Online retail giant takes Japanese rape computer game off market

ONLINE retail giant Amazon has taken from its virtual shelves a Japanese computer game that lets players simulate raping girls.

The video game, called RapeLay, being hawked on Amazon by a third-party merchant, was deemed inappropriate after it was brought to Amazon’s attention Wednesday night.

According to game review site Giant Bomb, RapeLay is a “molestation simulation that allows you to terrorise a woman and her two teenage daughters, with events ranging from groping on a train to gang rape and forced abortions”.

“We determined that we did not want to be selling this particular item,” Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith said.

The RapeLay game was created exclusively for the Japanese market but a few copies were offered on Amazon by a US seller specialising in animated Japanese pornography.

The computer game maker Illusion studio, based in Japan, posts a notice on its website that its products are specifically for domestic users.

“As we say on the website, we don’t sell the products overseas because of the rating problem, and I cannot possibly comment on the report from San Francisco,” said a spokes- man for the company in Yokohama, near Tokyo.

“We believe there is no problem with the software, which has cleared the domestic ratings of an ethics watchdog body,” he said.

The game was released in 2006. Other titles from the studio include Battle Raper and Artificial Girl.

RapeLay, which was released in 2006, encourages players to force the virtual woman they rape to have an abortion.

It also has a feature allowing several players to team up against individual women.

The Belfast Telegraph reported that Labour MP Keith Vaz said he was shocked by the Amazon listing and planned to raise the issue in Parliament.

Mr Vaz told the paper: “It’s intolerable that anyone would purchase a game that simulates the criminal offence of rape.

“To know that this is widely available through a major online retailer is utterly shocking.

“I will be raising this matter in Parliament and hope that action is taken to prevent the game from being sold.”