Ben-DutkaFor years, video games have been guilty of portraying top-heavy women. Maybe it all started with Lara Croft but recently, we've started to see more realistic female forms in our interactive experiences.
And why? Well, according to Ninja Theory boss Tameem Antoniades, it's simply because most gamers have grown up, and if the average age of a console gamer is over 30 (and it is, according to the statistics), than the consumer requires something more than…titillation. In speaking to PSM3 magazine and as cited by The A List Daily , Antoniades says designers can't get away with such cheap tricks anymore.
"If it's true that the average console gamer is over 30 – which I totally believe – then you can't use those cheap tricks to titillate people into wanting to buy your game. I've nothing against big tits – I'd rather have my head resting on a pair right now – but if you're going to try and stimulate someone on different levels, there's better ways to do it. If you look at the stars in movies, the women people find really attractive are often not the ones with the biggest tits. You've got to be attractive on a different level."
He went on to mention Trip from Enslaved: Odyssey to the West , a relatively normal-proportioned female character, who the fans really seemed to like. Antoniades said they liked her; she didn't have "big breasts and high heels" but she looked like "someone who could be your girlfriend." Now wait a minute, Tameem, are you implying that gamers can't get women with big breasts to be their girlfriends? …oh sorry, that isn't the point, is it? Sorry, didn't mean to be defensive.
Anyway, the more this guy speaks, the more he makes sense. And he's awfully candid, yes?
Agreed. Developers can't get away with cheap tricks…
… they can't get away with short games either.
Agreed!
And I think that any short game is another cheap trick.
"I'd rather have my head resting on a pair right now". HAHAHA
No, I agree though. Really good points here about how when women are portrayed more realistically, it automatically makes me believe more in how well the character can be developed before she even opens her mouth.
So many times I roll my eyes over.. over breasting some female characters to the point where it's like HEY LOOK I HAVE ABSURDLY LARGE TITS! I don't mind some cleavage (who doesn't), but there doesn't need to be a huge emphasis on the fact that we can see these insanely oversized knockers in a cheap attempt to excite us.
I disagree, big tits will still work wonders no matter what. I very much welcome more realistic women like Madison Page but that doesn't mean tatas won't sell. What I'd really like to see is more realistic men, not musclebound vein-ridden freaks of steroidal nature but real life dudes in extraordinary situations like the guy in The Last of Us.
And Trip is a bad example because she's still sexualized, they clearly put extra effort and time into the animation of her ass setting itself aright after you toss her up to a ledge. I could have watched that wiggle a hundred more times.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 3/27/2012 10:24:04 PM
I really don't see big tits creating good sales all on their own. That actually has very rarely happened in the industry's history.
I'm sure it doesn't HURT sales, but if you make a crappy game, a hundred sets of big breasts won't turn that title into a financial success.
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 3/27/2012 10:41:52 PM
He didn't say anything about bad games, you can still use it as a trick to shift copies. Ahem Christina Hendricks in NFS The Run.
Remember BMX XXX? Sales were abysmal on that one though. Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball is the only game that comes to mind that sold on its big tits voyeuristic merrits.
There were probably others, but I forget. Then again, there probably aren't THAT many others.
Last edited by ZenChichiri on 3/28/2012 12:10:51 AM
Tomb Raider didn't survive as long as it did because of the incredible gameplay mechanics.
Now wait a minute. Tomb Raider was a phenomenon due very much to its gameplay mechanics and overall design and style. Nobody could really tell the size of her bust in the first game, anyway…just a tad too pixelated.
And no, that trick will not shift copies. I don't think anyone even knew about Hendricks in The Run and that game didn't sell very well, anyway. The only reason it did okay is the franchise name.
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 3/28/2012 12:54:27 AM
I welcome the big tits… As long as it has a good story and gameplay to go along with it
"I've nothing against big tits – i'd rather have my head resting on a pair right now"
Gold!
Someone should ask him how crazy hair effects purchases. I think it's important.
I love the way this guy thinks, and the mentality of his studio is what will drive the industry forward. I'd definitely put him up there with Ken Levine, Kojima and Ueda as visionaries.
As for the tits question… I must say that I've never been all that enamoured by large ones. Give me a little over a handful and I'm happy as Larry. This makes me wonder though… Will any women end up alongside Dante-esque in DmC?
Of course they showed that one female in one of the DmC trailers, she just probably won't be as sexualized as Trish and lady was in DMC4.
I must've missed that one :/
LOL what. no. as long as there are modding communities I have zero problem with these games with titties 😛 just need that nakkie mode. haha
sorry just turned 21 xD been out
Happy Birthday.
Just think, another fifty to sixty years ahead of you 😀
Last edited by Lawless SXE on 3/28/2012 4:25:00 AM
Haha, thanks, that kind of seems depressing though 😮
i find allot of people are actually the opposite.
i hate games that use sluts as a pathetic con to get people to purchase games.
bayonetta for instance drove me freaking insane because of exactly that.
sex appeal is one thing, but tantalizing on it every single second of the game, and wearing the sluttiest outfits possible is another.
In Japan, they even use totally bare-breasted girls in mahjong video games. WTF? I find golf boring, but scantily clad or naked people somewhere in view isn't gonna make it more interesting to me.
Agreed. Need more than big tits, also needs a great ass.
You mean FFVII didn't sell because of Tifa's?
Let's be honest people, in FFIX, you all bought it because of Quina's boobs.
Headline of the Year.
Yes, gamers need more than big breasts in their female characters. But I guarantee you this, if you have two games that are otherwise identical. both very playable and fun, and one has pretty and well endowed female characters, while the other does not. The one with the pretty girls with cleavage that moves will win the day in sales.
Besides, who's gonna argue with the picture Ben chose for the article?
Last edited by TheHighlander on 3/28/2012 10:41:34 AM
There's an article in this column?!?
How about make a game based solely on big tits. Sell millions !! mmmmmmm boobies….
Well, we know what made VHS a success….
😉
Besides, didn't someone already try this approach with Gears of War?
::runs::
DOA would not be among us still today without bounce physics.
if Ninja Theory wants me to take them seriously, they need to make an amazing game.
Hell, I have much more faith in Team Ninja despite the NG3 debacle, because I have faith that Team Ninja can FIX the issues in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 3.