Valve, please reconsider allowing games with explicit sexual content

[Becky]

Hi there everyone, particularly employees and volunteers working for Valve:

This is just a piece of feedback I would like to humbly offer to Valve, regarding their Steam platform. I would definitely like to open this commentary by saying that the Steam platform is amazing, and altogether serves as an excellent example of modern technology and ingenuity. The seamless integration of Store, Game Library, Workshop, Community, Badges, Achievements, Chat, and other functionality is superb, and I try to recommend Steam to my friends and family wherever possible.

There is one small issue that I feel needs bringing up, in the form of some consumer feedback. In the past, various members of the Steam moderator community have suggested that I leave any feedback Imay have in this discussion forum. Today I have decided to take the time to put my thoughts down in text, and post my ideas.

My concern is simply thus: I have noticed that Steam seemingly disallows games to be sold if they contain explicit sexual content. Without intending to be distruptive, I would like to say that this particular stance on sexuality in video gaming is not particularly appropriate or relevant, and I am providing this feedback to express disappointment.

As an adult gamer, I am content that Steam publishes many video games that feature heavy violence and gore. However, I am concerned that overt sexual content in video games is (apparently) not permitted. Consider this short (but by no means comprehensive) list of some violent video games available on Steam:

• Telltale's The Walking Dead (Season 1), which involves the player conducting rough limb amputations, overt cannibalism, and other gory scenes.
  
• Telltale's The Walking Dead (Season 2), which involves the player experiencing visceral dog attacks, suturing their own gaping wounds shut, witnessing the slow torture death of a man named Carver, as well as many other gory scenarios.
  
• Creative Assembly's Total War: ROME II - Blood & Gore DLC, which was specifically designed to allow the player to witness their troops decapitating, dismembering, and impaling their foe, as well as gratuitious blood splatter effects.
  
• Rockstar's Manhunt, which is famous for its varied forms of killing people with a number of different tools and instruments.
  
• Bethesda's Fallout 3 and Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas permit various forms of decapitation and dismemberment of combatants, which is made especially easy with the VATS system. Futhermore, dead torture victims (and their removed limbs) are regularly found hanging up within raider camps.
  
• Bethesda's Wolfenstein: New Order contains multiple scenes of gruesome Nazi behaviour.
  
• Valve's own Left for Dead 2, which graphically simulates internal organs pouring from zombies' bodies when they are attacked with melee weaponry.
  
• Deep Silver's Dead Island series, which also displays visceral gore on zombies.
  
• Rockstar's GTA series, including GTA V, which is due for PC release in the near future. It contains various gory scenes, including the player (as Trevor) interrogating someone with torture.

I feel that this content is clearly appropriate for the Steam platform, and for video games in general. I strongly support the right of adults to access and consume games with this type of content. Adult consumers rightly deserve access to adult content, and Steam is admirably fulfilling demand for the adult content categories of violence and gore. However, note that violent adult entertainment is available, while sexual adult entertainment is not available. I find this to be very perplexing, and this inequity ought to be worrisome for adult consumers. Personally, I am worried by this inbalance, and I know many others that are too.

Aside from the various points regarding the unbalanced nature of adult content on Steam, I feel that Valve is missing a massive influx of profit by dismissing games containing sexual content. There is, in fact, a niche genre of video games that contain open sexuality, especially within many anime-based visual novels. If Valve were to step forth and permit the publication of video games containing (intact) sexual content on their Steam platform, I believe that the financial results of adapting to fulfill a whole extra market would be noticable.

I have heard arguments that sexual material is inappropriate for minors, as it can easily fall into underaged hands. To these comments, I would like to point out that there is already a massive amount of content on Steam that is (by that definition) 'inappropriate for minors', and it too could fall into their hands. I believe that the age-verification systems currently in use by Steam (based around the user's birthday) would be appropriate to protect children from overt sexual content. After all, the system has already been deemed appropriate to protect children from overt gore and violence. So, while I am not an age-verification expert, I believe it is a fair and unobtrusive 'honesty-based' system. (To those who would complain that children can lie about their birthday, I would probably recommend the application of parental guidance and/or PC parental controls.)

Others have complained that explicit sexuality is inappropriate in general, as it serves to corrupt viewers psychologically, or is 'spiritually harmful' by some means. In defence against these claims, I would like to point out that we, as users of the Steam platform, generally live in free societies where we can make our own choices regarding our lives and wellbeing. Personally, I believe that access to sexual materials is in no way psychologically damaging; it is a valid form of media that expresses a very natural and very human process. Furthermore, I would like to dismiss claims regarding spiritual welfare, as religious beliefs vary wildly and cannot be measured in any empirical sense. I would suggest that the individual's right to freedom of choice overrides any such matters. Should someone not like sexual-based content, they are welcome to peruse any of the other games on Steam, which already number in the thousands.

Much to my sadness, several recent video games published on Steam (including Nekopara Vol. 1 and the Early Access Sunrider Academy) have had sexual content deliberately cut (presumably to meet Steam requests). As such, it is possible to see that paying customers are having content censored from them. Furthermore, at least one game has been removed from Steam Greenlight (that being Seduce Me). This game did not feature bloody combat with weapons, but only featured frontal, hand-painted sex scenes.

