Writer is "Ashamed" of neo fans on here/going to talk to ben herman

[rebellion1]

Wow, this guy is a trip. He writes for 411mania games section and always says how much he loves the neo and everything. I thought he was a good writer, untill I e-mailed him about the anger people were showing with the censorship of American games. Here is the site


http://www.411mania.com/games/columns/article.php?columns_id=1910

It's about halfway down at the start of the mailbag section.

Here is it cut and pasted-


I know you got a neo, so you prolly dont care, but this means that metal slug 3, chaos, and sam showdown 5 are all gonna have no blood on ps2 and thats gonna suck ass.
hell i hope they don't release them in america cause its garbage without the damn blood.

what the hell is snk's problem?

-Mike


Mike and I had a HUGE discussion about this that went into a dozen emails. And my reasoning is

1) I’ve got them on my MVS so I don’t care because I am TRUE NEO GEO FAN NUMBAH ONE!

2) Jesus Christ people, a while ago SNK was dead and buried and Capcom was going to butcher the KoF titles. Can’t you be fucking happy SNK is back and gave you TWO KoF games for the price of one? Who cares about blood? The engine is fine! Iori, Terry, Mai, Yuri, and the gang are untouched. It’s just blood. Jesus. How can so many people get so worke dup over blood and call the game unpure because of that? SVC: MOTM on the NGPC had no blood un English mode and it’s STILL the best fighting game ever made.

I thought I’d show more of Mike’s emails just to show you how psychotic SNK fans can get. Hell hath no fury like a scary Neo Geo Fan scorned.

you should know better than anyone else that us hardcore fans go crazy whenthings are changed from jap versions (just look at the SOnic CD thing in the sega cd article you have now when peopl ewere very angry over the changed
soundtrack)
im talking to ben herman (head of snk usa) right now and he had no idea the japanese version even had blood or the other things that are censored.

i LOVE these games man, but i also want the real version




I should point out Ben will be talking with me in a few weeks about SNK and this whole drama filled wackiness. As well Mike and tried to figure out how this could happen as the KoF games are not MVS ports at all. And because Agetec edited the blood out of the KoF games they brought over as well.

One more BTW…

Dude, i just wanted to show you something you might find interesting

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=19

the ps2 censorship thread has over 14,000 views since slashdot linked it. that means that at least 9000-10,000 different people wanted to know why the game was censored.

what do you think about it, and did you ever get a response from that idiot ben herman?

also, are you angry that the Samaurai SHodown 5/0 AES cart wasn't translated in english?



Scary, isn’t it folks? Instead of 10K people saying ‘KoF for less than 200$ on a ten year old system that only Alexander Lucard is crazy enough to own 40+ games for’ they say ‘Where is the blood?’ Right there I think sums up my big ass problem with American gamers and their obsession with violence like GTA and Manhunt and other games that are middling at best but get A+, 10/10, THIS GAME ROCKS, comments because of blood and hookers. Here’s a hint people: Golgo 13 for the NES. There is your GTA before there was GTA. And it’s SO. MUCH. BETTER.

And I love my SS 0 cart. Love it to bits. And I know Fred wants it. But it is MINE. MINE!

BTW SNK fans, write to Pankonin and demand SNK reviews on 411. I can’t do them without your support!

Like I said, I’ll talk with Ben about this and put it up in a future Retograding. But the bottom line is that I am ASHAMED to be associated with Neo Geo fans right now for their whining and bitching and moaning right now. Play the game and love the game. Lack of blood is a minor point at best.




The guy cut up my e-mails like all hell. What the fuck is his problem? Can't we voice our opinion on something that many, MANY of us have a problem with? Fuck, he didn't even respond to the fact that SS 5 wasn't translated.

 

[Fygee]

Well, like I said in the other thread, I'm angry that they censored the game, because we're not playing it has its originally intended, and I feel like SNKP aquired the strange mentality of Americans being moral fundamentalists when it comes to blood and boobs, even though is exactlty the opposite.

I'm not going to be a dick and cry like a baby because of it, nor will I boycott any ports because of the censorship, but there's no doubting that cutting out little details like Mai's bounce and the occasional bit of blood was a really dumb thing to do.

At any rate, no one can deny that most of the Neo community is notoriously picky, close minded, and at times horribly whiny and spoiled. What we have to remember though is that we are EXTREMELY lucky to still be getting Neo releases, or even SNK related releases at all, and we have to appreciate that. Its okay to criticize games, its okay to love games that others deem "crap", or dislike games others call "awesome", or even argue about the hardware itself, but we so often forget to be civil and appreciative of it all, that most of us have become bitter, jaded Neo "lovers" who can't be pleased by anything, or pleased as much as we'd like to be.

