Capcom speaks on the decision not to include point-earning erotica photos in Dead Rising Remake, states it's not "a response to a changing cultural climate"

Following much debate on the matter of erotica photos being removed from the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, Capcom has issued a statement on its removal. This statement, attributed to the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster development team, offers some insight into Capcom's decision not to include the feature in the Deluxe Remaster, with the company arguing that it is not an appropriate reward for survival, and not a skill required from a journalist in Frank’s position. The statement reads as follows:

“When developing Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, we tried our best to create a game that would please returning core fans and appeal to new players alike. As development progressed, we inevitably discovered that we couldn’t include everything from the original game. In the case of the Erotica points system, this was something we discussed at length and decided to remove; not so much as a response to a changing cultural climate, but because we felt there is no need to have a reward points system on this basis.

“Additionally, when considering Frank’s situation, it is not an appropriate reward for survival and not a skill required of a journalist trying to stay alive for the next 72 hours during a zombie apocalypse. However, players will still have the right to choose their picture subjects freely, and even though they won’t receive points, it is up to them to decide what photos they will take to represent their journey.”

So, points are still present in the photography section of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, you just won't get any for photos featuring what the original game classified as erotica subject matter-wise. For those unaware of the original’s approach to photojournalism, Frank can trigger one of several photo categories - brutality, drama, outtake, horror, and erotica. This is true for both the original release and the 2016 re-release. The categories are attached to each photo based on its contents - so a snap of a zombie’s head exploding will be marked as the brutality genre, while a beautiful moment of humanity between two survivors might trigger the drama genre.

With the erotica genre of photo removed, you're losing one of these categories. You used to earn erotica points for pictures of scantily clad survivors and zombies. With its removal, so goes any in-game encouragement for players to take such shots. Although, as the statement notes, you still can if you want.

The reason for the inclusion of morally bankrupt photography in Dead Rising goes beyond a fun side activity for Frank to do. It's a commentary on the dehumanizing nature of Frank’s brand of tabloid photo hunting - separating you from the horrid nature of your actions through a flashy point system. In the search for high-scoring pictures, you as the player often gave little thought to the nasty stuff you're snapping photos of - including the erotic stuff. This is the crux of one of the major criticisms of the erotica's removal from the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, that it lessens the hard-hitting punch of this feature and what it means for the game's themes.

Then again, this message still exists even without the erotica category. The first minutes of the game still feature a segment where Frank flies by in a helicopter snapping shots of various horrific scenes taking place over Willamette, acting very much like the vulture detractors of such photojournalism would likely refer to him as.

An early-game quest where a rival photographer tasked you with taking a high-quality erotica genre photo has also been tweaked - with the photographer now requesting an outtake photo instead. Many other cheekier elements of the game remain unchanged - including things like how snapping a photo of an older woman sitting in a position with her crotch visible gets marked as the horror genre, with a great big circle highlighting her crotch.

I'll end this bit of news with a note from Alex Donaldson, who has previewed the game. "What I can tell you for sure is this, though: regardless of any removals I’ve seen so far, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster lives up to its name, feeling like a luxe glow-up for one of the best games of all time, retaining the original’s unique mood, pacing, and feel while making it more accessible for a 2024 audience."

Dead Rising: Deluxe Remaster releases on September 19, and is releasing on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

If you want to read more about the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, Alex has also written a piece on one of the best new additions to the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster: the voice acting!