Soul Calibur V critic reviews

[OmegaFenix]

What posters/ads do we have here that can be compared to those posters/ads? I saw a Pic online of a game in Japan Called 'Rape Mon' Or something to that effect... Can you really bash the whole industry for a game that clearly targets a specific group or audience? Hentai games are part of what they like... So... this poster is prob the norm for them... Its not the norm here so we wont see it here.

You ask that like it isn't happening already, when a laymen (non gamer, parent, anti-gaming lobbyist) sees this they dont say "well its those bloody japs again" just assume all games are like that (once you've watched the facing controversy vid you will see what I mean.) People will keep trying to ban the sale of violent/mature video games to every one, not just minors for this very reason.

 

[OmegaFenix]

My point number 1)

the game has an age 16 rating on PEGI. So Only 16 old and up should be playing it. I can quote you about parenting at this point... If people took these rating systems seriously (they SHOULD) then underage people wouldnt be exposed to this.

My point number 2)

The posters are released in Japan... Home of Hentai and Anime where cleavage is the Norm. If these posters.... IF!!! they are shown here in South Africa... then there would be a problem and I would agree with you both! But.. i seriously SERIOUSLY doubt it will.

A target audience is targeted here. Not us South African Gamers. There's no English on the poster!!!

How do you put a PEGI rating on a poster? You can't its there, its public record. Its on the net, you cant stop the signal.

The problem isn't that people dont take the age restriction seriously, its that people dont understand games or the content in games and treat it like any other toy, actionman, lego etc. The problem is lack of knowledge of the medium their children spend days/months of their lives on.

Arguing that "its those bloody japs" again is part of the problem. If an American poster had it on we would all be outraged. There is no us & them anymore, there is just the global community.

 

[Strifehart]

...if I were a parent I would just not buy this...

And you shouldn't because the game isn't targeted at children. Regardless of the overtly sexualised nature of the characters.

Arguing that "its those bloody japs" again is part of the problem. If an American poster had it on we would all be outraged. There is no us & them anymore, there is just the global community.

I find your outright denial of different cultures quite surprising.

I honestly don't see why everyone's making an issue about this when this advertisement was probably limited to a select set of print media as opposed to actual posters in public. Even so, no-one would make an issue of it if it was advertised in public simply due to it being in Japan.

Yet everyone on the internet is going "THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN". I mean, ffs, a simple innocent google images search can result in a lot worse imagery popping up.

 

[The Joker]

And you shouldn't because the game isn't targeted at children. Regardless of the overtly sexualised nature of the characters.

I would say at least 50% of the people that'll end up playing this will be children.
I deal with suppliers, resellers on a daily basis, do you think they give a crap about the age restriction of a game?
Simple answer...No they don't give a crap. They'll sell to kids, just like they'll sell to adults.

 

[OmegaFenix]

I find your outright denial of different cultures quite surprising.

Within context dear fellow. With regards to marketing material yes, they can be conceived in a different culture but you can't use the argument "its ok because its aimed at Culture 'X'" doesn't apply anymore.

Here is an example:
Would you say the same about this:

"Its okay, its aimed at the german culture"

or

"its okay it's mid-western American culture"

or

"Its Okay it's Muslim Culture"

See what I'm getting at? Sure Boobs on a game poster is twaddle when compared with Nazism, Racism or Religious Extremism but where do you draw the line?

 

[Strifehart]

I would say at least 50% of the people that'll end up playing this will be children.
I deal with suppliers, resellers on a daily basis, do you think they give a crap about the age restriction of a game?
Simple answer...No they don't give a crap. They'll sell to kids, just like they'll sell to adults.

No I definitely understand that. What gets me is that people have the audacity to get upset about the content of a videogame that's explicitly rated for a specific age group.

Ratings are there for a reason. Parents need to take responsibility and make informed decisions about age appropriate games. No one else is responsible for what your child ends up playing.

 

[Strifehart]

Within context dear fellow. With regards to marketing material yes, they can be conceived in a different culture but you can't use the argument "its ok because its aimed at Culture 'X'" doesn't apply anymore.

