Two different things bugged me about this: The performative cringing over furry/scalie content is really disappointing. Her talking in a concerned voice about stigma in video games shortly after...
Two different things bugged me about this:
The performative cringing over furry/scalie content is really disappointing. Her talking in a concerned voice about stigma in video games shortly after showing how she's supporting certain stigmas is sad. I'm not part of the furry scene, but targeting them for ridicule is just shameful.
She seems to frame everything as sinister, but it just seems like the site is clever with their publishing, marketing, and investment acquisition and in doing so became successful? I recognize that women have a really fine line to walk, especially regarding talking publicly about anything involving sex, but the way she simultaneously focuses on and disavows the salacious nature of the site just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe there's no other way to talk about sex media as a woman that avoids being pigeonholed in the future? I dunno.
Being a translator of primarily hentai games and manga like these, I ended up knowing many women who work in the field who are very open online both about their gender and their involvement in the...
Exemplary
Being a translator of primarily hentai games and manga like these, I ended up knowing many women who work in the field who are very open online both about their gender and their involvement in the this industry. It may not seem like it but for the most part we're all just people doing the job they pay us to do, and most of our customers aren't anything more than that.
As far as I know most don't get harassed specifically for their involvement in the hentai industry. If anything, and this is more a personal anecdote thing because of my specific line of work, they're more often harassed for how they localize certain words/terms (if I had a cent for every time I heard the word woke thrown around at us I'd honestly have a livable wage).
So seeing the author of this video be so blatantly dismissive of companies like nutaku, who have existed for ages without harm mind you (I was there when they were first formed and didn't have a partnership with DMM yet, and I knew several translators who ended up selling their work to them), also really rubs me the wrong way.
Nutaku and others like it are just part of an industry like any other providing a product that has a lot of demand. I certainly won't deny there are problematic aspects to it like any other industry, but to insinuate it's all evil feels a bit much. I've never once regretted working where I work, and Nutaku never came across to me as anything nefarious, they're literally more or less a store front for DMM, one of if not Japan's biggest adult content retailer.
ETA: I do not and have never worked for nutaku specifically, just in case this post comes across as shilling. I only know them because they're a massive retailer in the industry I'm involved in and several of my colleagues have worked for them so I've had more discussions about them than most.
Yeah I suspect this video is just a veiled attempt at the usual sex-shaming BS aimed at anything remotely related to sex work or porn. Someone's repulsed by the idea of hentai games existing at...
Yeah I suspect this video is just a veiled attempt at the usual sex-shaming BS aimed at anything remotely related to sex work or porn. Someone's repulsed by the idea of hentai games existing at all, then goes looking for something to criticize to justify it without being accused of being a prude. I'm not particularly interested in hentai games myself, but it's this exact same mindset that leads to all kind of policing of consenting adults' choices and behavior. There's a reason so many SWERFs are also TERFs, for instance.
Honestly, I consider the furry stuff a good litmus test. If someone can't help but express their disgust at something a little weird but totally harmless like furries, I don't trust them to be accepting about other things, like trans people.
Hey, I really appreciate the insight! It's amazing that we've got such a diverse group of experiences here that even on a comparatively obscure thing there's someone who has personal experience.
Hey, I really appreciate the insight! It's amazing that we've got such a diverse group of experiences here that even on a comparatively obscure thing there's someone who has personal experience.
About point 1, they've been a dedicated target for many, MANY years, i myself joined in long ago until i either realized or was pointed at this (don't recall which, it's been years), and stopped...
About point 1, they've been a dedicated target for many, MANY years, i myself joined in long ago until i either realized or was pointed at this (don't recall which, it's been years), and stopped because i didn't like to essentially support bullies
My guess? She had an idea for a video and along the way got to the conclusion it wasn't as bad but after all the legwork it was too late to back out. The privacy thing is iffy, but nothing super...
My guess? She had an idea for a video and along the way got to the conclusion it wasn't as bad but after all the legwork it was too late to back out.
The privacy thing is iffy, but nothing super special. I've probably unknowingly sold my kidneys this morning simply browsing the web.
Entirely possible. Her last video before this one was her breakout hit, taking her from 5k views to 250k views. She's probably trying very hard to capture that lightning in a bottle to stay in the...
Entirely possible. Her last video before this one was her breakout hit, taking her from 5k views to 250k views. She's probably trying very hard to capture that lightning in a bottle to stay in the bigger leagues. At some point putting out a flawed thing is more important than putting out a perfect thing.
Before I saw the video, I did a search for Nutaku. I ended up on nutakupublishing.com which strangely only have 23 games. I naturally tried finding out if the games were DRM free—a lot of people...
Before I saw the video, I did a search for Nutaku. I ended up on nutakupublishing.com which strangely only have 23 games. I naturally tried finding out if the games were DRM free—a lot of people are a lot more hesistant about sharing their personal data when it comes to sleeze. But I couldn't find any information. Strange huh?
