Critics of violent imagery in video games, such as British Member of Parliament
Keith Vaz, have cited games involving rape as an example of why video game content needs to be more strictly regulated.
[4] RapeLay in particular had come to Vaz's attention in 2009, three years after its initial release, as it was sold on
Amazon.com, despite not being officially distributed nor supported outside of Japan, and he vowed to bring the issue into the British Parliament to prevent the game from being sold. Amazon subsequently removed the game from its website.
[5] Equality Now urged activists to write to Illusion and then-
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso in protest, arguing the game breaches Japan's obligations under the 1985
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
[6] In May 2009, these actions culminated in the restriction of the sale and production of
RapeLay by the
Ethics Organization of Computer Software (EOCS), an independent Japanese ratings organization for adult games, making it impossible to purchase the game even in Japan.
[7]
The distribution of
RapeLay has been banned in Australia due to a campaign run by Women's Forum Australia, under the directorship of
Melinda Tankard Reist.
[8][
non-primary source needed]
RapeLay is also the only video game to be effectively banned in Argentina.
[9][10] Citing
RapeLay as an example, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Samuel Alito, in his concurring opinion vis-à-vis the case
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association wrote, "It...appears that there is no antisocial theme too base for some in the video-game industry to exploit."
[11]
Articles in defence have also been written, many noting that rape is considered a lesser crime than murder, yet there are thousands of legal video games in which the goal is to kill enemies.
[12] Illusion's response to the controversy was one of bewilderment and a reiteration that the game passed Japanese laws and is not sold outside Japan.
[6] Illusion later removed references to the game from their website and ceased distribution of the game, citing concerns over the impact on the industry.
[13]