 

[OmegaSaber]

I can't really say that something like that matters to me because the game is still there. Despite that I still see the point that some people are making in that it's just a pretty pointless thing to do. This day in age where little kids play GTA everyday the last thing on SNKP's list of things to censor should be the limited amount of blood in their games. A game like KoF isn't really going to suffer from it, but Metal Slug and Samurai Shodown are going to feel a tad lame. Lame like that kid who had Mortal Kombat for SNES instead of Genesis. I don't see why they can't maintain a Teen rating while having a drop of blood here or there.

 

[Tom]

True, we should be glad we are getting ports, but with games like GTA 3 and Manhunt(sp?) why are the ports getting censored? I dunno, but at least ports are getting made.

 

[kc]

Funny all the king of fighter fans say its all about the gameplay not the graphics when ever they see a ok review on one of there games, but when there is no blood nor boobs they start trash about game like it meant nothing before.

We sould all relize that we sould be thanking playmore for bring back the neo for us, at any time playmore can cut costs to our games(cheaper chips,booklet, inserts, boxs)

 

[BoriquaSNK]

I think the man is absolutely right, boobs and blood are very superficial in these games. It's funny when you see the argument that we need to "play the games as they were meant to be played", the truth is in the U.S.A. we were meant to play them without needless blood and tits flopping all over the place. Thats not to say that I support censorship as a whole, but the fact is that the censorship is an SNK tradition and should be upheld. The games in question are excellent ports...so stop whining about blood and bounce dammit.

 

[SonGohan]

What about Whip?

 

[rebellion1]

I think the man is absolutely right, boobs and blood are very superficial in these games. It's funny when you see the argument that we need to "play the games as they were meant to be played", the truth is in the U.S.A. we were meant to play them without needless blood and tits flopping all over the place. Thats not to say that I support censorship as a whole, but the fact is that the censorship is an SNK tradition and should be upheld. The games in question are excellent ports...so stop whining about blood and bounce dammit.

wait, since it's a tradition it should continue?! WTF that is fucking retarded.

I LIKE seeing people cut in half in last blade 2, and i like seeing zombies puke blood in metal slug 3. Why should i buy a port if it doesn't have these things?

 

[Sklabah]

Why should i buy a port if it doesn't have these things?

YOU shouldn't. Those who don't care should. That's the extent of it.

Hey, I want the uncensored versions in English, too. But if I can't have it, I get over it. I'll let my preferences be known, and play what I have. And my DC versions of Last Blade 2 and KOF 2000 will remain in the collection as well.

 

[rebellion1]

YOU shouldn't. Those who don't care should. That's the extent of it.

Hey, I want the uncensored versions in English, too. But if I can't have it, I get over it. I'll let my preferences be known, and play what I have. And my DC versions of Last Blade 2 and KOF 2000 will remain in the collection as well.

it's just that it is such a simple solution to a problem that is angering alot of people. KOF 95 on PS1 in america was fully uncensored, so why can't we have all the new games released like that on ps2?

 

[Fygee]

but the fact is that the censorship is an SNK tradition and should be upheld.

Simply because its a tradition and one made by SNK doesn't necessarily mean its a good thing. Some traditions that they've had should very much be broken IMO, because they're downright dumb.

I really don't think that people are upset over the fact that the game is missing blood, boobs, and guns (I doubt people would complain about adding them if they weren't there to begin with), but more about the attitude SNKP has toward America, thinking we're babies who can't handle a few "offensive" pixels.

 

[soopafamicom]

Funny all the king of fighter fans say its all about the gameplay not the graphics when ever they see a ok review on one of there games, but when there is no blood nor boobs they start trash about game like it meant nothing before.

We sould all relize that we sould be thanking playmore for bring back the neo for us, at any time playmore can cut costs to our games(cheaper chips,booklet, inserts, boxs)

LOL,you are right there.

Personally I couldn't give a shite about blood in any games,it doesnt make games any better just to see some claret being splashed around in a needless fashion.

MY current AES machines are US versions.I have had my debug BIOS chip sat on my shelf for about 5 months and I just can't be arsed to fit it? Why would I need to fit it anyway? The sight of blood in games doesnt give me a hard-on so I don't need to fit it for that reason.And the only other reason I can see for fitting is to get unlimited credits,well who needs to have a game with unlimited credits anyway?If I wanted to play games that I could breeze though in half an hour I would buy me an xbox and book myself in for a lobotomy at the same time.

If all that the whiners on here have to worry about is the lack of blood in games...............I dunno,I give up trying to understand that kind of moronic mentality!

 

[evo7_31]

what's really incredible is the amount of thought, and number of words, that have gone into this blood/boob issue!

 

[BoriquaSNK]

Simply because its a tradition and one made by SNK doesn't necessarily mean its a good thing. Some traditions that they've had should very much be broken IMO, because they're downright dumb.

