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[Gaiff]

Let me set up the story first. I was at my mom's house last week and went to the living room while she was preparing some food. My old PS3 was still there so I fired it up to kill time. I had a God of War III save and loaded it, arriving at the part with Aphrodite. You know, the one with the sex mini-game.

I figured I'd just do it while my mom wasn't looking but she came back earlier so I put it on pause. I waited for her to be gone before resuming but a minute later, some guests came in so just turned off the console. I don't mind eviscerating Hades or chopping off Hermes' legs in front of people, but a fucking mini-game would make me look like a degenerate.

Then, my older brother arrived and I told him about the situation that had just occurred. He told me he looked back fondly at those times. We talked about some games, eventually bringing up Soul Calibur 2, a game he was never good at, but mentioned that his favorite characters were Taki and Ivy. We checked some artwork on his cellphone and I was reminded that his love for them had nothing to do with how they played.

Anyway, this brings me to asking you guys this; looking back, what do you think of the more, shall we say, overt sexualisation in video games at the time? There were games like Red Ninja: End of Honor that were literally made just for some gratuitous panty shots lol. We also had classics like DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball. As far as the west is concerned, we're almost at the opposite end of the spectrum. Japan and the rest of the east have somewhat mellowed out but you still get games like Stellar Blade and I think the DOA Xtreme games live on there.

Do you miss it? Don't care? Found it cringe and are glad it's gone? Pics related:

 

[64bitmodels]

People who get mad at the lack of it these days need to get a life. we have pornhub now, & sexy women aren't the reason why video games from that era were so good.
Besides, there are still some games with fanservice these days like GG Strive & Senran Kagura (find it embarassing i even know about the latter franchise)

 

[Mr Hyde]

I never had issues with sexy chicks in games but sex scenes (like in Witcher 3) and sex mini games (like in GoW 3) was and always will be cringe as fuck. Glad it's (mostly) gone.

 

[Henry Panic]

Final Fantasy X-2 probably wouldn't be made today without Square receiving overwhelming backlash on social media.

 

[Crayon]

That Taki is out of control. I didn't think about it at the time because there was a titty arms race going on.

 

[DrMano]

I like women to be sexy in my fictional games, just as men are liked to be good looking/handsome/well-built. Forcing uglified female models upon us is a misandrist double standard.

that chick in the OP is wild to the point of being a 'distraction' though...

 

[DemonGamerTTT]

It was fun until dumb retards that have real attraction/affection/fear of colored pixels started saying that it was wrong.

If you are one of those people that project themselves into colored pixels drawn inside a screen or If you do feel any sort of empath, shame or affection for those kind of things, you should be checked because they probably have some type of mental disease.

Those kind of people even have the audacity to say shit like "get a life"... Like if some dumbass on the internet have the moral ground to tell anyone what "a life is".

 

[dreamstation]

Just like in movies it probably suits some stories and not others.

 

[MrA]

People who get mad at the lack of it these days need to get a life. we have pornhub now, & sexy women aren't the reason why video games from that era were so good.
Besides, there are still some games with fanservice these days like GG Strive & Senran Kagura (find it embarassing i even know about the latter franchise)

this is such an idiotic response, please protect video women, watch pornhub, a site with major issues with actual women being abused and exploited
and yes good looking woman added to the aesthetics and made them better, you're both wrong and awful.

 

[64bitmodels]

this is such an idiotic response, please protect video women, watch pornhub, a site with major issues with actual women being abused and exploited
and yes good looking woman added to the aesthetics and made them better, you're both wrong and awful.

never said protect them or that they're real people. you're putting words in my mouth. just saying that people who care too much about it are in this hobby for the wrong reason.

 

[Saber]

Never bothered me. Its not like sexy women ruined my fun at games. Besides, sexy women exist in real life, movies, media, etc. Attractiviness sells.
People who get triggered by that need to leave out of their rooms and meet humans for once in a while.

