True, they could have done that. The unlocks provide more incentive to play, and it seems like that was a bigger priority to Nintendo than picking and choosing who besides Mario should be playable at the start.
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Super Mario Run is sexist
- Thread starter Sir Alemeth
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True, they could have done that. The unlocks provide more incentive to play, and it seems like that was a bigger priority to Nintendo than picking and choosing who besides Mario should be playable at the start.
excelsiorlef
Member
Many little girls care when they don't see a women to play as.
We literally had an example of that in this tread...
TarpitCarnivore
Member
Does anyone else find it interesting, maybe good?, that all these hot takes about Nintendo are now pouring in over this game? It's as if all these hot takes forgot Nintendo was a company for the last 10-15 years and now remember they exist.
I agree, it is interesting to see Mario's tired old damsel trope reaching a new audience that stopped playing Nintendo systems when that was still the only story a game would have.
WaffleTaco
Wants to outlaw technological innovation.
This thread was already on gaming and was locked due to people being sexist and stupid.
In the case of Mario & Zelda yeah those games are pretty sexist since Peach & Zelda always have to be saved except in a few occasions.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
I can't tell if you're agreeing or disagreeing?
My point was more in how Nintendo is suddenly in popular discussion again, and now people feel the need to call them out on something. Not during the Wii or WiiU generations where we got a smattering of Mario games pushing the same trope.
Nintendo is using literally the same premise as they were 30 years ago. Is it really surprising that that premise may be a little sexist? They obviously don't give a shit about plot anymore. They should come up with a news premise that doesn't rely on the Damisal in Distress trope.
Exterminieren
Banned
It is a bit of a shame to see them going back to the damsel in distress well. Both 3D World and Captain Toad Treasure Tracker did good work in moving away from that format, and it's a pity that it didn't cross over to Mario Run. Yeah, the article's seriously reaching in a lot of respects, but there's definitely the kernel of a point in there.
This is just another way in which 2D Mario games are suffocating under their own conservatism, really.
This is just another way in which 2D Mario games are suffocating under their own conservatism, really.
excelsiorlef
Member
And let's not forget that the one time she was the star who has to rescue Mario, the game mechanics were centred on power ups and powers via the emotional spectrum :|
ghostwritingduck
Member
Does she use the epic power of her ever changing emotions in this too?
Aaron Strife
Banned
How so? What was stopping them from providing two playable characters from the outset? I understand these are established characters so it's not as simple as something like Pokemon providing you with an avatar creator, but put yourself in the mindset of a little girl who simply sees yet another mobile game that makes her jump through hoops to play as a character who represents her.
Toad was a freebie for signing up with MyNintendo. They could have just made Peach or Toadette the free character (removing the sign-up part) and made Toad the unlockable. Or include a new character like Rosalina or Nabbit.
Langdon Alger
Banned
It's being discussed now because Mario is on an Apple platform and Apple's platform is popular. No one knew the WiiU even existed.
pinkurocket
Member
That's what happens when y'all bash Super Mario 3D World. That game switched up the story for once.
That was team ninja. The studio behind such gems as doa extreme.
Nintendo licensing out Metroid to those people however deserves criticism.
Did we?
Maybe he talked to his daughter about why she didn't like the game, but he certainly didn't put that conversation in his post. This reads to me like his daughter tried the game, didn't like it and put it down, and he drew his own conclusion that "
excelsiorlef
Member
Skellig Gra
Member
There are princess peach games as well. I don't see why a "Mario" game would have someone else as the main character.
God Dayumm
Banned
Nintendo is behind on so many things. They are terrified to change the formula in their games, it is a miracle that we have even got a couple mobile games from them
excelsiorlef
Member
I mean she is playable in this game eventually, never said main character. Just selectable from the start...
And there's like one major Peach game... and it sucked and has it's own issues.
Wait, there's more than 1 game? Genuinely curious, because all I know of is the shitty Super Princess Peach one lol
AmaterasuOkami076
Member
If it's a Mario game, and Mario is the only character playable from the beginning, who the fuck cares? It's a Mario game.
-Plasma Reus-
Service guarantees member status
I definitely wouldnt let my daughter play it.
They don't, unless they are told to notice it. Simple as that.
I've got twins, a boy and a girl. There's always been a selection of girl and boy focused toys in my house, they both play with whatever their imagination wants them to with very little thought for anything else.
I can see as a parent of a singleton that you may feel slighted against your child, but the suggestion that a girl should expect to play as a girl actually goes against the concept of gender equality.
