Poll: If 'samus is a girl' happened today...

[WindKnight]

Been replaying Phantasy star (yeah, on a retro RPG kick) and been loving the fact the main character is a woman, and a strong one at that. Which makes me think, that considering one of the most memorable classic gaming characters is Samus Aran, a woman who's identity as a woman was a surprise reveal at the end of the original Metroid. most people who talk about this talk o f it as a positive, and the fact she was a strong, capable character is a large part of her appeal...

and cut to current day, where a developer was forcibly told to make their female lead male, Gears Of War fans raged and spat at the idea of female cogs in GOWIII, and some people seem to find the idea of playing as a woman being abhorrent.

Which makes me wonder, how that memorable twist go down today if you (or the average gamer) got the end of the newest game, only to find their shiny armoured player character was, in fact, a woman.

 

[teh_Canape]

well... considering the derpness of the actual gamers generation

who take a character like Raiden as a pussy of a character instead of actually developed

so yeah, it would be a pretty big deal, at least on most of the playerbase

but to me, not really, I have no problem with that

 

[Radeonx]

I wouldn't give a shit, because I didn't give a shit in the first Metroid, and I don't give a shit now.
I play games to enjoy them, and don't really have any opinion on the idea of a woman being "out of the kitchen" and doing something else.

 

[bushwhacker2k]

Well, it DID happen currently. Metroid: Other M, it sucked. :*(

THAT'S what happens if you make a game about a woman and then try to make it as mediocre and thoughtless as possible.

 

[RatheMcGrath]

Presumably it wouldn't matter as much, because you have to assume that if Metroid hadn't done it then, some other game would have had "surprise, main characters can be female!" by now, right?

Metroid was special largely in part of when it happened, thus opening the doors for other games. The fact that it was also a ground-breaking game in its own right was a huge positive, this wasn't some piece of crap that needed controversy to sell it, it was a solid game.

This is basically like asking what sort of impact Jackie Robinson would have made if he played today. Presumably, he'd be just another player, with some other name being big as the first. The important thing wasn't so much "who did it", as much as "it was done."

 

[StBishop]

I would love for them to say "master chief is a girl and if you say tits or gtfo she will sticky grenade you"

They could say "John" was a call sign and Spartans are given names in a similar way to cyclones/hurricanes (alternate male - female names using the first letter in alphabetical order) they could also say the reason she had "man armour" while the reach woman had curvy armour was a personal prefference of speed/agility/movement over defense and hardiness.

Please make this happen. My girlfriend and I would love it and my mates would bawwww.

Also, I picked "it would bother me, but other would rage" but only because it was the closest to "I think it'd be awesome but other people think that it's 'ghey' to play as a girl."

 

[Riobux]

Wouldn't bother me, but I suspect there will be some "Bridget" talks.

 

[tenaciousotako]

i wouldn't mind, but with my gender being made up of mostly sexist douchebags i could see some people being pissed over that.

 

[rb0014]

It would be shocking, but not negatively. It would be as if Master Chief took off his helmet at the end of Halo One revealing Samus Aran.

 

[ultrachicken]

I would love for them to say "master chief is a girl and if you say tits or gtfo she will sticky grenade you"

They could say "John" was a call sign and Spartans are given names in a similar way to cyclones/hurricanes (alternate male - female names using the first letter in alphabetical order) they could also say the reason she had "man armour" while the reach woman had curvy armour was a personal prefference of speed/agility/movement over defense and hardiness.

Please make this happen. My girlfriend and I would love it and my mates would bawwww.

Also, I picked "it would bother me, but other would rage" but only because it was the closest to "I think it'd be awesome but other people think that it's 'ghey' to play as a girl."

Master Chief is, in fact, a confirmed male. He's referred to as a "he" plenty of times in the games and books. Halo already features capable warriors of all races and both genders, so there wouldn't really be a need to switch the Chief's gender to make the game look like it supports equality.

OT: I've never cared about the "Samus is a girl" thing, but many would rage if it happened today.

 

[moonlantern]

I don't think I could get into a game if the main character was so mysterious you couldn't even tell if they're male or female.

I like to know my PC.

 

[Neverhoodian]

I would love for them to say "master chief is a girl and if you say tits or gtfo she will sticky grenade you"

They could say "John" was a call sign and Spartans are given names in a similar way to cyclones/hurricanes (alternate male - female names using the first letter in alphabetical order) they could also say the reason she had "man armour" while the reach woman had curvy armour was a personal prefference of speed/agility/movement over defense and hardiness.

Please make this happen. My girlfriend and I would love it and my mates would bawwww.

Also, I picked "it would bother me, but other would rage" but only because it was the closest to "I think it'd be awesome but other people think that it's 'ghey' to play as a girl."

Not going to happen, seeing as how the expanded universe has confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Chief's a guy. However, there are plenty of strong, capable female Spartans in the Halo universe. For example, Kelly (S-087) is the fastest, and Linda (S-058) is a better marksman than John. Linda has literally brought down Banshees in one shot by sniping the pilot, and she once took down two targets so quickly that the Chief couldn't tell which one she shot at first.

Sorry for the nerd-gush there, but I like to remind people that there's more to the Halo series than just the games.

Back on-topic, major reviewers and publications would regard such a revelation as positive, as would many gamers. I personally wouldn't mind one way or another, as I already know females can be strong role models. However, chauvinism is still alive and well today, and there would be some backlash against it. They would probably be a minority, however.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I personally wouldn't care, but I can totally see some gamers loosing their minds if something like this would happen. I don't think it would be that big of a deal like it was back then, but then again, I'm probably under estimating my fellow gamers and the internet.

 

[squid5580]

You know Metroid came out in the 80s not the 50s right? It wasn't that big of a deal. It was just a surprise twist nothing more.

 

[theguitarhero6]

Let's just say if the average gamer bought Halo 4, beat the game, and in the final cinematic Master Chief takes of the helmet and reveals long, flowing, blonde hair. (Assuming John was just a nickname or something) how do you think they would react?

 

[Death God]

After seeing her in other games, not really. It would actually be expected.

 

[Ghengis John]

It's hard to say "What would happen if this were released today" Because it wasn't. It was released in the past and it HAD it's cultural impact. Without it who knows what the landscape would be like.

 

[The Man With the Soap]

Is the game fun?

 

[SilverHammerMan]

i wouldn't mind, but with my gender being made up of mostly sexist douchebags i could see some people being pissed over that.

My Y-chromosome takes offence to that.
Personally, I might be a bit uncomfortable at first, but as long as the game was good and the revelation didn't feel like it was just thrown in for the sake of being a twist, I'd get over it pretty quickly.
EDIT: Then again the Samus thing was pretty much just a twist.... Yeah, still wouldn't bother me much.

 

[Tanis]

Personally, I might be a bit uncomfortable at first, but as long as the game was good and the revelation didn't feel like it was just thrown in for the sake of being a twist, I'd get over it pretty quickly.

And yet in this 'modern era' of gaming that's all it would be, for the sake of a twist.