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[royox]

Greed, Political Correctness and SJW.

 

[petran79]

They ignore that even back then video games were not targeting just children. There was a significant teen and adult player base too.
Eg computer gaming was a heaven for adult adventure, military, simulation, historical, sci-fi and fantasy games with the occasional violent and soft porn exceptions. Vast majority of controversial and violent games derived from computers after all and created a significant fan following.
Add also the arcade game legacy that targeted mostly teens and adults as well.

Yet now an adult game assumes that adults of today grew only with Nintendo, Xbox and Playstation, without any other alternative narrative. Hence the writing is even worse comparatively to previous decades and ero games are treated as the next plague.

I mean back then you had sci-fi productions like The Dig involving Steven Spielberg. There were Star Trek games. FMV games with Hollywood actors like The Ripper. Whereas now Kojima is regarded as a high profile Hollywood director.

 

[Vlightray]

I'm glad that somehow thru all this tragedy that Neogaf as community rebooted and came to it's senses and a topic like this can gather discussion not a lot of discussion but meaningful discussion.

Gaming is in a phase right now with the greed push all try all strategy and whatever sells most will undoubtedly shape this landscape as seen with the Pubg-Fortnite craze.

Will lootboxes prevail I think they have been put on the back burner for 2019 games. Less but not gone.

Will Fortnite shoehorn into each game continue? For now oh yes.

Will we get shitty cut DLC etc. Yep people are buying too much and haven't learnt hard enough yet see lootboxes.

Will the SJW push continue? Waters are being tested right now how much can we take and how much are studios willing to lose?

The Lesson in all this will make a better gamer that avoids all this shit and in 5 years we could truly be back on path or truly fucked.

Currently all the studios are aiming MONEY first not experience or new idea or dream or vision or life goal etc.

Keep your wallet closed for bullshit games! Rant......over.

 

[Grinchy]

Go back to when it was fun? If it’s not fun for you now, that has nothing to do with reading articles online of someone doing something shitty while playing games. It has nothing to do with a game you don’t even play having loot boxes.

Go back to the 90s and there were still shitty people and practices but you weren’t paying such hyper attention to the minutiae

 

[Great Hair]

Console gaming went from arcades, jump&runs, quirky, silly mr.mosquito type of game to a "pick up dis rifle 44 silencer tft 22 and shoot each other in the face for fake points at the end no one gives a wet fuck about it! Rinse and repeat on the same dusty old map for 15 years or more ... why play other games?"

Who do we blame this?

+ Boardband Mentality
+ PC flooded the market, with its approach of sharing games, services and such (PC as in personal computer)
+ F2P Boom/Virulenza around 2008? Everyone being infected by it ...
+ the sad but inevitable push to more service-game delivery because a certain demographic on this planet prefers getting their "drug" via streaming, downloading nowdays ...

In other words, we will never get to play another :

Soul Reaver, Daytonaaaaaaa, Ridge Racer, Onimusha, Dino Crisis, Suikoden, Alundra, Growlancer, Front Mission (Alternative), Silent Hill (hopefully one day in VR), Tokyo Extreme Racer (f*ck you Genki!!), insert terrific games of the past here ....

All replaced by/with MMOs, Mobas, F2P, Shooter X, Shooter B, Shooter L, MMORPGs, flashgames on your nokias, smartphone games etc etc etc.

Without Sony´s and Nintendo´s 1st party .. this would have been my last generation. We can only hope, that Sony&Co. have an A.I? of sort that is capable of updating, upgrading old psx games on the fly, with better textures, more polygons ... i´d rather play a LOADED or Firo&Klawd upscaled to 16K than anything coming out of this "once great" kitchen oven.

Great games are still coming out, but i bet that the PS360 had seen more newer ips than the PS4Xbone generation.

 

[Vlightray]

Great games are still coming out, but i bet that the PS360 had seen more newer ips than the PS4Xbone generation.

Agreed.I think PS3/360 gen was the last solid gen and Ps4/One is the wind down. PS1/Ps2 gen was leaps ahead of now and the last.