The sexism was all on Nintendo part, particularly by Yoshio Sakamoto who directed and wrote the game, there are plenty of interviews that point the game issues to him.
Team Ninja other games have their own issues, but let's blame them for things that aren't their fault.
PdotMichael
Banned
Nintendo itself provides anyone with alternative games if one doesn't like the formula or basic plot in the Mario main series or Zelda.
Calling Mario sexist is so missing the point about media portrayels that it isn't even funny anymore.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
I guess that's kind of my point. These hot take(r)s have been clamoring for Mario on mobile, finally get and they all hate it.
Or Quiet from MGSV.
clockworkinyou
Banned
So this is a thing?
Someone won't let a girl play the game because the fictional characters aren't doing what they want? And is upset enough about it to write an article?
Someone won't let a girl play the game because the fictional characters aren't doing what they want? And is upset enough about it to write an article?
And what do you think made those toys 'girl' focused and 'boy' focused?
JordanN
Banned
This post reminds me of this comic.
Just because kids don't care, doesn't mean society is absolved of responsibility.
excelsiorlef
Member
No there isn't to my knowledge.
...
Seriously?
We can talk about all sorts of things.
nkarafo
Member
No they don't need to do anything. They need to do whatever they want. And whoever likes their games can buy them. Not everything should be for everyone's tastes.
Also, Metroid.
Not that I'm taking sides or anything (I mean Toadette, really?), but I've always disliked when people would retort to saying that there are greater concerns, that there is more important stuff to worry about as a response to people complaining about this or that. Just because it's a video game doesn't mean it doesn't matter at all. Furthermore, people are capable of being concerned about more than one thing. It's called multitasking.
I can worry about shit like Trump or ISIS, and also take into account what the author wrote in his article, or just sexism in gaming generally speaking.
And as for Cindy, yes there's always more overt examples of sexism and/or nonsense design, but that doesn't mean one can't also criticize the "smaller" examples as well.
If we shouldn't discuss things because more important things also exist, we might as well shut down all of gaming side. More important things to discuss than videogames
People have the ability to focus on more than one thing.
counterpoint - every recent Metroid game
John Kowalski
Banned
Reminds me of that Martin Luther King text about the moderate white.
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
Those people would probably not like my nieces who who only want to play with dolls and dress like princesses.
Lol was just thinking that.
I guess I don't understand the call to arms being necessary. It's a short little iPhone game. It's not the job of video games (or movies or television) to push socially progressive agendas just for the sake of doing so. It's their job to be entertaining first and foremost.
But that's beside the obvious complaint I suppose which is that if you're looking to a cell phone game to teach a kid gender politics then maybe you need to do a bit more parenting and actually teach your kids HOW to think rather than just what to think.
excelsiorlef
Member
What?
So wanting female representation is anti-equality now?
Also I've never had my nonexistent kids and assumptions made about my non-existent status as parent insulted before so hey thanks or something new.
autumnleaf
Member
I don't think it's really a big deal, it's just Mario. Maybe next time introduce Mario & Luigi's long lost sister, have Luigi get kidnapped and they're rescuing him, no one can complain then.
Again. It is a MARIO game. The game is called Super Mario Run. That's like saying "Wtf, why does Tomb Raider not feature Jonah as a playable character?" or "Wtf, why does UC4 not feature Elena as playable character?".
nkarafo
Member
It's only OtherM. The others i don't see a problem.
The parents.
My lad will happily play with a doll and my daughter with a tonka truck.
Both couldn't care less. Saying that even though they can pick what they want to play with they do naturally get drawn to the stuff that you'd expect them to.
Aaron Strife
Banned
No one's arguing for Tomb Raider to have a male playable character because there are already a million games out there that feature male playable characters. You're putting these games in a vacuum and ignoring the broader argument for more representation in gaming as a whole. If Mario was the only game out of hundreds to only feature a male playable character from the outset, people wouldn't be complaining nearly as much. The fact is, Mario having any female playable characters at all is a significant step above many other games, even if they're put behind unlock requirements.
I'd also suggest it's much easier for a game like Super Mario Run to accommodate female players than something as narratively rigid as Uncharted. What changes Mario Run by allowing Peach to be playable? Just say Bowser kidnapped one of the Toads or something.
I have no problem discussing this issue even if it is admittedly a small one, but I don't think it's a huge deal as some think it is.
I don't think there's a dissonance or contradiction with gender representation when it strips it down to such basic elements like Mario does. Women as trophy becomes more problematic when there's more characterization introduced to it's trope without being critical or conscious for it. There's a certain innocence to how Mario and Peach relate to one another.
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