ripper, for example, was changed to "Abandoned Son of the Mist." Similar changes were also made to various Craft Essences, similarly removing revealing clothing and references to blood.

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Article on Servant Name Changes: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-09-16/bilibili-removes-art-data-for-chinese-servants-in-chinese-version-of-fate-grand-order-game/.177428

Comparisons of artwork between Chinese and Japanese versions: https://www.fgo.wiki/w/国服与日服的资源差异#玄奘三藏

Earliest known Chinese Censorship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhJB_Rq1P1M

YouTube Video on 2021 censorship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvqCu_HzLFM

Source of name changes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBHMn12MaWw#t=289

Tekken 7 (2015)

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person ZpaceJ0ck0 calendar_month December 14, 2023

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Plague Inc. (2012)

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In 2019, amid a rise in popularity for anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and psuedoscience, a petition was started for Plague Inc. to implement anti-vaccine advocates, or "anti-vaxxers", as a situation that would buff your disease. Ndemic Creations, while noting that anti-vaxxers do technically exist as a smaller part of the "Science Denial" scenario along with flat Earth theorists and climate change deniers, agrees to include the movement as a solo buff for the disease, but did not have an idea for how they would work in gameplay at the time. Anti-vaxxers have not yet been added to the game, but a second buff partially referencing anti-vaxxers, "Fake News", would be added.

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person Rocko & Heffer calendar_month December 7, 2023

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Action 52 (1993)

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The Sega Genesis version of Action 52 was directed by a young Jay Phillip Obernolte, who would later succeed Paul Cook as a Republican member of California's House of Representatives on January 3, 2021.

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City of Big Bear Lake official biography for Obernolte's time on the City Council as Mayor, including description of him founding FarSight Studios:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140415120336/http://www.citybigbearlake.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=302%3Ajay-p-obernolte-biography&catid=45&Itemid=57

FarSight Studios website listing for Action 52:
http://farsightstudios.com/portfolio/1993-action-52/

Action 52 Genesis longplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsg2n6TvKYM

Factory Panic (1991)

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Factory Panic was originally released in Japan as Ganbare Gorby! and starred a chariacture of the Soviet Union's last leader, Mikhail Gorbachev.

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person Rocko & Heffer calendar_month November 27, 2023

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Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)

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Solidus Snake's swords are named "Minshuto" and "Kyowato". This translates to "Democrat" and "Republican", respectively.

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person Kirby Inhales Jotaro calendar_month November 27, 2023

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Solidus Snake official action figure by Square Enix Play Arts Kai (description identifies the swords as Minshuto and Kyowato; only official evidence I could easily find of this being their names):
https://www.amiami.com/eng/detail/?gcode=FIG-IPN-4453&page=top

Forum post from 2006 claiming they are named in concept art in The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2:
https://mgsforums.com/solidus-39-s-blades-t17836.html

The Art of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (pages with Solidus: 80-82, 149-150):
https://archive.org/details/the-art-of-metal-gear-solid-2-sons-of-liberty/Art_of_MGS2-0078.jpg
https://archive.org/details/the-art-of-metal-gear-solid-2-sons-of-liberty/Art_of_MGS2-0145.jpg

The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 (supposedly in this game but cannot find evidence):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58M4hTpj6k8#t=928

Sword names article:
https://screenrant.com/metal-gear-solid-2-solidus-snake-sword-names/

Bio Force Ape (TBA)

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Bio Force Ape is a game that was never released - it did, before it's cancellation, get a spotlight in Nintendo Power, creating a level of curiosity surrounding it within NES fan communities. Capitalizing off of this curiosity, a post would be made on the Digital Press forum in 2005 claiming to show screenshots of a leaked prototype. While the first post appeared legitimate, the hoax would eventually be unraveled starting with a screenshot of a glitched super move that was "so powerful [that] it messes up the game's graphics", which humorously made it appear that Bio Force Ape was unleashing a powerful fart attack, as a set of glitched graphics appeared next to a crouching animation. The poster, going under the username PaulB812, would refuse to dump the game and refer to anybody who asked for it to be released as either "communists" or "butter-slathered... hoarding fatties", before finally unveiling the prank with a game screenshot of a cutscene where a fat butter monster points out that the ape is "worth 2K monies[sic]", before the ape punches him while saying "EAT COMMUNISM!" A real prototype would be leaked in 2010.