 

[badboyyy]

In my opinion, this environment created, because of few factors - gaming nowadays is mainstream, you can stream what you play, many yt chanells is about gaming, kids love skins and other pricy stuff - its like new toy, and what is absurd that now we are loosing communication because of social media. Old days you went with friends who love games, then you chat, play co op or lan games, read paper magazines and games was about playing the game, not social aspect, where now you can share it, stream live, connect with “friends”, abuse other people and etc.

 

[autoduelist]

1. Gaming became the front line trenches of the culture war. Your freedoms are under attack, but if you actually say that you will be considered the enemy.

2. The ramifications of mobile gaming, where the storefront caused a race to the bottom in pricing which then led to free 2 play which then led companies to focus on how to monetize addiction. Ie, loot boxes, pay walls, etc.

3. Weaponized outrage. This goes hand in hand with #1, but deserves its own spot. One side of the culture war realized that if you claimed to be a victim, outrage became weaponized. Anyone who spoke up against you was, by definition, an abuser. All part of the culture war.

These issues go far deeper than just gaming, and we are seeing it in many industries. There is something big brewing, and our freedoms are under attack. Mass censorship and demonotization along these lines is happening right now. There are a lot of truly confused people right now who think they are doing 'Good' who are severely misaligned and leading us down a path that leads only to tyranny. Unfortunately, saying this just makes you the enemy and gets you shouted down.

You are an individual. Live like it.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

First came the money, then came the parasites who followed the money.

 

[JimmyRustler]

It's big business now. Up until PS2 gaming was this geeky hobby. Made by geeks for geeks. To some extent this even carried over to the PS3 generation. But now with the PS4 everything went big. Now this is a multi-billion dollar business. The companies making games are not run by gamers any more but by business people. It was doomed to happen sooner or later. It's the same with the movie business. You have to deal with it.

It's not all bad though. There are still great games being released. You just have to look closer today.

 

[nani17]

Time to bust out the SNES

 

[Aurelian]

I use "Boy's club" liberally. To refer to the old guard who kept gaming from turning into the mainstream mess that is today.

Growing up, I actually did play a lot of video games around girls. I even remembered in Middle School/ High School, I saw lots of girls bringing in DS and PSPs to class which kinda surprised me.
The point however is that gaming didn't actually care if you were a boy or a girl or LGBT. You just shut up, and criticize a game for its gameplay. It didn't need to be made any more welcoming than that.

Now fast forward today and major Game Studios are actually saying "Diversity is just as important as gameplay". Um, no sweetie. 20 years ago, games played fine without making a point of which skin color you controlled.

I see. I'm not sure if I'd say diversity is as important as gameplay, but we should at least keep it in mind. It's not just that it's good to make people feel welcome and see themselves reflected in the games they play, it's that it could help developers get themselves out of a creative rut.

One of the industry's problems is a vicious circle of self-justification: it creates formulaic games for an established audience, finds that only the established audience buys those games, and then uses those sales figures to justify limiting games to that established audience. So you end up with a lot of games that amount to White Boy Shoot-'em-up Power Fantasy XVII instead of, say, a game like Mirror's Edge or A Night in the Woods that explores different gameplay concepts, experiences and backgrounds. I'd like to see more blockbuster games that are either truly aimed at everyone or are primarily aimed at other demographics (but not so much so that others can't possibly relate, of course).

 

[Pallas]

will we ever get to a point where games are complete on arrival and dlc adds rather than being cut content.

 

[Petrae]

Time to bust out the SNES

Going all retro is a fair alternative. You avoid much of the bullshit that way, though the retro market is still a bit on the high side... so you still have financial opportunists to deal with.

That said, I’m ready to make the switch to retro when the time comes. I’ve put together a nice library of retro games and consoles over the last few years, so I can jump ship when I just can’t stand the bullshit anymore. I’m getting very close, but am not there yet. We’ll see how I feel when the next generation begins in a couple of years.

 

[Danjin44]

I feel most these issue come from Online focus games. We still get games like God of War, Dragon Quest XI and Octopath that has none of the BS like loot boxes, microtransactions and online toxicity and even get games like Xenoblade 2 that does DLC in proper way. So avoiding online gaming is one of the best decision I made and I'm still very much enjoying gaming.

