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Google removes Doki Doki Literature Club! from the Play Store (www.engadget.com)
submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Google has removed popular psychological horror game Doki Doki Literature Club! from the Play Store. According to Dan Salvato, who led its development team, and publisher Serenity Forge, Google told them the visual novel was removed because it violated its Terms of Service in its depiction of sensitive themes. The game is “widely celebrated for portraying mental health in a way that meaningfully connects deeply with players around the world,” they said in their announcement. Its free version, which came out first, has been downloaded at least 30 million times, while the paid “Plus” version has had at least one million downloads. The visual novel has repeatedly made Engadget’s lists of favorite games over the years.

**alternative download link you can download it from https://com-serenityforge-dokidokiliteratureclub.en.uptodown.com/android/download

Don't know if it is trustworthy though.

You play download the PC version officially from steam, only android was removed: https://store.steampowered.com/app/698780/Doki_Doki_Literature_Club/ **

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[–] 105 points 5 months ago (15 children)

I've seen shit on X far worse than the shit in Doki Doki in literally every way possible. Why is their app still available for download? Fuck you, Google.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    I mean, if they ban twatter, poor pedos loose the ability to conveniently generate csam, and pedos are pretty much a (the?) protected minority nowadays. Arguably, also applies to nazis, but assuming they can read is a stretch, so they can simply use any note taking app instead

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  • [+] -55 points 5 months ago (12 children)

    X == Google. Definitely how it works.

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  • [–] 45 points 5 months ago*

    No. X is an app that's a sizable on google Play. If they are banning dokindoki, why not ban X, which has far worse shit?

    That's what they meant. is the one doing the banning, so it makes sense to criticise it even if they are not the owners of X. Reading comprehension.

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  • [–] 11 points 5 months ago (9 children)

    The very same app that almost got removed from Google Play (and Apple's App Store) for ToS violations such as planning to disable account blocking functionality?

    Yes, that is indeed how it works.

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  • [+] -33 points 5 months ago (8 children)
    [removed by mod]
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  • [–] 24 points 5 months ago* (5 children)

    Please explain why you think CSAM, gore, and revenge porn aggregator X is the entire internet and try to do it without being arrested

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  • [+] -34 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    As much as Lemmy 🤷‍♂️

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  • [–] 23 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    Knew you couldn’t. I hope you know some real people who haven’t cut you out of their lives yet

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago

    Why are you talking about the internet as a whole when the context is apps on the play store, a (extremely poorly but yet) curated subset?

    No one is talking about banning X as a whole. Well, you, since you misunderstood apparently.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago*

    You forgot an “/s” because yes that is a fair criticism toward google.

    Banning this game under that logic would be just as dumb as banning most of the internet and if their rules where enforced consistently then that is what they should do.

    But the contextual key here is that they should keep the game on their store and maintain consistently enforced guidelines of what is actually not allowed.

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    • [–] 75 points 5 months ago

    Its Play listing was appropriately marked as “Mature 17+,” which means that children won’t be able to download it if their devices have parental controls. In addition, the developers clearly communicate that the game tackles serious issues. "This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed" is the first line of the game.

    Looks like the developers and publisher did everything right. Play has a ton of games where you kill people. Google's inconsistency shines again.

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    [–] 51 points 5 months ago

    And yet X, the child porn generator app, gets a free pass.

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    [–] 34 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    If anyone is wondering, you can get the base version of this game free on steam.

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    • [+] 23 points 5 months ago* (last edited 1 week ago)
    [deleted]
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    [–] 23 points 5 months ago

    So it begins

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    [–] 19 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    Streisand Effect incoming. I for one heard of it but thought it was a run of the mill JRPG. Think I'll check it out now.

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    • [–] 13 points 5 months ago

    This is why they want to remove installing apps from third parties. To control you more.

    I'm running Graphene OS. Fuck Google.

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    [–] 11 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    because it violated its Terms of Service in its depiction of sensitive themes.

    This rule can't be legal for a gatekeeper.

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    • [–] 9 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    I wonder if FEX (Valve's X86 to ARM conversion software) could run this now on an android phone. The game's freely distributed on PC, so it should be easy to test.

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    • [–] 5 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    Can anyone who played on android explain how you "win" when

    spoilerthere are no system files to delete?

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    • [–] -2 points 5 months ago

    After the recent judgments against Meta, it was predicted that there would be a crackdown on mental health topics. DDLC has been connected to a suicide in the UK.

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