Hitman Studio Apologizes For Nun Massacre

[Acton Hank]

I kind of liked the trailer, there's something about religious figures getting brutally murdered that brings a smile to my face.

 

[Iwana Humpalot]

Gotta love it when people take a trailer that is not ment to be taken seriosly and go apeshit over it. I thought it was awesome and thats the only thing it was intended to make me think.

 

[Eamar]

Oh man, this is going to be a nightmare in terms of quote-editing. Apologies in advance for any quote fails.

The thing is it's not 'this again' because we generally don't see it anymore. Lately it's all been slightly homo-erotic brofists and grizzled man time.

It's rare to find this kind of over the top sexy for the sake of sexy....... outside of Japan anyway. But that's a whole different argument.

Hmmmm. Your comment about the brofists is leading me to think we might all be better at noticing things that apply to our own genders more. I certainly still see a lot of overly sexualised women in games, whereas I hadn't necessarily picked up on the stuff you have so much.

I hate that word... pander. It's almost never used correctly.

Making something that looks cool or is hot isn't pandering. It's appealing to a market. And whilst it's true that too much sex appeal, especially the in your face stuff like this, is a bad thing. None at all is a much worse thing.

Handling sexuality in a mature fashion is certainly not abstaining from it. Thinking like that is very unhealthy.

I don't know about the use of the word "pander." I think in many cases the games industry does pander to the desires of the stereotypical teenage boy. That's not a bad thing in and of itself, but when it feels like the whole industry is doing just that (hyperbole, obviously) it can feel uncomfortable.

I completely agree about your comments on sexuality though. I'd just argue that this isn't an instance of handling it in a mature fashion.

I'd hardly say it was the main selling point here. It's just eyecandy for the trailer.

It is the main selling point of the trailer though, and would give that impression to someone who's not familiar with the series.

And I'm glad you're not one of the people who thinks that any sexuality is inherently a bad thing. Because like I said, that's a very unhealthy way to look at it.

Agreed, again.

Would you call Kill Bill immature?

Perhaps. Tarantino generally does a decent job of characterising his sexy women though.

It's just pulp trash, there's a time and place for it but it's still enjoyable.

Fair point.

But it isn't, we've moved away from this type of marketing being the standard. Now it's just nice to have the odd piece of it lying around here and there.

Again, I'd really disagree here. I'd say practically dressed, non overly sexualised (doesn't have to mean unsexy) women are still rare in games.

I disagree, I think sexualisation is a fantastic thing. Our western culture is far, far, far too prudish. Despite how good of a marketing tool sex is. We're still embarrassed about it in public and that's downright shameful.

While I agree that people shouldn't be embarrassed to discuss sex, I wouldn't exactly call our culture "prudish" given what most of our media looks like.

Again I'd disagree. As a male you're constantly told that being well muscled is the ideal. And although I am completely for sexualisation. I think it needs to be far more varied for both sexes.

Oh, I totally agree that we need more variety for everyone. I just think you're more likely to see (for example) an overweight male character than an overweight female character. And heaven forbid you might want to see a muscular woman... While the musclebound hulk of a man is indeed hideously overused, there are examples of variation. The supermodel look is more or less universal for female characters in games as 99 times out of 100 they're designed with sex appeal in mind.

 

[Sean951]

I actually have two problems with this. First of all I think it is degrading to women and if it was supposed to be a parody, it did not come through because it seemed like it was all serious business. Secondly, I find it sacrilegious because having the sisters show up as nuns and take off their clothes to reveal stripper outfits upsets me as a christian. If they revealed that they were carrying appropriate clothing and weaponry for a fight, I wouldn't have as much problem. The sexy nun outfit, I believe, is an insult to my religion because nuns are some of the best human beings on this Earth and to show them as being sex fiends underneath it all shows a great disrespect for what they do. That is why I am angry people.

So it insulted your religion. So what?

The real argument against this is how it portrayed the women in question. They were wearing impractical clothing (fetish outfits) and it was clearly trying to sexualize them. I'm fine with the nun killing. I actually think it's a cool idea, but let them have real clothes.

I don't see the issue with the nun outfits. That's a pretty good cover up.

But why they were dressed as strippers or whatever in order to assassinate someone is pretty dumb.

They should have pulled a Neo where they rip off the nun outfits and are just loaded up with weapons - and appropriate clothes for a gun fight.

But whatever.

This is the biggest issue I've had with the whole argument over the video. Everyone seems to be questioning "why were they dressed like that to assassinate someone?" yet no one questions "why is he wearing a formal suit to assassinate someone?". The answer to both questions is the same, but only one is being asked.

Side note: The sexy nun as killers/killers disguised as nuns or priests thing has been done so many damn times in cinema that it really shouldn't have even garnered any attention. This just goes to show how immature the gaming media is.

You have can at least blend in with a suit. It's also the go to outfit for spies and assassins according to the movies, so it fits. But come on, bondage gear?

 

[orangeban]

Hmm, well, it's a decent apology, they didn't go for the "we apologise if you were offended", which was nice, but they did dodge the issues surrounding the whole idea.