 

[SonGoku]

we've had the controversy of BFV having female characters. Which while historically inaccurate doesnt ruin the over all game experience.

With disingenuous misrepresentations like this you are part of the problem
The BF controversy had more to do with DICE virtue trolling, with straight men not allowed in their presentation, we dont want you message and lastly this gem yet again demonizing their customers
They could have sent a better message by selling it as an alternate reality, instead of using the game as a stage for virtue signaling, its as if they thought reera was their target audience.

Gee i wonder why it blew on their feces Must be the toxic gamers

 

[HarryKS]

Very simple: The magic of the 90s and 2000s has finally faded away,

 

[SonGoku]

Very simple: The magic of the 90s and 2000s has finally faded away,

No online played a big role in that magic
Thats why i like Sony and Nintendo

 

[Fitzchiv]

Big part of all of this is how much more people feel the need to live their life, and their hobby, in the pocket of other people.

Twitch, Twitter, YouTube...whatever. It's become normalised to broadcast everything and have to defend your interests.

Pull the LAN cable, boot the game, play it, fuck the trophies, then go get a drink.

Gaming.

 

[Petrae]

No online played a big role in that magic
Thats why i like Sony and Nintendo

The internet, as I mentioned above, is the biggest problem.

— It enables shipping of incomplete/broken games because big Day One patches can fix them.

— It enables microtransactions and greedy DLC, instead of purposeful expansions of content.

— It empowers publishers and platform holders to remotely discontinue licenses on purchased products at any time, including full games.

While I grant that there are some good things that internet connectivity does, it’s also responsible for many of the problems that plague modern console video games today.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Like any market, usurpers will rise to cater to audiences that aren't getting what they want from AAA devs. 10 years ago the "indie" scene on console was barely a step above Flash browser games (Castle Crashers, Braid, Geometry Wars, etc).

Nowadays every videogame genre is being made by "indies" and those lines continue to blur. They are pushing up-market and AAA keeps fleeing into better graphics and bigger budgets. There won't be a "crash" but I expect a lot of current-day developers and franchises to die off next gen.

Gaming is vast and exciting right now. If you feel it's going in a bad direction, that's more of an inditement on what sort of games you're looking at.

 

[SonGoku]

Like any market, usurpers will rise to cater to audiences that aren't getting what they want from AAA devs. 10 years ago the "indie" scene on console was barely a step above Flash browser games (Castle Crashers, Braid, Geometry Wars, etc).

Nowadays every videogame genre is being made by "indies" and those lines continue to blur. They are pushing up-market and AAA keeps fleeing into better graphics and bigger budgets. There won't be a "crash" but I expect a lot of current-day developers and franchises to die off next gen.

Gaming is vast and exciting right now. If you feel it's going in a bad direction, that's more of an inditement on what sort of games you're looking at.

Indies are a victim of their own success as well, with so much abundance its more and more difficult to stand out from the rest not to mention increasing expectations and budgets
Good thing Kickstarter exists

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Indies are a victim of their own success as well, with so much abundance its more and more difficult to stand out from the rest not to mention increasing expectations and budgets
Good thing Kickstarter exists

Agreed, it's not a perfect situation and I expect many more indies to crash and burn as well. But at least the good ones are making games in genres that the AAA devs either abandoned or couldn't figure out themselves.

 

[SonGoku]

Agreed, it's not a perfect situation and I expect many more indies to crash and burn as well. But at least the good ones are making games in genres that the AAA devs either abandoned or couldn't figure out themselves.

Indies are the new B games

 

[Dr. Claus]

bare with me guys this could be a red flag to some on here but sure.

WHAT THE FUCK HAS HAPPENED TO THIS HOBBY?

Is it just me or has this for of entertainment got so much more toxic than it was a few years ago? While there's always been a few twats on online i have always been lucky enough to avoid most of it thankfully.

recently, we've had that twat that hit his wife while streaming, we've had the controversy of BFV having female characters. Which while historically inaccurate doesnt ruin the over all game experience.

we've had the ridiculous obsession with microtransactions and cosmetic dlc.

we've had the loot boxes.

will we head back to a time when the hobby was fun? will we ever get to a point where games are complete on arrival and dlc adds rather than being cut content.

and for the love of god will the moaning entitled fuckwits that ruin this online ever just move on

thoughts?

