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[TurnipFritters]

It seems to me they meant, "Losing is unavoidable for you. Luckily, the match will be over soon and the unpleasantness that comes with losing will end."

perhaps that is what he should have said then.

Not a rape joke. Just get over it.

it is a rape reference, and surprise, that actually upsets people. get over it.

 

[Septimius]

You've never once heard the word "rape" used in competitive multiplayer games to denote having killed or beaten an opponent? Or teabagging? That's rape culture and it is prevalent in video games, whether or not you yourself partake in it

Sure, rape is a misused word when it comes to games. "I'm getting raped", things like that, that's obvious.

However, I did not react to this, at all. She was legitimately getting beaten during the fight. He obviously knew some good combos and was hitting down on her, hard. She was like "Who thought this was a good idea?!" "Don't worry, it'll be over soon", as a legitimate "I'm beating you, obviously, but don't worry".

I thought it was awkward "banter", but I think it's overreaching saying it was a rape-joke. OK, apparently people made the connection, but the discussion becomes if everyone needs to ensure they don't say anything that's of wrong connotation, or if those making the connection need to calm down.

I'd like to think it's a bit of both, and in this case, I think it's overreaching.

perhaps that is what he should have said then.

But that's what he said. Having to be that specific to avoid ANY interpretation is luckily not how language works. We work a lot on assumptions. "[The match] will be over soon". It. It will be over soon. C'mon.

 

[TurnipFritters]

Sure, rape is a misused word when it comes to games. "I'm getting raped", things like that, that's obvious.

However, I did not react to this, at all. She was legitimately getting beaten during the fight. He obviously knew some good combos and was hitting down on her, hard. She was like "Who thought this was a good idea?!" "Don't worry, it'll be over soon", as a legitimate "I'm beating you, obviously, but don't worry".

I thought it was awkward "banter", but I think it's overreaching saying it was a rape-joke. OK, apparently people made the connection, but the discussion becomes if everyone needs to ensure they don't say anything that's of wrong connotation, or if those making the connection need to calm down.

I'd like to think it's a bit of both, and in this case, I think it's overreaching.

i mean you should probably be more mindful of your phrasing when you're a presenter at a conference in front of thousands of people

But that's what he said. Having to be that specific to avoid ANY interpretation is luckily not how language works. We work a lot on assumptions. "[The match] will be over soon". It. It will be over soon. C'mon.

there are plenty of ways he could have phrased it to not make it sound creepy. there are ways he could have phrased it to make it actually funny. but he chose poorly.

 

[Htown]

obviously it wasn't an actual rape joke, but I'd be lying if I said that didn't go through my mind as soon as he said it

 

[someday]

obviously it wasn't an actual rape joke, but I'd be lying if I said that didn't go through my mind as soon as he said it

This is my take as well. It was pretty awkward but in a way that just wasn't expected by anyone involved. I'm sure if it was scripted there would have been a rewrite.

 

[MisterSamMan]

That entire conversation was awkward, but that was definitely not a rape joke or at least not intended to be one.

 

[AngelsDontBurn]

Yeah, I think this is overreacting just a bit. I don't think Microsoft would let a "rape joke" through considering it could get them in serious shit. Relax.

 

[SRTtoZ]

i mean you should probably be more mindful of your phrasing when you're a presenter at a conference in front of thousands of people



there are plenty of ways he could have phrased it to not make it sound creepy. there are ways he could have phrased it to make it actually funny. but he chose poorly.

It was a split second decision used to make a joke. Give the guy a break. Just because YOU interpret something a certain way does not mean other people did the same. A lot of people had no problem with what he said.

 

[kittens]

Yeah, that line was in poor taste at best. I thought it was pretty shitty.

Also, we need to stop pretending Patricia Hernandez and Kotaku are the only people concerned about sexism in gaming culture. That joke is old, and honestly really dismissive.

 

[antitrop]

EDIT: I'm not going to bother trying to make a point while the servers are flipping out.

 

[Veronica]

Wow, people so sensitive over nothing.

 

[Septimius]

i mean you should probably be more mindful of your phrasing when you're a presenter at a conference in front of thousands of people



there are plenty of ways he could have phrased it to not make it sound creepy. there are ways he could have phrased it to make it actually funny. but he chose poorly.

Very valid point. Maybe it's more important that we recognize their mistake, and not go all :monocle: on them. It comes off as a bit highbrow and overreaching making a fuzz out of it. It's a very, very valid discussion, and one I love to partake in. I just hope no one spit their coke over this.

The difference here is that "Just let it happen" is an internet meme about rape, among other things.