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person Rocko & Heffer calendar_month November 19, 2023

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The first page of the forum thread:
https://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?71891-Bio-Force-Ape

The "powerful fart":
https://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?71891-Bio-Force-Ape/page2

The "Eat Communism!" screenshot:
https://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?71891-Bio-Force-Ape/page4

The real Bio Force Ape:
https://tcrf.net/Bio_Force_Ape

Franchise: Sonic The Hedgehog

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On August 21, 2021, Ken Penders (a former writer for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics) announced plans to license out various characters from the comic that he has claimed ownership of (Prince Elias, Geoffrey St. John, Queen Alicia, etc.). Notably, this list included Scourge the Hedgehog (originally known as "Evil Sonic"), much to the bewilderment of Sonic fans as the character was depicted as an alternate reality version of Sonic (Scourge's original design was, visually speaking, simply Sonic wearing a leather jacket and sunglasses). When asked about this, Ian Flynn stated that (in his opinion) Sega and IDW wouldn't think it was worth the trouble to license side characters from a third party, particularly due to the former's desire to move away from referencing the 1993 Sonic the Hedgehog animated series (commonly known as "Sonic SatAM", and a major influence on the Archie Sonic comics), and that it'd be easier to just make new characters. However, due to an inaccurate secondhand account of Flynn's response, Penders released an outline of the licensing deal insisting that he "really is easy to deal with", and accused Flynn of not wanting to work with non-game characters, despite that not being what Flynn said. The deal itself was criticized by fans due to both its steep asking price ($10,000 up front against royalties for a two year license) and for padding out the list of characters with obscure extras (Lt. Smiley, DYNAMAC-3000, etc.). Further complicating matters, the IDW Sonic spinoff miniseries "Imposter Syndrome" was announced, introducing the character of Surge the Tenrec, who many compared to Scourge due to their similar names and designs. Ian Flynn would later reveal that he had always intended for Surge (and her companion Kitsunami the Fenrec) to appear in the comic since the beginning.

On November 15th, RUSH! Comics announced that in association with Ken Penders, Scourge would receive a four-issue miniseries titled "Scourge the Speed Demon". The comic was immediately hit with backlash from fans due to Penders not only licensing out Evil Sonic, but his Scourge persona specifically, as Penders had no involvement with that version of the character (it was conceived by Mike Pellerito and Patrick Spaziante, and developed by Ian Flynn and Tracy Yardley), as well as continuing to blame Penders for the character's removal in the first place. The creative team behind the comic (which did not include Penders, as he merely licensed the character) also came under fire from the fandom: their previous comic, Rush! (for which the company was named after), had included a sexual harassment scene where the hero strips a pair of female villains nude in public because he thought they were hot. More concerningly, the lead artist was discovered to be following a large number of far right accounts (such as Breitbart, PragerU, Steven Crowder, and the Trump family) and had liked some controversial tweets from them (i.e. an Islamophobic tweet from far right activist Paul Joseph Watson), leading many to accuse the artist of being a white supremist. When asked about this, Penders responded:

"I didn't check the political leanings of the people I'm doing business with as I didn't think that was relevant. Nor did I think being a fan of Ian Flynn was relevant when taking on someone to do a job for me. I'm a "give a person a chance" type of guy."

The team would later release a statement in an attempt to clarify the situation, though it did not help. Likewise, "Imposter Syndrome" #1 was released, leading many to believe that Scourge was no longer needed due to Surge existing. On November 19th, it was announced that the comic had been cancelled a mere four days after its announcement due to the backlash from the fanbase. Ironically, it's worth noting that while Ken does own Scourge, he's forbidden from making new stuff that looks too similar to Sonic in order to avoid brand confusion. Scourge's design in the cancelled comic looked noticeably similar to Sonic's design (specifically the design from the Paramount films), meaning that by cancelling the comic, RUSH! Comics may have been able to avoid a potential lawsuit from Sega for copyright infringement.