There are a few important factors that could have lead to what seems like a downfall.

The first is that gaming is now a popular hobby enjoyed by many. I still remember in the early 90s that gaming was something that was nerdy and strange. It remained that way for years until mobile phones and consoles like the Wii came into play. It introduced many into gaming and its appeal became far more widespread. It suddenly became normal and cool to be playing games. Developers will try to make games that garner widespread appeal, over focusing on specific niche markets.

There is also the nature of the internet, with its introduction of easy, long distance communication - communities started to be built and fans now had multiple avenues to get their thoughts out into the world - this includes anger and vitriol. This would lead Developers to change their games to better provide a product that makes the most money.

I still believe that gaming is fantastic and tremendous fun, but a lot of those titles that I greatly enjoy come more from AA and independent developers, who focus on making games that they find fun more than games that are for wide-spread appeal. NieR, Celeste, Persona 5, etc. All fantastic titles. I honestly find that there are more good games these days than ever and I have a harder time to choose which ones I want to play.

 

[Iorv3th]

Social media happened. Now we have to have 'gotcha' moments on everything. Everything is over analyzed in order to make mundane trivial shit seem like the end of the world. Everything has become offensive and if you aren't also offended you are 'part of the problem'. In turn there is an opposite reaction to all of that.

But then media, including games, starts to accommodate that change.

 

[brap]

Gaming isn't made for us anymore. It's made for your mom, grandma, that girl on twitch who needs something piss easy to play so she can show off her fake tits to beta males, etc.
Lots of companies are also greedy as fuck. Then there's the pathetic people who don't actually like games but feel the need to police them so they can fit in with their bland PC PG standards.

 

[Lanrutcon]

I was gaming before gaming went mainstream.

We did not know how good we had it.

 

[Iorv3th]

Gaming isn't made for us anymore. It's made for your mom, grandma, that girl on twitch who needs something piss easy to play so she can show off her fake tits to beta males, etc.
Lots of companies are also greedy as fuck. Then there's the pathetic people who don't actually like games but feel the need to police them so they can fit in with their bland PC PG standards.

What? That's one of the most asinine comments I have heard.

 

[sublimit]

This industry is still in its Far West form. During the '90's and early-mid '00's the consumers were the ones who were unethical towards the publishers (thanks to piracy) and now the publishers are the ones who are being unethical towards the consumers.
There are no true objective regulators who can protect consumer rights and the publishers and platform holders will do anything in their power to keep the situation as it is and try to take advantage even more in the coming years ,and go as far as their greed lets them.

The only way this could change is if governments would step in and form 1 international committee with the role to protect consumer rights in electronic and online entertainment with international laws that apply to every publisher around the world. But i don't think this will ever happen.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Gamers who want to get their 15 minutes of fame and feel secure and happy.

So that's why you have them buying cosmetic items, buying booster packs and tweeting and doing streaming showing the world... "Hey, watch me play games"

If this was the 16 bit days and stores/devs offered gamers password unlocks for $5 so Ryu and Chun-Li could access alternate costumes, I am confident way less people would go for this, than modern day gamers.

 

[Aurelian]

Gaming isn't made for us anymore. It's made for your mom, grandma, that girl on twitch who needs something piss easy to play so she can show off her fake tits to beta males, etc.
Lots of companies are also greedy as fuck. Then there's the pathetic people who don't actually like games but feel the need to police them so they can fit in with their bland PC PG standards.

I'm sorry, but when was gaming only supposed to be for a narrow clique of people? Who's "us?" And I notice that all the people you complain about having access are women (and negative stereotypes, at that)... a mere coincidence, I'm sure.

Games are for everyone. Repeat that until you understand that it's completely true. Everyone. Everyone. I don't want to treat it like an exclusive club where you must only play certain game genres on certain platforms at certain difficulty levels to be considered a "real" gamer. You should be celebrating that people's moms and grandmas are playing games, not wishing they'd be kicked out. Life's too short to deny people happiness like that.

