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[Mizerman]

Wait when does she fall out of her top? I'm not always the most observant but I feel like this would have been a major discussion. Showing nipple seems like a bigger deal than a butt smack

I haven't seen that happening ever. Otherwise, somebody would've found it and posted it without hesitation.

I think the other poster was exaggerating because Laura wears a top without a bra.

 

[DXLelouch153]

Chun-Li and Ryu's battle costume makes me feel uncomfortable

Spoiler

in a non-bad way

.

i was about to make a chuck norris joke before i realized you werent being serious

 

[BudokaiMR2]

I must have missed this completely.

Uh, what exactly was the issue with the buttslap?
It seemed pretty harmless to me but maybe I am missing something?

 

[LinLeigh]

This PC bullshit has got to stop. You can have the alternate Chun-Li outfit, Laura's Double D's and Cammy's ass but remove the ass slap? Give me a fucking break. If someone is uncomfortable, then too fucking bad. Stop pandering to people and just make your game.

PC bullshit? You said it yourself there is plenty of stuff that is the opposite of PC.

Someone needs to explain the concept of pandering to me though. Every company is trying to increase their sales but somehow when it happens in gaming its pandering.

But only if you don't like exaggerated fanservice. Because when they add more sexualized women with impossible boobs with bounce mechanics than it has nothing to do with pandering.

 

[Augemitbutter]

i hope you're getting new customers by removing a fun animation ono.

they're hitting the pre-order buttons like mad.

 

[HarryKS]

It's ok. It's not that big of a problem anyway.

 

[staticneuron]

R.Mika is a 10/10 on the fanservice scale without slapping her ass before her special. There are probably a couple places in the world where having that animation front and center might be the difference between someone picking the game up and someone skipping it. At the end of the day , SF isn't known for it's otaku level fan service and R.Mika still exists in the game. I'd just say it's safe to assume Capcom saw potential for the character to be just a little too much and that it might affect sales or give them a kind of publicity they didn't desire. I mean hell, look at what happened here on Neogaf once she was revealed, look at all the think pieces written up about R.Mika within 10 days of her reveal. This was a turning point in SFV's existence, like it or lump it.

My personal thoughts are very mild disappointment, I didn't personally think it went too far in light of the overall tone developed for the character and I mean, let's be honest here - the Critical Art itself remains unchanged and even the animation is still there. All that's been dropped is about 12 frames of a buttocks jiggling, you still see her hand go back there and hear the slap , the move still involves 2 female wrestlers double butt slamming an opponent in the air and essentially suplexing them with their asses. I'm not sure how those 12 frames make all the difference but then again, if they DO ? if some 8 year old girl that might give SFV a whirl decides to pass on it because of that ? well, maybe it's the right choice.

All anyone (myself included) could really talk about when Mika got announced was the fact that her butt jiggled and perhaps some producers at capcom decided "hey we don't want to be the next dead or alive over here , let's tone that down just a bit". SFV was already receiving some flack because of the 2P character select physics/gravity bug resulting in some of the floppiest boob physics this side of a Korean MMO. Now the discussion can return to talking about the game itself instead of how titillating it is.

It's capcoms game to alter and well, if those 12 frames where your reason for buying the game ? there's absolutely tons of Street Fighter hentai out there if that's what tickles your fancy or even ... hear me out here - bog standard regular old porn. It takes as long as a google search to find - it's almost all free and unlike SFV , it's built for fapping. Not that I'm calling all y'all a bunch of wankers or anything I'm just saying - why use SFV for that purpose when much better stuff exists out there ? Seriously there's even tons of terrible videogames that specifically cater to that sort of thing. SF doesn't need it , and yes this is even being written as someone who is fully aware that in Japan a "HOT" edition of the game exists. Japan is NOT one of the countries where people care about this sort of thing and they allowed Dead or Alive to be filed with Lolicon characters so ... just let them have it. I think we're a better sort over here.

It is also up to people who choose not to purchase the game for that reason but it is up to them. You are making it seem as if that is all titillation. What if people simply found it a character defining trait? It may be silly to you but what if it is important to others. Like one of my favorite things in CVS2 is Iori Yagamis laughter, especially after doing Kin 1211 Shiki Ya Otome. If they decided it was two much, or if they decided to tone down the pure aggressiveness of the finisher I would be disappointed. What if they decided to remove the fire element from dhalisms yoga flame, the rolling animation for rolando during an attack, so on and so forth. It really wouldn't matter the reason for me, but to see a change happen as a preemptive measure (especially something so small that you point out the amount of frames) then it is understandable that people may not be to happy. If it was never shown in the first place, these people wouldn't be complaining. I personally would rather they do something about ken's design. His moves are awesome but the character looks odd.

