Japan isn't totally innocent, you know. Ivy from Soul Calibur is always brought up in these sorts of discussions, and both she and her games are the products of Capcom. And she is rightly used as an example, because there is absolutely no reason for her to be dressed like that. It is not explained by her character or her storyline. The only reason she's like that is for gratuitous oogling.OtherSideofSky said:No, he specifically stated, in his final argument, that the unrealistic portrayal of women in games and other media is problem, while the unrealistic portrayal of men is not, because both are primarily designed to appeal to men. I responded that I am currently living in a nation which produces a significant portion of the world's games in which this is untrue. He is not required to address this situation, but it is his responsibility to acknowledge the existence of circumstances differing from those he describes and the limited scope of his own observations.Lilani said:Since he clearly outlined what specific parts of the games are problems, it's safe to assume games that do not have those problems are excluded from criticism.OtherSideofSky said:This was not an analysis of the portrayal of MovieBob in media. I am deeply disappointed.
Also, once again, the "no one designs male characters to appeal to women" argument does not apply to Japan. You know, the place where like half the world's games (and certainly the world's most sexual games) get made? Yeah, they design male game characters to appeal to women, just like they do in their comic books (ever since they started doing reader surveys in the early 90s), just like they do in their cartoons, just like they do in their live action television (you know those rubber-suit superhero shows they make for eight year old boys? The men they cast in those are chosen to appeal to women now. It stops mothers from changing the channel). No, not every male character in a Japanese game is designed that way or for that reason and yes, the games built around identifying with a female protagonist and ogling hot guys basically never get localized. It sucks, I know, but can we please get past this outdated eurocentrism? All it takes is a few words to qualify that you're only talking about your own culture, not everyone else's, and that's especially important when your made-up game title is clearly not something that would be made in Europe or America.
In a multicultural industry like this one it is lazy and insulting to present anglosphere tropes as if they are universally applicable. It is an intellectual legacy of the modernist culture of imperialism and Movie Bob, who has devoted an episode to such things in the past, should do a better job qualifying his statements. His own inability to speak Japanese or lack of personal experience with the popular culture of Japan are no excuse.
This is about a problem, not about regions. I'm aware there is a bit of a problem with gamers assuming their region is the only one that exists, hell that is a problem with every form of media and sector of life. But if you're going to claim a region is totally innocent of criticisms which might be inadvertently thrown its way, the first thing you have to do is be correct. Which in this case, I'm afraid you aren't.