 

[Thiagosc777]

That's not really a healthy attitude to take. I don't want gaming to be a snobbish "boy's club" like you do. I want women (and the LGBT community, and...) to feel more comfortable playing games, to see more of their stories represented. I want gaming to be a place for anyone with the interest and commitment to play, whether they're playing Fortnite for the first time on their phone or getting their third prestige in Black Ops 4 on a custom-built PC. Ultimately, I want gaming to be welcoming and inclusive.

Think about it for a moment... it's gaming. The notion that you need a certain level of dedication to be a 'real' gamer is ludicrous. You're supposed to be having fun, not passing a bar exam. Instead of focusing energy on hate, I'd rather be a good person and encourage as many people to come into the fold as possible.

Shut up. Games have always been diverse. There were always been gamers and developers of all kinds. And stories of all kinds. Anyone who claim otherwise is just ignorant.

And don't speak for others. It makes you look like a smug SJW.

Gaming is the most democratic place that exists. It's the closest we will ever get to a meritocracy. All you need to join is to learn how to play the game and get good.

Edit: Google Phantasy Star and behold your own ignorance.

 

[StormCell]

What has happened/is happening to this hobby is that we're all getting older and the hobby continues to change. Most, if not all, of us are adults here. What we're all seeing are the generations after us who behave a little differently, prefer things that are a little different, and they very much have different perspectives on social issues than how we were raised and taught. I know it sure feels like this hobby isn't as fun or bright as it used to be, but what matters is always changing. It may seem like everything is negative or not as fun, but I just chalk it up to a change in priorities that just don't match what mine are. I think it's called being left behind/getting old.

Oh, and of course the competition to the bottom of the pile of money has certainly impacted games. With each generation, the competition for more money gets a little tighter. The wider that net is cast, the more accessible and acceptable the game needs to be to appeal to everyone. I would prefer that they not do this, but they're in it purely for the money. When you decide you don't like Amazon (the retailer), it's time to put on your shoes and head out to the small town store and buy it there. Same thing with supporting smaller developers who are in it for the passion.

 

[decisions]

As gaming achieved mass appeal, the casuals outnumbered the hardcore and so it became more profitable to appeal to the casual market.

Successful games that are generally well-received by hardcore gamers nowadays are those that, somehow, find enough appeal in both markets. Many developers cannot meet this challenge or are not given the opportunity to attempt to meet it by their superiors. So, there are a large number of games only trying to appeal to the larger market (gotcha games, GAAS games with simple gameplay mechanics, "Twitch" horror games, etc.) through various means (loot boxes, luck-based competition based on a popular IP, etc. ).

At the end of the day, the best thing people who truly love gaming (the "hardcore") can do is vote with their wallet and buy games that are truly artistic/intellectually stimulating - because experience allows them to know them when they see them - and "grow" the hardcore market by being effective champions of these games and turning new people onto them, whether this is through a real-life conversation, a forum post, or even game development. That's all we can really do to fight the corruption the industry is facing.

 

[Tarin02543]

It's true, games are being made by business people now.

Just like there are no goods movies anymore, there are not good videogames anymore.

 

[Dice]

You always have opportunity to participate and bother yourself with dumb stuff or to embrace the good that is available in life. It is an active, personal choice every day to direct your attention and care to where you want it to be and receive what you want to get from the pursuits of your life. For gaming I just buy and play the games that don't have those problems and enjoy myself and community. *shrugs*

 

[SonGoku]

What? That's one of the most asinine comments I have heard.

lol it was funny to read though lmao

 

[Paracelsus]

It's true, games are being made by business people now.

Just like there are no goods movies anymore, there are not good videogames anymore.

Wrestling old timers say the same thing, and the same happened there too. Strictly speaking, when people that don't belong into a business see that the business can make lots of money, they join, push it, don't protect it, and destroy it.

"And now a bunch of college geeks who have never been in a fight in their life have to write stuff for actual tough men about how to be cool".

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

It's become heavily politicized now but every single aspect of life in the present day has become politicized in some way, this is a reflection of the times we live in and doesn't just affect gaming.

