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INTEREST: AI: The Somnium Files Creator Has Some Profound Thoughts on Gender Identity

How is it unwarranted? His games do poorly in Japan so he is trying to appeal to the west. I see that as being a very real possibility. It definitely wouldn't be the first time someone tryed to take advantage of the community im so glad to be a part of. And how did I try and silence him? If anything it seems like you are the one trying to silence me.

I'm curious what your definition of "flopped" is, because the game sold within the expected parameters and even got a sequel. I can assure you the people it concerns do not care that it didn't sell like hotcakes, and the fans don't either

I can see why the game flopped now.

Yes, a nonbinary robot eyeball that doesn’t make an appearance in the game is why it flopped

The Last of Us 2 features a lesbian lead and was a financial success in the US and Japan.

chrisb wrote:

Yes, a nonbinary robot eyeball that doesn’t make an appearance in the game is why it flopped

I don't know? That alone sounds pretty weird and unappealing.

ThatGuyWhoLikesThings wrote:

I'm curious what your definition of "flopped" is, because the game sold within the expected parameters and even got a sequel. I can assure you the people it concerns do not care that it didn't sell like hotcakes, and the fans don't either

I would say a game that only sold a bit over 2000 copies is a pretty big flop no matter how it's spun. This is the internet so it's always safe to assume people are always being disingenuous, but the people who say sales don't matter tend to be the people who want to play damage control when confronted with the fact their work is not widely accepted or representative of something.

The PlayStation 4 version ranked 27th with 2,267 copies sold, while the Nintendo Switch version was 33rd with 1,767 copies sold in the Dengeki top 50.[31] The PC version of the game was among the best-selling new releases of the month on Steam.[32][c]

Nice try at misrepresenting the sales figures but

The PlayStation 4 version ranked 27th with 2,267 copies sold, while the Nintendo Switch version was 33rd with 1,767 copies sold in the Dengeki top 50.[31] The PC version of the game was among the best-selling new releases of the month on Steam.[32][c]

And that it how you're trying to silence him, by attempting to delegitimize his stance and treat it as somehow abnormal or merely a product of pandering (with the underlying assumption, as others have made in response to Uchikoshi, that Japan is a hivemind where nobody could possibly think these things without Western influence).

Quote:

The PlayStation 4 version ranked 27th with 2,267 copies sold, while the Nintendo Switch version was 33rd with 1,767 copies sold in the Dengeki top 50.[31] The PC version of the game was among the best-selling new releases of the month on Steam.[32][c]

all-tsun-no-dere wrote:

Nice try at misrepresenting the sales figures but The PlayStation 4 version ranked 27th with 2,267 copies sold, while the Nintendo Switch version was 33rd with 1,767 copies sold in the Dengeki top 50.[31] The PC version of the game was among the best-selling new releases of the month on Steam.[32][c]

That seems like a minor thing to correct. It comes across like those Snopes articles that try to fact check but just sound kind of pedantic.

Poster claimed game sold a bit over 2000 copies

Verdict: FALSE. It actually sold a bit over 4000 copies!

Unless they mean the sequel sold less But it seems the fact that the game is not popular in Japan remains unchanged. The only time I ever see discussion of this game is when people post that dialog of the blue-haired girl talking about how awesome LGBT people are. It seems like that's the only reason people seem to care about the game. For a topic that isn't important in Japan I can see why it's not really talked about outside that specific English speaking fandom niche which cares about that sort of thing.

I think it's pretty well known Uchikoshi's works have always done poorly in Japan and had more success overseas so it's not exactly a wrong assumption in this case.

FeelMyBlade wrote:

I think it's pretty well known Uchikoshi's works have always done poorly in Japan and had more success overseas so it's not exactly a wrong assumption in this case.

It's an assumption based on such a deeply cynical and morally derelict worldview that treating it as reasonable says more about the person making the argument, imo. The idea is that anyone (in this case, Uchikoshi) cannot hold sincere beliefs that aren't solely centered on their own person, that empathy or allyship is inherently a ploy for money/clout/attention/whatehaveyou. It's essentially saying "there's no way any person could actually believe trans and nonbinary are worthy of respect or dignity, so anyone saying they do is lying" which, again, says more about the person saying it than anyone else.

In this case it's also intersecting with this blindingly stupid idea that Japan, as an entire country, does not have LGBT people or anyone who supports them or even believes they exist, and any Japanese person who says otherwise is lying or has been tricked by some cabal of western activists brainwashing the poor, unsuspecting Japanese people. So it's both good old fashioned orientalism, but packaged in an insultingly infantilizing wrapper to support this fantasy version of Japan that doesn't have anything equivalent to the political nuance and complexity of every other country on the planet.

Can ANN not do something about the transphobia in these kind of threads?