I really don't think that people are upset over the fact that the game is missing blood, boobs, and guns (I doubt people would complain about adding them if they weren't there to begin with), but more about the attitude SNKP has toward America, thinking we're babies who can't handle a few "offensive" pixels.

It's just an unnecessary argument, its not that they think we're babies...its that they are avoiding a lot of unecessary bullshit from the esrb, remember Zone of the Enders got an M because of the demo it came with? SNKP has no reason to release the games uncensored because people who have the same opinion as you guys are in the minority...most just don't care. It clears a lot of red tape and its much easier to market a T rated game than an M rated game...and seeing as how much horseshit the esrb spits out, you never know.

 

[corbo 2]

I see where your coming from and excuse my arrogant nature and the points in this thread but...

I play the games,personally a tit or some blood isn't stopping me from enjoying a FIGHTING [hence fighting] game where i enjoy nice combos,characters,music and all around SNK-ness.Play the games,not bitch about them...

Sure blood and bounce is how it's supposed be played.But are you really a 'fan' if you boycot the game?

I mean weren't people complaining there wasn't enough ports outside japan for everyone to enjoy?

Christ your jaded,how are the so called 'mainstreamer's' gonna ever play decent games if your whining about a a bit of blood.The games aren't just made for Neo Geo owners to buy you know [whoa breakthough!]

Then you moan when they don't release ports in the US.In my opinion i welcome every game SNKP port as long as it's worthy to the Neo version [so far,many are for the price you pay].

I'll always love SNKP/SNK whatever the platform/region/whatever.I'll quit now...

 

[shir0]

wait, since it's a tradition it should continue?! WTF that is fucking retarded.

No, this thread is fucking retarded.

Just buy the games on the NGH or the MVS and quit
filling up this forum with senseless bullshit.

It's pixelated blood, get over it.

Later

shir0

 

[Syxx573]

While I personally don't care about the editing, it's the fact that they went out of their way to edit the games the the American audiences for no reason.

As far as Samurai Shodown goes... if you take out the blood it will be different story, as it is part of the game, and has always been. But they did not take it out of part 3 for the Playstation back in the dizay, so I don't think that they will when part 5 comes out here.

 

[OmegaSaber]

If you think about it, they're just porting the English version of the games. They aren't retranslating the Japanese releases, they're just bringing out what's already there. Unfortunately what's already there is censored, but they're saving money by simply bringing out as it is language-wise. Sure they could change it with the flip of a setting, but I bet that stuff isn't even on SNKP's mind.

 

[Shinji]

Funny all the king of fighter fans say its all about the gameplay not the graphics when ever they see a ok review on one of there games, but when there is no blood nor boobs they start trash about game like it meant nothing before.

We sould all relize that we sould be thanking playmore for bring back the neo for us, at any time playmore can cut costs to our games(cheaper chips,booklet, inserts, boxs)

Welcome to Neo Geo.com....

WTF SSV HAS COOL NEW GAMEPLAY FEATURES BUT WTF IS UP WITH THE REUSED BACKGROUNDS!!11one

 

[Fygee]

It's just an unnecessary argument, its not that they think we're babies...its that they are avoiding a lot of unecessary bullshit from the esrb, remember Zone of the Enders got an M because of the demo it came with? SNKP has no reason to release the games uncensored because people who have the same opinion as you guys are in the minority...most just don't care. It clears a lot of red tape and its much easier to market a T rated game than an M rated game...and seeing as how much horseshit the esrb spits out, you never know.

Well, the thing is, Guilty Gear XX has more "offensive" material in it than KOF does, and it was completely uncensored and still got a T rating, so I highly doubt KOF would get a M rating if they left it uncensored.

 

[TheBigBB]

A small change in a few aspects of the presentation barely affects the overall game. People who are upset about this should be arguing on principle, not trying to pretend like the game itself is really harmed.

I don't care very much, especially not if the ESRB rating was going to be higher without those changes. The thing that worries me is that some future game might have something that really is substantial taken out... As for Metal Slug and KOF, whatever. I don't notice the difference unless someone points it out to me or I'm thinking about it while I'm playing.

Of course, I have nothing against the fact that some people care. You guys go ahead, argue the point, whatever, just don't blow it out of proportion!

 

[Gai Daigoji]

My question is, will SNK NeoGeo USA Consumer get it right on the second try?

 

[Shinji]

shawn is the viewing.

 

[Tidus Vash]

Shrinking boobs is unfair to Mai.
With that weight gone it throws off her balance.

 

[Abster]

My question is, will SNK NeoGeo USA Consumer get it right on the second try?

Of course not! SNK's love for censoring english releases are only getting started.