I definitely miss the days when this was an apolitical hobby, when arguments among gamers would be over the merits of a game or which console was best and nothing political.

 

[Breakage]

The online component changed everything. I miss the days when gaming was a cultish underground hobby for misfits. Now the game console is a lifestyle device for everybody – and this is reflected in the type of games that are made.
I suppose gaming going mainstream was inevitable, but something has been lost in the process.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Gaming has been mainstream since the start, though. Arcade cabinets first showed up in bars. Gaming grew out of the shadow of pinball and carnival games which were also "mainstream" and didn't carry a stigma.

My opinion is that it was the gaming companies of the late 80s and early 90s who heavily pushed (read: advertised) their particular brand of gaming toward pre-teen/teenage boys. This caused growth in one sector but pushed away others. So, not catering almost exclusively toward teenage boys is seen as being "inclusive" and catering to the "mainstream", but it's just a course-correction back to the way things used to be.

 

[Sqorin Hammerfarf]

Anita Sarkeesian and World of Warcraft.

Before Sarkeesian, it was usually gamers united against the world. We disagreed on a great many things, but it was never anything where disagreement was considered immoral. Thinking Fallout 2 was better than Fallout 3 dudn’t get you labeled as a bad person. When gamers discovered feminism, disagreement became about good and evil, and that applied to everything. Think Fallout 4 is better than Fallout 2? You absolute monster! Discourse died the second we started judging each other’s morality rather than our opinions. It didn’t have to be Sarkeesian, it would’ve been something else. But Sarkeesian fanned the flames, even fed off them, and though I don’t blame her personally, I think she was the worst thing to ever happen to gaming - at least in my 40 years of doing it.

World of Warcraft was really where the Games As a Service took off. It wasn’t the first, but it’s runaway success showed publishers a new standard of profit. This was made worse by Farmville and mobile gaming, showing outrageous profits through addiction rather than quality and integrity, to the point where publishers no longer look at their customers as gamers, but as dollar signs. It’s ironic that everybody HATED the idea of $2 for horse armor, and now Fortnite charges $20 for a skin.

 

[StormCell]

Wrestling old timers say the same thing, and the same happened there too. Strictly speaking, when people that don't belong into a business see that the business can make lots of money, they join, push it, don't protect it, and destroy it.

"And now a bunch of college geeks who have never been in a fight in their life have to write stuff for actual tough men about how to be cool".

I think this is so spot on. The creativity and actual edginess is gone, and in its place is this bland tough act routine.

My opinion is everything and everybody has gotten too damn smart for their own good.

 

[nkarafo]

Anything that gets mainstream loses it's magic.

 

[Aurelian]

Shut up. Games have always been diverse. There were always been gamers and developers of all kinds. And stories of all kinds. Anyone who claim otherwise is just ignorant.

And don't speak for others. It makes you look like a smug SJW.

Gaming is the most democratic place that exists. It's the closest we will ever get to a meritocracy. All you need to join is to learn how to play the game and get good.

Edit: Google Phantasy Star and behold your own ignorance.

No, I will not shut up. I will be loud. So long as you're going to make unsupported claims about diversity while trying to silence anyone who argues for diversity, I will happily speak up and make you uncomfortable.

There's a difference between merely having games with non-male protagonists and actually making games from distinctly non-male perspectives, not to mention having a genuinely inclusive industry where games with women and minority protagonists aren't considered exceptions.

I mean, really, you're going to cite Phantasy Star as proof that games have always been diverse? "Okay, guys, here's one old game with a female lead character! Guess sexism in games never existed!" Yeah, and I'm sure Custer's Revenge is wholly representative of video game culture, too. The issue is not that games with meaningful non-male, non-white characters weren't around until recently, it's that they've tended to be exceptions, token efforts or shunted to the sidelines. Yeah, I'm sure there were games from distinctly female and minority perspectives in the '80s, but you couldn't just wander into an arcade or game store and expect to find them.

(Also, it's ironic that you call me smug while simultaneously assuming that I've never heard of Phantasy Star. I was around for and aware of that game when it was new; I'm not even sure if you existed.)

