Opinion: Stellar Blade Raises Old Questions

The marketing of Stellar Blade has not only been genius, but it has created a compelling conversation to bring back sexualized content to the West. Dead or Alive has always been at the center of this discussion. It’s impossible to ignore it and this is the way it’s always been for both serious and casual players of the game.

Zakkurye & Punishere had been at the forefront of a battle pertaining to this topic across social media that went on and on for several days. It’s a battle of not only the game controversy but has shown the defined split within the community. The debate has not been pretty to say the least. What are your thoughts pertaining to this debate and also Stellar Blade and the hope that it is instilling to some gamers out there with censorship getting in the way of their entertainment.

Emery Reigns did a great job of taking all of this controversy and tying it up into one great video with a few disagreeable guests that provide their insights as well. The disagreeable guests went on to say that you should go play the volleyball game if you want sex appeal which is odd to me as sexualization is one of the four pillars of the Dead or Alive franchise. Every pillar is protected by Team NINJA's firewall and I myself have never found the sex appeal in Dead or Alive to be distasteful or gross. The most debatable thing about the sex appeal are the physics which can be fine-tuned to your liking in the best fighting game ever made; Dead or Alive 5.

Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation has once again (through numbers and interest of characters) shown what the market for Dead or Alive desires. There are some oddities to the game such as the new Kitsune Venus, Shizuku or the Yokai Kanna or even Nyo-Tengu that will make some purists shake... but even this title is more subject to Maxim magazine compared to the provocative vulgarity of other titles in the video game market. Overall, it would be nice if both interests would consider one another better because the DOA fighting game does need competitive players just as much as it needs casuals that are more connected to the storylines and characters specifically.

The conversation has been stimulated by the emergence of Stellar Blade, and the developers have fully embraced it and have gotten maximized advertising for an otherwise average looking game from a mechanical standpoint. Now that developers are seeing the ratio you can expect that games like Dead or Alive and SC will continue their old values once more without fear.

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I agree... DOA5 is overrated and actually STARTED the oversexualzation in the End with "Sexy Outfit DLC X" or whatever lol

Always disliked that direction... No wonder even DOA5 albeit all it's "serious advertisement" and Tourneys never got respect from other FG Communities.
If I was in charge I would go BACK in Time and Focus on the Days when DOA at Least stood for more than expensive Sexy Characters DLC...
Intuitive Gameplay()which both DOA5&DOA6 lack mAn) and Console Defining Graphics! A new/old Beginning for DOA7 and then let the FG Communties of the World decide for themselfs if the Game is also "for them" and Not cause Tecmo says so

What's crazy are those old Itagaki DOA games were hardly sexualized. Like seriously even when they would make promotional material of the girls in bikinis it was very tame. The marketing hijacked it with that "She Kicks High" and everything else.

But in its defense that was just a sign of the times. Video games were largely marketed towards horny nerdy heterosexual teenagers. But sadly that attached a stigma to DOA, and with the release of DOAX just cemented it.

The stripper fetishwear microkinis in DOA5, as much as I enjoy it, definitely went too far and was a bit ridiculous lol. Like my favorite Momiji costume is her skirtini but that string is so thin that if the graphics were any better you would see her outer lips. Those costumes sowed one of the seeds for DOA6's demise because any costumes that were a few pixels less revealing would be considered "toned down". You can still do sexy without needing a string bikini.

One other thing to consider when people cry over "censorship" is that its possible the developers themselves are embarrased about it. Not every dev is going to be Yoko Taro lol. But in Stellar Butt's case it does seem rather hypocritical because it's pretty obvious they were making Eve's ass the star of the show. You can't pretend otherwise by having her wear undergarments.

 

How in the name of fuck can you can say “as much as I enjoy it they went too far.”

I don’t buy it.

 

@UncleKitchener I disagree with you Gramps! Sure tekken 8 has the mechanics that doa needs to be. If we buy Tekken 8 now, we also support the bad that comes with it like the MTX shops, battle pass, and seasonal dlc set that will increase in price per season! Only to be slapped to the face with the GOTY/Definitive edition that will come later! Like the sword of Damoclese, Tekken 8 still has a chance to bend the knee to Capcom's globalization standards just stay relevant in Tournaments. You know how it is nowadays? If you censor one thing, you have to censor the rest including the voice of the fans.

DOA 7 can be a financial risk but if you look at the trends, Stellar Blade is doing well in this insane injected world we live in! DOA7 might thrive now if they listen to the fans! Not just the tournament regulars but everyone in the doa community. All it has to do is avoid the pitfalls of the modern day fighting game trend.

We both know as fighting game players that if you take risks is 2 fold! Either you are punished or you will be rewarded in the long run. Its just the way it is!

I myself don't really play these games out of boredom and principle, mainly due to the factors you brought up. I am still inclined to bring it up because I know people in general seem to be fine with all the baggage that comes with fighting games today; I just don't argue with what they are willing to deal with in to get that quick fix.

