Whats with the recent use of Luchadores in video games?

[DudeistBelieve]

America has had a long history of not supporting professional wrestling. Even at it's most popular in the mid-90s, it was still regarded as a subculture.

Past couple years or so, Luchadores (Mexican Professional Wrestlers) keep appearing in video games. Just recently, GTA:V has luchadore masks to buy and Saints Row featured them predominantly as a gang.

So my question is... why this is? I can't imagine that the game makers themselves are big wrestling fans for them to show up so often. I'm thinking, rather cynically, this is a result of marketing and the very sizable latino immigration in America.

Anyone know something or care to speculate?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

All I know is that Suda51 uses them in every game he makes. Maybe it finally caught on.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Oh dear, I hope you'll never run into Guacamelee then. That game is all luchador, all the time.

As for the answer to your question, I have no clue. If it's really to pander to the latino demographic it comes off as a rather clumsy attempt. Then again, worse marketing tricks have been pulled before.

Don't really care though. I'll take a flamboyant and colorful luchador over your average brown-haired, unshaven, 30-something Caucasian male game protagonist anytime.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

I really missed the days where there was at least some form of a Luchador in a game, but now we have some thugs in SR3 that dress slightly like them and have masks in some games and of course we have Guacamelee.

Basically we need more Luchador games.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Guacamelee is a sidescrolling adventure fighting game about a Luchador fighting his way through various Hispanic environments and enemies. If there were any game at all to start...

I think it's something different. Nothing really represents the a human who is experienced enough to beat someone else to death with his bare fists while looking like an upright meatfreezer. That's what's cool - sometimes. That's what's hilarious - most of the time.

I think it's just funny.

 

[Chicago Ted]

Past couple years or so, Luchadores (Mexican Professional Wrestlers) keep appearing in video games. Just recently, GTA:V has luchadore masks to buy and Saints Row featured them predominantly as a gang.

Uh... I don't think there's anything with this trend of Luchadores recently in gaming. Because I really don't think there's any real trend there to begin with.

Seriously, list a few more games with it, and where it's more prominent. To start with, I really wouldn't count GTA V as anything here. I mean, you have the option to choose one of the mask set ups for a single mission to be Luchadore Masks and that's it. You also have the option for Skull Masks, Monkey Masks, Hockey Masks, and even a couple others that I can't remember. As it currently stands, there really ain't much to go on here to back your point.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

I dunno.

My guess it's because it's cool. Also, Latino immigration causing a rise in Latino culture doesn't have to be just cynicism. I mean, that's kind of the point of immigration.

 

[Angelous Wang]

America has had a long history of not supporting professional wrestling. Even at it's most popular in the mid-90s, it was still regarded as a subculture.

Past couple years or so, Luchadores (Mexican Professional Wrestlers) keep appearing in video games. Just recently, GTA:V has luchadore masks to buy and Saints Row featured them predominantly as a gang.

So my question is... why this is? I can't imagine that the game makers themselves are big wrestling fans for them to show up so often. I'm thinking, rather cynically, this is a result of marketing and the very sizable latino immigration in America.

Anyone know something or care to speculate?

Actually WWE is massive, they have 15-50 thousand people (depending on the stadium size) packed into every show, every week, and they have millions of viewers world wide (but more so in America). In fact the RAW show is so popular it's the longest episodic TV show ever in TV history and each episode is 3 hours long, that's how successful it is.

The company is worth $2.208 Billion at current according to wikipedia.

And they do have a few Luchadores.

Though personally I'd blame Jack Black and few other Hollywood movies for using them in a comical manor for the video game ones showing up in things like Saint Row and GTA.

 

[Alssadar]

Luchadors are manly men who wrestle shit to death with their bare hands. They are bloody fun people, and, c'mon, doesn't the idea of lucha libre just make you happy. Just masked men like super heroes who get to beat people up and have muscles, making a spectacle and an entertaining show about it.
It's a mixture of the rule of cool, and rule of fun.

