Gamergate Primer

[Argus]

Maybe Jr. PacMan is more of your speed.

I suspect that might be a bit too complex...

[Moonlight Graham]

Yes, but Namco rejected the name "Pacman Bastard"

Fact: They originally were going to name Pac-Man as "Puck-Man", but decided it was way too easy for amateur graffiti punks to change the name to a much more vulgar word on the side of the arcade cabinet.

[Big Guy]

You mean change it to "Buck-Man"?

[Boges]

So I just picked up Halo 5: Guardians. I'm not much of a gamer other than Boom Beach on my phone anymore. But I love the Halo franchise.

I've noticed that about half of the characters are female and other than Cortana, none are sexualized.

Response to Gamergate?

Then again, I've yet to see a female member of the Covenant.

[kimmy]

I've noticed that about half of the characters are female and other than Cortana, none are sexualized.

Response to Gamergate?

If they'd changed the game to appeal to Gamergaters, they'd have given the female characters quintuple-F cups and dressed them in Japanese schoolgirl outfits.

Games with female characters that aren't just sex objects have been around for longer than Gamergate, and for longer than Anita Sarkassian has been griping about games, too.

-k

[GostHacked]

If they'd changed the game to appeal to Gamergaters, they'd have given the female characters quintuple-F cups and dressed them in Japanese schoolgirl outfits.

Games with female characters that aren't just sex objects have been around for longer than Gamergate, and for longer than Anita Sarkassian has been griping about games, too.

-k

One of the best FPS games I have played were No One Lives Forever 1 and 2. Featuring Kate Archer, a james bond-ish character in female form. Game play was solid, story line was great, but I am sure there are stereotypes of all kinds in the game.

More gamers have been griping about 'oh .. more crates? how original'.

[Peter F]

No One Lives Forever 1 and 2. I Agree the most fun Ive had with a shooter. The chit-chat amongst the Bad Guys is hilarious.

Great game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_5OMLVfk5g

Edited November 26, 2015 by Peter F

[Boges]

Censorship FTW.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/25/dead-or-alive-xtreme-3-is-too-sexist-for-europe-and-us/

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3, the game where you play volleyball as scantily clad women, won't be making its way to the US or Europe. Apparently, the game's publisher is worried about how Western audiences will react to the way the franchise depicts women. The latest installment features a sun-tanning system (whatever the hell that means), butt fights (as seen in the gameplay trailer below) and the ability to dress the characters in a wide variety of costumes.

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3, the game where you play volleyball as scantily clad women, won't be making its way to the US or Europe. Apparently, the game's publisher is worried about how Western audiences will react to the way the franchise depicts women. The latest installment features a sun-tanning system (whatever the hell that means), butt fights (as seen in the gameplay trailer below) and the ability to dress the characters in a wide variety of costumes.

A rep for the publisher, Koei Tecmo, took to Facebook to explain the company's decision. He noted that he's aware of how the industry wishes to portray women in video games but also said that the company did not want to talk about such issues. He went on to say that the company has had many discussions over the last year or two about the release and have decided that it just isn't a good idea to release it in Western countries. What a shame! Without the franchise, where would anyone possibly find videos of barely-dressed women playing erotically on a beach? (Oh, that's right, anywhere on the internet). Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 is set to hit PS Vita and PlayStation 4 in Japan, with no plans to release it anywhere else at the current time.

So if I want to see real women objectified I can watch porn.

But pixelated women playing Volleyball OFFSIDE!!!!

This is like the only Volleyball game in the history of console gaming. Lots of people like Volleyball.

I actually did have the first version of this game, for the Volleyball, because I like Volleyball. It was a creepy game, I'm to believe the Japanese like this kind of role playing stuff.

Are the developers fears warranted? Surely there's much worse stuff available and the original game (I'd reckon this one too) got an M-rating.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Boges

[Michael Hardner]

The blog is an opinion piece, it seems, and the rep didn't say explicitly what the blogger is assuming. But ok.

[Boges]

The blog is an opinion piece, it seems, and the rep didn't say explicitly what the blogger is assuming. But ok.

The Rep said it wouldn't be coming to the west, because of women issues. In somewhat unclear English. But nothing has been said since.

Here's another cite.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-11-25-dead-or-alive-facebook-page-says-xtreme-3-wont-head-west

Here are the comments on the Dead or Alive Facebook page:

• • We do not bring DOAX3 to the west and won't have any plan change in the future. Thank you for asking.
  • Do you know many issues happening in video game industry with regard to how to treat female in video game industry? We do not want to talk those things here. But certainly we have gone through in last year or two to come to our decision. Thank you.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Boges

[Michael Hardner]

Do you know many issues happening in video game industry with regard to how to treat female in video game industry? We do not want to talk those things here. But certainly we have gone through in last year or two to come to our decision. Thank you.

It sounds like former poster bjre, honestly. Oh well, that's their decision I guess.

Are you concerned that this is self-censoring people somehow ? Or is this just the evolution of people realizing that some ideas are met with resistance in other cultures ?

Like many questions of rights, it's about weighing pros and cons, risks, likely outcomes. I'm not too concerned about this happening. If others are, there are many other ways they can objectify women online.

[kimmy]

Censorship FTW.

...

Are the developers fears warranted? Surely there's much worse stuff available and the original game (I'd reckon this one too) got an M-rating.

This was originally a fighting game (in the style of Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat) and the developers came up with a spin-off where the female characters from the game were turned into, basically, dress-up dolls for gamers. Dress them up in skimpy outfits, play beach volleyball, have "butt battles", make them pole-dance? It is what it is: the whole premise for this series was to objectify the female characters from the developer's fighting game franchise.

Is the developer's decision to not bring the game to North America a good one? I dunno. Seems like a pretty niche market, and that niche, to me, appears to be the kind of neckbeards who wank it while watching Japanese anime cartoons. How much demand for that would there be in North America?

-k

[Boges]

Is the developer's decision to not bring the game to North America a good one? I dunno. Seems like a pretty niche market, and that niche, to me, appears to be the kind of neckbeards who wank it while watching Japanese anime cartoons. How much demand for that would there be in North America?

-k

If the game is already developed, distribution has to be a very small part of the cost to actually have it on the shelves.

I don't know the interest. As I said, it's the only Volleyball video game I know of. I do believe the male characters have been included in the "role playing" and volleyball elements.

I'm guessing their fear is the PR hit isn't worth whatever sales they might get.

[kimmy]

If the game is already developed, distribution has to be a very small part of the cost to actually have it on the shelves.

I don't know the interest. As I said, it's the only Volleyball video game I know of. I do believe the male characters have been included in the "role playing" and volleyball elements.

I'm guessing their fear is the PR hit isn't worth whatever sales they might get.

I'd think that translation and English-language audio would be an expense they probably wouldn't bother with if they assume there's not going to be a demand for it. I suspect the anime pervs will still be able to play with their waifus in the original Japanese if they're determined.

-k