Support NeoGAF

[Nickolaidas]

This is not an actual politics thread and EviLore can ban me / lock the thread if he thinks it is. I am not trying to stoke the flames, I am just making conversation.

I refuse to believe that Kotaku firing some of its staff like Alyssa Mercante one day after the elections is a 100% coincidence. I think that this is some people reading the room and acting accordingly as they sense the winds of change. So that got me thinking: What if video game publishers do the same? And get rid of the rot because they have now official proof that people do not want this shit?

The way I see it, devs/publishers will react in two ways:

A) Some/most (?) will double down, like SBI and make their work even more woke. They will attempt to give The Message even harder and more in-your-face than ever before, in the attempt to fearmonger/enrage/educate their audience even more, too stubborn, too unwilling to see otherwise, positive that they are on the right side of History. Their products will flop, they will eventually be sacked and they will course correct after 3-6 major publishers go out of business or get absorbed by larger companies.

B) Some/most (?) will course-correct from today. Activists will be fired or let go, and games will focus their stories and characters on being fun and appealing to the general audience rather than minorities that don't even bother to buy their product. Investors and publishers will look at recent data like Capcom's 'majority of players want attractive looking characters and majority of players are men', or the recent 'female gamers prefer to play as sexy-looking ladies instead of plain-looking ones' and re-evaluate their approach, admit woke doesn't sell, nod their heads and say they fucked up and finally attempt to give people what they want.

So what do you guys think? I think the end result will be the same, but the difference is how long it will take for us to get there.

 

[Seider]

Will the result of the US elections force behaviors of video game publishers and pop culture in general?

No.

AAA games need more than 4 or 5 years to be made nowadays.

 

[intbal]

Possibly

 

[lh032]

more sexy females in gaming lets go

 

[Nickolaidas]

Possibly

Music to my ears.

 

[AGRacing]

I don't know... but it's probably too early to get excited about Mass Effect that's for damn sure.

 

[Astral Dog]

It won't change overnight, they will resist real change in any way they can even if they lose millions, we seen it with Hollywood , it all depends if the left comes back in 5 years and woke is still going strong

Im honestly not sure,where we will be in 10 years from now of course i still expect to see cool games from the West like the DOOM the Dark Ages

 

[Plague Doctor]

Possibly

If they go after Blackrock and Vanguard for real (I am skeptical), that's game over. If that tap is shut off, then that's the ball game.

 

[Crayon]

Oh this thread won't be political at all.

 

[Arsic]

This is not an actual politics thread and EviLore can ban me / lock the thread if he thinks it is. I am not trying to stoke the flames, I am just making conversation.

I refuse to believe that Kotaku firing some of its staff like Alyssa Mercante one day after the elections is a 100% coincidence. I think that this is some people reading the room and acting accordingly as they sense the winds of change. So that got me thinking: What if video game publishers do the same? And get rid of the rot because they have now official proof that people do not want this shit?

The way I see it, devs/publishers will react in two ways:

A) Some/most (?) will double down, like SBI and make their work even more woke. They will attempt to give The Message even harder and more in-your-face than ever before, in the attempt to fearmonger/enrage/educate their audience even more, too stubborn, too unwilling to see otherwise, positive that they are on the right side of History. Their products will flop, they will eventually be sacked and they will course correct after 3-6 major publishers go out of business or get absorbed by larger companies.

B) Some/most (?) will course-correct from today. Activists will be fired or let go, and games will focus their stories and characters on being fun and appealing to the general audience rather than minorities that don't even bother to buy their product. Investors and publishers will look at recent data like Capcom's 'majority of players want attractive looking characters and majority of players are men', or the recent 'female gamers prefer to play as sexy-looking ladies instead of plain-looking ones' and re-evaluate their approach, admit woke doesn't sell, nod their heads and say they fucked up and finally attempt to give people what they want.

So what do you guys think? I think the end result will be the same, but the difference is how long it will take for us to get there.

 

[CLW]

The market is correcting this eventually someone with a double digit iq in a suit is going to tell the purple hairs to cut it out and make a game the consumers AT LARGE want to play

How long that takes? No clue but my guess probably next gen most of the next few years of hot garbage is already in the pipeline

 

[LectureMaster]

I think it's the other way.

The pop culture doesn't swing because of the election results.

It's because people tired of woke bullshits , they want to see changes in culture so they chose Trump.

But gaming industry, just like the Hollywood, are hyper polarized, it probably will be one of the last areas that start introspecting their cultures.

 

[GigaBowser]

get rid of woked crud blue hair devs rooning my games hire jarpanese men

 

[th4tguy]

The government was never forcing any of the things you are worried about.
It’s always been a means to make more money. If the experiment fails, it will change.

 

[FunkMiller]

The new tariffs are going to have more of an effect on gaming behaviours than anything.

 

[Hari Seldon]

Only money forces companies to do anything.

 

[Nickolaidas]

The government was never forcing any of the things you are worried about.
It’s always been a means to make more money. If the experiment fails, it will change.