You may question why they have randomly come up, but I ask why they ever went away.

 

[2HF]

The skull mask must mean they're pandering to Death, and the hockey mask must mean they're pandering to Canadians.

It's a game about heists and there are various masks that are available. No special mention of the luchador masks or any attempt to make you select them as far as I could tell.

It's just one item in a game full of every fuckin thing.

 

[KeyMaster45]

Because luchadores are awesome, do we need any other reason why?

 

[NeutralDrow]

Because luchadores are awesome. And you know what else is a subculture? Gamers.

Really, though, I see far more lucha libre references in Japanese games than American games. They have their own pro wrestling scene, with a lot of overlap between wrestling fans and gamers because luchadores are so close to the tokusatsu ideal. They're over the top masked warriors.

Also, this thread needs more Crasher Wake.

Best gym leader ever.

 

[The Danger]

America has had a long history of not supporting professional wrestling. Even at it's most popular in the mid-90s, it was still regarded as a subculture.

Past couple years or so, Luchadores (Mexican Professional Wrestlers) keep appearing in video games. Just recently, GTA:V has luchadore masks to buy and Saints Row featured them predominantly as a gang.

So my question is... why this is? I can't imagine that the game makers themselves are big wrestling fans for them to show up so often. I'm thinking, rather cynically, this is a result of marketing and the very sizable latino immigration in America.

Anyone know something or care to speculate?

Because luchadores are rad as shit. End of discussion.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Because colourful, comical characters are interesting. Videogames need to be interesting.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Luchadors are manly men who wrestle shit to death with their bare hands. They are bloody fun people, and, c'mon, doesn't the idea of lucha libre just make you happy. Just masked men like super heroes who get to beat people up and have muscles, making a spectacle and an entertaining show about it.
It's a mixture of the rule of cool, and rule of fun.

You may question why they have randomly come up, but I ask why they ever went away.

o.o ....

I have no words for just how awesome that tale of dragon slaying is. Truely this player was a god among men, or insane, or both, ether way, that was the most awesome thing I've read in weeks.


OT: Guacamelee also sends it's greetings. because its fucking awesome, you should be playing that, and not GTA for your 'badass and ridiculously awesome' wrestling needs.

 

[silversnake4133]

Volition put Luchadores as a gang in SR:TT because the development team loves wrestling and are big fans of the sport. Steve Jaros said himself in a few interviews that he and a lot of his crew are big wrestling fans and that they tried to include wrestling style moves, take-downs and more recently clothing in their Saints Row series so you could make a wrestler for your character if you wanted. Also, Volition's previous publisher THQ also published the WWE games, so yeah.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

America has had a long history of not supporting professional wrestling. Even at it's most popular in the mid-90s, it was still regarded as a subculture.

Past couple years or so, Luchadores (Mexican Professional Wrestlers) keep appearing in video games. Just recently, GTA:V has luchadore masks to buy and Saints Row featured them predominantly as a gang.

So my question is... why this is? I can't imagine that the game makers themselves are big wrestling fans for them to show up so often. I'm thinking, rather cynically, this is a result of marketing and the very sizable latino immigration in America.

Anyone know something or care to speculate?

Actually WWE is massive, they have 15-50 thousand people (depending on the stadium size) packed into every show, every week, and they have millions of viewers world wide (but more so in America). In fact the RAW show is so popular it's the longest episodic TV show ever in TV history and each episode is 3 hours long, that's how successful it is.

The company is worth $2.208 Billion at current according to wikipedia.

And they do have a few Luchadores.

Though personally I'd blame Jack Black and few other Hollywood movies for using them in a comical manor for the video game ones showing up in things like Saint Row and GTA.

Yeah but WWE went from pully 7.0s in ratings, now they struggle to maintain a 4.0 on RAW.

As a wrestling fan myself, I'm just wondering why they pop up but more American-Profesional wrestlers don't.

I mean Roddy Piper had an awesome cameo in Saints Row 4, but that was more for They Live than anything else.