Sexual Objectification in Smash Bros 4

[Mercedes]

What do you guys think about making every character nude? If every character including our Miis are completely naked, then we are all on even playing fields. If your Mii is inadequate in certain areas (muscle definition, genitalia, etc.) then tough luck. Step it up, senpai.

If every character is naked, any game with Kirby in it suddenly becomes pornography.

 

[Planet Keetis]

although this entire thread is laughable ... the smash games never drastically alter the character designs of the playable characters in each game. therefore, in my opinion, it is the responsibility of the designers of the games from which these characters originate from.

 

[Snow Queen]

I literally can't handly this

 

[Ventus]

While I don't claim to know what the heck is going on, I will say this: male sexual objectification of body proportions minus genetalia is a massive joke. Most people can reach the muscular proportions that are portrayed in a lot of video games simply through hard work and perseverance. If one feels inadequate because Shulk has a massive arm, well tough luck. If you would workout on a constant basis and stop being wimpy, you will eventually reach similar proportions if not the same/better. If one feels inadequate because Ike can carry around a Ragnell with one arm, tough luck. If you'd practice swordfighting as long as he did and workout on a constant basis and stop being a mage wimpy, you'd will eventually reach similar proportions if not the same/better.

Whereas for a female, the objectification lies primarily in boob size or butt size, and while you can eventually gorge yourself on so much food and create the grossest butt ever a bigger backside, you cannot just get bigger breasts without falsifying your own body through plastic surgery. Sorry. ;p

I don't take male objectification seriously in most instances, and I don't take it seriously in a video game.

 

[Snow Queen]

So basically we should stop having any attractive characters in games because it makes people feel inadequate? I'm getting sick of this whole thing. It's about time people start getting over themselves. Honestly.

 

[Jamie]

Choco-boo, what? As Peachy said, we can't just make all characters unattractive to make people feel better. That's ridiculous.

 

[Celeboy]

Let's just make every character as sexual as possible. I want to see captain falcon in a mankini.

 

[snakeoiltanker]

The way these male figures are portrayed are the way they look in their said game. I dont see what the big deal is, and find this to be a laughable issue. I'm skin and bones and feel no way inadequate because of these "in shape" characters. It's a video game, and weak characters are not really common in videogames. And when they are weak its usually due to a character flaw that over time changes. I dont see how this should effect whether you buy a game or not, but thats on you! If you want to miss out on a great game cuz the character designs make you feel weak, then be my guest. I for one wont be missing this title!

 

[Ventus]

Choco-boo, what? As Peachy said, we can't just make all characters unattractive to make people feel better. That's ridiculous.

1) When did I say to make all characters unattractive? highlight it trigga
2) My post had nothing to do with making any characters this way or that. It was actually about changing the mindset of them triggas out there who think that because they aren't a certain way that everyone else must not be like that, otherwise it's going to hurt what little ego they have and make them go off the deep end. People shouldn't think "damn, Ike has such biiiig muscles mmm qimme dat", and people shouldn't think "omg Ike has like 54" muscles I'll never get to his level omg /s". Remember Jalen Thomas and how he looked up to Goku and eventually became super saiyan? Yeah, he used a role model. He didn't go "omg Goku is sooo strong and im not like that, misrepresentation of all males omg" and explode himself.
3) Stop fkn calling me choco-boo I know what you're up to

 

[Jamie]

I'm not trying to do anything, choco-boo. Why don't you like the name?

 

[JuicieJ]

Let's just make every character as sexual as possible. I want to see captain falcon in a mankini.

Close enough?

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

I have the same problem with Ike as I do Little Mac. Ike had a perfect, nonsexual design in the past; why did the developers feel the need to put him on steroids, when his past design was a very moderately depicted character that did him justice on a personal level? Adding MORE overly-toned muscles is something that was completely unnecessary, and does nothing but further pander to a sex-crazed audience that shouldn't exist

just like to note that its taken from his radiant dawn suit,all the devs really did was use a more up to date version of him

 

[JuicieJ]

just like to note that its taken from his radiant dawn suit,all the devs really did was use a more up to date version of him

just like to note that this thread is 100% satire

 

[Ventus]

just like to note that its taken from his radiant dawn suit,all the devs really did was use a more up to date version of him

Uptodate is correct; the assertation that Ike is a sexual object is something that only a fangirl would approve of, or a tumblr deviant (that's redundant, isn't it). This is nothing heinous in itself; what would be bad would be if we had Zelda with large breasts or Lucina with a big butt. Neither of those things have happened.

 

[Wolf Sage]

Great thread, Vergo. ;j

N-no comment on...basically everyone else, but I've always seen C. Falcon as oversexualized and fanservice-y, and of course, he's not the only man of his kind in videogames. With his skintight body suit accentuating every muscle on his body, buttons whose impractical positions resemble nipples, and the menagerie of 'provocative positions' and actions of his fighting style (etc.) leave nothing to the imagination. However, the question remains: to what audience do the developers wish to appeal with characters like C. Falcon? Japan's idea of "masculine beauty" is widely known to differ from, say, the Western world's. Tall, slender males with sharp, oftentimes 'feminine' features are said to be very desirable to most Japanese women and a large percentage of homosexual males. So what does mean for C. Falcon? Could his oversexualized overtones mean that the developers are trying to attract the small, niche audience of [Japanese] women who prefer "this type of male"? Or is he meant to attract, dare I say, a predominantly gay male audience? Or is he the kind of character that was designed to appeal to the Western world—an audience that tends to favor hypermasculinity, as Chocolate Storm touched upon above? Perhaps things are changing? I guess we'll never know for certain. The new costume options, however...


{Didn't feel up for typing three more extended paragraphs on Sheik and Snake, two other characters who I believe are highly sexualized.}