Considering this happened after Aonuma joked that he never explicitly called the person in the preview Link, I'd say that Aonuma basically brought that on himself.

Still dumb, though. The main character in Zelda games is always Link, who is always pretty much the same character.

E: Also, representation in games actually is really bad.

 

He brought on questions on who the protagonist was then, not another veiled 'attack' on the sex of the character in one of the oldest gaming franchises...

 

Yes, and that preview happened to featured a Link that looks pretty androgynous. A lot of people got their hopes up as a result of this, and when Aonuma clarified, this dashed those hopes.

People are kinda understandably annoyed.

E: This on top of a lot of talk from him about playing with the formula for the franchise.

 

When is Link NOT androgynous?

Also, you're completely missing the point. I don't mind people being disappointed, a LoZ with a Zelda main character would be awesome.

Journalists looking down on Japanese devs is what I'm pissed off about.

 

He looks extra androgynous, and you're missing the point here. The point is, if Aonuma didn't try to fuck around with the audience - which he likes to do! - this never would have happened. Rumors wouldn't have spun out of control, he never would have been asked the question.

He brought it on himself. It has nothing to do with looking down on Japanese developers.

 

No, I'm really not, because I fucking made the point.

He brought on disappointment and annoyance for teasing a possible other protagonist.

The point I made, which you've missed, is that I'm tired of 'sexist' connotations being banded about because of things like this.

 

I got that part. The problem is that the games industry is actually sexist; it is very sexist, and that is a problem that should be addressed. During this same E3, when asked why Assassin's Creed Unity has four male protagonists, someone at Ubisoft unironically said it would be too hard to make one of them a woman (which is a clear lie.)

Like...it's a real problem, and getting annoyed when a guy that's clearly trolling gets called out for it is kinda weird.

 

If only the industry was set up in a way that any demograph can go and make any game they like, this wouldn't be an issue.

 

Oh yes, because anyone can put 30 million dollars on AAA games. And games, especially japanese which is a very machist country, sexualize in ridiculous ways every barely important female character.

 

And we love them for it

 

Nah.

 

Lol, the biggest gaming franchise atm cost fuck all to make.

And those games are targeting a specific audience, just because you don't like it doesn't make it offensive.

Maybe Scott_Press really loves those games, and he can get that from those Japanese devs.

We're going to rail against devs giving their customers what they want now?

 

Call of Duty costs a shitload of money to make and market. If you're talking about something else, then let me know.

What the fuck

You bet your ass I'm going to rail against developers sexualizing children and otherwise very young women. Also, I'm going to rail against a lot of general sexualization because it makes games that I'd otherwise be really excited to play really creepy. For example, Senran Kagura actually looks like a pretty fun game franchise. It's also so packed full of fanservice and creepy shit like stripping underage girls that I find it hard to justify giving it a shot.

 

Well, there's Minecraft. Developed for peanuts and last time I checked it was close to 50 million copies sold. It's one of best selling games of all time, up there with Tetris and Wii Sports.

I suspect Hugplx meant free to play browser and mobile games though. Shit like Angry Birds or whichever of the hundred or so identical match 3 games is the flavour of the month these days.

 

Those are all really big, certainly. I wouldn't say they're "the biggest franchise." I'd say Minecraft is the biggest game (because it is), but it's a single game. Same with most mobile games, for that matter (and yes I'm aware of how pedantic this is.)

 

Minecraft

And i should rephrase. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it's okay for you to try and deprive someone else of something they like.

I've not seen a game where underage - Japanese - girls are sexualised (under 16). I'm not saying they don't exist, mind you, but I'm not defending those ones.

And I'm sorry, but I just don't care if you think games are 'creepy' and therefore don't play them. The only right you should have in that regard is the right to vote with your wallet. That game you mentioned is one that has great mechanics, supposedly, but you disagree with the art? You're uncomfortable with 'stripping underage girls' and are offendes.

Fine, that's totally acceptable to feel that way. Don't buy it. Fans of the game and the creator don't - and shouldn't - care.

What you or I think of the moral implications don't matter.

I also just Wikid Senran Kagura. All the characters I saw were at least second years (16).

Edit: if I said franchise, i meant game, sorry.

 

It honestly sounds like you haven't paid a lot of attention to what the Japanese game industry is actually like. It's a lot larger than Capcom and Square-Enix, and it's extremely frequently fucking gross because instead of targeting a large audience, they target otaku specifically.

And I have the right to speak my mind and call that shit out.

Now, I want you to do something. Google Image Search "Compile Heart." GIS "Monster Monpiece." Watch this video. Read the synopsis for Akiba's Trip. GIS "Demon Gaze."

This shit is extremely common. Senran Kagura is bad because its visual design is all about staring at high school girls' tits (and there are at least a few first years just from a cursory wiki), including - surprise! - stripping mechanics.

I'm going to call this shit out. If you find something offensive or gross, you should call it out too. And that includes taking developers to task for not having enough female characters, or treating their existing female characters poorly.

E: I looked into it more. "Stripping mechanics" was imprecise. The term I saw on Siliconera is "clothing destruction." Because, y'know, that's better, right?

 

The topic was casual racism towards Japanese devs. It's apparently justified because of otaku culture.

 

They're technically not porn games, but really they may as well be.

Also I'm not suggesting Zelda is as bad as those games, I'm just pointing out why people are particularly critical of the Japanese games industry. Zelda is cool, I like it a lot even if it would be cool to play as Zelda herself once in a while.

E:

"Otaku culture" my ass. That's what the Japanese gaming industry is right now. It's a few huge companies like Nintendo, Sega, Square-Enix and whatnot, and then there's fucking everyone else gunning for the lowest common denominator.