You're not really espousing a democratic view of gaming so much as an Ayn Rand one... that is, the false notion that the market naturally reflects what everyone wants. You know that's not true. If a woman plays a dudebro shooter like Call of Duty or Gears of War, that doesn't mean she's happy with how women are represented in gaming. It means she's playing what's available and may be merely tolerating the lack of representation. And I'm sorry, but while there are certainly developers making games distinctly with women and minority perspectives in mind, they tend to be indies that can't make a blockbuster shooter or RPG at the drop of a hat. So long as the industry is dominated by a handful of multi-billion-dollar giants, we should ask those giants to explore games that aren't just white male power fantasies.

 

[anthraticus]

I just ignore like 95+% of modern AAA gaming and that works great for me.

 

[Dr. Claus]

Shut up. Games have always been diverse. There were always been gamers and developers of all kinds. And stories of all kinds. Anyone who claim otherwise is just ignorant.

And don't speak for others. It makes you look like a smug SJW.

Gaming is the most democratic place that exists. It's the closest we will ever get to a meritocracy. All you need to join is to learn how to play the game and get good.

Edit: Google Phantasy Star and behold your own ignorance.

Other games full of diverse characters: Persona 2, NieR: Gestalt, Final Fantasy, Metroid, the list goes on. Gaming has always been diverse. This idea that it hasn't is completely unfounded.

 

[decisions]

No, I will not shut up. I will be loud. So long as you're going to make unsupported claims about diversity while trying to silence anyone who argues for diversity, I will happily speak up and make you uncomfortable.

There's a difference between merely having games with non-male protagonists and actually making games from distinctly non-male perspectives, not to mention having a genuinely inclusive industry where games with women and minority protagonists aren't considered exceptions.

I mean, really, you're going to cite Phantasy Star as proof that games have always been diverse? "Okay, guys, here's one old game with a female lead character! Guess sexism in games never existed!" Yeah, and I'm sure Custer's Revenge is wholly representative of video game culture, too. The issue is not that games with meaningful non-male, non-white characters weren't around until recently, it's that they've tended to be exceptions, token efforts or shunted to the sidelines. Yeah, I'm sure there were games from distinctly female and minority perspectives in the '80s, but you couldn't just wander into an arcade or game store and expect to find them.

(Also, it's ironic that you call me smug while simultaneously assuming that I've never heard of Phantasy Star. I was around for and aware of that game when it was new; I'm not even sure if you existed.)

You're not really espousing a democratic view of gaming so much as an Ayn Rand one... that is, the false notion that the market naturally reflects what everyone wants. You know that's not true. If a woman plays a dudebro shooter like Call of Duty or Gears of War, that doesn't mean she's happy with how women are represented in gaming. It means she's playing what's available and may be merely tolerating the lack of representation. And I'm sorry, but while there are certainly developers making games distinctly with women and minority perspectives in mind, they tend to be indies that can't make a blockbuster shooter or RPG at the drop of a hat. So long as the industry is dominated by a handful of multi-billion-dollar giants, we should ask those giants to explore games that aren't just white male power fantasies.

What is a "white" male power fantasy? What are the distinguishing characteristics of a white male power fantasy as opposed to, say, a black power fantasy? Can you name one game that is about "white male power"? I understand there are games from male perspectives, and maybe those about power, but I have yet to see a game about "white male power". That seems like it would be quite the controversial game.

When I was growing up I really never once noted if the race of the video game character I was playing matched mine. I just played games. Do you think I spent hours contemplating whether to continue playing Halo because I didn't know the color of master chief's skin? Do you think I never played FFVI because the protagonist is a woman? How about Japanese games as a whole? I am not Japanese, yet somehow I had no issue with those. When someone really enjoys a good game, it is because they are enamored by elements that far transcend any notion of race or physical identity.

The biggest problem with these gaming diversity arguments is that they feel as if they are fabricating the problem they are criticizing. It's as if a bunch of nerds wanted to be heroes, so they invented a war.

 

[GigaFlareX]

Honestly we just gotta stay hardcore.
Eventually these germs will come and go.
All of this political BS and SJW this and that is a phase with this being the hardest push we have ever seen.

I think overtime it'll die out and not be as dramatic.