Following much debate regarding the removal of pornographic images from Dead Rising Deluxe, Capcom has released a statement regarding the removal of pornographic images. The statement comes from the Dead Rising Deluxe development team and provides some insight into Capcom’s decision not to include the feature in the Deluxe Remastered, with the company arguing that it is not a proper reward for survival, nor a skill required for a journalist like Frank. The statement reads:
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“When developing Dead Rising Deluxe, we went to great lengths to create a game that would delight longtime fans while appealing to newcomers. As development progressed, we inevitably found that we couldn’t include everything from the original game. In the case of the Porn Points system, we discussed it at length and made the decision to remove it; not in response to the changing cultural climate, but because we didn’t feel it was necessary to build on top of it to create a reward points system.
“Also, given Frank’s situation, this is not an appropriate reward for survival, nor is it a skill a journalist would need to try to survive the next 72 hours during a zombie apocalypse. However, players still have the freedom to choose the subject of their photos, and even if they will not receive points for it, they can decide which photos to take to represent their journey.”
As such, there are still points for the photography section in Dead Rising Deluxe, it’s just that photos that were categorized as pornographic in the original game will not receive points. For those who aren’t familiar with the original photojournalistic approach, Frank can trigger one of several photo categories – Brutal, Drama, Bloopers, Horror, and Pornographic. This applies to both the original and the 2016 re-release. Categories are attached to each photo based on its content – so a snapshot of a zombie’s head exploding will be tagged as Brutal, while a beautiful moment of humanity between two survivors might trigger the Drama category.
With the removal of the pornographic photo type, you will lose one of the categories. You used to be able to earn porn points by taking photos of scantily clad survivors and zombies. With the removal of the pornographic photo type, the in-game incentive for players to take such photos will also be gone. However, as stated in the announcement, you can still do so if you wish.
The reason for including morally corrupt photography in Dead Rising is more than just a fun hobby for Frank. It’s a comment on the dehumanizing nature of Frank’s tabloid photo hunts – separating you from the horrific nature of your actions through a slick points system. In your quest for high-scoring photos, you as the player often give little thought to the filthy stuff you’re photographing – including pornography. This was one of the main criticisms of the removal of pornography from Dead Rising Deluxe, which diminished the strong impact of the feature and its significance to the game’s themes.
Again, even without the porn category, the message is still there. There’s still a sequence in the first few minutes of the game where Frank flies by in a helicopter, filming various horrors happening over the Willamette, and he acts a lot like the vultures that criticize this kind of photojournalism.
An early mission in the game where a rival photographer asks you to take a high-quality erotic photo has also been tweaked – the photographer now asks you to take a behind-the-scenes photo. Many of the game’s more interesting elements remain the same – including how taking a photo of an older woman sitting with her crotch visible will be marked as a horror type photo with a large circle highlighting her crotch.
I want to end this news with a quote from Alex Donaldson, who previewed the game. “What I can tell you for sure, though, is this: Regardless of the cuts I’ve seen so far, Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered lives up to its name and feels like a deluxe edition of one of the best games ever made, preserving the original’s unique atmosphere, pace, and feel while making it more accessible to audiences in 2024.”
Dead Rising: Deluxe Remastered will be released on September 19th and will be released on 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 in Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered: Voice Acting!
