If you seriously have that much issues that you can't even go use other non-sexual costumes to write off a game without even playing it or watching high level play, yet act like something like Soul Calibur or Mortal Kombat is less gratuitous, I just laugh and call hypocrisy.
Let's say, for the sake of argument, that there is no difference between DOA, SC, SF, and MK in how they treat their female characters (I think there are some differences, but whatever). Why does SF, SC and MK "get away" with it, when DOA doesn't? I think the answer is that there was always something about those games that "override" it, so to speak.
SC and MK has damn ridiculous stuff. SF even has some questionable design choices (lol @ the designer redrawing Chun-li's legs 8,000 times to get it right in SF2). But they always make it seem tangential to the larger atmosphere, story, or gameplay. Even though they have boobs, they're not jumping up and down screaming "COME PLAY OUR GAME! WE HAVE BOOBS!" every time someone may be listening. So, they get away with it. And then NRS even acknowledged that they effed up on some of their costume design choices for MK9 and are clearly making effort to "fix" that. And it's not like SC gets
no flak for being dumb in its character designs. But, PS basically booted Taki and Setsuka from the game (for dubious reasons, but their replacements aren't as sexualized) and made sure to cover up Ivy more in SC5. They acknowledged when it was time to hit the brakes a little. SF4 just introduced a female character that literally has half of her face scarred. And those games felt confident in doing those things because sexual pandering isn't the "point" of their games. When Capcom releases costume packs for SF4, it doesn't feel like the priority is to make the outfits as sexy as possible (sometimes even to the detriment of who the specific character is).
I think TN has a problem in the fact that they make the "sexiness" the "point" of the game. To the extent where their marketing gives off the air of
"if you're not playing this game because of the hot girls, awesome boob physics, or fetish outfits, then you may be doing something wrong". The idea of DOA being "that game" when others aren't isn't so widespread by some kind of fluke or mass delusion.
I don't think it's just about having a skimpy outfit here or there. A lot of the costumes are optional. But DOA has the issue where 70-80% of the time they put themselves in the public eye, it's because they just released a new copypasta fetish costume pack or Hayashi is talking about boobs. How does
that not become shallow or immature in itself? Are TN really the ones showing maturity about their game and characters? I don't think sticking everybody in maid and nurse outfits equates to being mature about sex. (Just like MK isn't being that mature about violence or death.)
Now, why can MK be so dumb about violence when DOA can't be dumb about sex appeal? The only answer I can think of is that ending a brutal death match with ripping out your opponent's still beating heart makes more "logical" sense than going into battle wearing a Christmas ribbon covering up your naughty bits. (Maybe only slightly, though. lol)
Why can't DOA just be dumb about sex appeal without criticism?
For me, I just think if that's your goal, there are better and more logical avenues than a fighting game to do that.
And I think making that your goal when it doesn't fit ends up cheapening your characters. If NRS starting selling a stream of increasingly extra gruesome fatalities as DLC, I personally would think they'd be overdoing it as well and people would be within their rights to smack them upside the head.
I want DOA to be taken "seriously" because it
does offer so many different things. And I want TN to have to confidence to market those other things more. It felt like they did, but then they lost it. I don't think their "situation" is going to change unless they do. Now, it's their game. They could probably actually
keep most of the sexy stuff. But if they don't change the way they try to sell their game to people, they're just going to have to take the bad with the good perception-wise.
This post was longer than it should've been.