I'm somewhat divided on this issue. I'm all for sexual/sexy content in the media, because it's a part of life too. I don't think attractive people owe anybody an apology, and that simply portraying one in a movie or game is automatically "objectification."
I do, however, believe that sometimes it gets a little bit absurd. If the game is DOA Beach Volleyball, or whatever it's called - fine. Girls are prancing around, bouncing in bikinis. Not my thing, but the point of the game is to...tittilate. If, on the other hand, the game/movie is trying to be serious, then having a "police detective" or "businesswoman" who's esentially sporting a full-body S&M outfit or lingerie is just stupid and damages the credibility of the atmopshere and story.
Regardless, I think the Suda guy has a point. Sexuality is complex, because it seems to affect people in so many ways. It's tied to our own esteem, how we perceive others, and the community we live in. It's funny because you never see people get so outraged when other human qualities are "objectified." "HEY! It's not right to constantly expect this poor little egghead scientist to sit in a lab all day and solve humanity's problems. He needs to get out! He has a lovelife too! He's not just a giant brain in spectacles!"
People aren't inherently equal. Some are simply better looking, stronger, or more intelligent than their colleagues, but nothing seems to attract resentment/discussion to the extent that looks/sexuality does.
@shnelle I get your point, although your hypothetical wouldn't really "offend" me (not that you suggested it would), as I'm very hard to offend. I will fully admit though, that it would distract the hell out of me, and make it almost impossible to take the game seriously. Well, at least at first...with enough time, I might just grow indifferent to it, in the same way that I come to eventually disregard a character model that I despise, if I enjoy the game. The question is, would I really want to have to go to that ridiculous extreme? Not really, no.
@shnelle I know what you mean. I have no aversion to stylized art or erotica, but it reaches a point where it's just an absurd distraction. It's the same thing with certain TV shows. A well-placed sex scene can even compliment a show when it's done correctly. However, when it's SO cheesy and overdone that it diminishes my immersion in the story/game, it's hard to overlook. That being said, I love hand-drawn 2D art, I appreciate a good throwback game now and then, so I'll probably pick this up. It'd just be nice if I didn't have to explain to my fiancee that I am, in fact, in love with the genre and not just some giant manchild ogling the boobs. I also try to remind myself that however ridiculous the argument seems, there are, in fact, very well-endowed women out there, and I suppose they deserve representation as much as any other class. *Shrug*
*spits drink* BWAAAHAHAHAHA! I'm sorry, but this is too funny. You have to have thicker skin if you're going to deal with: 1) gamers 2) the internet. Did this guy really just throw a hissy fit and quit his job because he couldn't handle some negative feedback? Man, he'd probably /seppuku if he had to work for Blizzard as a moderator of the Diablo 3 forums.
@troll_eat_troll @ProjektInsanity Yeah, I know what feedback is, but I also know it was a bogus policy to begin with, and so do they. They're changing it because it was hurting them more than they thought it would. I can respect that as a businessman, but not as a gamer. I don't trust a company that doesn't trust me.
Sorry MS, you already revealed your true colors. Then you realized that you screwed up, it was going to kill your bottom line, and you tried to backpedal. You didn't do it from any obligation to fans, you just realized you don't have the stranglehold you thought you did. Bad company, no money for you!
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