BREASTS !

[chipsgravy]

I like Breasts!!!!

[Burai]

As a matter of course, my DOAXBV review is the only one I've seen that starts with Breasts as a one word sentence:

[pimp mode]

http://www.ntsc-uk.com/MainContent/Xbox/DeadOrAliveVolleyball/DOAVolleyball.htm

[/pimp mode]

[JU!]

as a female gamer it hasn't ever drawn my attention too much as such but to a male gamer does female characters with large breasts *really* enhance the gaming experience

No it does not enhance the experience, i don't think playin any of the DOA games or Tomb Raider with small breasts would make them a worse to play. It's all about appeal to the male population who play games, i think. I also think this is probably what males think the ideal female to look like, obviously not all males like this but, slender figure and large breasts is what appeals. I ain't sure

[Popo]

Hmmm, both arguments have very good points on this topic and I'm not sure which one I'd go with to be honest, but one thing I do think is that different sexualities should be represented in a more balanced way in gaming - I mean, Core have never said Lara has a boyfriend or is married, wouldn't it be an interesting turn of events to say that she was lesbian? (no, not in a kinky sort of a way )

Catering to one sexual preference is fine, but there should be balance - that doesn't mean to say that guys should be running around with tight leather trousers on (although maybe there should be), but to simply have a gay male character would go some way towards offering a greater level of choice. Heterosexual men can associate with Mario saving the princess, why not have games where it's up to the woman to save the man (ala Primal) ?

Although I've gone off on a sort of a tangent here, I do think that affirming a game to a certain sexual preference is just as important as oogling jiggling boobies when it comes to alienating our audience, because when you've got semi-naked women running about on screen you are basically affirming the game to a certain sexuality (although it could be argued that DOAXBV can attract serious female attention thanks to the other elements, not just the objectifying of the female form).

Would anyone be put off if the main character of a game was gay?

[Concept]

Looks like I have, but not 'cos I'm 'getting at you' but because I disagree that DOA: XBV peddles sex.

Glorification of the female form is one thing - it's everwhere too, peddling smut in games I completely frown upon, but it's not as prevalent as people seem to think.

I am not saying it is ultra-prevalent at this moment in time, just that I don't want the likes of DOAXVB to be trend setters.

There could quite easily become a point where a game of that type sells loads based on it's content, and thus a whole host of me-too developers just on the bandwagon.

Sex appeal has been used a lot more post-16 bit of course, but I fear with real-time aesthetics benefiting from added technology, that this selling point of a game can be focused on to a degree not seen before.

Because I'm too tired right now and feel very much like going to bed, I'll just post a couple of quotes from a review, which to me, highlights why DOAXVB is more offensive than just a harmless volleyball sim.

gamecritics.com

"It is with this over-the-top sexual suggestiveness that the game loses me. Volleyball, item-hoarding and the cultivation of relationships have all been done better elsewhere; it's obvious, to me at least, that the game is really about none of these things. It's all about dressing girls up in skimpy outfits and giving them some shallow volleyball game as an excuse to get them into interesting poses that can be zoomed in on from all angles using the controller's camera function. If the game were truly about volleyball, or even about forming relationships, then there would not be random screens of the girls walking up and down beaches or lying down in poses that make them appear, as a friend so aptly put it, "freshly raped."

I'm not against having beautiful women in videogames—even impossibly beautiful women. What I take offence to is the voyeuristic nature of Xtreme Beach Volleyball, and the fact that the game is such a painfully obvious flimsy framework held together by nothing more than these girls and their bodies. The message that Xtreme Beach Volleyball sends to female gamers is loud and clear: this game is not meant for you."

[JRMacumber]

I don't know. I guess, I figure that in the world we're living in, tits and ass in a game are probably really the least of our worries. If that is what you have to be concerned about, consider yourself lucky.

Anyway, my wife told me to tell you guys to cool off and stop worrying about it. She watches me play all of my games, and the only one she's ever rolled an eye at was Bloodrayne, and only because every time the camera would cut to her in a cinema her breasts seemed to jump into a jiggle, and it was stupidly amusing. She's watched me play DOA3, DOAXBV, and all the rest, and she doesn't see what some of you are worried about. She is far from offended. Then again, she's a 30 year-old woman who is secure in herself and doesn't let something as stupid as digital T&A bother her.

[rylee]

As a guy I don't mind a bit of pleasing female eye candy, but only when the game behind it is actually worth playing. BMX games with bolted on nudity to cover the gaps doesn't impress.

I've found DOA:XBV intruiging from the start and will get a copy in a few days to see exactly what is on offer. Is it a game to be ashamed of, or a new chill-out style experience, equally entertaining to men and women? I'm not sure that the 'relationship' gift giving and item collecting mechanic is enough to lure female gamers. Will women only see the use of posed flesh as exploitive and cheap?

Also, I wish Core would tone down the size (and promo usage) of Lara's breasts, especially now that they are creating a new 'darker' series of games. Her adventuring ability must be seriously hampered by those frontal weights. Did her large breast increase my fun whilst playing the first 2 games - no.

[JRMacumber]

I've found DOA:XBV intruiging from the start and will get a copy in a few days to see exactly what is on offer. Is it a game to be ashamed of, or a new chill-out style experience, equally entertaining to men and women?

If you're embarressed watching women in bikinis, then you'll be ashamed of this game (then again, if you're embarressed by women in bikinis, then you already have some issues that you need to be more worried about). Otherwise, get it. For me it is nothing more than a relaxing romp around an island, with some volleyball, some pleasant looking women, some gambling, and some shopping. That's it. Trust me, the sky won't fall on you.

[Concept]

Then again, she's a 30 year-old woman who is secure in herself and doesn't let something as stupid as digital T&A bother her.

Chill JRM. There's no need to overstep the mark. Not everyone agrees with the same thing.

I find the attitude displayed towards women in DOAXVB poor. You don't. Doesn't mean I'm any less secure than the next person because I have that particular view.

[SharkAttack]

How would you like it if it was YOUR digital wife being perved over on screen JRM ft: ft: ft:

[Ady]

What a silly question. Of course breasts don't enhance a game.

As for the DOAXX/sex debate, I'm somewhere between Concept and Treble.

[wicky]

if breasts do not enhance the gaming experience then why are the always so 'prominent' in so many games

[Nikorasu]

If the game were truly about volleyball, or even about forming relationships, then there would not be random screens of the girls walking up and down beaches or lying down in poses that make them appear, as a friend so aptly put it, "freshly raped."

I think that this quote is quite frankly one of the most dangerous pieces of criticism I've ever seen. This game is not Custer's Last Stand. It's a volleyball sim. Yes the close ups of bikinis are there to titillate. Now take a look at page 3 culture, Baywatch - where there a often lingering slo-mo bounce shots of people running for minutes on end. Are the people on page 3 or Baywatch 'freshly raped'? Hell no, this is a case of a uppity 'critic' using violently loaded criticism, because his insecure feelings towards his pastime have come under flack.

There's a lot of cowardice in this thread. I agree with Concept that a prevalance of sexually loaded games is no good for the industry, but the likelihood of that happening is remote. Just look at the amount of negative flack BMX XXX and DOA have garnered.

[Popo]

if breasts do not enhance the gaming experience then why are the always so 'prominent' in so many games

Well, that one's obvious - because it boosts sales from people who wouldn't otherwise buy it for the merits of its gameplay.

[wicky]

ok then so would you buy a game that didn't necessarily appealed to you in a gaming sense but tickled your fancy coz of semi naked girls ?