Sex Symbols - A Female Character Increase

[Fawriel]

Why does this "Ads by Google" thing at the bottom of the page keep showing me "giant inflatable costumes - 3 meter tall inflatable characters also furry character costumes"?

That was totally on-topic?

Anyway... this is actually a pretty deep topic.
I once heard a poet rant about it, kind of. He, sarcastically, explained how he's glad to be a man and gave several reasons. One I remember is that men are funny, because if a man goes on the stage and burps, it's funny, if a woman does it, it's embarrassing.
Most people really do still have a bad mindset on the issue of women. It's getting better, but the issue of attractiveness is still apparent. I've read that many normal movies contain scenes that serve no purpose other than to show boobs.
And don't get me started about how ads use sex appeal. For EVERY-FRIKKIN-THING.

It might seem like I'm overreacting, but, think about it.
Someone indirectly questioned the intent behind the attractiveness of female characters in Nintendo games.
Someone immediately countered "would you rather play as a fat *****" or something to that effect.
Is there no in-between? Is it either sexy or fat and ugly? Also, why does "fat" keep coming up? Is bodily perfection the only type of beauty we know?

Maybe I'm overanalyzing, but when you say something spontaneously, it reflects what you really feel, even if you think you're actually different.

I'm sorry if I'm coming off as mean and I don't want to imply that whoever said that is some kind of monster. I wouldn't want to play as an ugly female, either.
However, I'd gladly pick up a perfectly plain-looking, imperfect, maybe even a somewhat strange-looking female character. Those, unfortunately, don't seem to exist. Heroines are either sexy or, rarely, the opposite in order to make a point against treating women as sex-objects ( which is a weak argument ), or they're so weird they serve only as comic relief. Female villains are either sexy or absolutely hideous.

Meh.

 

[LukeFonFabre]

ganondorf and wario are bad guys and as such conform to bad guy stereotypes (you cant have floppy hair and a perfect nose if your trying to take over the world)

Sephiroth and Kuja say hi.

Though granted Nintendo seems to go with the more traditional evil=ugly route in most cases, the only bishonen Nintendo villains I can think of on the top of my head is Vaati and Alex. All the others are either monsters (Bowser and Ridley) or just simply ugly yet badass (Ganondorf).

The thing is though, there are much less viable female characters, and the most noticeable ones are the attractive ones. Samus is really Nintendo's heroine and part of her appeal is the 'reward' of her revealing her sexy self for completing the game. Peach and Zelda follow a similar pattern by being damsels in distress and are the reward for finishing the game by saving them more often than not (though Peach has been playable, though her own game has been criticized for sexism). Heck, even Krystal fit that role initially by being another damsel in distress, and Midna has Samus syndrome by revealing her true form once you beat the game. Seems to be the common theme for Nintendo really, the only real exceptions are the FE gals, who are playable alongside the men.

Unfortunately for female gamers, they have less eye candy to draw from. Nintendo's main man Mario is hardly a stud, and I'm not sure Captain Falcon really falls into that category either. Link sees to be the main attraction, though it looks like Pit also seems to have been given a pretty boy look with his new style. FE also seems to provide attractive male characters, as last I checked Marth and Roy seem to quite a few fangirls. Still, it seems most 'attractive' males take from the prettyboy demographic that I believe is popular in Japan, so if you aren't a fan of that, you're kind of out of luck. Granted you'd be hard pushed to call Snake a pretty boy, but the only actual Nintendo character that doesn't fall under that category and isn't butt ugly is probably Ike.

All Fire Emblem guys are sexy...<3

um, no.Not quite.

 

[MuraRengan]

It might seem like I'm overreacting, but, think about it.
Someone indirectly questioned the intent behind the attractiveness of female characters in Nintendo games.
Someone immediately countered "would you rather play as a fat *****" or something to that effect.
Is there no in-between? Is it either sexy or fat and ugly? Also, why does "fat" keep coming up? Is bodily perfection the only type of beauty we know?

I was hoping someone would realize that. Not being hot doesn't mean that they're ugly. What I'm getting at is the nintendo is trying to make them seem intentionally hot.

Compare these two:

Both would consider Krystal hot, but the second one would stand out more because of her pose.