 

[DrFigs]

Everything in media is so sexless and sterile these days. I'm also not a fan that some games seemingly want to have ugly female characters - maybe it's on purpose or by accident, but I don't see how this makes games better.

 

[Varteras]

 

[ZoukGalaxy]

Not specially a fan but I was/I am totally fine with it, and for whatever: women or men, we play and watch movies to get out of reality (mostly) not to find the same (sometimes boring) reality. Politically correct in our games is probably one the saddest thing from our era, and people getting offended by anything is really the worst from nowadays.

Gaming going mainstream is both the best and the worst thing ever happened to this industry.

Is the movie "Equilibrium" what awaits us ?

 

[March Climber]

Just like in movies it probably suits some stories and not others.

This is the best take of the thread.

 

[TexMex]

I’m for the sexualization of everything.

 

[Johnny Concrete]

It was just a different time. Like MTV was all tits and ass back then as well.
A girl raiding tombs in hotpants with 2 enormous guns and 2 even bigger boobs felt like a novel idea.

 

[Clear]

Its just what's perceived to be saleable in the social climate of the time.

Posturing about "inclusion" is just the contemporary version of the same impulse. Just way less fun.

 

[MrA]

never said protect them or that they're real people. you're putting words in my mouth. just saying that people who care too much about it are in this hobby for the wrong reason.

you put those words in your mouth, I'll leave you with the circus.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

Let me set up the story first. I was at my mom's house last week and went to the living room while she was preparing some food. My old PS3 was still there so I fired it up to kill time. I had a God of War III save and loaded it, arriving at the part with Aphrodite. You know, the one with the sex mini-game.

I figured I'd just do it while my mom wasn't looking but she came back earlier so I put it on pause. I waited for her to be gone before resuming but a minute later, some guests came in so just turned off the console. I don't mind eviscerating Hades or chopping off Hermes' legs in front of people, but a fucking mini-game would make me look like a degenerate.

Then, my older brother arrived and I told him about the situation that had just occurred. He told me he looked back fondly at those times. We talked about some games, eventually bringing up Soul Calibur 2, a game he was never good at, but mentioned that his favorite characters were Taki and Ivy. We checked some artwork on his cellphone and I was reminded that his love for them had nothing to do with how they played.

Anyway, this brings me to asking you guys this; looking back, what do you think of the more, shall we say, overt sexualisation in video games at the time? There were games like Red Ninja: End of Honor that were literally made just for some gratuitous panty shots lol. We also had classics like DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball. As far as the west is concerned, we're almost at the opposite end of the spectrum. Japan and the rest of the east have somewhat mellowed out but you still get games like Stellar Blade and I think the DOA Xtreme games live on there.

Do you miss it? Don't care? Found it cringe and are glad it's gone? Pics related:

Can't make up my mind. Need more examples to understand what you are trying to say...

 

[ThatOneGrunt]

Never opposed to it. But recognize that it can be gratuitous at times.

 

[Come On Tars]

nice

 

[nkarafo]

I never cared much about it but i do get annoyed by the way it gets censored nowadays.

 

[64bitmodels]

you put those words in your mouth, I'll leave you with the circus.

Where in my post did i ever say that "We should protect videogame women"? You're too angry to even read properly.

this is what i mean, why the fuck do people get so angry about this shit? even if they're not (usually) sexualized, pretty & cute girls still exist in many Japanese video games today. Elden ring which came out last year has plenty of pretty girls in it, same for Bayonetta 3 and GG Strive.

I remember people getting all in a tizzy about RE4 Remake and calling it woke because IDK, Ashley wears a jacket now and you can't look up her skirts anymore?
How is that the only thing that makes RE4 great? How does that invalidate all the other changes RE4 Remake took to elevate RE4's visual style and gameplay to modern standards?

Y'all too horny to think straight lol

 

[Efren is G.O.A.T.]

I'll be honest, I just don't understand why this became a topic in today's society. We're literally talking about fictional characters...animated drawings! They can all look like the picture in the OP or Abby in Last of Us part 2, I just don't care.

