Nintendo advertising playable female characters in games. - Polidicks

[url]http://www.destructoid.com/nintendo-pr-actively-promoting-playable-female-characters-258700.phtml[/url] [QUOTE]Nintendo is generally thought to exist in its own fancy little bubble, protected from the outside world and faintly out of touch with the rest of us. However, Nintendo of America's marketing department may be a bit more savvy than we thought, and seems to have an ear to the ground when it comes to hot topics. Take, for instance, the thorny issue of female protagonists. E3 in particular was a hotbed of complaints that almost all game leads were burly men being manly and burly, with only Nintendo really offering us something different. Having heard that praise, [B]Nintendo is now actively promoting playable female characters as a selling point, starting with Pikmin 3. Jon Wahlgren uploaded a photo of a Nintendo press release, one boasting of Pikmin 3's new co-protagonist, Brittany. "In the game players take command of three new characters," explains the promotional fluff. "Alph, Charlie, and in a first for the series, female explorer Brittany. Brittany is one of the many playable female characters in upcoming Wii U games."[/B][/QUOTE] [QUOTE]In any case, Nintendo earned its praise for revealing things like a returning playable Princess Peach in Super Mario 3D World, at a time where publishers still desperately cling to muscular soldier men called Jake because that's what focus-tested teenage boys say they want. Nintendo always seems to want to do its own thing, chained not by a subservience to trends and marketing, and as such, it's in a position to be more open-minded and serve a wider audience than those companies who are, ironically, restricting what their games can be in a clawing bid to "reach a wider audience."[/QUOTE] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/2rcseMo.jpg[/IMG] We need more female characters to be honest.

only if they are scantily clad

[QUOTE=Foxton;41597461]only if they are scantily clad[/QUOTE] [img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JEHlStfFkLo/T2PD6hY6SMI/AAAAAAAAADQ/qqdi7C-VXvo/s320/Peach.png[/img] Hot.

[QUOTE=Foxton;41597461]only if they are scantily clad[/QUOTE] Well they got Bayonetta so

"One of the many playable female characters in upcoming Wii U games" Literally one of the dumbest things I've ever read. Female protagonists shouldn't be a [I]feature[/I], that's ridiculous. In my eyes it seems like Nintendo is just like "[B]GUYS LOOK WE HAVE GIRLS IN OUR GAMES!!!"[/B]

Nintendo did a great job at making the female characters appear tacked on.

[QUOTE=Hunterdnrc;41597535]"One of the many playable female characters in upcoming Wii U games" Literally one of the dumbest things I've ever read. Female protagonists shouldn't be a [I]feature[/I], that's ridiculous. In my eyes it seems like Nintendo is just like "[B]GUYS LOOK WE HAVE GIRLS IN OUR GAMES!!!"[/B][/QUOTE] nintendo always had good female characters. in a time where the gaming industry is in this feminist-esque phase why not state the fact that they continue to pump out good female characters?

[QUOTE=Hunterdnrc;41597535]In my eyes it seems like Nintendo is just like "[B]GUYS LOOK WE HAVE GIRLS IN OUR GAMES!!!"[/B][/QUOTE] That's pretty much exactly what they are doing and considering there is a growing number of people complaining about the lack of female characters in games I am not going to complain. At least it makes up for an effective anti-bitching shield. [editline]26th July 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Croshi;41597488]Well they got Bayonetta so[/QUOTE] Bayonetta is one of most fucking awesomest characters that have existed, ever. Like holy shit it's like pure concentrated badass, [B]with tits[/B].

Am I a freak for being able to think of many very solid female characters in gaming? Even dating back like 20 years now. Why is this even near a selling point?

[QUOTE=HawkeyeTy;41597604]Am I a freak for being able to think of many very solid female characters in gaming? Even dating back like 20 years now. Why is this even near a selling point?[/QUOTE] [t]http://www.zgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Anita_Sarkeesian.jpg[/t]

playing as a girl is the worst

[QUOTE=Bobsters34;41597673]playing as a girl is the worst[/QUOTE] Bayonetta handles it pretty well.

Eeeew playing as a GIRL?!?! BUT VIDEO GAMES ARE FOR BOYS [editline]e[/editline] advertising that there are playable girls in your game isn't really necessary, but it is good that there are playable girls in the first place, i guess?

