Why the Name of the Villainous Group in Touhou Kourinden was Changed

If you have played the beta of Touhou Kourinden ~ Mythos of Phantasmagoria, you may recognize the villainous organization goes by the name of the Gensokyo Socialist Order. However, at the request of co-developer Studio Emiko, we were asked to change the name.

The Order will go by the new name of the Gensokyo Socialite Order. A socialite is, by definition, any person or group of persons who hail from a wealthy and aristocratic background, spending most of their time attending social gatherings instead of being traditionally employed. In the GSO’s interpretation of the new word, the ruling Scarlet family is said to be the aristocratic family, despite making most of their money from criminal activities. The only employment their grunts receive are pulling off the Order’s operations.

Politics plays a big role in the Drillimation Danmaku Universe games, and several characters are affiliated with certain political ideologies, bringing various effects on a game’s story. Emiko Hosokawa, the chairwoman of Studio Emiko, stated that bringing a group to an ideology such as either communism or socialism would be deemed too sensitive as Studio Emiko is based in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Vietnamese players can still purchase Drillimation’s games on Steam as it is legally accessible and PC gaming is incredibly popular there. However, media censorship rules in certain countries in Eastern and Southeastern Asia can be quite strict, and many prohibit bias or criticism toward any political entity. Without making this change, there would’ve been no way the game could be sold in the country without running afoul of the law.

Despite this, none of Drillimation’s games have ever been translated into the Vietnamese language. Southeastern Asia is one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the world, and trying to incorporate every single language these countries speak into the games would be very expensive and time consuming. English proficiency in the region is generally very high, and many companies use the language as a one-size-fits-all solution when conducting business.

We may consider making these changes to the Chuhou Joutai trilogy, but since we have no intent to update the games in the future, this is something we will have to consider if in the event they are remade.