Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Boycott

Rock Paper Shotgun has a story about the contents of Yakuza Kiwami 3: Dark Ties that is frankly disgusting.

"Kanda, upon discovering he doesn’t have enough cash to buy time with a sex worker, grabs an unsuspecting woman in the street and drags her off to an alley. Mine finds him gripping the terrified woman by the wrists. As part of Kanda and Mine’s arrangement, the former tasks you with leading a PR campaign to boost his reputation in the community, via a minigame dubbed "Kanda Damage Control"."

I was going to delay buying Yakuza 3 Kiwami and play it ten years down the road for Dark Ties. But, I can't even stomach this. Not just as a woman who experienced sexual assault herself, but as a decent human being. 

This is more than tone deaf considering the controversy surrounding Teruyuki Kagawa. He sexually assaulted at least two hostesses. He admitted to the first and was caught on camera for the second. There has been a boycott for this game since Kagawa was announced to be playing Goh Hamazaki in Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Dies and Ryu Ga Gotoku and Sega have not handled it well. They have been limiting, filtering, and removing posts protesting the recasting, supporting the hostesses, and carrying the #REMOVEKAGAWA hashtag on social media.

There is a petition on change.org to replace Kagawa, but in light of the blood-curdling sick minigame it is just not enough.

I don't know why anyone would think this is OK. If this game goes out without any real backlash, I'm going to quit playing Ryu Ga Gotoku games altogether. I'm sure everyone here knows how big a fan of the series I am, but this is just beyond creepy and misogynistic - it makes me sick, metaphorically and literally. I'm sitting here with a pit in my stomach just typing this.

I Will Only Purchase Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Used and Won't Review Them for 10 Years or Until Teruyuki Kagawa Is Replaced

Teruyuki Kagawa, the new actor for Goh Hamazaki in Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Dies sexually assaulted two hostesses. The first hostess to be known to the public was sexually assaulted by Kagawa in July 2019. He released two apologies for this, the second after he was criticized for the first. He lost roles and sponsorships but his career has bounced back. The hostess, who understandably hasn't released her real name to the public for her own safety, now has post-traumatic stress disorder.

Unfortunately, I know all about sexual assault firsthand and the trauma never goes away. It has been nearly four decades for me now, and I still have to take medication at night to avoid night terrors. 

The second hostess came forward on December 27, 2022 with incriminating photographic evidence of her sexual assault by Kagawa. Despite the photographic proof, not only did he not apologize, but he also sent her a notice stating that she was taking advantage of the report of assault of the first hostess and was overstating the severity of the situation. He also had the gall to state the sexual assault was "past the statute of limitations anyway".

The deeply troubling part of the replacement of George Takahashi with Kagawa as the actor for Goh Hamazaki is that Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have been limiting, filtering, and removing posts protesting the recasting, supporting the hostesses, and carrying the #REMOVEKAGAWA hashtag on social media.

As a big fan of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and the Like a Dragon series, I am especially saddened by this. Japan has always had a misogynistic view towards women, but the studio is usually quite progressive when it comes to portraying hostesses in a good light and showing those who sexually assault these women as sex pests. This apparently doesn't extend into the real world. 

It's doubly galling due to the fact that Pierre Taki was quickly replaced by Miou Tanaka as the actor portraying Kyohei Hamura in Judge Eyes, the Japanese version of Judgment, due to alleged cocaine use. However, Kagawa admitted to sexual assaulting one hostess and was caught on camera sexually abusing another, but the studio and its parent company have remained silent.

As I stated in my other protest posts, I founded WE Computers Museum, which is all about the preservation of all computer software, so it will definitely have the game at some point. However, I have decided to only buy it for the museum used at Goodwill so no profits on my purchase go directly to Sega. 

As I've been linking the museum and this blog together on game pages, I will likely review it at some point as well. However, I have decided to impose a ten-year period after they release before I review it, unless Kagawa is replaced. I'm doing this to limit any impact this site may have, as little as it would be, on the sales of the games.

Please support the women who work in Japan's nightlife industries. It is dangerous work and they deserve to be treated with dignity. Join the #REMOVEKAGAWA movement on social media and sign the petition to replace Kagawa on Change.org.

I Will Not Review SNK Games Until The Company Is Sold

As I said with Hogwarts Legacy and Atomic Heart, I won't review games due to anti-LGBT actions and support for murderous regimes. This policy is now going to apply to SNK games as well. My reasons are in the Mastodon toot listed below, minus the hashtags.

SNK is majority controlled by the non-profit owned by Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

I won't review SNK games until if and when it is sold to another party.

MBS regime arrests LGBT people, murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and throws money on entertainment to distract.

As I said prior, I founded WE Computers Museum which is all about the preservation of all computer software, so it will definitely have them at some point. However, I have decided to only buy them for the museum used from Goodwill since they are LGBTQIPA+ inclusive.  I recommend everyone do so as well.

I Will Only Purchase Hogwarts Legacy and Atomic Heart Used from the Trans-Supportive Goodwill and Won't Review Them for 10 Years

Sorry about the long title, but I wanted to make sure my policy comes through on all of the feeds from this blog. The title sums up my position, but I'll go into detail by re-posting the comments I made on Mastodon about the games.

I won't buy Hogwarts Legacy new. My reasons are in the Mastodon toot listed below, minus the hashtags.

The main reasons I've heard to buy Hogwarts Legacy are that J.K. Rowling isn't directly involved, she won't get much from sales and she'll be a wealthy TERF with a big megaphone regardless.

But, some of her money goes to people opposing laws to ban conversion therapy for trans people. I don't want my money anywhere near that.

If I'm offered a review code, I'm going to refuse it. I plan to wait and get it used from Goodwill as they're trans-supportive. I recommend everyone else do so as well.

I also won't buy Atomic Heart new. My reasons are in the Mastodon toot listed below, minus the hashtags. 

Atomic Heart is a no-buy for me since this game is said to be Russian propaganda with Kremlin involvement.

It is telling that the developer, Mundfish, hasn't denied it despite being asked directly.

Russia is in the middle of an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the genocide of the Ukrainian people. It is also guilty of human rights violations against LGBT people.

The composer of Atomic Heart, Mick Gordon, was caught off-guard, though. He's donating his fee to the Red Cross Ukraine fund.

I founded WE Computers Museum which is all about the preservation of all computer software, so it will definitely have them at some point. However, I have decided to only buy them for the museum used from Goodwill since they are trans-inclusive. 

As I've been linking the museum and this blog together on game pages, I will likely review them at some point as well. However, I have decided to impose a ten-year period after they release before I review them. I'm doing this to limit any impact this site may have, as little as it would be, on the sales of the games.