See what I'm getting at? Sure Boobs on a game poster is twaddle when compared with Nazism, Racism or Religious Extremism but where do you draw the line?

Hey, as long as there's no harm applied to anyone/anything then I feel every "culture" should be able to dictate what they deem as "acceptable" and what not.

It's not for us to judge what is right or wrong at the end of the day. (Sure you can decide for yourself what you feel is right/wrong, but dictating or forcing your set of morals onto another is a bit arrogant imho.) Especially not when it comes to trivial matters that doesn't directly affect anyone outside of the target audience.

 

[Ze Snake]

This is just going in circles because of the different angles everyones coming from. Dont make this global. This is about 3 things ONLY:

1) Gaming
2) Japanese Posters
3) Soul calibur 5

If you want to bring in Religion and Nazi's, take this out of 'gaming news articles'.

Some japanese might feel offended about your stance on pics they deem appropriate. What gives you the right to say NO to posters like that? It wasnt intended for you. Its not coming to us or our country. It wont be in our shops or in our books. So people who arent googling pics WONT see that poster. Hell, I just googled "Soul Calibur 5" and non of those pics you linked were on the first 8 pages of pics.

Why must japan posters be used as reference here? Its not applicable to our country.

 

[OmegaFenix]

Hey, as long as there's no harm applied to anyone/anything then I feel every "culture" should be able to dictate what they deem as "acceptable" and what not.

It's not for us to judge what is right or wrong at the end of the day. (Sure you can decide for yourself what you feel is right/wrong, but dictating or forcing your set of morals onto another is a bit arrogant imho.) Especially not when it comes to trivial matters that doesn't directly affect anyone outside of the target audience.

I thought it was well established that I am an very arrogant son of a bitch?

My problem is that it does directly affect people out side its "target audience". In SC's case the target audience is 16+ male adolescents (say what you will that sort of marketing is aimed squarely at those of a more... i want to say immature but it doesn't fit right, say adolescent disposition) but it is directly affecting the gaming industry at large by feeding a stigma of games being toys for little boys which is constantly undermining gaming being taken seriously as a entertainment medium.

 

[Strifehart]

I thought it was well established that I am an very arrogant son of a bitch?

My problem is that it does directly affect people out side its "target audience". In SC's case the target audience is 16+ male adolescents (say what you will that sort of marketing is aimed squarely at those of a more... i want to say immature but it doesn't fit right, say adolescent disposition) but it is directly affecting the gaming industry at large by feeding a stigma of games being toys for little boys which is constantly undermining gaming being taken seriously as a entertainment medium.

Yes, but the advertisements' target audience is 16+ japanese male adolescents.

 

[jGLZA]

I just want to point out that in Japan/Asia where this poster originated, gaming is taken as a very serious form of entertainment going by the sales numbers, the increasing number of game to anime/live action adaptations and the amoubnt of money getting dumped into e-sports over there.

Maybe boob posters is the way to go?

 

[OmegaFenix]

This is just going in circles because of the different angles everyones coming from. Dont make this global. This is about 3 things ONLY:

1) Gaming
2) Japanese Posters
3) Soul calibur 5

If you want to bring in Religion and Nazi's, take this out of 'gaming news articles'.

Some japanese might feel offended about your stance on pics they deem appropriate. What gives you the right to say NO to posters like that? It wasnt intended for you. Its not coming to us or our country. It wont be in our shops or in our books. So people who arent googling pics WONT see that poster. Hell, I just googled "Soul Calibur 5" and non of those pics you linked were on the first 8 pages of pics.

Why must japan posters be used as reference here? Its not applicable to our country.

And you miss the boat again. Im not bringing Nazism, religion or racism in, I am using them to give my argument context. If its okay for one its okay for the other. You can't have it both ways.

It is their right to feel offended. I'll use another example:
Ask most people here and they will tell you I often call people stupid or outright idiots, they dont like that and some I would say are even offended by me calling them stupid. Now it is their right to feel offended but would you say its fine for me to go around calling people stupid just because its my opinion?

