Why is HMX so pro-censorship?

[Jglaubman]

we get emails all day long about Cleveland Steamers, goddamn half Japanese girls, riding trains while high on cocaine and Dave Coulier in a theater.

*shakes head*... people are really stupid. This would piss me off so much if I worked for HMX... actually, it does piss me off, and I definitely don't work for HMX.

[Death50]

I have always wonder why the DLC was not uncesnored... it does say Online content and interactions are not rated by the ESRB. But I got over it a long time ago and me and my friends just sing the uncensorded lyrics.

[ClaptonsWig]

There we go - this exactly. We like both our game and our website to be accessible to the largest audience possible, for us a T for Teen rating helps do that. Obviously it follows then that the site subscribes to some of those same rules - we want anyone who visits to feel comfortable posting.

For all of the songs that appear in-game we do work with the artists, their managers, and labels to ensure the artistic integrity of their work - you'll never see a song "censored" to the point of making it vastly different from the original. Rather what you find in-game for some tracks is similar to an edit you might hear on the radio.

Explain "Sir Psycho Sexy"

[Der_Lex]

Sometimes the problem is not even censored songs.
I have played RB2 online with various ages of people, and have come across several instances of them objecting to my picking Aqualung: "My Mom won't let me play that".

Aqualung is not censored, and has no profanity in it, some people object to what they think the lyric is about.

I have no idea how old these players were, but it happened more than once.

And of course the music they picked was death-thrasher metal stuff.

On that note, it still baffles me that Conquer All doesn't get more hate-mail than any of those examples Henry listed. I'd say the type of person that calls for more censorship would really take offense at its content.

[Xzalor]

I think they have a well balanced censorship in Rock Band. I was surprised how in Bad Romance there's a part towards the middle-end where she sings "Walk, Walk, Fashion Baby, Work It, Move that ***** Crazy" repeatedly 3 times and I was happy that they didn't sensor that part but I was also getting some glares from my sister playing with me.

Rock Band is supposed to be an everybody type of game where you can play with your family, friends, alone, or with strangers and have fun doing so. Some people here are making a bigger deal than it should be and need to remember my previous statement. The game is about having fun playing and (with Pro instruments) learning music, not teaching you cuss like a Ghetto Gangster.

The game isn't rated M it's rated T and if you read HMX's posts or the game case itself it says "Rated T for Teen" not "Rated M for Mature".

[huntermc]

The artists whose music is being edited think it's a good idea, otherwise they wouldn't let HMX do it.

That's hardly true. The artists allow it because that's the only way they're going to get their music in the game! If HMX gave them a choice, how many would would actually prefer to release the censored version? In fact, if you gave most artists the choice there would be no radio edits or "clean" wal-mart versions at all - just the songs as they originally intended them to be heard.

[lvmathemagician]

That's hardly true. The artists allow it because that's the only way they're going to get their music in the game! If HMX gave them a choice, how many would would actually prefer to release the censored version? In fact, if you gave most artists the choice there would be no radio edits or "clean" wal-mart versions at all - just the songs as they originally intended them to be heard.

Congratulations, you've just determined that the censored artists are sellouts. Apparently, it's not about the art, but it's about the money.

[grocer]

After reading all this, doesn't Harmonix offer that option with RBN? I mean, if the artist was that dedicated to having their lyrics unaltered, would RBN let them do whatever?

[huntermc]

Congratulations, you've just determined that the censored artists are sellouts. Apparently, it's not about the art, but it's about the money.

No one is calling the artists "sell outs" for trying to make a living with their music - but they are being censored because their only other choice is to not have their music included.

[XPROX182]

There we go - this exactly. We like both our game and our website to be accessible to the largest audience possible, for us a T for Teen rating helps do that. Obviously it follows then that the site subscribes to some of those same rules - we want anyone who visits to feel comfortable posting.

For all of the songs that appear in-game we do work with the artists, their managers, and labels to ensure the artistic integrity of their work - you'll never see a song "censored" to the point of making it vastly different from the original. Rather what you find in-game for some tracks is similar to an edit you might hear on the radio.

Yeah... but the censorship on some songs don't have the emotion that some people want.
For example, on B.Y.O.B. by System of Down, the song says "WHERE THE - ARE YOUUUUUUUU!"
and you know, everyone (including me sometimes) says the F word for fun, get it?