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person chocolatejr9 calendar_month November 17, 2023

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Full story:
https://thankskenpenders.tumblr.com/post/668408799676252160/scourge-the-speed-demon-a-summary

Ian Flynn statement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKCfCR4Qojs&t=1651s

Licensing deal outline:
https://twitter.com/KenPenders/status/1430048623778144260

Example of Scourge-Surge comparisons:
https://www.tumblr.com/dootdootboopedsnoot/660612495212462080

Ian Flynn's original plans for Surge:
https://twitter.com/IanFlynnBKC/status/1461140967692677128

Wanted!: Monty Mole (1984)

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The choice to portray real-life political figures, specifically the union leader Arthur Scargill and prime minister Margaret Thatcher, as villains in Wanted! Monty Mole was a PR stunt and successful attempt to rile the news media, and not an attempt to push any one political ideology. When called out for the stunt, Gremlin Graphics offered to donate 5 pence to the Miner's Welfare Fund per £6.95 copy sold, a donation that was rejected.

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person Rocko & Heffer calendar_month November 16, 2023

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Article on PR stunt:
https://organisemagazine.org.uk/2019/09/26/wanted-monty-mole-rbg/

Archived Crash Magazine article detailing offered donation:
https://www.crashonline.org.uk/09/monty.htm

Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals (2008)

subdirectory_arrow_right Cooking Mama: World Kitchen (Game), Majesco (Company), Cooking Mama (Collection)

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When PETA released Cooking Mama Kills Animals, a satirical flash game parodying the Cooking Mama franchise, Mama series publisher Majesco responded with a press release condemning the game and stating that Mama, while not a vegetarian, supports humane treatment of animals:

"Mama wants people to know that World Kitchen includes 51 recipes from around the world, ranging from vegetarian fare like miso soup and rice cakes to international delicacies like ginger pork and octopus dumplings. "I would never put rat in my Ratatouille," said a feisty Mama while beating some eggs. "Like any accomplished cook, I create my recipes to appeal to a broad range of tastes and preferences. My only goal is to ensure you leave the table well fed." Cooking Mama World Kitchen includes more than 25 vegetarian-friendly recipes including delicious breakfast, dinner, dessert and snack options. And, while Mama is not a vegetarian, she fully supports the humane treatment of animals, particularly for her canine protege Max who makes his doggie debut in World Kitchen."

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person Rocko & Heffer calendar_month November 9, 2023

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Axie Infinity (2018)

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In Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn NFT game revolving around breeding, training, and selling axolotl-like creatures called Axies for real money, more experienced players will rent out their Axies to less experienced players in exchange for a portion of the less experienced player's later profits. This feature contains heavy similarities to sharecropping, a real-life practice often described by its use in the United States from the Reconstruction era into the mid-20th century as a post-abolition equivalent to slavery. Due to many of the low level players taking loans coming from low-income countries such as the Philippines and Brazil, Axie Infinity has been described by some analysts as "digital colonialism".

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person Rocko & Heffer calendar_month November 6, 2023

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Articles about Axie Infinity and comparisons to sharecropping:
https://thebusinessofesports.com/2022/05/16/the-problem-with-axie-infinity
https://shows.acast.com/cyber/episodes/the-digital-sharecroppers-of-axie-infinity
https://cointelegraph.com/news/axie-infinity-is-toxic-for-crypto-gaming

Research paper about Axie Infinity which references which countries the game is most popular in. See "1. INTRODUCTION":
https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Play-to-Earn_A_Qualitative_Analysis_of_the_Experiences_and_Challenges_Faced_By_Axie_Infinity_Online_Gamers_Amidst____the_COVID-19_Pandemic/18856454/1

Wordle (2021)

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On May 9, 2022, some Wordle players were given the answer "Fetus", while others were given "Shine". Fetus had been put on the game's schedule a year before the answer showed up, but was replaced later following the United States Supreme Court overturning of Roe V. Wade, a legal ruling that protected abortion rights. However, come the day when Shine was intended to be answer, the game's amateur coding from before it was bought out by newspaper outlet The New York Times made it difficult to ensure Fetus didn't show up whatsoever.

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person Rocko & Heffer calendar_month November 4, 2023

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