Summary
Today, video games sit at the very top of the entertainment world, with numerous titles appealing to mass audiences across many age demographics. However, video games have also garnered theirfair share of controversy, often raising a moral panic among conservative groups.
Some of the most notorious releases came on the PS2, where some games would find both commercial success and critical acclaim. Sony’s hugely successful console saw video games advance in both technology and complexity, allowing games to reach higher levels of sophistication. With these advancements in technology, games could depict graphic violence and nudity in much higher detail, causing outrage and, sometimes, countrywide bans. While some of these games have fallen into obscurity, others are all-time classics that pushed the boundaries of acceptability in a growing industry.
7BMX XXX
Overtly Sexualized Women on Bikes
The early 2000s saw the widespread success of many extreme sports video games. These fun titles blended the sports, fashion, and music of the time. From the successfulTony Hawkseries to the Rollerblading gameAggressive Inline,these games tapped into the youth culture of the moment.
BMX XXXtook the style, mechanics, and music of these titles while allowing players to create topless female characters to play as. While controversy can often lead to strong sales,BMX XXXfailed to find an audience. The game was criticized for its juvenile humor, poor level design, and lack of innovation. The game was originally developed as part of theDave Mirra Freestyle BMXseries. However, Mirra would eventually disown the title and sue the developers, stating the game damaged his image.
GTADevelopers Rockstar Games would once again receive widespread criticism for this fun open-world game, where players take on the role of a school bully. While the game’s content leaned heavily on humor and exaggerated high school stereotypes, educational and anti-bullying groups criticizedBullybefore its release, stating it glorified bullying.
On release,Bullywould receive strong criticalpraise for its storytellingand characters. The game is fun, silly, and addictive, with players controlling Jimmy Hopkins, a delinquent sent to a new school. Players must navigate the various student groups while participating in classes and performing missions. While the game is far from the controversial title some would claim it to be, it would still be banned in many countries, including Brazil.
TheHitmanseries has become one of the more renowned video game franchises in history, spanning numerous sequels and even a pair of movies.Hitman: Blood Moneywas the fourth installment in the franchise and revolves around Agent 47 as he attempts to take down a rival organization called The Franchise.
Hitman: Blood Moneywas a critical and commercial success and one of the best games in the franchise. However, it would garner controversy during its marketing campaign, with posters that depicted murdered women stamped with clever captions. Many critics considered these in bad taste and claimed they glorified murder.
4Soldier Of Fortune
Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Solider of Fortuneputs players incontrol of U.S. mercenaryJohn Mullins. Together with his partner, he is tasked with stopping a terrorist plot after the terrorist group obtains nuclear weapons. The game takes players around the world, with missions set in New York, Tokyo, and Iraq.
The game caused controversy for its graphic violence that attempted to depict lifelike damage. Enemies have 26 damage zones, with some shots able to destroy limbs and even explode enemy heads. The game stirred further controversy for its brutal depiction of torture.Soldier of Fortunereceived praise for its action and mechanics and was followed by several sequels.
In modern times, Marvel has grown to become a worldwide dominating juggernaut, with even the most obscure heroes becoming household names. However, in 2005, the MCU was not yet established, and their movies were not guaranteed box office hits.
Loosely based on the 2004 movie starring Thomas Jane,The Punisherwas a no-holds-barred action game with Jane returning to the central role. The game follows Frank Castle as he continues his brutal quest against the criminal underworld. The game featuresextreme violence, torture, and gorethat would cause controversy among censors. The UK Board, the BBFC, would censor many of the most graphic moments in the game, which included solarization effects and zoomed cameras to lessen the impact of violent scenes.
GTA 3was a turning point for Rockstar’s controversial landmark series. It turned the popular cult series into a major video game franchise, pushing technology and video game immersion to all new levels. InGTA 3, players control silent protagonist Claude as he navigates a huge open-world city, committing various crimes while escaping the police.
The game moved the series from a top-down perspective to a full 3D-rendered world played in third-person. This allowed players a huge amount of freedom in both exploration and actions. Players are free to cause total mayhem in the game, even killing innocent civilians in mass shootings. Criticism was especially aimed at its depictions of violence against women and prostitutes. While controversial,Grand Theft Auto 3was a groundbreaking release that helped to popularizelarge-scale sandboxvideo games.
Manhuntstands as one of the most controversial games of all time for its graphic depictions of violence and murder. The developers, known for the classicGrand Theft Autoseries, had a long-held reputation for controversial games, but none would garner the criticism ofManhunt.
Set in a fictional city named Carcer City, the game revolves around a man on death row who is forced into a series of murders to create underground snuff films. Players progress through twenty scenesusing stealth mechanicsand various weapons to kill their targets. The game’sruthless depictions of violenceand murder would lead to bans in numerous countries. However, the notoriety ofManhuntreached new levels when it was implicated in a real-life murder by the British media. While UK courts would quickly reject these claims, it ensuredManhunt’s status as a controversial classic.