I had no idea.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Setting aside the greater debate over whether the subtext of the dialogue was of a sexual nature:

That was basically 90 straight seconds worth of reasons you shouldn't play the game. Nothing about that presentation made playing the game look fun at all. It just made everything look shitty and frustrating, from the lopsided nature of the fight itself, to the forced trash-talk, to the implication that buying a 100 dollar joystick makes you automatically better at the game...

They straight up sold an experience of pure frustration and almost nothing else.

Terrible marketing.

 

[Buzzati]

Why are you guys imagining a rape joke out of this? Is this some sort of joke?

 

[parazen]

Yeah, I feel bad for the guy. I mean, how easy is this job:

Get on stage, play a round of a fighting game against a girl while engaging in light, charming banter, while roughly a million people watch.

Instead, you drop some incredibly awkward banter that sounds a lot like a rape joke.

As nerds, can't we all kind of identify with that?

 

[goldsoundz]

Unbelievable. I would have never thought what he said was related to rape in any way.

Now I am offended since you guys brought this up.

 

[Darklord]

Why are you guys imagining a rape joke out of this? Is this some sort of joke?

Everything in gaming is against women. EVERYTHING.

 

[sibarraz]

Wait, are people that sensitive to think inmediately than that was a rape joke?

 

[Replicant]

Just one of the MANY awkward moments at MS conference.

 

[MWS Natural]

I don't think it's a rape joke, but the whole situation was awkward as hell. I mean, the whole "lol women can't play games" angle is still sexist so obviously that doesn't help matters.

But she couldn't play the game...

 

[Hex]

I can not believe that anyone with half of a brain cel (and no agenda) pulled any kind of "rape" context out of that.
It is honestly fucking obscene and honestly a mockery to the real thing that people pull the card so goddamned freely.

 

[Chuck Norris]

My eyes are rolling into the back of my skull over this "controversy"

 

[Septimius]

Setting aside the greater debate over whether the subtext of the dialogue was of a sexual nature:

That was basically 90 straight seconds worth of reasons you shouldn't play the game. Nothing about that presentation made playing the game look fun at all. It just made everything look shitty and frustrating, from the lopsided nature of the fight itself, to the forced trash-talk, to the implication that buying a 100 dollar joystick makes you automatically better at the game...

They straight up sold an experience of pure frustration and almost nothing else.

Terrible marketing.

Yeah, get someone up there with a proven chemistry, and ensure it'll be on the bar. Then you can validly sell the arcade stick. It felt like the token guy and girl thing, and the banter felt so forced, and they were nervous and not comfortable on stage. The guy wanted to show off some good combos he obviously knew, rather reminiscent of Akuma's combos to me, and at the same time was supposed to keep the conversation alive.

Give the guy a break. Playing a game in development for a showcase for thousands of people and the entire internet can't be easy. I think it either should've been scripted and rehearsed well, or a couple of people with honestly good chemistry. But imagine being this guy, and the internet is accusing you of a rape-joke? That's not cool.

At least this wasn't anywhere near that honestly sexist banter in that gaming show thingie. I forget what it was.

 

[kunonabi]

I was taken aback by the rape joke as well. This is one of the very few times where the sleight isn't imaginary. The whole thing was in really poor taste and the last thing M$ needed for their conference.

 

[ArjanN]

If you think that's rape joke, that says more about you than it does about the joke.

It's like 'That's what she said!'. Sure, you can say it after about half of what anyone says, that doesn't mean the original person was actually making a double entendre .

 

[Negator]

Come on guys, I watched that and while it was awkward, how anyone could construe that as some kind of rape reference frankly shocks me.

There are enough things to be upset about already, why do you have to go and seek them out?

 

[kerotan_eater]

Rape joke? I truly don't think so. Overreaction? Somewhat.

A part of me thinks that it was not the kind of joke to say, especially if you can't say it without saying it awkwardly.

That's stuff only professional comedians get away with, and even then I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[Branduil]

Wait, are people that sensitive to think inmediately than that was a rape joke?

...what else could it possibly be referencing?

I mean, I don't think it's the worst thing I've ever heard, but there's really only one way to interpret that sentence

 

[Zen_Arcade]

Guys, it was a stage presenter awkwardly trying to mimic what people say when playing multiplayer games. Has no one here ever played on Xbox Live before?

 

[Septimius]

I don't think it's a rape joke, but the whole situation was awkward as hell. I mean, the whole "lol women can't play games" angle is still sexist so obviously that doesn't help matters.

Well, sorry, but she sucked on the game. And if I'm not allowed to say that, then I'd argue that you're sexist.

 

[Doran902]

I didn't even click in to that as being a rape joke.

I assumed he meant let the match happen, it will be over soon.

People are way to sensitive and always look for faults in everything to tear apart and it's one of the most annoying things about our culture.