 

[dlauv]

I mean I see nothing wrong with this. The butt slapping worked on the context of being a wrestler, but a lot of people are getting sick and weary of the sexualization of women in games. Even if these people are small enough in number to be considered only a special interest group, it's still a smart and thoughtful idea. There are plenty of other ways to show character and have a character be sexy without the character being suggestive, even if it's only seemingly suggestive.

 

[LookAtMeGo]

I dont see how I can possibly enjoy this game without a butt slap.
Capcom just shot themselves in the foot.

Trust me, I know. Im an expert in booty culture.

 

[Keio]

There are plenty of other ways to show character and have a character be sexy without the character being suggestive, even if it's only seemingly suggestive.

This is the main point I think: sexiness is not being removed from games, but for example an action (butt slap) only serving the male gaze is. That's smart in my book.

 

[Panajev2001a]

It's potentially less troublesome to some part of the audience, be it players or spectators, yes. That is exactly why they changed it. Believe it or not, similar things in different presentations, contexts, etc can leave different impressions. They probably just addressed what they felt might have left some people feeling most uncomfortable. The lowest hanging fruit so to speak.

It is understandable that Capcom showed restraint, but it is a bit depressing to think that people would really be inconvenienced by the butt slap in a still very sexualised fighter... again a fighter where people hit each other... Hard. Just a short while ago we had a thread in the OT about the MMA fighter who won't be able to eat an apple for a few months... Yes this is cartoon fighting, but then it is also cartoon sexiness and partial nudity, shouldn't both be more acceptable or does the cartoon but only helps the violence bit?

 

[RM8]

It is understandable that Capcom showed restraint, but it is a bit depressing to think that people would really be inconvenienced by the butt slap in a still very sexualised fighter... again a fighter where people hit each other... Hard. Just a short while ago we had a thread in the OT about the MMA fighter who won't be able to eat an apple for a few months... Yes this is cartoon fighting, but then it is also cartoon sexiness and partial nudity, shouldn't both be more acceptable or does the cartoon but only helps the violence bit?

You have to like fanservice because this fighting game features T rated violence. Is that really your argument? :/

Because when they add more sexualized women with impossible boobs with bounce mechanics than it has nothing to do with pandering.

No, that's Artistic Freedom™ in focus tested commercial software, my friend, not cheap pandering.

 

[Mizerman]

i hope you're getting new customers by removing a fun animation ono.

they're hitting the pre-order buttons like mad.

Sounds like a personal problem to me.

Assuming if you're actually serious about that post. If not, that's a different story.

 

[Augemitbutter]

Sounds like a personal problem to me.

Assuming if you're actually serious about that post. If not, that's a different story.

they're not getting additional sales by removing this.

 

[Mizerman]

they're not getting additional sales by removing this.

How do you know whether or not that they're getting more sales from this? Have you personally talked to people about this?

Also, when you type stuff like "they're hitting the pre-order buttons like mad." I dunno about you, but that's a horrible assumption.

 

[Augemitbutter]

How do you know whether or not that they're getting more sales from this? Have you personally talked to people about this?

Also, when you type stuff like "they're hitting the pre-order buttons like mad." I dunno about you, but that's a horrible assumption.

are you buying this game now because they cut it?

 

[Mizerman]

are you buying this game now because they cut it?

I've been planning on buying this game for months now. This camera tweak hardly phases me.

 

[Augemitbutter]

I've been planning on buying this game for months now. This camera tweak hardly phases me.

yea, it won't sway the masses. you won't feel any blib about changes like these. nobody is going to cheer them on.

 

[El-Suave]

That butt slap feels like something you could see in WWE regularly and they're totally PG and sanitized these days. There are things in SF that are much more eyebrow raising if you want to feel offended.

 

[Mizerman]

yea, it won't sway the masses. you won't feel any blib about changes like these. nobody is going to cheer them on.

In all likelihood, if they weren't interested in SFV in the first place, then aren't going to worry about the stuff in the game in the first place. Because the game wouldn't be their cup of tea.

On the other hand, you cannot make assumptions about whether or not people are gonna pick this game up based on this.

 

[Augemitbutter]

In all likelihood, if they weren't interested in SFV in the first place, then aren't going to worry about the stuff in the game in the first place. Because the game wouldn't be their cup of tea.

On the other hand, you cannot make assumptions about whether or not people are gonna pick this game up based on this.

it's common sense. that's not the main selling point and pre-orders don't explode magically because we suddenly got cut content.