 

[YukiOnna]

If it's things like the sex mini-game or that nonsense in God of War III or I think it was Witcher, I think it takes it too far and should be content for another genre and separate category of video games. I don't need full on nudity and it's mostly to do with comfortability.

If it's about revealing character designs and fanservice, then there is nothing wrong with that and I think developers should be able to freely add it. People who are concerned about this topic and direct it at video games are wasting others time and feel insecure I noticed and those who insult others over liking it or act better than others for being "less horny" are immature and have no middle ground. Attractive designs are a selling point and its normal, I'm not here to play something I don't find attractive as it's all fiction. It's a video game so there's nothing wrong with it.

 

[TGO]

I don't know they seem to be okay with men being sexualised and they push obese, trans and gay posing and dressing sexualised and call it stunning & brave.

 

[Pantz]

It needs to come back. You can still find games on Steam with sexy characters, but they mostly suck.
2B shows that it can be popular if the game is also good. Has there been any new ones since 2B?
Even a design like Nariko from Heavenly Sword would be nice. Feels like there's so little chance, even of something like that these days.

 

[nial]

Besides, there are still some games with fanservice these days like GG Strive & Senran Kagura (find it embarassing i even know about the latter franchise)

I like the art of Senran Kagura, but the games themselves suck.

 

[_Ex_]

what do you think of the more, shall we say, overt sexualisation in video games at the time?

I think it was awesome and it should all come back with gusto.

 

[64bitmodels]

I like the art of Senran Kagura, but the games themselves suck.

Remember playing one of the games on Vita and thinking "Damn this is trash.... girls are hot tho"

I used to really be into it back in 2017 (on youtube at least) but looking back on it now having played one of the games i think it was just the fanservice.

 

[Teletraan1]

The recent desexualization of women has gone too far. They hire attractive models to mocap the characters and then uglify them or turn them into sexless blobs. It is embarrassing how the pendulum has swung so far the other way just as it was cringe that women were over sexualized. Women should be able to have feminine traits. Attractive people exist, but for some reason the entire western VG industry is hell bent on making every female character look like they got shit out of an Oblivion character creator and sadly Japan is starting to feel the pressure for sexless blobs in their output too.

 

[Hollowpoint5557]

If games had sex scenes like in Team America World Police I think the world would be better for it.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

You're asking this question at a time where many on here still remember Anita Sarkeesian. Did the whole topic a huge disservice. As someone else pointed out already, it's all about the context. If you're a developer and want to make a sexy game, or even a pornographic game, fine go ahead and do it. Nobody should be stopping you from that. However, sex mini-games in titles like GoW (to pick up the example) to me is just super cringe and completely out of context. Some like it, I don't. It doesn't suit the game to me.

 

[3liteDragon]

Don't really care.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

Didnt care. Still dont care. Honestly as a kid/teen never really noticed. It was just there and the character designs looked cool af (usually)

Sure some characters id have a crush on, but had nothing to do with the sexualization aspect.

 

[OCL]

More pic please

 

[dreamcastluvr]

I'm a big fan of lewdness and sexual imagery in video games. It's unfortunate that the puritanical right-wing parental groups from the 90's who sought to have video games censored have simply been replaced in modern day by far-left, third-wave feminists who falsely claim that sexualizing women is somehow misogynistic and supposedly has real-life negative implications (the vast majority of peer-reviewed studies indicate that it doesn't). Obviously not all video games need or even should have sexual imagery. But I think the market is big enough to still cater at some level to those of us who appreciate it. For example; there could be options in game settings to change or tone down the sexual content (i.e. Bayonetta 3).

And yes, I'm aware that pornhub exists and no, I have no interest in it. Not everyone who appreciates sexual expression in video games is looking to rub one out. It's annoying when people present this argument because it's akin to saying "Why don't you just watch action movies instead of playing action video games?"

 

[Elysion]

To be honest, some of the character designs in certain Japanese games are just straight up pedobait, and not something I want to see anywhere. On the other hand, the west has gone the opposite way to such an extent that even skirts seem to be unacceptable for female characters these days for some reason lol.