I don't have any perspective on what people play and what they are willing to deal with, but I do notice attitudes thankfully change in regards to purchase power and what consumers are willing to deal with.

Back in DOA6, people seemed okay with all the baggage that came with that game, while I was vehemently against it. But you can't argue as individual behaviours and attitudes are purely subjective. People are human and sometimes you need them to deal with pitfalls in order for them to change.

I am extremely bearish in regards to DOA7 even being considered in the future at all, mainly because of the publisher attitude and the fact that TN, or what is left of it, is essentially bound by chains to KT. The last few KT releases were rather awful and only Nioh2 showcased the TN level quality we used to expect.

So, the only actual player in 3D fighters now, is pretty much Tekken. Lack of competition has pretty much made Bamco to go full mask-off and shoot down anyone out in the open. In general, these last few years have been a full mask-off period for publishers and developers in general. Back in 2019 and 2020, I argued that 'community' and 'FGC' mean nothing as devs and publishers are willing throw anyone under the bus if it bacame an issue.

Again, I'm just rambling, but to me, the writing has been on the wall since 2020 in regards to DOA. The corrosion was just very slow and gradual.

 

How in the name of fuck can you can say “as much as I enjoy it they went too far.”

I don’t buy it.

I don't think there is anything wrong with enjoying it but also recognizing its a bit silly. Like I had no problem with DOA6 not bringing back the most revealing costumes. The issue for me is when they do have a bikini and then they use black undergarments as a form of censorship. You either put the bikini as is in the game or you just leave it out.

But that's just me. If other people want to see the girls in strings while fighting I don't care. I prefer women wearing clothes as it leaves more to the imagination.

 

I myself don't really play these games out of boredom and principle, mainly due to the factors you brought up. I am still inclined to bring it up because I know people in general seem to be fine with all the baggage that comes with fighting games today; I just don't argue with what they are willing to deal with in to get that quick fix.

I don't have any perspective on what people play and what they are willing to deal with, but I do notice attitudes thankfully change in regards to purchase power and what consumers are willing to deal with.

Back in DOA6, people seemed okay with all the baggage that came with that game, while I was vehemently against it. But you can't argue as individual behaviours and attitudes are purely subjective. People are human and sometimes you need them to deal with pitfalls in order for them to change.

I am extremely bearish in regards to DOA7 even being considered in the future at all, mainly because of the publisher attitude and the fact that TN, or what is left of it, is essentially bound by chains to KT. The last few KT releases were rather awful and only Nioh2 showcased the TN level quality we used to expect.

So, the only actual player in 3D fighters now, is pretty much Tekken. Lack of competition has pretty much made Bamco to go full mask-off and shoot down anyone out in the open. In general, these last few years have been a full mask-off period for publishers and developers in general. Back in 2019 and 2020, I argued that 'community' and 'FGC' mean nothing as devs and publishers are willing throw anyone under the bus if it bacame an issue.

Again, I'm just rambling, but to me, the writing has been on the wall since 2020 in regards to DOA. The corrosion was just very slow and gradual.

Back when doa6 was released, I sent a ticket because of the autographic bug in the steam port! The screen turns black for 2 seconds and appears randomly during a match. It really hurts my eyes. This was also a test if Tecmo Koei cares. The issue was resolved but it took months! I also found out the hard way that if Tecmo Koei has my money=you are in Harada's limbo!

 

all i kno is that i aint playin a DOA7 if Rachel cant step on me

EDIT: oh shit is that Mark Kern, destroyer of Firefall, Ember grifter and professional budget-squanderer? What scam is he up to this time LUL

And if you look at the Asmongold vid comments, Mark Kern is gonna explain himself if you are willing to listen. I m kind of mixed between the back and forth with Mark and Nick in twitter turned into a symbol. The timing is as brand new as a 2003 Toyota Tacoma in 2024.

 

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1785703380125720815

 

And if you look at the Asmongol vid comments, Mark Kern is gonna explain himself if you are willing to listen. I m kind of mixed between the back and forth with Mark and Nick in twitter turned into a symbol. The timing is as brand new as a 2003 Toyota Tacoma in 2024.

I don't need twitter or Asmongoloid comments and wasn't even aware of them: I played Firefall and I'm still a little butthurt about its demise.
He's supposed to be some ex-WoW dev "superstar" who went on to co-create it.

There were stories of the guy randomly showing up at the office once in a blue moon and throwing months of development work down the drain for no reason. His employees shit their pants every time he was around because of it. But how can I, as a player, know this to be true? Because I clearly remember the game having fully functional PvP modes (pretty fun, reminded me of S4 League) which just... DISAPPEARED at some point. Eradicated from the game for some bullshit "we're not satisfied about it" reason. Unbelievable waste. Speaking of, shoutouts to the Firefall bus

 

Ok Wazzaa! Let just say that Mark Kern has wronged people in the past and is the scum of the Earth! Does he deserve a $30-$50k bounty on his head just because his views are different to ours? The problem here is that it could be anyone of us facing the same problem sooner or later! It feels like we are in a spagetti western type movie if things like this are present in social media!