So I watched the video. Turns out that its big final reveal was that Nutaku is using porn games to harvest private user data, secretly recording the user interaction. Privacy violation is bad enough in itself, but when you secretly spy on peoples sexual preferences and sell it to the highest bidder, that pretty bad, right?
But is this what happens? She does a lot of suggestion here, flashing an article for a fraction of a second, too short for me to see what it says, but it does give the impression that whatever I'm not seeing is super revealing. Pausing the video, it turns out to be this one: How MindGeek's Ad Network uses Big Data Technologies to push Billions of Impressions per Day. So okay, MindGeek does deal with Big Data, and Nutaku, along with a host of other adult sites, is operated by Mindgeek.
She does show a screenshot of Nataku's Privacy Policy which point out that they may send user data within their "corporate group", but in my understanding, that's pretty much themselves, not "third parties". But of course, corporate group does include MindGeek. Still, she fails to mention that their Privacy Policy includes links to Request a Copy of my Data and Request Deletion of my Data.
And finally—with scary music and a sinister flickering-light effect—she reveals that she has discovered that Mindgeek is REBRANDING ITSELF AS AYLO, something which comes in response to, quote, "the need for a fresh start".
Do I need to be logged into my Nutaku account to play one of my downloaded games?
Some games will require you to verify your account before installation. After this verification, you will be able to play your purchased games offline.
23? Ahh, you must have visited Nutaku.com. Funny quirk about that. Nutaku Dot Com is the "safe for work" website. There are barely any games there, for reasons that will become obvious in the next...
23? Ahh, you must have visited Nutaku.com. Funny quirk about that.
Nutaku Dot Com is the "safe for work" website. There are barely any games there, for reasons that will become obvious in the next paragraph, and they are all "free games" (aka, f2p mobile style games that may or may not be playable on the browser as well, usually monetized via some gacha style micro transactions).
Now Nutaku Dot Net is where most of the content is. I don't know about DRM side, but there are mostly paid games like any other PC platform and AFAIK you simply download any game you purchase from the platform. You don't need a launcher to play any of Nutaku's games (I'm not even sure if they have a PC launcher).
They also have 100 ish f2p games, which overlaps with the "SFW" site. This is to replicate a system with DMM (basically think of it as the "Steam/Netflix hybrid of Japan") where a "SFW" version of a game is available (i.e. One thst can be uploaded to IOS/Google without breaking rules), and then leave the adult version on the other domain that can do more age checks. These games obviously require an account to setup and play.
Mindgeek is REBRANDING ITSELF AS AYLO, something which comes in response to, quote, "the need for a fresh start".
I suppose. I think it's just a typical business maneuver. Mind geek as a brand wasn't one thst was valuable so I'm not surprised the new owners would rename it, even without the looming controversy.
For those unaware, Mindgeek owned Nutaku and Pornhub alike (among many, many other adult sites), so if you want to dig into a 2nd rabbit hole, you can look up the Pornhub controversies of 2022. It doesn't directly affect Nutaku so much as it being in the crossfire as a sibling company to Pornhub. There's no real life subjects on the games sold for Nutaku (or at least I don't think so. The effort to make a video game around unconsenting models is way higher than simply uploading revenge porn).
Two different things bugged me about this:
The performative cringing over furry/scalie content is really disappointing. Her talking in a concerned voice about stigma in video games shortly after showing how she's supporting certain stigmas is sad. I'm not part of the furry scene, but targeting them for ridicule is just shameful.
She seems to frame everything as sinister, but it just seems like the site is clever with their publishing, marketing, and investment acquisition and in doing so became successful? I recognize that women have a really fine line to walk, especially regarding talking publicly about anything involving sex, but the way she simultaneously focuses on and disavows the salacious nature of the site just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe there's no other way to talk about sex media as a woman that avoids being pigeonholed in the future? I dunno.
Being a translator of primarily hentai games and manga like these, I ended up knowing many women who work in the field who are very open online both about their gender and their involvement in the this industry. It may not seem like it but for the most part we're all just people doing the job they pay us to do, and most of our customers aren't anything more than that.
As far as I know most don't get harassed specifically for their involvement in the hentai industry. If anything, and this is more a personal anecdote thing because of my specific line of work, they're more often harassed for how they localize certain words/terms (if I had a cent for every time I heard the word woke thrown around at us I'd honestly have a livable wage).
So seeing the author of this video be so blatantly dismissive of companies like nutaku, who have existed for ages without harm mind you (I was there when they were first formed and didn't have a partnership with DMM yet, and I knew several translators who ended up selling their work to them), also really rubs me the wrong way.
Nutaku and others like it are just part of an industry like any other providing a product that has a lot of demand. I certainly won't deny there are problematic aspects to it like any other industry, but to insinuate it's all evil feels a bit much. I've never once regretted working where I work, and Nutaku never came across to me as anything nefarious, they're literally more or less a store front for DMM, one of if not Japan's biggest adult content retailer.