My issues with the Hitman trailer are two-fold, but firstly I will point out that I have no problems with the nun thing from a religious perspective, I'm not religious. Though I see why a religious person may have had an issue with it.

Issue 1: Really didn't seem very Hitman-ish. I've played Hitman, it's not about taking on a group of scantily-clad gun toting assassins, it's about manipulating your environment with the intention of assassinating a target as quickly and cleanly as possible. Basically, if you get into a massive gunfight, you've done something wrong (or you're just fucking around).

And the whole stripper nun thing seemed out of place. Sexuality has always been quite big in the games, it's mentioned and dealt with a lot (many of your targets have committed some kind of sex crime or are in a sex party or something like that), but never has it been quite so blatant and explicit. There was no reason for those women to be stripper nuns, it's just eye candy for the viewer.

I mean, the apology talked about giving the new game a grindhouse feel, which could be cool, but that isn't very Hitman, that's not really what the games are about. They're quite dark, darkly comedic in places, but still quite dark and serious.

Issue 2: The blatant sexualisation. I've not got an issue that it's women who're being killed, I've got an issue that these supposedly practical assassins from a supposedly pragmatic and sensible organisation are dressed in the least appropriate outfit for assassination. Why? Because it's sexy, that's what viewers like. God forbid these women be treated like human beings doing a job like everyone else in the bloody universe including 47, nah, they've got to be super sexy. Hitman has always had a problem with this I feel, Blood Money had a lot of female characters in sexy outfits for no other reason than hey, they're women, let's make them sexy, that's what we do with women right?

As for the double standard issue, I don't think it exists. If it were men in suits being beaten up, that wouldn't be a problem. If it were men being beaten up who approached in Pope robes and then dropped them to reveal gimp suits or whatever, well, A) that wouldn't happen, which is part of the reason why the trailer was offensive, this kind of thing doesn't happen to men, and B) people would call that out as fucking ridiculous.

Edit: And yeah, I said this on the last thread about this, don't want to be seen to be repeating myself, I just developed my thoughts a little bit since then. I like to clarify my views, for myself as much as anyone else.

 

[Eamar]

If it were men being beaten up who approached in Pope robes and then dropped them to reveal gimp suits or whatever, well, A) that wouldn't happen, which is part of the reason why the trailer was offensive, this kind of thing doesn't happen to men, and B) people would call that out as fucking ridiculous.

An excellent point. It really is interesting how the male equivalent is just patently ridiculous even for video games, whereas the current version is considered normal.

The only way I can imagine this happening would be if it was Saints Row or something. But then it would be played for laughs, not sex appeal.

 

[Kargathia]

Although I think it was a bit silly(the undergarments, not the nun outfits), and not really representive of the hitman series, I think this has been way overblown. Way worse things then this are done on a daily basis in the gaming industry and it doesnt recive an ounce of the attention this has gotten. A true example of making a chicken farm out of a feather, and just badly placed priorities.

It was further excarbated by people already anxious for the Hitman franchise to not become the latest on-rails spectacle shooter. If they'd have shown him skilfully sneaking around, strangling nun-clad assassins, nobody would've lifted an eyebrow.

 

[sethisjimmy]

It's kind of sad how sensitive people are these days that an apology for this kind of thing is necessary.
I can see why people got upset, it's not exactly Hitman to go around killing sexy nuns, but at the same time I just can't get upset at it. Sex sells, the marketers wanted to try something different. A few years ago people would have loved this, but I guess times are changing. Maybe for the better even.

 

[orangeban]

If it were men being beaten up who approached in Pope robes and then dropped them to reveal gimp suits or whatever, well, A) that wouldn't happen, which is part of the reason why the trailer was offensive, this kind of thing doesn't happen to men, and B) people would call that out as fucking ridiculous.

An excellent point. It really is interesting how the male equivalent is just patently ridiculous even for video games, whereas the current version is considered normal.

The only way I can imagine this happening would be if it was Saints Row or something. But then it would be played for laughs, not sex appeal.

Exactly, Saints Row has ridiculous and over-the-top stuff like that, because it's a ridiculous and over-the-top game. Hitman is not over-the-top and ridiculous, not really.

you're right, it really betrays a lot of societies feelings about male and female sexualisation when you realise that overly sexualised women is normal, but overly sexualised men would be batshit ridiculous.

 

[antipunt]

Ah political correctness.

sooo muchhh fun gais.

*runs off to play a game/read a book*

 

[mindlesspuppet]

I don't see the issue with the nun outfits. That's a pretty good cover up.

But why they were dressed as strippers or whatever in order to assassinate someone is pretty dumb.

They should have pulled a Neo where they rip off the nun outfits and are just loaded up with weapons - and appropriate clothes for a gun fight.

But whatever.

This is the biggest issue I've had with the whole argument over the video. Everyone seems to be questioning "why were they dressed like that to assassinate someone?" yet no one questions "why is he wearing a formal suit to assassinate someone?". The answer to both questions is the same, but only one is being asked.

Side note: The sexy nun as killers/killers disguised as nuns or priests thing has been done so many damn times in cinema that it really shouldn't have even garnered any attention. This just goes to show how immature the gaming media is.

