[friendlybus]

Hatred came out in 2015, and was effectively banned in some regions. A true test on this topic will never happen in the public, Adults Only rated-games only get so far.

"Mike Splechta of GameZone questioned the game's timing and how it could become the "next scapegoat" in a climate that already held video games responsible for school shootings and other violence."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatred_(video_game)#Reception

[dleslie]

The thing with Hatred is that it isn't all that good of a game; so it doesn't make for compelling critical analysis of social response. It has detractors but lacks many supporters, and so it was easily swept aside.

Presently we are seeing significant alarm raised by media over the content, not bugs, within Cyberpunk 2077; accusations have been raised by major outlets that it includes bias in support of law enforcement, a transphobic setting, and bog standard sexism.

But despite its severe bugs and missing features, it's enjoyed three solid weeks as a top seller on Steam and easily made back its expenses through PC pre-orders. For all the flak it gets, the game has an enormous and happy fanbase.

What I see happening is a bifurcation in game players: those who reject the gamer label and reject moral terpitudes, and those who embrace the gamer label and tolerate or enjoy moral terpitude.

I expect that in ten years we'll see an industry with healthy diversity in players and content; divided into their separate groups and with stores that have adapted to cater to specific groups.

A hundred years ago there was the Bay and Sears, and now those have been superseded by a large variety of clothing vendors. I don't expect to buy a cardigan and leather bdsm mask in the same store, right?