Also, Male characters are sometimes look humorous/ugly in Nintendo games. Mario/Luigi/Wario are the best examples, but that's because mostly kids will be playing his games. Also his games have gotten a reputation for being unrealistic. IRL Bullet Bill would blow Mario into oblivion leaving a bloody mess on the ground, but little kids don't want to see that.

 

[ZeldaFox38]

The question you've got to ask yourself at this point is whether or not it matters to you. True, sex appeal may draw in a general audience, but if a game plays like trash, it's trash. Know what I mean? There are several thousands games out there with these "spanken' hot" babes (not my opinion), but they ultimately fail because the game sucks.

I mean really--did you play Metroid to see Samus in a swim suit, or did you play because you wanted to blast aliens to kingdom come?

I guess from a practical point, you could think of it this way: less than 12 percent of video game developers/programmers/etc. are women. (Source = MSNBC) I mean, duh. This is going to happen. From the double X side of the debate, I don't really care how hot a character is. The breaking point for me is story and control settings. I can endure a lot of junk, but as long as the story's good, what am I going to care?

And yeah, I'll admit--I have a little shallow side. Frankly, I don't play games that try to look realistic like Grand Theft Auto. I mean, it's hard to replicate a human. Might as well have fun with a goofy or anime look. But as far as characters go, I can't say I've ever been turned on by a video game character. That's not to say that there aren't hot male characters--it just doesn't entice me to play a game. It's not like I played Soul Calibur II because Kilik has his shirt open the entire time.

It's hard to have a romantic affair with a set of code and pixels, ya know?

As a side note--dating sims are terrifying.

 

[Wyvern]

Ooh, this ought to be a fun topic.

I think that Brawl probably will have a slightly higher female-to-male ratio than the previous two titles. However, that in and of itself doesn't necessarily mean that they're trying to cash in on sex appeal. There are plenty of innocent reasons to want a more balanced cast, too. The problem is that most potential female characters were sexualized before they even got to Brawl, because the videogame industry sucks like that. In that case, though, it's not necessarily Brawl's fault.

One exception, though (and one that really pisses me off), is Zero Suit Samus. (I actually already brought this up in the ZSS thread, but it's more topical here anyway.)

Samus is practically the only female character in videogame history who legitimately wasn't designed just for sex appeal. Nobody even knew she was female until the end of Metroid. She's one of the few independent, non-stereotyped, non-sexualized heroines out there, and it drives me crazy when people try to screw that up. There was really no reason whatsoever to include the Zero Suit form other than sex appeal. She appeared in that form for less than an hour in a single game, and exhibited no combat viability during that time. Not to mention that they made a point of showing her off even before the real Samus in the early teasers. If they had only put in Ridley and called it a day, I doubt anyone would have been complaining about a lack of Metroid representation. The Metroid series just plain doesn't have any characters! The fans know that. But they had to toss ZSS in there just to build up hype, without regard to the effects it has on Samus's character.

I don't think it's the start of a pattern for the rest of the game, but that still doesn't make it right.

 

[Caael]

Which is interesting, since I've seen many people announce that they plan to main a fat guy in Brawl (a certain motorcycle-riding, nuke-farting italian).

People dont care much for fat guys, it doesn't matter. But for girls, they're expected not to be fat so it would be weirder playing as a fat girl than a fat guy.

And Wario is cartoony and out of proportion. Even if he wasn't fat, he wouldn't be hot. Samus has human proportions and figure. If she was fat, it would be totally different.

Argh, it's hard to explain in words. I know what i'm trying to say, but dont know how.

 

[JesterBox]

Sex sells.... wait Midna!?

Caael, are the words you are looking for "no fat chicks"? just joking

 

[Kakashi-dono]

D*** sex appeal

Certain games have had a significant ammount of popularity due to the sex appeal of certain characters (I.E. Soul Calibur and Dead or Alive.) Melee didn't have such things but it's becoming obvious from other games that Nintendo is starting to create their characters with some sort of sex appeal.

http://sarge.wheresthebeef.co.uk/SGv2/Wallpapers/wallpaper[StarFox]02-l.png
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x174/GIGAMARTH/midnapt6.jpg
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i83/cena_wolf19/stock/photo_main.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/GoLee/nintendo/Mario/Strikers/untitled2.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/stotticus/5903ac23.jpg

The focus will be more towards the male players because more males will play than females. And the effects have taken notice. Just about everyone has heard or declared the a certain character is "hot".

