Japanese players in Forza Horizon 6 have been facing a mass ban wave for creating "itasha" car designs (in Japanese car culture, "itasha" refers to placing anime-style liveries on cars), and they have reported that they are not happy about it in the slightest, noting that it disrespects Japanese car culture. When your open-world driving game is set in Japan, this is a very bad hole to go down.
While obviously there's the potential for some inappropriate or perhaps even illegal liveries to be made (itasha or otherwise), the automated system has reportedly been banning users for non-explicit itasha liveries, and players also comment that itasha liveries have been part of the Horizon games since the start. Actually, in any racing game that has a livery editor, you will almost assuredly find some itasha liveries.
Since the categorization for what counts as too inappropriate has a lot of leeway and lack of clarity, and the general stigma against anime that still exists in spite of its acceptance for several decades, the automated system has essentially weaponized itself against anime-style artwork. Playground Games, the creator of the Forza Horizon series has yet to release any statement regarding the controversy.
Some angry comments from Japanese players are as follows:
NOTE: The original comments are in Japanese. What you're reading here are those comments translated to English via Google Translate.
Quote From Maguro Maznaga Here’s what’s currently happening in Forza Horizon 6:
"Itasha" (anime-style livery) painters are being hit with mass hardware bans; while some actually violated the terms of service, the vast majority were just standard Itasha designs. The people filing the reports appear to be the same group as last time, seemingly using macros to mass-report and force hardware bans. What’s more, it’s not just the painters getting banned—there are cases where players were banned simply for taking photos of these Itasha designs and sharing them in-game.
There are even instances where players were banned after the developers personally inspected internal data for works-in-progress—specifically looking at elements that might appear "nude" (such as rough sketches or the process of shaping body lines). In other words, you could potentially get banned just for having a work-in-progress file in your possession.
It’s a case of incredibly sloppy and aggressive content policing currently playing out in the game.
What are they going to do about this?
Quote From Hosea I've been quietly playing games for 10 years since creating my Steam account, and my first review is a low rating for FH6. I thought that the store page rating might affect future sales, so I did what I could for the community, however small. I also voted in every single one I saw on the feedback portal. *The Japanese version is rp (By the way, when I was writing the review at 2 AM yesterday, it was still fairly well-received, but I witnessed the moment it became controversial after I posted it. I really think writing reviews is effective.)
Not recommended.
I’ve been gaming for over 15 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever written a review. I simply cannot tolerate this outrageous reporting and enforcement system any longer.
If you love Japanese car culture, do not buy this game. You will regret it.
1. They show absolutely no respect for the very culture they used to sell the game.
"Itasha" (cars decorated with anime/manga/game characters) have always been a standard part of the Horizon series. It was peaceful; it was normal. Yet, in this installment—set in Japan, the birthplace of Itasha—they have become targets for punishment. They exploit the culture when it suits their sales, only to trample all over it in practice. That kind of arrogance is unacceptable.2. The worst reporting and banning system I’ve ever seen. Playground Games—based in the UK, naturally.
Permanent device bans with no warning. All for simply putting an anime character on a car. It’s hitting everyone: the creators, the people just driving the cars, and even those who hadn't even made their designs public.
That’s right—they’re even looking at unpublished data while you’re still editing it.
Who would keep sharing their designs with that kind of threat hanging over their heads?
Meanwhile, cheaters posting impossible lap times are left alone for months, marked merely as "under investigation." Typical.
3. It’s not fun as a game.
Before, I used to fire it up whenever I had some free time just to drive my favorite cars. Since the purge of livery creators, I only log in on days when the playlist updates—just two hours a week. And those two hours feel exactly like being forced to go to work.
I’ll say it again: if you care about Japanese car culture, don’t buy this game. You’ll only be disappointed.
Are you playing Forza Horizon 6? Has this ban affected you? Let us know in the comments below.
Leave a Comment