You have can at least blend in with a suit. It's also the go to outfit for spies and assassins according to the movies, so it fits. But come on, bondage gear?

Pretty certain that anything made out of skin-tight, form-fitting materials is the go to outfit for female spies and assassins according to the movies as well. And really, bondage gear? Just because something is tight and black does not make it bondage gear.

 

[Graill]

The trailer was fine. There are simply too many religious fanatics around.

 

[bafrali]

The trailer was fine. There are simply too many religious fanatics around.

Sigh. No it was shit on so many levels.

 

[croc3629]

I just thought the trailer was rather silly. Hitman is not a completely serious game franchise, but I don't expect trailers to leave something of a bad taste in my mouth when they're supposed to be making me excited for a game I'm already looking forward to. Although I do think it's gotten more attention than it deserved, I'm hoping it will at least show them that they should not try that again.

 

[ACman]

I don't see the issue with the nun outfits. That's a pretty good cover up.

But why they were dressed as strippers or whatever in order to assassinate someone is pretty dumb.

They should have pulled a Neo where they rip off the nun outfits and are just loaded up with weapons - and appropriate clothes for a gun fight.

But whatever.

This is the biggest issue I've had with the whole argument over the video. Everyone seems to be questioning "why were they dressed like that to assassinate someone?" yet no one questions "why is he wearing a formal suit to assassinate someone?". The answer to both questions is the same, but only one is being asked.

Side note: The sexy nun as killers/killers disguised as nuns or priests thing has been done so many damn times in cinema that it really shouldn't have even garnered any attention. This just goes to show how immature the gaming media is.

I have no particular problem with a Nun's Habit as a disguise a long as it makes sense in context. Hasn't 42 dressed as a priest on occasion?

The problem come in when you ask why they are dressing as nuns to perform a hit on a hotel?

Why are they dressing a sexy nuns?

Why do they then destroy any pretense of being disguised to by tearing off the habits to revel "sexy nun" bondage gear?

What is an all female "hit team" doing in a Hitman game anyway? Going of the tone of the previous games I have trouble believing that these ladies exist in 42's world.

"Blystad explained that it's a combination of the game's natural extremism and the influence of film directors like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez."

????????????

If you want to make a game influenced by Kill Bill -- GO MAKE THAT GAME. Don't take another series and then completely change it's aesthetic.

I've always thought of Hitman existing in a 'Bourne Identity', 'Le Samurai' or 'The Professional' style universe. The type that have personality and empathy free individuals who provide murder for money until something changes. How has Hitman ever been in anyway "Exploitation"?

 

[ACman]

The trailer was fine. There are simply too many religious fanatics around.

I have no problems with a hit team, consisting entirely of women dressed as nuns, being in a computer game.

I have a problem with it being in this computer game.

Is the concept exploitative? Certainly. Does it offend religious sensibilities? Probably. But that isn't the issue.

The problem is that Sexy-Nun-Hit-Squad should be in a game called 'Sexy Nun - Hit Squad'. I'd totally play that. But 42 doesn't exist in that type of universe. He exists to kill Colombian Drug Lords and Russian Arms dealers and the occasional renegade CIA operative. These ladies look like they've dropped out of Bayonetta.

 

[SextusMaximus]

The hell are they apologising? They wanted to go for sixties exploitation film, nothing's stopping them but at least run with it.

 

[Shocksplicer]

The only problem with it is that it was silly to the point of fucking stupid.
That is all.

 

[Radoh]

This is the biggest issue I've had with the whole argument over the video. Everyone seems to be questioning "why were they dressed like that to assassinate someone?" yet no one questions "why is he wearing a formal suit to assassinate someone?". The answer to both questions is the same, but only one is being asked.

A man in a suit doesn't attract attention. just another face in the crowd. 7 attractive women in s&m gear is the opposite.

Death of a Showman: He wears his suit into an abandoned amusement park run by gangsters and two-bit crooks.
A suit stands out.

Flatline: He wears his suit to an addiction clinic filled with patients and doctors.
A suit stands out.

The Murder of Crows: He wears his suit to Mardi Gras.
A suit stands out.

You Better Watch Out...: He wears his suit to a Christmas party.
A suit stands out.

Death on the Mississippi: He wears his suit onto a cruise ship in the deep south.
A suit stands out.

A House of Cards: He wears his suit to a casino hotel in Vegas.
A suit stands out.

A Dance with the Devil: He wears his suit to a Angel/Demon costume party.
Hey guess what, a suit stands out.

OT: Considering I assassinated people while dressed as a clown, Santa, a WWI soldier, a crow, and the Devil himself, I didn't really see anything wrong with this, it just sorta clashes a bit with the normal quietly dark humour they usually have going. They wore something that they thought would give them an edge over a man, but they didn't account for Agent Forty Seven being uninterested, so they die.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

The only problem with it is that it was silly to the point of fucking stupid.
That is all.

I love Monty Python, I guess why I liked this trailer just because of it being silly.

IO is being weak...

Oh and I'll leave this here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z49zvR1XZ2M