Loyal readers of Breitbart Tech will recall our coverage of the Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 debacle. The game, which features scantily clad women playing beach volleyball, was due to not receive an American release as publisher Koei Tecmo attempted to head-off the inevitable backlash to the game’s titillating content.
Citing what they described as “SJW nonsense,” online retailer Play Asia pledged to sell an English-language version of the game in North America. The game that might otherwise have gone largely unnoticed found itself at the centre of a heated debate about censorship.
Play Asia’s brash response was a red rag to some SJW types who started the inevitable talks about a boycott of Play Asia services, as if they ever used them to begin with. These included Tonight Show writer Mike Drucker, game critic Nathan Cocks, and, of course, Kotaku editor Luke Plunkett.
Proving the Streisand Effect to be a very real phenomenon, their squawking only served to increase both interest in the game and support for Play Asia. As Breitbart reported, Play Asia’s Twitter followers increased from 9,000 before the controversy to sitting at over 25,000 as of today. And to top it off, pre-orders for the English-dubbed version of DoAX3 have gone through the roof, so much so that Play Asia have now been able to significantly reduce the price for others interested in purchasing the game.
In a statement on the Play Asia website, they announced that they would be reducing the cost of the game from $72.99 to $59.99 on the PS4 for all pre-orders. Customers who have already placed orders shall be automatically refunded the difference. Play Asia directly attributed the move as being a direct result of the sheer volume of pre-orders.
As a response to the outpouring of support for both Play-Asia.com and the uncensored release of the upcoming PS4 & PS Vita title Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 we have been working to drastically reduce the price of pre-orders. As a result we have adjusted our prices for all versions of DOAX3, including the Collector’s Editions and PS4 & PS Vita Saikyou Pack! We hope that by passing on the savings to our loyal customers we are able to show a small token of our appreciation for the continued support of the gaming community.
In one final goading of the SJW types who had done so much to try and suppress the sale of the game, they added:
Play-Asia.com has, and will continue to be, about bringing the global gaming community together – a philosophy that we have always been very proud of. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you, as well as reiterate our dedication to providing the products our customers want, no matter where they are in the world.