But all the examples you've brought up of sexualization are to sell something or erotica. Having sexy ladies in ads is to make it seem like the product being sold will make you popular with ladies, and erotica is all about sex so, obviously everyone in it will be objectified.
Metal Gear is a video game and its plot isn't about sex, it's about nuclear warfare, soldiers, private military, etc. etc. Still having the women in those games act like sexy ladies in Coke ads is sexism. If someone wants to make a raunchy sex game and has characters like Quiet in it, fine. But to keep characterizing women as sex objects in narratives about war and such is insulting. People are influenced by the characters in stories they like and I'm sure having women in games like Quiet has contributed to the attitudes of men in gaming.
And I have no problem with Yoko Taro's female characters for reasons I've said in my original post. Is 2B sexy? Yes, very and she fulfills the aspect of sex sells and titillation you've said men want in games. But 2B is also in control of what she does and drives the plot. Rather than being a sexy woman thrown into a plot just for the male gaze, she is a full-fledged character who drives the plot, has a personality, and just happens to also be sexy. 2B is a character first, sexualized second, and most of Kojima's women feel like they're here to be sexualized first, and part of the plot just as a secondhand effort.
Kojima's games are rated as adult content, and they've since the start had depictions of sexual objectification and male orientated sexualisation. Primarily straight males. Kojima is obviously a straight man himself. He's arrogant and confident to the extent of pretty much saying MGS is HIS creation. Not that there is anything wrong with that in most senses, but it's an indicator he creates HIS vision, not a vision that others ask for. You literally are buying a Hideo Kojima game. Therefore, if there is something related to sex in it... it's going to be what caters to his fantasies. So,
pretty (I say this in italics to highlight points I made earlier around self-esteem/confidence and beauty) straight women. It's what he finds desireable, and that isn't a definitive. Everyone has their own tastes and attractions and that is how the world should accept beauty.
As for him mixing in real political elements around war, yeah, he does. That probably is something that crosses over his audiences, I agree. There are things in the MGS universe that can appeal to all gamers, not just horny straight males, like say, a men's magazine would. This is still a series with vampires, supernatural powers, viruses from speech, mind-readers, nanomachines and other whacky shit. As I said, it's a Hideo Kojima game.
What I will say again, as I've said it already, is Quiet was his most in your face sexualisation in the whole series, hence part of the reason she gets soo much blowback. This is MGS5, not MGS1. It's picked up many players over the years, and some who might have been on their thresholds from the other entries. Quiet tips them over, and the tweet and PR drama before the release just bitters the taste. I agree. Honestly, I do. I think MGS5 is a shit game, primarily for the terrible story, but I do also agree Quiet is a bad character. Again in the big post above, expressing my thoughts on why sexual objectification exists, and asking for a bit more evidence an actual human being literally doesn't respect women/see them as equal, is an aside from agreeing Quiet is a bad character.
Choosing to make Quiet mute works with her name and story somewhat, but yes, it does make the character fall flat overall with what is attempted. The silent bad ass sniper does kind of work, but due to how paper thin MGS5's plot is, and how terrible most of the characters are, having an almost exclusively mute character thrown in just drags the whole thing down. I would still say Taro creates for sexiness first, or it's damn near the top. The guy is just honest about that, and that is what at least gets some respect.
Remember that this is the guy that responded to the butt controversy with
"Due to the 2B butt controversy, many outrageous drawings are being made. Collecting them to share individually is a pain. It would be great if we can group them together to make it easier to distribute them every week."
"When I said that I wanted people to gather images of 2B and put them in a zip file for me, the tweet got all kinds of exposure. Now people are actually collecting them. The internet is amazing."
While a lot of what he says is just in jest/joking around, it's the lack of "oh I have a deep reasoning for sexiness" that people don't get caught out with. Same thing with Bayonetta. Although the game obviously still has many call it out, and call out the artist who created Bayonetta... who
isn't male. Anyway, the point is both Nier and Bayonetta didn't drum up the controversy Quiet did as neither had a creator who tried to push back at criticism saying people would be ashamed of their words. That was one of the biggest mistakes Kojima made, apart from creating a shitty character. I still stand by feeling to actually accuse someone of not seeing women and men as equals, and being a literal sexist/misogynist requires more evidence than they create scenarios with sexual objectification/sexualisation. As I feel there are many instances in life, and will continue to be, where content is created by decent people for the purposes of titillation/sexual desires. Finally, again, I agree there is too much of it in many industries and more diversity would be better, but people playing it safe/only catering to one audience doesn't mean those people are instantly shitty people. It means they are lacking creativity or not listening to the audience that says they want something different/better.
Death Stranding may not be MGS, but it will yet again be another Kojima game. Will there be
some sort of sexualisation in it? Most certainly. As in your face as Quiet? Probably not, due to the criticism, but ultimately, for better or worse Kojima will be one of those creators who does what he wants. That's just what people get when they buy his games. You might think it makes him a hack as a creator, but again, accusations about his personal character and behaviour usually require evidence to be the case. I genuinely haven't heard anyone say he's been bad to work with, or in general. In fact, Geoff Keighley always talks highly of him and Geoff is a good guy.