I appreciate that the Steam platform belongs to Valve, and that Valve ultimately has the full right to decide what does (and does not) get placed and sold on their store. I do respect this completely. However, my primary point with this feedback post is to bring the issue up with Valve, and kindly request that they reconsider their stance on the matter. If adult violence is okay, then there is no reason to believe that adult sexuality would not be okay too. I only wish to point out the inbalance, and politely ask for Valve's sincere consideration. (If not, then perhaps a general explanation of Valve's policy on sexual content, and how it contrasts with the ideas within general consumer feedback (including this feedback post), would be very thoughtful and helpful.)

I would like to complete my feedback by saying thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my feedback. If you do agree with these beliefs, I would kindly ask that you please add your support in a reply below. Each single reply of support would help to bring this issue to the forefront of Valve's attention.

Thank you, and take care everyone.

TL;DR: There's lots of adult content on Steam, mainly gore and violence. That's great! I would like to see Steam allow other forms of adult content too, specifically sexual content, please.

Please note: I'm not trying to agitate anyone within the community. I honestly just want to give my feedback to Valve.

[Zenexras of Blackwick]

Цитата допису Vlady Puts Fegelantic Master:

Цитата допису Doggie112:

Ah, i knew i was to end some time, lol. Poor cat, got banned

at least we can bring this thread back on topic and we will avoid ALL of that previously mention stuff

Yup, i think everyone forgot what we were talking about, lol

[Felix]

Цитата допису Becky Nikki:

Your response is greatly appreciated.

Sorry to disappoint, but us moderators are volunteers - we aren't part of Valve's business decisions.

[Unexpected]

i hope so

[Becky]

Цитата допису Doggie112:

Yup, i think everyone forgot what we were talking about, lol

Everyone? No. I'm just waiting for clarification from Valve, and a cogent argument against having games with sexual content on Steam.

[Becky]

Цитата допису FrazerJC:

Цитата допису Becky Nikki:

Your response is greatly appreciated.

Sorry to disappoint, but us moderators are volunteers - we aren't part of Valve's business decisions.

Ah, I understand. Thank you for explaining that.

Could you please escalate the matter to someone who can help? I have been trying to contact a Valve representative since early February, to no avail.

[DigitalPathfinder]

Цитата допису FrazerJC:

Цитата допису Becky Nikki:

Your response is greatly appreciated.

Sorry to disappoint, but us moderators are volunteers - we aren't part of Valve's business decisions.

I do have to honestly ask though, I would accidentally create spam but honestly I never search anything so who knows. I do wanna be honest, I think im getting Admin Abuse in a nutshell....it would be hard to explain as my english is bad so I always look like a criminal :{

[Zenexras of Blackwick]

Цитата допису Becky Nikki:

Цитата допису Doggie112:

Yup, i think everyone forgot what we were talking about, lol

Everyone? No. I'm just waiting for clarification from Valve, and a cogent argument against having games with sexual content on Steam.

Sorry didn't mean you..

[Felix]

Цитата допису Becky Nikki:

Could you please escalate the matter to someone who can help? I have been trying to contact a Valve representative since early February, to no avail.

This thread is honestly the best thing I can advise - Valve employees do frequently read the Steam Discussions, especially this Suggestions forum.

[FreeMediaKids!]

Цитата допису MLG Peenot Buttor:

Цитата допису Vlady Puts Fegelantic Master:

how abut for the third time, we end this religious talk? sounds ok right?

AGREED!

[Becky]

Цитата допису mm.324:

Цитата допису WhiteKnight77:

There would need to be a more substantial way to verify one's age

I refer you to post #203, note the word legally. With that said last night I was going through my account preferences and saw one (i forget what it was called) that allows an adult to set a PIN on certain games on the account so that kids wouldn't be able to play them.

Edit: I went back and looked, it's called "Family Veiw" it also can be used to restrict entrance to certain areas of Steam such as Store, Profile, etc. I see this as a great area to put an option "Adult Games". That way an adult who shares their account with a child could browse "adult" games then turn-off that section when they're done.

I'm so sorry, MM... I didn't see this post until you repeated it in the thread. *blush*

Thanks to MM's 'sherlocking' (to use a quasi-word I recently learned from Bain in Payday 2), it looks like Steam already has a system in place for blocking access to certain games and/or content. This is great!

So, why can we not use this system to protect the children from games with sexual content (and people disinclined towards such games), thus allowing said games to be sold on the Steam Store?

[mm.324]

lol Thanks for the acknowledgment Becky, I was just about to post it again to try to bring the thread back on topic.

[mm.324]

Now that we're back on topic it seems to have quieted down.

[Dendrobates Tinctorius]

Цитата допису Becky Nikki:

So, why can we not use this system to protect the children from games with sexual content (and people disinclined towards such games), thus allowing said games to be sold on the Steam Store?

Because it has to be manually applied.

[mm.324]

Цитата допису Dendrobates Tinctorius:

Цитата допису Becky Nikki:

So, why can we not use this system to protect the children from games with sexual content (and people disinclined towards such games), thus allowing said games to be sold on the Steam Store?

Because it has to be manually applied.

The "filter" for "adult" games could be set to on by default and have to be manually turned off.

[Dendrobates Tinctorius]

Цитата допису mm.324:

Цитата допису Dendrobates Tinctorius:

Because it has to be manually applied.

The "filter" for "adult" games could be set to on by default and have to be manually turned off.

It's not a filter.

It's a padlock. It doesn't classify things on its own. It's default off and has to be set up with a PIN. How do you set the PIN if the system is already on?

Existing age gate pages are much closer to what you'd actually want to use in this situation.