If it is safe to assume that Nintendo is using sex appeal, is it safe to assume that this will ensure a great increase in female characters?

Rise up, Christian gamers! I know u hate sex appeal in VGs as much as i do!
It sucks to know that we live in a world where temptation is literally everywhere.
But in VGs?! thats taking it toooooooo far! I cant stand it! Men lusting over Vg grls!
Outrageous! Im not innocent though, there r some Vg grls that I like. But cmon guys!
Sex appeal does not belong in our VGs! Lets debate this, shall we?! the name is kakashi-dono

 

[Circus]

People dont care much for fat guys, it doesn't matter. But for girls, they're expected not to be fat so it would be weirder playing as a fat guy than a fat girl.

And Wario is cartoony and out of proportion. Even if he wasn't fat, he wouldn't be hot. Samus has human proportions and figure. If she was fat, it would be totally different.

Argh, it's hard to explain in words. I know what i'm trying to say, but dont know how.

Yes, I understand what you mean. At least, I think I do.

My point is: Why? Why the double standard? Why can an exaggerated, toony, "ugly" character like Wario be what he is where a female equivalent of him would probably be rejected?

Anyone can like any character for any reason. But it does seem like, to an extent, all characters are built to appeal to one specific demographic. And if anyone outside that demographic likes the character too, bonus.

Wyvern brought up a good point, that I never thought of. At first I thought they were just showing off Zamus because she was a neat new character but now...she's just a rarely seen form of Samus. For a character that, at this point, seems to be only available in rare occasions, she seems to appear pretty often, and has gotten quite a bit of attention. Yet NOTHING is known about her play style, aside from guesses from screenshots. She really just seems to be there for eye candy now.

 

[Zook]

Peach isn't hot.

 

[Circus]

Peach isn't hot.

Matter of opinion.

She's got blonde hair, blue eyes, milky skin, and Barbie-like facial features and body shape.

She's technically perfect.

 

[ZeldaFox38]

You know, I think if we were to need a female equivalent of Wario, I've got it.

Sure, Impa doesn't have the same personality as Wario, but if we need a chick to fill the role, then here you go. Unless it was the Ocarina incarnation of Impa. Then we'd be back to this conversation.

Comments?

 

[Fawriel]

^^^

That was the second wisest thing anyone on this board said today.

 

[Caael]

You know, I think if we were to need a female equivalent of Wario, I've got it.

Sure, Impa doesn't have the same personality as Wario, but if we need a chick to fill the role, then here you go. Unless it was the Ocarina incarnation of Impa. Then we'd be back to this conversation.

Comments?

This proves my point. Who in their right mind would actually like to play as her?

 

[Circus]

This proves my point. Who in their right mind would actually like to play as her?

Which in turn proves my point. Who in their right mind would actually like to play as Wario? SOMEONE does. Like I said, I've seen people claim Wario as their new main for Brawl.

I personally don't know much about this old school Impa, so don't know exactly what she has in common with Wario aside from some pudge, which was not my point.

Wario attracts players because he's a weird-looking (note: here, I mean in the face), chubby guy who's essentially a walking fart joke in Brawl. If a female character were to be given his basic look (she'd probably have to ditch the 'stache) and same fart-joke qualities, she'd be bashed to no end.

I don't mean to knock on Wario, I'm just pointing out the double standard we all know is there. Female characters just seem to be more critically judged on their appearance than the male characters. Male characters are allowed to be less-than-perfect and still be likable and attractive, and females don't seem to get that luxury.

 

[Eight Sage]

this will not increase female players...

And its kind of rare to see more human-like-characters than cartoonish...

I wonder why...

 

[Caael]

Which in turn proves my point. Who in their right mind would actually like to play as Wario? SOMEONE does. Like I said, I've seen people claim Wario as their new main for Brawl.

I personally don't know much about this old school Impa, so don't know exactly what she has in common with Wario aside from some pudge, which was not my point.

