There's no way the subject matter of these games would fly by today's standards. Welcome to MojoPlays, and whether they push the boundaries of what is appropriate, or they’re just the product of a different time, these games would not have made it to release without protests outside the developers building.
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00:00Welcome to Watchmojo and today we are looking at the concepts that wouldn't fly by today's
00:13standards. These are 10 games that would get cancelled today. Whether they push the boundaries
00:18of what is appropriate, or they're just the product of a different time, these games would
00:22not have made it to release without protests outside the developers building.
00:26Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
00:40We start this list with the much beloved Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and it comes in here
00:45for one reason and one reason only. The mission, no Russian. It would have been even worse
00:50had the mission not been remade with relatively minor backlash in 2020. Had the game been
00:54created at this moment in 2024 as an original concept and not a remake we can guarantee
01:00it would not have gone down well with the general public and arguably for good reasons.
01:05Having a mission to require the player to open fire in a crowded airport is rough for
01:09a lot of reasons that I have neither the time or the bravery to go into so this Aussie is
01:13going to opt for not touching this topic and moving on to the next entry.
01:26Bullit
01:33This infamous title developed by the little known developer Rockstar, you've probably
01:37never heard of them, barely made it through its 2006 release. So, imagining this concept
01:42being tackled for the first time in 2024 makes us shudder. As a core concept, the game
01:47paddles into real murky waters. Ignoring all of the things you can get up to that we aren't
01:52even willing to talk about, being able to live out a delinquent fantasy is already a
01:56rough sell, especially given that the majority of anti-videogame protesters try to link videogame
02:01behaviours to real world behaviours. Imagine this game in 2024 with cyber harassment being
02:06an option, it would struggle to make it onto store shelves. Gotcha. This arcade game from
02:16the 70s sat awkwardly in the corner of many arcades for one weird reason, but we'll get
02:21to that in a second. The fairly tame game saw one player chasing down another in a Pong-esque
02:27art style. As the pursuer gets closer to the victim, the music increases causing panic
02:32and laughs with friends. The issue with this game comes from the artwork and the arcade
02:36cabinet itself, which implies it's a man chasing down a woman. The cabinet is famous as it
02:42replaces a joystick with two large breast-like controls. The controls were eventually replaced
02:48with regular joysticks even back in the 70s. Imagine having an arcade cabinet like this
02:53in the corner of an arcade today, that would last 2 days before it was thrown out. Hogs
02:58of War. This worms-like couch co-op game was beloved by a generation, and although
03:09the game is still good fun, the racial commentary is incredibly offensive. The Japanese team
03:15is yellow and called Sushi Swine, the French team is called Garlic Grunts, and the Germans
03:21Sauerkrauts. The voiceovers and impressions done by the voice actors are wildly prejudiced.
03:27It's like a 1940s Bugs Bunny cartoon coming to life in a video game, and by today's standards,
03:32it probably would have had a good run on CNN headlines.
03:40Freedom. Freedom was designed similarly to MECC's earlier educational game The Oregon
03:46Trail, but instead of a highly successful educational game that became a long-living
03:50hit for gaming fans, they created a far too open-ended experience aiming to teach students
03:55about escaping slavery via the Underground Railroad. Developed with the help of an African-American
04:01consultant to ensure historical accuracy, the game was meant to support classroom instruction.
04:06However, in practice, and much like The Oregon Trail, most students played the game independently,
04:11which led to parents demanding its removal, due to concerns over the game's perceived
04:15insensitivities towards the experience of slaves. Although MECC attempted to collaborate
04:21with concerned groups to address these issues, they ultimately decided to withdraw the game,
04:26and that was in the 90s. Imagine it today.
04:30Rogue Warrior. Ah yes, Rogue Warrior, the awful game that
04:41stars Mickey Rourke as a hardened US soldier who infiltrates North Korea to swear as much
04:46as possible and talk about how small Kim Jong Un's penis is. Considering the Seth Rogen
04:51film The Interview almost started World War 3, I wouldn't have high hopes for this game
04:54in today's political climate. The gameplay would get it cancelled among video game enthusiasts,
05:00the swearing would get it cancelled among worried mothers, and the North Korea content
05:03would get it cancelled among nervous politicians. Overall, it would get cancelled.
05:11Manhunt 2. Violence in video games doesn't get you
05:23in so much trouble in 2024, simply because the market is so oversaturated that a violent
05:28video game release happens every other day. But for a mainstream game which features gratuitous
05:33violence for the sake of gratuitous violence, without much substance to give it context,
05:37you can still get a good slap on the wrist. In Manhunt 2, players carry out, let's say
05:42visually explicit executions, categorised as hasty, violent or gruesome.
05:52BMX Triple X. Remember when GTA San Andres nearly got taken
06:04off the market due to players unearthing unused game files which featured a minigame
06:08that allowed players to have sex? Well, two years earlier, this 2002 gem managed to slip
06:14by fairly unnoticed, complete with naked game models and real strip club videos. I'm embarrassed
06:20to say I picked this up with relative ease back in 2002. I was young. Moving on.
06:37JFK Reloaded. Remember one of the most historically significant
06:47presidential assassinations of all time? Remember how it rocked a nation and reverberated
06:52emotions the world over? Well, in JFK Reloaded, players take on the role of Lee Harvey Oswald
06:59as he assassinates the US President John F. Kennedy. The game faced heavy criticism for
07:04its controversial subject matter, with a spokesman for Senator Ted Kennedy calling it despicable.
07:10A game that recreates the assassination of a president might stir outrage if released
07:14today, and there's no way it would be accepted.
07:43Conker's Bad Fur Day. One of the most beloved and enjoyed N64 games
08:04comes in the form of Conker's Bad Fur Day, a classic by all accounts which features a
08:10good amount of misogyny, homophobia and misogyny. Did I mention misogyny? By today's standards,
08:16some of the jokes might be considered tasteless, even through the lens of nostalgia. Not every
08:20moment in this game lands with players in 2024. Drinking, swearing, prejudice all wrapped
08:26up in what looks like a kids game. I'm not sure if publishers would let that fly today,
08:31or at the very least they would market it clearly as an adult game. Anyways, I'm gonna
08:36go play Conker's Bad Fur Day now.