SONY has blocked the Western release of an 'adult' role-playing game that saw the player undress schoolgirls and fondle their breasts while on a quest for the holy grail.
The game's putative Western publisher, PQube, confirmed that the release in all formats had been cancelled "permanently" due to "the wishes of the platform holder [Sony]".
Physical sales of the game were banned in the UK in March when the Video Standards Council deemed it "unacceptable to the majority of UK consumers". They objected to its "setting within a 'school' environment", saying it "clearly promotes the sexualisation of children via the sexual interaction between the game player and the female characters."
The VSC also decided that the 18-rated Omega Labyrinth Z could cause "significant harm" to the "moral development of younger people".
The game was released for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita in August of 2017 in Japan, and was subsequently released in other Asian markets. Despite its ban from UK release, it can still be bought from import sites.
Omega Labyrinth Z sees the player take on the role of a number of students at Anberyl Girls Academy, on a quest for the "Holy Grail" in an "orthodox roguelike RPG". Players fight through procedurally generated dungeons, with all progress being reset on death or leaving the dungeon.
Rather than gathering experience points as one might in a more conventional game, you gather “Omega Power” which "gathers in the chest", the developer says, "and the more you collect, the bigger the girls’ chests gradually become."
The game also features "Exploding Breasts Mode". The developer proudly trumpets that unlike the previous iteration where cup size was limited to K, this entry in the franchise features “Z Chest Mode.” In this mode "your bust size immediately becomes Z-cup and your stats are significantly enhanced."
The controversial aspects come through mini-games which feature "frequent female sexual nudity, eroticisation and sexual innuendo", according to the VSC.
"The player is required," the VSC says, "to sexually arouse the female characters by touching their intimate areas via a touch screen or by using the analogue thumb sticks."
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The VSC also took exception to the "hot-spring mini-game", which is optional but does cure player character's ailments and increases their breast size. This minigame "allows the player to fondle the girls’ breasts" and contains no other interaction.
There is no other interaction in these scenes. Before starting the scene, the player can select which female they wish to interact with and choose their breast size. For taking part in this optional mini-game the characters are cured of all ailments and receive stat boosts.
Successful completion of mini-games result in characters "losing most of their clothing, revealing partially nude bodies obscured by objects/effects," according to the US ratings board, which rated the game as suitable for those 17 and older.
The game is explicit in its setting within a “school” environment and the majority of the characters are young girls - one child is referred to as being a “first year” student and is seen holding a teddy bear. The game clearly promotes the sexualisation of children via the sexual interaction between the game player and the female characters. The style of the game is such that it will attract an audience below the age of 18.
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