OK. You feel more passionately about this issue than I do. I don't think not gender-swapping Link is a "threat". I kind of afraid to ask. What exactly is the "threat" that you are referring to?Secondhand Revenant said:This is missing the point about the threat not being real.KissingSunlight said:If you are a billion dollar company, you are looking to please everyone. Regardless, of how silly the excuses they come up with. They have to do that, because some people refuse to acknowledge that creators should have any say on their fictional works. (Death of the Author)Secondhand Revenant said:The bogeyman is never a good reason to do or not do something.KissingSunlight said:The only bone of contention I have with Jim's opinions was him saying, "Why don't the developers say 'We didn't want to have a playable female character in this game?'" By saying that, it will open the door to all the social justice critics to be outraged and claim that videogames are sexist.
Variety and possible new directions are rather relevant, even if I never get tired of violent games.About the violence video, I thought that was more of a personal plea than anything else. Remember this guy is a videogame critic. So, he has to play a lot of games whether he likes them or not. Most videogames are violent. So, I empathize with what he is saying. However, it's really not relevant to most of us. We can pick and choose how often we want to play a violent game.
Voting with your wallet is not some panacea. It is not easily interpreted. There are myriad reasons people may not buy a game. Simply not buying it does not tell them which and leaves them playing a guessing game of how to please the people who don't buy. It also depends on collective action between people who are unlikely to be coordinating, sometimes requiring them to act in a way that is to their detriment (not buying something they want to have to make a bigger point)There are a lot of variety of games. Could there be more? Sure. Would it be nice if there were more variety from AAA games? Most definitely. All that would happen if we vote with our wallets. Videogames, just like movies, more people prefer sequels and reboots of established series over anything original and different.
The problem that comes up with "voting with your wallet" is sometimes that what you vote for "loses the election". I can't tell you how many times I have lamented that a movie, singer, or game should be more popular than it is. Unfortunately, what big companies understand is the bottom line. Did that entertainment product make a profit? Sure, it's nice that something with a positive social message becomes popular. Companies can't stay in business if they are losing money putting out products that doesn't sell, but are socially important.