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[lordcooper]

Art shouldn't be constrained, but there is a matter of tact to consider. I would not, for example, play a game where you are the director of a death camp on principle, just as I will refuse to play this game on principal because of its subject matter.

So long as it isn't actively promoting real-world slavery, I don't see any issue with it even on matters of principle.  I'm genuinely interested in why someone would, so could you elaborate a little for me?

[LordSlowpoke]

This is going to be hilarious when they actually put it on shelves. If that even happens, I have no idea how the AO rating works. May finally break the barrier which made "holocaust tycoon" so offensive - which, not to accidentally spark a flamewar here, means that people'll learn that if there's something you consider bad, don't play it, don't support it, but don't demonize people who do play it and enjoy it.

[Farce]

Getting CrimsonKing vibes here.

Also, seriously, a nailbat?

[Enzo]

Yeah, gotta be a hoax. Pretty good one though. As Rakonas said, the ESRB doesn't acknowledge it, and the trailer says it's produced by Javelin Reds Gaming, which according to Google is not a real thing that exists. Besides the fact that no one in their right mind would fund this game, it would be a complete PR shitstorm. And the lack of believable gameplay footage in the trailer. Dripping with Hoaxiness.

There's a phone number on the site though. Anyone with free long distance want to do some research?

[Yodamaster]

(Disclaimer: This post is about as legitimate as the game itself.)

[nenjin]

If this is really a trolololo....kudos to them for spending actual money on it

[Cthulhu]

This is going to be hilarious when they actually put it on shelves. If that even happens, I have no idea how the AO rating works. May finally break the barrier which made "holocaust tycoon" so offensive - which, not to accidentally spark a flamewar here, means that people'll learn that if there's something you consider bad, don't play it, don't support it, but don't demonize people who do play it and enjoy it.

It won't be on shelves.  If it's actually rated AO most places won't carry it.  It'll probably end  up being digital download, but the site says it'll be on XBox 360 and PS3.  I can't see them putting something like this on Live or PSN, so maybe they'll be selling it via mail-order.

Or maybe (More likely) they're just fucking with us and it's not a real game.

[Sartain]

Art shouldn't be constrained, but there is a matter of tact to consider. I would not, for example, play a game where you are the director of a death camp on principle, just as I will refuse to play this game on principal because of its subject matter.

You don't really need to consider tact when you're making a product people can choose to purchase or not, though.
If you dislike the form and content, simply don't buy it.
Also for the record I would totally play a game where you're the director of a death camp, so long as it was an interesting game about being a director of a death camp

[Shadowlord]

Now if this were a game where you could ALSO choose to play as a radical abolitionist trying to start a slave insurrection and/or trigger the civil war... then I'd be interested.

[Felius]

Right now is sounding either a troll, a racist fuck fest of a game, or a shock game which have little redeeming other than "SLAVERY!".

[Virtz]

The apparent gameplay bits (all 3 seconds of them) make it look on par with a browser game. Looks rather crap.

[Servant Corps]

It seems to me that it is a historical economic sim, and one with a great original concept at that. Surprised that there haven't been more slave-trading games, personally.

...why? I mean, slavery is just a commodity. A commodity with specific problems attached (trying to acquire slaves in the first place by selling guns to African slave traders, transporting them by boat in a manner that doesn't lead to most of the slaves dying off, defending yourself against slave mutinies), but at the end of the day, the best way to get rich is to buy low (in Africa) and sell high (plantations). It'll be just a dressed up Tradewinds...

...at least until the abolitionist movement kicks in. At first, they'd outlaw the slave trade, but that'd fine, you'd smuggle them into the country. Then the abolitionists move towards weaning society off slavery or outright outlaw its practice, driving the slave market completely underground and forcing you to take more and more risks to sell your wares. And then when European imperialists march into Africa to subjugate those backwards tribes (under the premise of "ending the barbaric practice of slavery that us enlightened Europeans abandoned "), the supply of slaves will begin to dry up. And considering how slavery still exists today, there's lots of room for expansion. The goal of the game is not to become the "most powerful slavetrader"*...but to be the "last standing slavetrader" as the entire world rallies against you.

*By the way, this rhetoric from the trailer makes me think that this is a MafiaWars clone.

[Rakonas]

It seems to me that it is a historical economic sim, and one with a great original concept at that. Surprised that there haven't been more slave-trading games, personally.

...why? ---

I think you answered your own question with that. The slave trade is most certainly one of the more dynamic trades in history, and for all the games we have managing simple commodities like sugar we have barely any (if any) managing commodities like slaves where the impact of the trade was immense.

[Nighthawk]

And we wonder why the world is such an evil place.

They have a game called "Slavery" where you get to trade slaves and pick what you want to BEAT them with - a whip, scourge, spiked mace, or otherwise.

Seriously, are the people who made this thing sadists or something?

[Lectorog]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/112777-Mystery-And-Controversy-Surround-Slavery-The-Game

I call BS purely on the fact that Xbox and Playstation wouldn't sell a game like this for their consoles. There's obviously plenty more to point out a hoax, such as how the game company doesn't exist.

For those wondering about the phone, to quote the linked page:
"The phone number listed on the site leads to a Google Voice inbox (with a Kentucky area code)"