Are sexualised women in games insulting to male audiences too?

[lacktheknack]

As a general rule, the larger the breasts/butt of the lead woman, the worse the game gets.

If this is true, then the insult to audiences in general is scientific!

The only exception I can think of is Lara Croft (and even that got pretty bad at one point). I mean, Half Life 2? Beyond Good and Evil? Mirror's Edge? These were all fantastic games, and had female leads/supports who didn't draw attention to their breasts whatsoever.

Dead or Alive, X-Blades, Onechambara, and Ninja Gaiden six-axis, on the other hand...

 

[Verlander]

A lot of those games are old and failed. Men are overly fantasised in games as well, I mean look at all male protagonists. Wait, they are in films too! It may be patronising to viewers, but it doesn't stop those titles being sold, so maybe we deserve it/don't care

 

[DTWolfwood]

im to juvenile to consider any of it insulting to me. Its marketed to me and i will appreciate their efforts.

As for it being insulting to women? y exactly? Their own magazines have been flaunting these overtly sexy images at them all their lives. You telling me that a victoria's secret catalog is marketed to men?

Hell when was the last time a leading male character in gaming look like a short balding fat man? Should i be insulted that all male characters in gaming are all handsome and muscular/fit?

I guess to even things out they should probably just add more abercrombie and fitch models in games to give women more eye candy. We should pander to women too! and i say that to in all seriousness.

 

[SoulIsTheGoal]

I find it mildly insulting when people say to me "You have to buy this game, the chick has mega cans!". I don't want to see synthetic breasts! That's why I'm sleeping with their mothers.

On a further note, most people chose Tali in Mass Effect 2 and she's hardly supremely large-chested. Give guy gamers some credit : )

 

[BrownGaijin]

I think it's sad that there are people in the industry who will think that sex will compensate for poor game play.

 

[DMonkey]

Cartoons are so hot. Nothing beats a pair of breasts that don't exists on a woman drawn up by sweaty nerds in a cubicle. Give me illusion, delusion, and cold nights with a controller and tissue paper over a living, breathing real woman any day. Nothing turns me on more then make believe and anti depressants.

 

[Ephraim500]

It depends.

Much like with movies, you'll get stuff that's silly/trashy and it's perfectly fine to have that. When you try to have a serious game with stuff like that though, it's out of place and says bad things about the users of the medium itself.

That said, I don't think the gaming market in general is actually that intelligent, so removing it woudl probably harm sales except in very specific types of games.

 

[Azulito]

I'm insulted, yes.

To be quite honest; I usually find that women in games who can handle themselves are more attractive (I.e, Sniper Wolf, Alyx, Faith, etc.) Women in game who are under-dressed and are too feminine kinda irritate me.

 

[Kebabco]

What's insulting about male sexuality and why would I be "insulted" if developers gear to my biological desires. Then again, i rather wank off on real porn then a cgi image --> developers: hurry up with that super-lifelike cgi!!!

 

[BlackStar42]

It is bloody annoying. Plus embarrassing. I couldn't buy one of these games in a shop, even if I wanted to. And I don't think my parents would be too happy when they saw the box art. Still, I'm not opposed to sex in games, I just want it done right.

 

[Dogstile]

It pisses me off. Especially in fantasy games or RPGs. I do not like having to explain to my family why none of my female party members have any armour on.

 

[zz_]

I would never play a game because it had tits on the cover, but I would also never turn down the chance to have a voluptuous woman accompany me as I save the galaxy.

Remember kids, eye candy is the only kind which won't hurt your teeth.

 

[Lord Kloo]

Nope, i just complain to myself about how thongs would be really impractical in a combat situation..

Its pointless really, if you wanted porn you'd go elsewhere, so really boobies don't add anything to selling games and so it'd be better for us all if they just made women look normal.. and for that matter men too..

So actually overall I suppose I do find it insulting that the game marketers feel boobs are necessary to sell games, I think sometimes they do it to be on purposely over the top like Duke Nukem, thats clearly just to make it a "f**k yeah!" kind of game..

