Sony has decided not to make a game called Super Seducer available on PlayStation 4, after numerous outlets complained that it was “the world’s sleaziest game,” that it “encourages preying on women,” and that it offers “a masterclass in harassment, not seduction.” Valve, however, will continue to offer the game on Steam.
The game was designed by Richard La Ruina, a controversial pick-up artist who has said that British women are too “entitled” and that Eastern European women are the “most well-behaved.” La Ruina also stars in the game, which is a live-action dating simulator meant to teach men how to approach and seduce women.
Press materials for the game claim that “Richard worked with a dedicated team of women who consulted, critiqued and helped shape every area of the game in order to create a video game simulation that teaches men effective and tasteful techniques to approach and attract women. His intent is for men to learn proper dating decorum—focusing on consent, consideration and fulfilling their expectations.”
However, many reviewers did not agree that the game focused on consent and consideration. Harris O’Malley, a.k.a Dr. Nerdlove over at Kotaku, wrote a review of the game which describes some of the problematic behaviors that it encourages. “It’s not as horrible as it could be,” O’Malley writes. “LaRuina certainly isn’t as bad as toxic personalities like RooshV or Mike Cernovich, but he’s not great either. Much of what he advocates is straight from the old Mystery Method/The Game handbook of 2004 … [including] moments of outright psychological manipulation. Get out of the Friend Zone by subtly talking down her boyfriend while showing how similar you are to him, LaRuina says. Never let a woman know you’re interested in her. Avoid giving women opportunities to say ‘no’ early on. Ask if her boyfriend would let her talk to you as a way to get her to assert her independence by giving you BJs. Keep women from looking at their friends to keep them from using the lull in conversation as an excuse to leave. Lie about where you should go next, so they end up back at your place.”
In addition, as Megan Farokhmanesh at The Verge observes, “throughout Super Seducer’s 10 chapters of seduction scenarios, not one of those includes the option to simply leave a woman alone. In the rare case where you have to walk away from a conversation, it’s considered a failure—a remarkably poor message to send to men who are learning how to interact romantically with women. If there’s one lesson men need to pay more attention to—in the wake of #MeToo, but really at any point in time—it’s knowing when to back off and leave women alone.”
Lastly, as Samantha Cole at Motherboard noted after playing some of the game’s scenarios, “they’re not that outlandish for women who are the targets of this behavior. Many, many women experience any or all of these situations on a daily basis, where a man approaches them and there’s no way out but to placate him or continue an unwanted interaction.”
Kickstarter previously removed Super Seducer‘s crowdfunding campaign from their platform, and La Ruina did expect some backlash to the game. He told the BBC: “I did expect a small segment of the population to take issue with it, just like they might with anything related to dating skills for men.”
Sony hasn’t given any details about their reason for blocking the sale of the game on PlayStation, simply making the statement that Super Seducer “will not be made available.” But based on the reviews, I think we can hazard a guess as to why.
(via BBC; image: Super Seducer)
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