Haha, some offtopic.
Actually, at least to us Germans, if not to all Europeans, the "Americans" are known for their weird laws and over- and abusing the law system.
To my eyes, the US government is full of hypocrites, but this is another story....
Here stateside,.at least where I come from, its not as abusive as you think, unleas your a law officer, judge or politician, or rich. Those of us unfortunate enough to live paycheck to paycheck don't get to abuse anything but our cars or our kids, and now days its getting harder to do anything without uncle Sam looking over our shoulders. When i grew up, it was perfectly acceptable to beat a child's ass if they acted up in public, I myself being a vet of many such public whuppings, learned. Now you can't even give a kid the evil eye.
I really don't think America has anything to do with it, considering they're in Japan.
Lex, you do realize.that the majority of our electronics and the componates come from japan or japanese companies? Don't underestimate how much power they have over a lot of things here in the states.
Organizational Culture. That is not how we do it here. Personally, I think it is better not to have potentially dangerous words appearing here so there is less chance of drawing the attention of pirates and other unwanted entities. I think this thread should go to the trash can.
Kinda closed minded ain't you?
Overall I think that where you get your game from is your business, i do agree its a bit heavy handed to goto the extreme to keep any mention of piracy away. Someone will always ask and one way or another, they will get an answer, why deny them the pleasure of playing wonderful games? (my opinion on piracy extends to older games only, of they no longer make it for a certain format then it shouldnt matter how you get it.) I got lucky in that i found both of my copies at a garage sale, and I've still got my psx version, scratched as it is D;