 

[m4st4]

I want my butt-slap back.

 

[Panajev2001a]

You have to like fanservice because this fighting game features T rated violence. Is that really your argument? :/


No, that's Artistic Freedom™ in focus tested commercial software, my friend, not cheap pandering.

No, I do not say you have to like fanservice, but there is a double standards going on regarding t rated violence and t rated sexiness. There is nothing extreme in anything the game was doing, violence wise and nudity wise.

I also find it funny that the audience of a t rated Fighting game cannot handle the human body and t rated sexiness...

 

[Mizerman]

it's common sense. that's not the main selling point and pre-orders don't explode magically because we suddenly got cut content.

Cut content? That's an exaggeration.

It's not like characters were removed from the game or the number of stages were removed.

 

[Augemitbutter]

Cut content? That's an exaggeration.

It's not like characters were removed from the game or the number of stages were removed.

cut is cut. it doesn't matter if you cut a music track, a piece of artwork or something else. that's not something you want to advertise.

 

[Altered Juice]

So Mika will no longer be slapping dat perfectly chiseled ass? But what about the cos- *sigh* nvrm

 

[Mizerman]

cut is cut. it doesn't matter if you cut a music track, a piece of artwork or something else. that's not something you want to advertise.

Good thing this isn't something they're actually advertising, then.

 

[captainpat]

Good thing this isn't something they're actually advertising, then.

It's "uncensored" in her trailer reveal

 

[Wallach]

Yes, you still have characters flexing and fighting around in boob windows and thongs sinking in the ass, but now that the butt-slap is out of sight, the game has become 19% more inclusive.
Makes perfect sense.

Exactly, fuck them for trying at all.

 

[Hoya Destroyer]

fuck that shit. at least they just cropped the camera. someone will mod it back in on pc.

Hopefully. I loved the butt slap and it will be hard not to feel some resentment towards Capcoms self-censoring, every time Mika initiates that attack. I feel like I've been fun-policed.
Im sure Capcom know that its impossible to please everyone, and that they have indeed offended some players by taking that animation out. Many of us loved it :'(

 

[m4st4]

I mean for christsakes it's a spank... since when do we rant about those? It's harmless. And in this case self-inflicted.

 

[Palculator]

I mean for christsakes it's a spank... since when do we rant about those? It's harmless. And in this case self-inflicted.

Yeah, but it's a girl's butt.

 

[vulva]

I haven't seen that happening ever. Otherwise, somebody would've found it and posted it without hesitation.

I think the other poster was exaggerating because Laura wears a top without a bra.

oh, then who cares

 

[myco666]

I would assume people who are offended by the buttslap are also offended by character designs of R.Mika, Laura and Cammy and that the removal of the slap doesn't change their mind on the game. It is a good reason otherwise but the character designs doesn't seem to support it. I would have preferred them leaving as it was but I don't mind the "censoring" of it.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Yeah, I still don't even understand how this was ever a controversy.

You could probably see 10x worse things just by watching the most popular music videos of the year. Which are you know....some of the most mainstream and popular things in the entire world.
So, the whole idea that removing this completely harmless animations somehow opens the gates for mainstream people does not line up for me in the slightest.

 

[TatteredHat]

Well, it's been mentioned a thousand times by now, but the buttslap was hardly the most "this might offend someone" inclusion in the game. It's silly and playful if anything, so it feels like a strange thing to take out. Feels like Capcom is trying to be in touch with parts of the western social climate, yet at the same time completely misunderstanding what people are asking for.

 

[BONKERS]

I don't see anything wrong with this. It's a piece of media intended for mass appeal. So, no kidding.

If you include something questionable, you potentially alienate players who find it embarrassing or offensive.

If you don't include it, you don't alienate anybody. You either pander to one demo or attempt to include more people in your target audience.

This shouldn't be a surprise.

Would you REALLY not play a game just because a busty and over the top Wrestler woman slapped her own butt in one of her moves?

That's just absurd.

This filthy PC culture is getting annoying. Quick don't reply to my clearly offensive post. You might end up hurting someone else's feelings! Quick, next time the game shouldn't have anyone violently hurting each other at all! That's offensive! Have them tap each other with a single finger to ensure they don't hurt each other!

OH WAIT, Violence for the sake of competition is fine. That doesn't offend ANYONE right?

 

[Wallach]

Well, it's been mentioned a thousand times by now, but the buttslap was hardly the most "this might offend someone" inclusion in the game. It's silly and playful if anything, so it feels like a strange thing to take out. Feels like Capcom is trying to be in touch with parts of the western social climate, yet at the same time completely misunderstanding what people are asking for.

