I mean ive seen people say "I cant play this game because of x", if you can turn off x completely its at the very least more open to those people. Giving the option is not worse than having it shoved onto you. Read into the subtext all you like, but if anything its some sort of movement
I think he means those games became success stories despite being from series that are super niche in the west and thus are more likely to cater to western audiences in the future (Yakuza did by remaking 2).
The argument is that by finally becoming hits in the west, regardless of their sexualized elements, they may, in the future, try to appeal to western audiences even more in some specific scenarios.
Same here, I see 0 value there.
I don't believe you can full on stop these things from existing. And if that is your end game then you probably don't want to say it out loud at this point since the Strawman arguement used against reduction is "You are going to take these things away."
Okay, imagine if the home releases of the Star Wars sequels came with a "Rey Swimsuit Edit" - the films are exactly the same, but now Rey is wearing a bikini and has added CGI titty bounce!!
I'm not sure that's a 1 to 1 comparison since every character in the game has a broken armor version and they generally aren't on the same level of sexualization as "bikini with titty bounce".
This is disturbing but a great way to explain what it's like playing some of these games.
It's kinda funny, because the novelty of a Japanese RPG where the main character was a devoted father was what singlehandedly led me to buy that game.
You're probably right, though I wonder how much authority Taro will keep now that according to SE, Nier has become a "housold property", I was only sticking to the example for the sake of the argument though, I realize he's a special case haha.
Definitely.
Oh, for sure, I mean if you asked me if I'd rather have that perfect scenario then sure, but I realize it's basically impossible so I don't strive to accomplish that at all.
Same here!
And what message would this send to all the young girls who thought to look up to Rey as an inspiration?
Only time will tell I guess. The home console market is becoming increasingly more expensive to the point I can see series like Yakuza becoming more and more dependant on worldwide sales, to the point some series can't even allow themselves to not get localized anymore.
We're talking hyphotetical cases. What if it sells well for now and then suddenly it doesn't? Do you can the series or adapt?
I realize this, but I'm speaking strictly of the rare cases of japanese properties that get consistently "bigger" games, like Yakuza, Souls, Square properties, Resident Evil, and whatnot. I suspect Atlus will join them provided they didn't already with Persona 5.
thats precisely how i see it. Look how the anime community has evolved to accept an increasing amount of fanservice over the years.
It makes me curious how that Canadian developed Neptunia game will turn out. It might end up being a better product or it could end up being a confirmation that the west is truly celebrating otaku culture.
Do you have proof of this? That's quite a claim.
Fair enough. My anecdotal evidence would swing the other way, but I know I hang in different crowds than... those types of people.
They've already done this. So much so that I would hazard a guess that the overseas otaku audience outnumbers the domestic otaku audience.
Yup. I mean we are at the point where Kim Kardashian is posting pictures of characters from Darling in the Franxx on her Instagram and saying they are her 'hair goals'. That anime is pure otaku-bait and mainstream celebrities are watching it.
It definitely is, I only bring that up to suggest that content aimed at otaku is growing in popularity in the west as anime has become more accessible and mainstream.
Minorities are increasingly disproportionately influencing major markets though - for better and worse.
I think gaming markets are smaller and narrower than they've ever been, mostly because the money continues to funnel upwards.
