Editorial: Can Breast Physics Limit Video Game Audiences?
Let’s face it. The more advanced technology gets, the more sexual content will emerge. This is especially true of video games. Not only are female avatars in video games overtly sexualized with oversized breasts, skimpy outfits and suggestive behavior, game development resources are allocated for jiggling mechanics. For years certain video games have emphasized breast physics, aka the swinging or bouncing of female avatars’ boobs. The Dead or Alive games, Tomb Raider series and Virtua Fighter games included noticeable breast physics and games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 allow you to shake female characters’ breasts by shaking the controller.
Gaming is already a tough place for females, who are often subject to harassment, but many advocate for more female gamers. By expanding the market to females, those in the game industry would sell more products and when more gamers are female, the nerdy pimply-faced virgin stereotype of gaming will fade. One need only surf a few popular gaming sites to find a familiar personal ad: Lonely Gamer Guy Seeks Girl Who Plays WoW. If this is the case, how do we reconcile objectification written into the code of our video games? Video game values appear to be at odds.
Now, I am not advocating censorship of games. In fact, freedom of expression is the life-blood of game design and open world video games, that are often decried, serve as venues for gamers to express themselves freely. In the upcoming Saints Row: The Third, gamers can make female avatars with gigantic breasts and run around the city topless (pixelated). Before you cheer, or groan, gamers can make male avatars with huge penises and run around naked (also pixilated). Is this a step forward or a step backward? I can’t be sure but the equality is refreshing.
10 / 12 / 2011 9:35 pm
Although I’m unsure if the gigantic sex organs are a step forward/backwards, I do agree with you about the over-sexualization of women leading to a more selective audience. I hate the stigma of being a gamer and how a lot of game marketing, such as Evony, was done catering to said stigma. I feel that if the genders weren’t over-sexualized it would open up an entirely new market and the more gamers the merrier.
10 / 13 / 2011 3:25 pm
I love sex and I think this article is especially poignant because October is about breast cancer awareness.
10 / 13 / 2011 3:33 pm
First, you’re comment doesn’t even make sense Jon Doe. Quit spamming our blog! Second, I think it’s a bummer they put so much money into breast physics. Just seems like money that could have been put towards improving some other more important aspect of the game. I remember noticing my elf’s breast jiggling when Willie and I were playing through Hunted: The Demon’s Forge. It was the most fluid movement in the whole game. Lame.
10 / 14 / 2011 2:19 pm
Dang, I missed an breast cancer awareness opp. Not sure how it would have fit in though.