After a heated debate over the removal of pornographic photos from the Deluxe Remastered Edition of Dead Rising, Capcom has released a statement regarding the removal of pornographic photos. This statement from the Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered development team provides some insight into Capcom’s decision not to include the feature in the Deluxe Remastered version, which the company felt was not an appropriate reward for survival or a required skill for players. Journalist for Frank Post. The statement reads as follows:
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“When developing Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered, we worked hard to create a game that would both please core fans and attract new players. As development progressed, we inevitably found that we couldn’t include everything from the original game . As far as the erotic point system goes, we discussed it at length and decided to remove it; not so much in response to changing cultural climate, but because we felt there was no need to build a reward point system on top of it.
“Furthermore, given Frank’s situation, this is not an appropriate reward for survival, nor is it the skill set a reporter would need to try to survive the next 72 hours in a zombie apocalypse. However, players still have the freedom to choose their subjects. , even though they won’t earn points, it’s up to them to decide which photos to take to represent their journey.
So, there are still credits in the photography section of Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered, it’s just that you won’t get any photos containing what the original game classified as erotic themes. For those unfamiliar with the original photojournalism approach, Frank can trigger one of several photo categories: Brutal, Drama, Outdoor, Horror, and Porn. This is true for both the original version and the 2016 re-release. Each photo will be categorized based on its content, so a moment when a zombie’s head explodes would be labeled the Brutal genre, while a beautiful moment of humanity between two survivors might trigger the Drama genre.
When you remove the porn photo type, you lose one of the categories. In the past, you could earn porn points for photos of scantily clad survivors and zombies. With its removal, the in-game encouragement for players to take such shots disappears. However, as the statement points out, you can still do so if you wish.
The reason for including morally bankrupt photography in Dead Rising isn’t just a fun side activity for Frank to do. It’s a commentary on the dehumanizing nature of Frank’s tabloid photo hunt—a slick points system that separates you from the horrific nature of your actions. In the search for high-scoring photos, you as a player often give little thought to the nasty stuff you’re taking – including pornographic stuff. This was the crux of one of the main criticisms of the removal of sexual content from Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered, which diluted the punch of the feature and what it meant to the game’s themes.
Then again, even without the erotica category, the message is still there. There’s still a sequence in the first few minutes of the game where Frank flies over in a helicopter, filming various gruesome scenes taking place over the Willamette, acting very much like a vulture detractor of this type of photojournalism might call him.
An early mission in the game in which a rival photographer asked you to take a high-quality porn-type photo has also been tweaked – the photographer now requires you to take an outside photo. Many of the game’s other more cheeky elements remain unchanged, including how a photo of an older woman sitting in a position with her crotch visible is labeled as horror-genre, with her crotch highlighted by a large circle.
I’ll end this news with a comment from Alex Donaldson, who has previewed the game. “What I can tell you for certain, though: No matter what deletions I’ve seen so far, Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered lives up to its name and feels like the luxurious glow of one of the best games ever made. Preserving the uniqueness of the original tone, pace and feel, while making it more accessible to 2024 audiences.
Dead Rising: Deluxe Remastered was released on September 19th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
If you want to learn more about Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered, Alex also wrote an article about one of the best new features of Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered: voice acting!