I think Final Fantasy games have always struck the perfect balance for me, with female characters that are nice to look at without making me feel embarrassed if someone else watches me playing. I think that‘s a good rule of thumb in general: would you feel embarrassed if someone walked in on you playing a game? If the answer is yes, then the game is too sexualized. I never felt embarrassed for playing the old Tomb Raider games for example, or even Dead of Alive 3 on XBox (which I played with my sister sometimes). Something like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on the other hand goes too far; some of the female character designs in that game are borderline pornographic lol.

 

[light2x]

As a horny teen I loved them but as an adult I don't care either way.

 

[Ozzie666]

Tomb Raider was some of the best marketing campaigns I've ever seen. It worked well and pushed boundaries, bleeding into mainstream media. Brilliant.
No problems with it at all. I remember the uproar with sex scenes in Defender of the Crown or Larry games. Sex sells, what is wet.

DOA bouncy bounce was comical, but there was a good game under there too. Might have pushed it too far with Extreme, but so what. In a world where there is so much nudity, violence and raunchy movies/sites available. Who cares. This is why there are ratings.

Some games probably shouldn't be played in front of non-gamers, or we might end up with another Mortal Kombat situation in 1993, suddenly back in congress again.

I am honestly more offended by Micros transactions; Battle passes and games released a buggy mess.

Extreme bloody violence, mass murdering and head shots are ok, but a bit if skin or boobs or sexiness, isn't.

 

[AGRacing]

People who get mad at the lack of it these days need to get a life. we have pornhub now, & sexy women aren't the reason why video games from that era were so good.
Besides, there are still some games with fanservice these days like GG Strive & Senran Kagura (find it embarassing i even know about the latter franchise)

"This is so cringe... ! Why can't these whiners just beat off in their rooms to fictional step moms and step sisters like the rest of us and shut up!". - A "balanced" individual in 2023.

 

[LegendOfKage]

It was as silly and pandering at times as it is ridiculous in the other direction now. But I'd rather have silly fun than restrictive judgemental gatekeepers any day.

 

[SkyHighTrees]

I care none bout it. Only if it's some odd muscular thang like my bo... my girl abby from TLOU2, don't wanna see that tbh

 

[64bitmodels]

I think Final Fantasy games have always struck the perfect balance for me, with female characters that are nice to look at without making me feel embarrassed if someone else watches me playing. I think that‘s a good rule of thumb in general: would you feel embarrassed if someone walked in on you playing a game? If the answer is yes, then the game is too sexualized.

Yep. And OFC Elden Ring as well.... The female character designs in that game are great. Ranni and Melina are some of my favorites.

Personally I perfer more cute, pretty girls in video games as opposed to explicit sexiness, less embarassing when someone walks in, isn't overly distracting, and it ends up being more memorable to me as opposed to the big titted sexy girls. Great example is Hat Kid from A Hat in Time or May from Guilty Gear Strive.
though in the case of Bayonetta, Samus and Lara Croft those are just straight badassery, I wouldn't have their designs any other way

 

[Honey Bunny]

I fucking loved it

 

[CGNoire]

There is nothing wrong with the Male Gaze.

Using it for advertising to horny teens can def seem cringe but artists shouldnt be automaticly placed under a social media microscope everytime they exspress there sexual prefrences through media.

Stop Banning Male Artistic Exspression.

 

[Danjin44]

People who get mad at the lack of it these days need to get a life. we have pornhub now,

Why you people think sexy design = you watch porn. Are you telling me people only put good looking actors in movies because people want watch porn? I don’t get the logic behind it.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I like tits

 

[Exede]

I don't like that it's just about the sexualisation of women.
To this date the sexualisation of men seems totally fine with most people. Muscles, naked chest, edgy face, full hair, sexy beard etc etc

It's not all about the jiggle boobs.
I have no Problems with bouncing boobs for women and naked muscle chest for men, in the end its just polygons (nice to look at polygons)