Just look at WH40K, there are women in those games, and those women can quite easily fight and cover their genitalia with 6 inches of steel, they should teach some other genres a lesson or two..

 

[DudeistBelieve]

I get ridculously frusrated when I see women with skimpy clothes and huge tits in video games.

Because then I know the developer really thinks men just love tits in any way shape or form.
Maybe it has something to do with my real life tendancy to not care about breasts, I don't know. Either way, I hate over sexulaized women AAAAAND men in video games.

Yes feminists, men can be sexualized as well.

Well I'm not going to lie and say I don't like female characters that are visually appealing, even sexually exploitative. That alone isn't going to get me to buy the game if it's a piece of crap. There was a time when that kind of gimmick would of worked though, what happened you ask? I GREW UP! I GOT THE INTERNETZ!

FYI true feminist already know that.

 

[Jodah]

Depends how its done. In most games, its annoying. RPGs with female characters wearing metal bikinis are irritating. Though, I suppose its better to look at than some alternatives.

However, if its done as part of the game, primarily as a joke, it works. Bayonetta for example, does it well imo. It is MEANT to be so overly sexualized its stupid.

 

[Siyano_v1legacy]

Personally from the time now I have been getting sick of huge attribute
I would prefer by a thousand mile having to look at very nice beautiful character like Alyx Vance from Half life than having to look at very unrealistic character like Mai Shiranui in King of Fighter or 70% of the new modeled character from Dead or Alive

 

[MasterChief892039]

Yes feminists, men can be sexualized as well.

There are very few examples of men being sexualized in games. There are many instances of men with physically and unrealistically idealized bodies (tall, overly muscular etc), but for the purpose of (rather stereotypical) defining what a "real man" looks like. The images of idealized men's bodies are aimed at other male heterosexual gamers to tell them what they need to look like to be a "man" or a "hero" - very rarely are men's bodies idealized for the titillation of heterosexual female gamers or homosexual male gamers (in other words, very rarely are they "sexualized". You'll probably never see a man roll around in his underwear flexing his muscles in a game, whereas females with big breasts often jump around in thongs to make their boobs jiggle for the camera).

Not saying it's any better, but there is a distinction.

 

[DevTrek]

I don't feel insulted by a video game selling 'being sexy' (if you find that blatent pandering sexy) any more than the latest craptastic movie release sporting its scantily clad female lead. What bothers me is that there are so few titles that have female characters that don't feel sexualized. Or at least it feels that way, in truth we're getting more and more. I'm a huge Mass Effect fan and I read a forum asking for ideas for an alternate appearance pack for a few characters in Mass Effect 2 and was pleased to see that many people suggested outfits for two of the characters that would be less revealing and more...professional. Gladly, Bioware obliged and the pack includes a run of the mill suit of armor for Miranda, as opposed to the skintight catsuit and miniskirt with high heels options she had before.

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

I struggle to think of a "normal girl" in a game, I think Red Dead is the closest. Life is normal and a normal girl is best because its relatable - or at least plausable.

See here's the thing. If a game has "normal girls" you're not SUPPOSED to be able to remember them. People always bring out the "oh you can't name five normal Female characters in games" card. It's stupid! If they're normal, If they look normal, talk normal, act normal. Then they don't stand out! And that's absolutely FINE! That's how it's supposed to BE!

Like right now I'm playing Fallout: New Vegas and it has a metric TON of average relatable and likable female characters. Sunny, Cass, Judy (or whatever, the mother-hen of goodsprings), Ghost, Ada Straus.etc.

I remember them now cause I'm actively interacting with them, but once i stop playing.....i WON'T remember them. Why? Not because they're bad or uninteresting. But because they are NORMAL and aren't "designed" to be memorable. It's the same way as how i won't remember who Doc Mitchell, or Manny vargas, or Cliff is.

Who I WILL remember is Boone or Fawkes(FO3). But if i got a female companion i liked enough to have her tag along, and if she had a deep enough personality, then SURE I'd remember her. Why wouldn't I?