 

[MegaKungFuRadio]

I typically am on the side that feels like people overreact and are too sensitive about things like this, but even I thought that choice of words was extremely inappropriate.

Of course they didn't mean to reference rape, but unfortunately, that's exactly what the words "Just let it happen, it will be over soon" imply.

 

[urge26]

Wow.... Never knew beating the hell out of someone and telling them in a stupid video game was the same thing as rape. The thought should be offensive to any victim.

 

[Carlisle]

I thought rape when I heard it. Though I can't say if I'd still have thought that had it been two men playing. I certainly didn't think it was a threat or insult, but those phrases have rape connotations. Kind of along the lines of other rape-related phrases like getting "screwed over," etc.

I just think the setting and that there was a woman involved made it seem more apparent in this case, especially with all the light being shone on sexism in online multiplayer games.

 

[Zoe]

...what else could it possibly be referencing?

I mean, I don't think it's the worst thing I've ever heard, but there's really only one way to interpret that sentence

I think of death/torture scenes such as the Saving Private Ryan scene.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Guys, it was a stage presenter awkwardly trying to mimic what people say when playing multiplayer games. Has no one here ever played on Xbox Live before?

But again, like I said in my previous post: Why would you try to sell THAT as the experience you're going to have?

You never want to sell the reality of something. You want to sell the IDEAL of that thing.

IDEALLY, Killer Instinct should look like it's a fun game to play. This presentation didn't do that. It made it look confusing and ugly and frustrating. The experience that was sold was one where you go online, get kneecapped by a douchebag with better equipment than you have who can't wait to tell you all about it.

 

[Danthrax]

I immediately took it as a rape joke when it happened live. It should never have been said, and Microsoft should publicly excoriate the man who said it. It's yet another in a long line of anti-woman incidents in the gaming industry, and it's especially egregious when it happens during a "global media presentation" as Microsoft called its E3 press conference today.

 

[Hex]

...what else could it possibly be referencing?

I mean, I don't think it's the worst thing I've ever heard, but there's really only one way to interpret that sentence

No.
Not everyone's mind goes right to rape, and if yours does I am sorry.
Deciding what everyone must mean when they speak or express something is the problem with the world today.

 

[WrenchNinja]

All this E3 gaming goodness and this thread is rolling? lol. Take this shit to OT.

What gaming goodness

 

[Buzzati]

...what else could it possibly be referencing?

I mean, I don't think it's the worst thing I've ever heard, but there's really only one way to interpret that sentence

The fight. On screen. In the fighting game?


Not the imaginary rape scenario you're making up in your head.

 

[Atomski]

It wasn't. He meant just take the beating.

Yeah I can see why people who think its a rape joke but this is clearly what he meant...

 

[Brawndo Addict]

Gaming side GAF seems to be physically incapable of accepting, let alone maturely discussing, even the most basic problems of gender and race in the gaming industry and now we expect them to acknowledge rape culture? The demographics of GAF in that respect are like the Republican party, a bunch of men telling women whether something qualifies as a rape joke and whether its valid for them to feel offended as if they're the experts on the whole issue. Yeah, we definitely should defer to the authority of men in determining all this, why would we care what women think about it?

This was a rape joke no question about it, sorry if you're so removed that you can't acknowledge that. It doesn't have to be overt and actually say the word rape to qualify (although there's plenty of that to go around online); things can be racist without saying you believe whites are the supreme race. There's that quote by Margaret Atwood that really sums up the complete dissonance that most men never comprehend.

"Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them."

 

[Game-Biz]

It's really, really sad that some people's minds instantly thought of rape when they heard this. Jesus Christ.

 

[MegaKungFuRadio]

Meanwhile, #girlwood? Fuck this industry.

 

[Portugeezer]

I thought it was awkward, but not because of some rape joke existing only in peoples minds...

Fuck off.

 

[casabolg]

Okay, this is getting very silly.

Rape deals with penetration. There is no implication of penetration. There is however, an implication of assault seeing as the game deals with beating up one another competitively. Not sexual assault, just assault. If you want to say it's any kind of joke, it's an assault joke. The only reason that there is a rape context added is being of the people who have internalized the concept in an attempt to get rid of it in things like video games and other fields. There is no rape context beyond the one the person applies to it.

 

[brianjones]

the only reason I can see people going to rape cause it's a girl

 

[The Librarian]

Moved to new page.

 

[Igo]

I think of death/torture scenes such as the Saving Private Ryan scene.

Seriously. That's basically the default line when someone is having their throat slit, stabbed, suffocated or drowned in a movie.

 

[Septimius]

It wasn't. He meant just take the beating.

Sparks an interesting discussion if the people propagating this "scandal" are part of the problem. Imagine if this did not spark a debate on 'rape', and we actually just felt sorry for these people that were nervous.