Wario attracts players because he's a weird-looking (note: here, I mean in the face), chubby guy who's essentially a walking fart joke in Brawl. If a female character were to be given his basic look (she'd probably have to ditch the 'stache) and same fart-joke qualities, she'd be bashed to no end.

I don't mean to knock on Wario, I'm just pointing out the double standard we all know is there. Female characters just seem to be more critically judged on their appearance than the male characters. Male characters are allowed to be less-than-perfect and still be likable and attractive, and females don't seem to get that luxury.

That's just what I was trying to say. Thanks for putting it into words : D

 

[Circus]

That's just what I was trying to say. Thanks for putting it into words : D

Heh.
I guess we've both been trying to say the same thing. Sorry, thought we were on different wavelengths here.

 

[GaryCXJk]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/stotticus/5903ac23.jpg

QFT

Which is interesting, since I've seen many people announce that they plan to main a fat guy in Brawl (a certain motorcycle-riding, nuke-farting italian).

QFTFTW

But I have to add to that that Wario would look really hot in a thong.

All Fire Emblem guys are sexy...<3

QFT

The fire emblem guys really aren't that sexy...

WTF are you talking about. They're too sexy for their shirts, man.

um, no.Not quite.

Well, except for this dude.

 

[LaniusShrike]

Props to Circus, you seem like a cool fellow. And, of course, you're right- the double standard isn't exactly surprising. Additionally... you have to realize that much of Japanese culture revels in gender stereotypes, i.e. Princess Peach gets to be the main character in a video game, but it's based entirely on her mood swings.

You know, if Beyond Good and Evil was a wildly popular game (I think it ended up being one of those cult classic that's way too hard to find) then I would throw up the main character Jade as a character.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_(Beyond_Good_&_Evil)
I never played the game, but I think she seems like a solid female character. She seems to dress fairly alternatively, and I highly doubt she acts like a ditzy female. She's a strong, ambitious journalist trying to unearth a government plot, from what I understand.

The more obese female characters have either been meant to be comedic due to them being hideous but hitting on other male characters constantly or designed to seem warm and motherly.
Telma from Twilight Princess is kind of an interesting character design, though. For those who know who she is, what do you think of her?

Edit: Just read your response, Gary. I guess I just can't say I think they portray attractive traits for the most part. I don't feel they were designed to be particularly sexy... then again, sexiness is harder to categorize with male characters. I imagine Link has always been designed to be a handsome fellow, and same with the Fire Emblem people. Handsome, maybe charismatic... but I just wouldn't say sexy. And Marth is really so effeminate that I think in mainstream terms, he's just a little too beautiful to be sexy.

Note: Freakin' crap, does anyone else get problems when they try to quick post/quick edit things? Kind of a pain to need to go advanced to post anything.

 

[Caael]

She's more of a sub-character. Not the kind who would be in Brawl. I was talking about a main character for a game. Imagine obese Samus. Obese/fat females are usually comic relief characters, or people who have a small role in the plot.

Argh, i'm getting to the point where I cant put it into words again.

 

[chansen]

Sure, you put a nice pair of t!ts on a game box and your gunna make some sales, it's not shameful unless those breasts arent somewhere within that game.

Whoever said they wouldn't put anything with sex appeal in a game with mario, i can see your pont but nintendo needs mario to evolve with the times or suffer from fading out. I.E. peaches sex appeal in melee. thats just the start.

If Your gunna reason like that then there are plenty of sex symbols in the games that all the other smash characters are in. Theres that one chick from f-zero. Then theres EVA from MGS3, and obviously krystal from star fox. Theres gotta be some version of a hot female in one of the pokemon games. I havent played any of the fire eblem games but i can guarantee theres a "sexy female" in one of them.

regardless.


/sexy hos ftw

 

[Caael]

Have you seen Peach in strikers charged?

Google it....you'll see what I mean.

 

[GaryCXJk]

I havent played any of the fire eblem games but i can guarantee theres a "sexy female" in one of them.

regardless.


/sexy hos ftw

One of the badguys in Path of Radiance is a hot female. Well, sort of.

 

[the grim lizard]

Ugh...I get tired of this. I understand graphics and how the brain works and everything; so don't go there, but...seriously, get a life people like this.

 

[GaryCXJk]

You just can't help Captain Falcon is more sexy than you.

