As with classic films like “Gone with the Wind” and Disney’s “Dumbo,” video games now apparently need to include sensitivity disclaimers so that frail leftists can be aware the world wasn’t always as great as it is today.
Players booting up their copy of Capcom’s “Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection,” an anthology of games released from 2001-2005, were greeted by a disclaimer about supposedly insensitive content that could possibly offend them. “Capcom values diversity and inclusivity within its games and its community,” begins the disclaimer, clearly trying to insulate the company that made the game against the ubiquitous accusations of racism these days. “Please be aware the games in this collection may contain some cases of insensitive cultural depictions that are presented as originally created to preserve their authenticity.”
This happens every time you turn the game on, and there’s seemingly no way to disable it. Just what I wanted! A lecture every single time I want to play my game. And I even got to pay $60 for the privilege.
There are two things I want to address here. The first is a sense of bewilderment. The Battle Network series was one of Younger Doug’s favorite games growing up. I played it all the way through probably 10 times, and I’m legitimately wracking my brain to think of anything that could possibly be considered offensive enough that it would warrant this disclaimer. To briefly highlight what the game is about, you play as a kid who has what’s basically a special AI that fights computer viruses and other AIs, and each AI is kind of an over-the-top personification of some concept.
For example, there’s Woodman, and he’s a giant tree. Or Sharkman, who’s a giant shark. I always liked Bowlman because he was a giant bowling pin, and even as a kid, I thought that was stupidly hilarious.
But the point is the series was pretty goofy and was over the top when it came to pretty much everything. No one culture was ever singled out as particularly egregious. It was pretty obvious that the game wasn’t taking itself too seriously. I guess what some people are maybe offended by is how certain foreign cultures are heightened — like one of the AIs is called Tomahawkman, and he’s got a headdress and a giant ax. But does that really require a disclaimer?
Have we gotten to the point where anything that isn’t completely PC has to get a trigger warning, otherwise, some overly sensitive liberal is going to have a heart attack? I mean, I guess we are, but it just seems so minor that I’m shocked a major company felt the need to address it.
And the way they addressed it needs some examination, too, because while some are arguing that at least they didn’t remove content and that it could have been worse, I think it’s nuts that we’re patting Capcom on the back for pushing this crap at all. I’m sorry, I’m supposed to say, “at least they didn’t censor the game, so I should take the little victories?”
That’s insane; refusing to censor a game should be the bare minimum. I’m not going to congratulate a company for not butchering their old classics with wokeness!
And in what way does celebrating this disclaimer make companies any less likely to not censor or include leftist propaganda in the future? If Capcom sees that gamers are content to have DEI nonsense in their games every time they boot it up, and we’re willing to accept that as a compromise with the radical left, they’re gonna keep doing it or go further to appease the mob.
This is not something to be happy about. This is not a win for gamers. This is the radical left taking an inch before they take the whole mile.
Old games don’t need to be contextualized or preempted by a warning. Anyone who this disclaimer is trying to appease is going to find a reason to be offended anyway, so why even bother? Just present the games as they were; no commentary or disclaimer is needed.
And my ideologically aligned fellow gamers, don’t celebrate this. It’s not a good thing. Frankly, saying Capcom did the right thing here makes you look like a Clownman.
Douglas Blair is a producer and special correspondent with “O’Connor Tonight” on the Salem News Channel.
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