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Idea Factory Int'l President: 'We Don't Want to Censor Anymore'

In an interview with the Operation Rainfall website, Idea Factory International (IFI) President Haru Akenaga stated that certain views on the sexualization of women in video games in the West have "stopped us from localizing certain Compile Heart games." Akenaga added, "We don't want to censor anymore because we know that's not true to the original developed art."

On the question of whether or not IFI will begin releasing English-subtitled titles in Asia more often, as it did with Moe Chronicle, Akenaga answered that "we could start seeing that more in Asia, but maybe we should do something to change in the West in the future. Anyway, we just don't want to censor anymore."

Idea Factory International announced earlier this week that its updated Steam release of Compile Heart's Monster Monpiece PlayStation Vita game will include all of the original artwork featured in the Japanese release of the game. The company had censored the PS Vita release in North America and Europe. The Steam version is slated for spring 2016.

Last month, a community manager for developer Team Ninja implied in a Facebook post that the decision to not publish Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 in the West was due to "many issues happening in video game industry with regard to how to treat female in video game industry."

Idea Factory International is the international publishing branch of Japanese game developer and publisher Idea Factory. Its Compile Heart subsidiary develops the Hyperdimension Neptunia series of games. IFI released Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 3: V Century in North America on June 30, and in Europe on July 3, as the most recent of the games in the series. Idea Factory released Compile Heart's Megadimension Neptunia VII for the PlayStation 4 in Japan on April 23. A Western release for the game is planned for early 2016.

[Via Niche Gamer]