 

[Tonyman]

Now that last pic is HOT.

Anyways, i think they know how 'sex sells', so by working a bit on the sex appeal of the character im sure more people will be tempted to play, and i made it sound dirty, but its the true. :/

 

[thegreatace]

oh yea..Zamus is a sexy sexed up symbol.. and thats cool! hehe

 

[OnyxVulpine]

Mmm... I didn't do any digging... But still.. I don't think Peach is hot.. hate her voice haha..

I guess Nintendo has to try and grab the attention of EVERYONE.. It'll be tough outside us since we are already fans of the games.

I wonder what the best selling game of the Wii is going to be.. It has to be something of the Mario franchise... It's been selling good so far without Peach in her "Strikers Charged" form.. I.. don't think I even heard of that game other than today.

 

[mario-man]

Rise up, Christian gamers! I know u hate sex appeal in VGs as much as i do!
It sucks to know that we live in a world where temptation is literally everywhere.
But in VGs?! thats taking it toooooooo far! I cant stand it! Men lusting over Vg grls!
Outrageous! Im not innocent though, there r some Vg grls that I like. But cmon guys!
Sex appeal does not belong in our VGs! Lets debate this, shall we?! the name is kakashi-dono

Yeah. I don't need it and I don't want it cuz it's just plain WRONG.

Dude, why are you cursing if you're a christian?

 

[MuraRengan]

>_> he didn't curse...

 

[mario-man]

Go back and read the original. He put a title on it. It's in the title.

 

[bigmoney187]

ay
i think midna fom twilght princess should be a assit trophy

 

[the grim lizard]

You guys are ignorant. Metroid is the series that does the sex appeal thing to any degree. The only reason the Zero Suit even exists is because a long time ago, if you beat the game in a certain time and item percentage you got to see Samus with less on. This is just...her. I would be very disappointed if they became their new angle. Trying to sell sex is cheap and it's selling out. Then what, Nintendo becomes Microsoft?

Yeah. I don't need it and I don't want it cuz it's just plain WRONG.

Dude, why are you cursing if you're a christian?

QFT (on both accounts)

 

[mario-man]

Qft = ..........???

 

[the grim lizard]

QFT = Quoted for truth...sorry, you'll pick it up (as I did)

 

[MuraRengan]

I thought it meant quite f**king true.

 

[mario-man]

Thanks. And thankfully it's the first one so I can use it.

 

[silver777]

Fire Emblem​

note: images are too big , beware.
Some hot guys
http://eaichu250.superbusnet.com/feartwork/FE7_OA/Eliwood.jpg
http://eaichu250.superbusnet.com/feartwork/FE7_OA/Harken.jpg
http://eaichu250.superbusnet.com/feartwork/FE7_OA/Erk.jpg
http://eaichu250.superbusnet.com/feartwork/FE7_OA/Heath.jpg
http://eaichu250.superbusnet.com/feartwork/FE7_OA/Matthew.jpg
http://eaichu250.superbusnet.com/feartwork/FE7_OA/Lucius.jpg <<<yes...this is a dude.

some hot girls
http://eaichu250.superbusnet.com/feartwork/FE7_OA/Lyn.jpg
http://eaichu250.superbusnet.com/feartwork/FE7_OA/Nino.jpg
http://eaichu250.superbusnet.com/feartwork/FE7_OA/Priscilla.jpg
http://eaichu250.superbusnet.com/feartwork/FE7_OA/Serra.jpg <<you can't hate her
http://eaichu250.superbusnet.com/feartwork/FE7_OA/Louise.jpg
http://eaichu250.superbusnet.com/feartwork/FE7_OA/Sonia.jpg <<she is evil lol



Sexy guys and girls are all over the Fire emblem world.

 

[DonkeySmasher]

here's the thing

sakurai stated that he wants to put in more females AND villians in the game to make it more rounded

therefore expect a larger female ratio in this game but i don't think it ties straight into sex appeal

it might be sakurai's way to broaden the audience in which our society reads it wrong

also the double standard thing is there and it's sad however smash is a game based on nintendo's main characters and they can't go back in history and make some less sexy female characters important and make their sexier (i can't believe i'm using this word for VG) characters unimportant

what's done is done