ETA: I do not and have never worked for nutaku specifically, just in case this post comes across as shilling. I only know them because they're a massive retailer in the industry I'm involved in and several of my colleagues have worked for them so I've had more discussions about them than most.
Yeah I suspect this video is just a veiled attempt at the usual sex-shaming BS aimed at anything remotely related to sex work or porn. Someone's repulsed by the idea of hentai games existing at all, then goes looking for something to criticize to justify it without being accused of being a prude. I'm not particularly interested in hentai games myself, but it's this exact same mindset that leads to all kind of policing of consenting adults' choices and behavior. There's a reason so many SWERFs are also TERFs, for instance.
Honestly, I consider the furry stuff a good litmus test. If someone can't help but express their disgust at something a little weird but totally harmless like furries, I don't trust them to be accepting about other things, like trans people.
For anyone else, SWERF == Sex Worker Exclusionary Radical Feminist
Hey, I really appreciate the insight! It's amazing that we've got such a diverse group of experiences here that even on a comparatively obscure thing there's someone who has personal experience.
About point 1, they've been a dedicated target for many, MANY years, i myself joined in long ago until i either realized or was pointed at this (don't recall which, it's been years), and stopped because i didn't like to essentially support bullies
My guess? She had an idea for a video and along the way got to the conclusion it wasn't as bad but after all the legwork it was too late to back out.
The privacy thing is iffy, but nothing super special. I've probably unknowingly sold my kidneys this morning simply browsing the web.
Entirely possible. Her last video before this one was her breakout hit, taking her from 5k views to 250k views. She's probably trying very hard to capture that lightning in a bottle to stay in the bigger leagues. At some point putting out a flawed thing is more important than putting out a perfect thing.
Doesn't change any of my critique, though.
Before I saw the video, I did a search for Nutaku. I ended up on nutakupublishing.com which strangely only have 23 games. I naturally tried finding out if the games were DRM free—a lot of people are a lot more hesistant about sharing their personal data when it comes to sleeze. But I couldn't find any information. Strange huh?
So I watched the video. Turns out that its big final reveal was that Nutaku is using porn games to harvest private user data, secretly recording the user interaction. Privacy violation is bad enough in itself, but when you secretly spy on peoples sexual preferences and sell it to the highest bidder, that pretty bad, right?
But is this what happens? She does a lot of suggestion here, flashing an article for a fraction of a second, too short for me to see what it says, but it does give the impression that whatever I'm not seeing is super revealing. Pausing the video, it turns out to be this one: How MindGeek's Ad Network uses Big Data Technologies to push Billions of Impressions per Day. So okay, MindGeek does deal with Big Data, and Nutaku, along with a host of other adult sites, is operated by Mindgeek.
She does show a screenshot of Nataku's Privacy Policy which point out that they may send user data within their "corporate group", but in my understanding, that's pretty much themselves, not "third parties". But of course, corporate group does include MindGeek. Still, she fails to mention that their Privacy Policy includes links to Request a Copy of my Data and Request Deletion of my Data.
And finally—with scary music and a sinister flickering-light effect—she reveals that she has discovered that Mindgeek is REBRANDING ITSELF AS AYLO, something which comes in response to, quote, "the need for a fresh start".
I dunno, it just seem like a lot of suggesting, and less smoking gun. Also, at the FAQ at https://www.nutaku.com/support/faq/10008/ it says that
23? Ahh, you must have visited Nutaku.com. Funny quirk about that.
Nutaku Dot Com is the "safe for work" website. There are barely any games there, for reasons that will become obvious in the next paragraph, and they are all "free games" (aka, f2p mobile style games that may or may not be playable on the browser as well, usually monetized via some gacha style micro transactions).
Now Nutaku Dot Net is where most of the content is. I don't know about DRM side, but there are mostly paid games like any other PC platform and AFAIK you simply download any game you purchase from the platform. You don't need a launcher to play any of Nutaku's games (I'm not even sure if they have a PC launcher).
They also have 100 ish f2p games, which overlaps with the "SFW" site. This is to replicate a system with DMM (basically think of it as the "Steam/Netflix hybrid of Japan") where a "SFW" version of a game is available (i.e. One thst can be uploaded to IOS/Google without breaking rules), and then leave the adult version on the other domain that can do more age checks. These games obviously require an account to setup and play.
I suppose. I think it's just a typical business maneuver. Mind geek as a brand wasn't one thst was valuable so I'm not surprised the new owners would rename it, even without the looming controversy.
For those unaware, Mindgeek owned Nutaku and Pornhub alike (among many, many other adult sites), so if you want to dig into a 2nd rabbit hole, you can look up the Pornhub controversies of 2022. It doesn't directly affect Nutaku so much as it being in the crossfire as a sibling company to Pornhub. There's no real life subjects on the games sold for Nutaku (or at least I don't think so. The effort to make a video game around unconsenting models is way higher than simply uploading revenge porn).