@TheMysteriousGX
For one there’s the OP topic of Aloy herself, but since you also mentioned Abby,
Can we really say that’s a feminine look? Apparently it’s mostly Sony doing this in the west, but it’s also happened in prior generations and is certainly a more prominent trend after the me-too and Anita S. drama.
Eh, I'd say it's an uncomplicated look for the post-apocalypse. Not exactly a lot of specifically masculine or feminine looks for anybody in that game.
Would like to ask what specifically is unfeminine about Aloy though.
The latest trailer for strategy JRPG Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny omitted several female characters, leading to concerns the game will be censored.
nichegamer.com
Side note, I love this article because it entirely ignores how marketing has always been different between regions. But I digress
"Sony is concerned the company could become a target of legal and social action," an unnamed Sony official told the Journal. Business Insider has reached out to Sony for further comment on the new policies, and will update if we hear back.
Sony's home market of Japan has a reputation for having a higher tolerance for erotic games — games that might be considered risqué, or outright offensive, in the United States.
Having said that, it’s always been kind of a multifaceted issue though between cultures and societal norms though, even back in classic generations.
The absence of a western release of the latest in the salacious and skimpily-clad beach volleyball series has caused controversy – but this is not about free speech
amp.theguardian.com
While censorship vs localization of Sony specifically can be a fun topic to talk about, it's not exactly related to the supposed prevalent defeminization of female characters in video games in general. That said:
In light of the pizzagate/Q nonsense floating around the US right now, would you want to have a smorgasbord of aggressively sexualized high school girls floating around, especially if you know a solid chunk of gamers are gonna make fun of it on social media anyway? I mean, a huge chunk of the American political establishment went after Mass Effect for being a lesbian sex simulator. Citing #metoo was probably a dodge, Xbox doesn't tend to have a strong Japanese install base to begin with, and Nintendo has a shield where they're considered a wholesome Mario machine so the dinosaurs in Congress don't look to hard.
The streaming excuse makes sense to me though, having watched more than a few streams where vtubers are panic-scrambling to censor their screens to not get their streams/videos demonetized. Being done badly is a different argument than being done at all.
DoaX3 specifically was probably just K-T trying to drum up controversy sales for a games that was gonna sell like garbage. Like, seriously, it was months between the "we'll release it in the west if there's enough support" and Play-Asia's "it's because of SJWs" comment that got everybody fired up.