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This Week in Games - The Sudden Rise of Fanservice Games

Thinking that there wouldn't be any outrage over a North American release of DOAX3 isn't a particularly well-grounded opinion.

I don't think there were enough fan service games released this year
My bank account still has money in it.

I'm pretty sure that if DOAX3 had gotten released if would've gotten the same level of outrage Mass Effect 1's sex scene got from Fox News which is to say not much at all. And gamers in general not giving a damn.

Ghostbusters 2016 bombed because of bad writing.

Nobody cares about FoxNews. We're talking about video game rags like Kotaku and Polygon which love to breed controversy for clicks.

Remember when Nintentendo was the devil for not having homosexual marriage in Tomodachi Life,

or the Dragon Crown outrage,

or Rapelay?

Fire Emblem was heavily censored

because some Tumblr user made a big stink about "conversion therapy" which they made up.

You bet your buns DOAX3 would have created some nice juicy clickbait.

But I feel like this idea of the west pushing back against pervy games is incredibly exaggerated. I mean, it's not like there ever was this 'evil essjaydoubleyoo' cult trying to take your games away. People might criticise a game with objectionable content, but it's the publishers who ultimately decide whether or not they want to sell the game uncensored.

Honestly that whole 'outrage' over Xenoblade Chronicles X was just the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Like... boohoo they replaced a 13 year old's skimpy bikini with a slightly less skimpy bikini. It had zero effect on the gameplay and it looked like crap anyway so why were people even mad? Did they just not like the idea of 'censorship'?

All these games that did get censored were a result of publishers getting cold feet. Nintendo of America felt uncomfortable about Lin's Bikini so they took it upon themselves to remove it before release. The same goes for the removed features in the Fire Emblem games. Whether Koei Tecmo were trying to sell their piece of crap game through genius marketing tactics or they were just thin skinned cowards who couldn't take the heat, they decided to not give us DOAX3. The common thread in all these cases and many more? It was entirely the publisher's decision. No 'evil feminist cult' involvement whatsoever.

I definitely agree that it's probably a result of this movement that these games ended up getting an audience. Personally I think the idea of buying ecchi games to 'stick it to the man' is a bit silly but I ain't gonna judge if you're into that stuff.

Gamers have had an irksome history of dealing with misrepresentation in the media and in their personal lives. They often feel stigmatized for being desensitized to violence or not getting outside or being social enough. Passive-aggressive insinuations about the general character of anyone who would identify themselves as otaku/gamers are common within political circles.

These kinds of messages were often marketed toward parents back in the days, but I figure the big thing that has changed since then and now is that gamers are more in tune to the world than ever before. A lot of them grew up, and they aren't as appreciative of all the politically-charged degradation.

There's something of a vicious cycle at play when it comes to the effect of clickbait and its influence on the feminism vs. gamergate social war. These two groups both tend to see the best of their group and all the worst in one another. Mainly because that's just sort of how media functions at the moment. Gamers are looking up gamer videos when they check their sidebar and see some video about how some crazed advocate said something extraordinarily insensitive. Feminists are looking up their videos and they see the same thing...and the comment sections of both of these groups tend to add fuel to the flame...because someone got some fact wrong or said something stupid and people are inclined to correct it...which gets people defensive...which gets people upset...which gets people angry. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Stuff like that actually inadvertently stokes the ego. "Is everyone stupid except me? Am I crazy? What is going on???" Or at least that's my working hypothesis for why you see a lot more consideration for the self and lessening interest in others.

At any rate, it's definitely an interesting time to be living. I tried to keep this centered around gaming but this subject just really broadens out into perpetual discussion about media, politics, religion/ideology, etc. ...so basically the same old hats that have gotten people riled at one another since higher thinking first developed. haha.

Did they just not like the idea of 'censorship'?

It was entirely the publisher's decision. No 'evil feminist cult' involvement whatsoever.

Honestly that whole 'outrage' over Xenoblade Chronicles X was just the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Like... boohoo they replaced a 13 year old's skimpy bikini with a slightly less skimpy bikini. It had zero effect on the gameplay and it looked like crap anyway so why were people even mad? Did they just not like the idea of 'censorship'?

I remember Cassandra Lee Morris, Lin's voice actor, defended the decision and urged people to 'focus on Lin's character and abilities rather than her outfit'. Of course, people ignored her and still ended up focusing on her outfit. As long as no one gets hurt there's nothing wrong with being a bit perverted. I think most of us are to some degree. But for God's sake don't try to paint your desire to lust after anime girls as this big war about ethics.

I didn't know that removing an optional touching minigame and changing some dialog is the same thing as turning blood into another color or something similar.