[QUOTE=HawkeyeTy;41597604]Am I a freak for being able to think of many very solid female characters in gaming? Even dating back like 20 years now. Why is this even near a selling point?[/QUOTE] The market is still saturated with too many testosterone filled macho men that may or may not be bald or at least close to it. (For the Western world anyway)

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;41597659][t]http://www.zgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Anita_Sarkeesian.jpg[/t][/QUOTE] That is the most Joker-esque expression I've ever seen, holy shit.

How many games are even out on the Wii U right now that let you play as women? Excluding any Mii games, I think there's just Zombi U, Mass Effect 3, and Arkham City. That's pretty rough, especially since two of those are just rereleases.

For those who are wondering who Brittany is: [img]http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b196/Starmenclock/captainB_zps4ad82488.png[/img] She is one of the main characters in Pikmin 3.

A woman hero makes way more sense than all of their games where you play as small children, like Zelda, Earthbound, and Metroid Other M.

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;41597712]That is the most Joker-esque expression I've ever seen, holy shit.[/QUOTE] it's a "human expression" called "smiling" which people usually express when they are feeling "happy"

Does no one remember this gem? [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a9/Super_Princess_Peach.jpg/250px-Super_Princess_Peach.jpg[/img]

I wouldn't mind seeing a female playable character for Zelda games. Link's character is so lifeless that it really wouldn't have any impact on the game.

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;41597712]That is the most Joker-esque expression I've ever seen, holy shit.[/QUOTE] yes, in fact one of the defining characteristics of the joker is an expression of positive emotional states using the vocal chords, known as 'laughing' - some humans are even known to do it naturally go outside and tickle someone right now - don't get scared if you catch a glimpse of the joker! [editline]26th July 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=ashxu;41597693]The market is still saturated with too many testosterone filled macho men that may or may not be bald or at least close to it. (For the Western world anyway)[/QUOTE] I mean even if you can't market the equality angle to people I'm sure loads of people would like it if videogame protagonists/characters weren't all the fucking same boring cliche ridden husks - steve blum might have to move into a smaller mansion but that's a small price to pay

[QUOTE=pfoot;41597792]it's a "human expression" called "smiling" which people usually express when they are feeling "happy"[/QUOTE] It's more the way her lips curl at the sides.

People seems to forget about Lara Croft, Mirror's Edge and other games that allows you to choose a female character as the the lead role

I see this as a relevant thing for Nintendo to advertise because they're the legacy company, they've been here since the NES and they revived the market then. In terms of relevance, Nintendo is pretty much the biggest video game company. If they're moving into having a more balanced number of female protagonists then that's a very good thing.

[QUOTE=Vodkavia;41597509]More female characters would be more of a service to women if their introduction was seamless and not advertised as or made as a novelty.[/QUOTE] While I somewhat agree, I don't think it's necessarily wrong to advertise it. I think it depends on the tone of the advertisement. Having male and female protagonists represented more or less equally [I]should[/I] have been standard since the beginning in an ideal world, but the reality is that the games industry has been overwhelmingly male-fixated and still is. Advertising that your company is aware of the issue and taking steps to rectify it sounds like a good thing, as long as that's what it is; [I]not[/I] representing it as a novelty feature. It's a fine line, but as long as it raises awareness, it's a step in the right direction.

[QUOTE=KillerJaguar;41597845]Does no one remember this gem? [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a9/Super_Princess_Peach.jpg/250px-Super_Princess_Peach.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] I like how they made emotional outbursts a gameplay mechanic in that game.

[QUOTE=BCell;41597919]People seems to forget about Lara Croft, Mirror's Edge and other games that allows you to choose a female character as the the lead role[/QUOTE] No one said there's no female leads, there's just not enough that are well done.

[QUOTE=Swiket;41597871]I wouldn't mind seeing a female playable character for Zelda games. Link's character is so lifeless that it really wouldn't have any impact on the game.[/QUOTE] [URL="http://dresdencodak.tumblr.com/post/47724463171/inspired-by-anita-sarkeesians-video-game-tropes"]Like this?[/URL]

[QUOTE=pfoot;41597792]it's a "human expression" called "smiling" which people usually express when they are feeling "happy"[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Generic Monk;41597877]yes, in fact one of the defining characteristics of the joker is an expression of positive emotional states using the vocal chords, known as 'laughing' - some humans are even known to do it naturally go outside and tickle someone right now - don't get scared if you catch a glimpse of the joker[/QUOTE] Going off of these posts - if you actually look at the way different people smile, you'll notice that smiles are incredibly unique. Some look more malicious and "joker-like" than others. Some of the kindest people in the world have some evil-looking smiles. Everyone smiles differently, and some of the most manipulative people out there know how to use smiles to earn others' trust.