I think they definitely are off the mark, but haven't really done any damage in their effort either. There was no significant force applied to them here, and their actions were in turn pretty insignificant.

 

[Puruzi]

knew I was right.

 

[Bacco]

Well, it's been mentioned a thousand times by now, but the buttslap was hardly the most "this might offend someone" inclusion in the game. It's silly and playful if anything, so it feels like a strange thing to take out. Feels like Capcom is trying to be in touch with parts of the western social climate, yet at the same time completely misunderstanding what people are asking for.

This

And kinda sad, that animation was perfect and fitting with the character as it was

 

[HGH]

Seconding the opinions on how weird the logic involved is.
You can't just try to juggle audiences with half-measures.

 

[Haunted]

See, the thing you folks have to realize is that the natural result of this line of thinking isn't someone stopping to think, "oh, how silly of me to think about inclusivity there, we'd better restore everything we cut out"; it's for the team to go in and actually strip out all the other "sexy" content too. The goal they're trying to achieve here -- creating a product that's welcoming to the type of larger audience that exists nowadays -- is increasingly important to every large publisher, and it's not about to go away. If some basic steps aren't enough, pubs are going to start taking bigger ones.

In a case like this, it's a little awkward because we have a franchise and a team that's quite used to working in an older, less restrained style of development and content, suddenly realizing that this type of inclusivity push would be worthwhile for them and their employers. Something like hiding this butt slap isn't necessarily, on its own, a perfectly reasoned determination of the most effective/least destructive edit to address the problem; it's probably more of a guess, of looking at something that got some airplay and trying to act on it because it's visible. It doesn't really matter if, in a vacuum, this one change will bring in some specific subset of players; it's more about making a gesture towards inclusiveness, and positioning themselves to think about this sort of thing earlier in the process the next time around.



This is a deep and fundamental misunderstanding of what the creative process actually is.

Excellent post.

It's good to see Ono re-confirming their committment to inclusivity and fun. I do wonder if they will attempt to include more diverse voices in the (internal) creative process in the futures, so problematic camera work or exaggerated sexualisation that pushes more people away can be iterated and improved upon earlier in the process next time.

 

[Acquiescence]

They go to all the trouble to create those ass physics and then they don't bother to show it off.

In all seriousness though, it's just a butt slap. You'd have to be of an immensely sensitive disposition to be offended by that.

 

[JimmyJones]

fuck that shit. at least they just cropped the camera. someone will mod it back in on pc.

Phew! But yeah this is PC culture gone mad.

 

[Dunkley]

This is honestly a non-issue given it changes absolutely nothing about the gameplay while possibly making more people feel comfortable playing this.

Unless of course anyone was seriously basing their purchase decision for Street Fighter V on a freaking butt slap animation, which I find really hard to believe.

 

[Palculator]

This is honestly a non-issue given it changes absolutely nothing about the gameplay while possibly making more people feel comfortable playing this.

Unless of course anyone was seriously basing their purchase decision for Street Fighter V on a freaking butt slap animation, which I find really hard to believe.

The people so feeble that a jokey buttslap makes them feel uncomfortable will still be uncomfortable with basically every female in this game. And your second sentence contradicts the entire reasoning given by Ono because he felt clearly some people were basing their decision on "a freaking butt slap animation."

 

[synce]

It's all good, I already got my refund from Steam. I'll wait until modders fix it.

 

[mikefrails]

Rainbow is one of my favorite characters but in full on 3D it did seem unnecessarily sexual. But this is coming from a guy who had his nieces playing SFIV. I played the series as a kid and I don't think I'd be into the games now if I had felt alienated by overtly sexual depictions. These games aren't necessarily for children though, but a part of me feels he means young people when he says "start from zero".

 

[Kinsei]

Which costume you think it's crass?

Chun-Li's

 

[Espada]

The people so feeble that a jokey buttslap makes them feel uncomfortable will still be uncomfortable with basically every female in this game. And your second sentence contradicts the entire reasoning given by Ono because he felt clearly some people were basing their decision on "a freaking butt slap animation."

Yeah, a goofy character like R.Mika slapping her ass makes people uncomfortable, but Cammy's high cut, sprayed on, thong leotard gets a pass? Those are some pretty selective people.

That's why this inclusivity thing from Ono kinda falls flat. If this is honestly the position they now have the logical thing is to permanently redo Cammy's design going forward, dump Chun Li's black dress alt, cover Laura's rear end, etc...