In my, not so humble, opinion this add is calling all gamers idiots (regardless of where it was published) because it implies the only thing that matters is the size of Ivy jubblies, not gameplay, not plot nothing except the frakking size of the tits in said game. Yet people complain about gameplay thats aimed at bringing new players in and proceeds to call these games "dumbed down" even if the plot, graphics etc where all top class. But its okay for the game to give the impressing its all about the boobies? :WTF:

 

[OmegaFenix]

Yes, but the advertisements' target audience is 16+ japanese male adolescents.

How do you PEGI a poster? We have already established that few parents pay attention to age restrictions & most retailers ignore them completely so plastering that all over building is going make -16 male adolescents want to play it because

so the PEGI 16 means bugger all. If I was under 16 I would consider it a reason to play the game, that's part of human psychology - we all want to do what we are not allowed to do.

 

[jGLZA]

Also Game Specific retailers (atleast in SA) ask for ID when purchasing a game. I'm not talking about the big super markets, they're hopeless.

And you won't believe the number of times I've been stopped when I take my younger brother to the arcade or games center with them telling me he's too young to play certain games. Apparently age restrictions do count for something.

 

[OmegaFenix]

Also Game Specific retailers (atleast in SA) ask for ID when purchasing a game. I'm not talking about the big super markets, they're hopeless.

And you won't believe the number of times I've been stopped when I take my younger brother to the arcade or games center with them telling me he's too young to play certain games. Apparently age restrictions do count for something.

So do, i agree. Some Store manager are parents themselves or have cousins/nephews and are more aware of age restrictions. However there are ALOT who simply don't. I stood in a game chain where a Mother asks a member of staff for <Mature Rated Game Y> with her 10 year old son standing next to her where upon, without blinking, the member of staff fetched the game and handed it to the kid....

Also:

 

[Intoxik8ed]

With regards to the posters, they tell absolutely nothing within regards to what type of game is indeed that is true, but ya gotta look at the target audience. Its way too easy to prove something is or is not acceptable, hey right images and links and it could be justified as a good marketing scheme. As for whats the game about game trailers will sell you that and honestly ever go to a store check out a poster and decide on the spot to buy that item. The only reason its working is because it creates hype in the non Japanese market. do yourself a favor and check megarom's site http://www.megarom.co.za/games/soul-calibur-v/ and see their marketing with relevance to SC that's most probably what our marketing gonna equate to.

 

[Saint_Dee]

I just need to get the gist of the discussion. @Omega, Is your point about their marketing not allowing gamers to buy games based on the game's own merit but using something that has entirely nothing to do with the game (e.g. In this case boobs)?

 

[jGLZA]

No that is not his point.

 

[OmegaFenix]

With regards to the posters, they tell absolutely nothing within regards to what type of game is indeed that is true, but ya gotta look at the target audience. Its way too easy to prove something is or is not acceptable, hey right images and links and it could be justified as a good marketing scheme. As for whats the game about game trailers will sell you that and honestly ever go to a store check out a poster and decide on the spot to buy that item. The only reason its working is because it creates hype in the non Japanese market. do yourself a favor and check megarom's site http://www.megarom.co.za/games/soul-calibur-v/ and see their marketing with relevance to SC that's most probably what our marketing gonna equate to.

Im not SA based so Megarom has no meaning for me also I get most of my game data online and normally know pretty much everything about it before its release. I do not impulse buy often/at all.

I just need to get the gist of the discussion. @Omega, Is your point about their marketing not allowing gamers to buy games based on the game's own merit but using something that has entirely nothing to do with the game (e.g. In this case boobs)?

My point is ads like these or ones that uses a cheap marketing ploy (See Bulletstorms Swearing trailer) create a misconception regarding games, holding the medium back. (See the Facing Controversy Vid I posted)

Those lobbyist who keeps trying to ban the sale of violent video games don't care where an ad was aired, to them its all just ammo for the next round in the courts/congress/parliament.

 

[Intoxik8ed]

@omega Its cool man, the best the lobbyist can do is force the companies to adapt, and yes its cheap marketing ploys, but none the less they work.

as a side note this reminds me of South park's blame Canada plot in the movie