Oh, I never said it did. I am saying the electoral RESULT, which is the most official 'what the people want' poll that there is, shows that the majority of the people do not approve of The Message.

 

[Rran]

Democrats have been wondering how to have better optics since Tuesday, and some of the people I've read/heard about have mentioned that they've pushed identity politics too hard, which has been off-putting for the general public. So I dunno. Maybe?

Change takes time though.

 

[Hoddi]

I think you're reading too much into the US election though it's probably the largest signal of the pendulum swinging. But, yeah, I think it will also be reflected in games.

I don't think it's about politics as much as just general fashion though. I was getting awfully tired of the hypersexualized military wank in games back in 2010 so these more grounded and 'realistic' games seemed like a breath of fresh air at the time. But now that ship has sailed as well and I'm ready to go back to the hypersexualized military wank instead of being preached to.

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

There's already massive pushback against the woke shit recently even without counting the election especially this year with many of their games flopping or not meeting expectations. Plus shows too like that Star Wars show and others. This will hopefully further increase the change back to when games were normal and sane. Also back to when if a game did include a gay or lesbian character, it was still done normally and not in the face like how Gay Tony was in GTA IV, Veronica in New Vegas, Arcade in New Vegas, that dude in Deep Fear on the Sega Saturn etc without the whole insane and non binary, they, them, shit, it crap.

Majority of gamers and even non gamers are tried of all this insanity and mental illness crap being forced on us. It has made many people that never used to mind woke stuff too much to hating it now.

 

[Madflavor]

I hope people don’t forget that when Trump got into office in 2016, that wasn’t the “death of the SJW”. The Left became very angry and emboldened to be even louder with their politics. Remember how so many creatives back then talked about how the villain in their show/movie/game was representative of Trump? Get ready for more of that.

Activists will continue to use our favorite IPs as platforms to “fight Trump” and “own the chuds”, so ya’ll better buckle up.

 

[Nickolaidas]

I hope people don’t forget that when Trump got into office in 2016, that wasn’t the “death of the SJW”. The Left became very angry and emboldened to be even louder with their politics. Remember how so many creatives back then talked about how the villain in their show/movie/game was representative of Trump? Get ready for more of that.

Activists will continue to use our favorite IPs as platforms to “fight Trump” and “own the chuds”, so ya’ll better buckle up.

I completely agree, except for the fact that publishers then had a lot more money to burn and weren't on the verge of bankruptcy like WB and had their stocks crashing like UBISOFT.

 

[chokotoureiki]

The worst we might see is probably an onslaught of politically driven games like Dustborn as an artistic expression of their rage and contempt towards the current political climate.

 

[SHA]

Woke do adapt actually but much later without anyone's notice. however, you can't deny plot, regardless of which sex the character would be, what they say what actually matters.

 

[Heisenberg007]

I have no race in the horse as I don't live in the US, but I hope that is the case.

Gaming / media culture has been going down the drain. We keep seeing atrocious art design, characters, storyline, and dialogues that obviously aren't made for gamers. They are made to promote a certain agenda and score brownie points among certain groups. I have no issues with marginalized groups (I actually belong to marginalized groups), but I don't appreciate these things forced upon me.

Apart from gaming, I also hope that whoever has won helps make America and the world a better place.

 

[KàIRóS]

No.

But money will, just stop buying woke stuff.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Yes, they will change. But only so much. And I dont see it turning on a dime either for two main reasons.

1. Game makers with games already well into production arent going to be spending a lot more time and budget changing their game. It'll release as it's intended whether it has tons of political messages or not.

2. Media people are stubborn. Even if they got all the time and budget to adjust, it's a tough slog to change people's mentality. If it's a very functional thing like trying to convince someone one BBQ grill is better than another based on quality ratings and pros/cons between gas or charcoal it's a debate on measurable metrics. Whether someone is convinced or not will be a chill conversation, not a kicking and screaming match involving cancel culture or mudslinging. When a debate involves personality and politics it's more difficult to change. And people will literally get angry or cry to get their way. Also, media is the best industry for political people to work in because they can get their message out. They will fight tooth and nail to keep it that way.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

To be as un-political about it as possible:

The result of the US election is because of the cultural shift, not the other way around. So regardless of the result, the current shift we are seeing in gaming would have continued. Publishers continue to ignore the lessons of Star Wars Outlaws, Concord, Dustborn, Unknown IX: Ascension, Dragon Age Veilguard, etc. at their own financial peril

 

[Kataploom]

Nah, society in general is tired of the intensity some political activists are showing regarding their ideology and it will reflect in gaming probably, specially after more asian devs give players what they want. Unless Trump decides to tax foreign games as well, but I don't think digital products are included in his tariffs plans

 

[Madflavor]

I completely agree, except for the fact that publishers then had a lot more money to burn and weren't on the verge of bankruptcy like WB and had their stocks crashing like UBISOFT.

We’ll probably see some publishers be more careful with how their games are made, but what that looks like, we won’t know for awhile. They might rely on focus groups even more, and take less risks. They might try to appeal to as many people as possible. So who knows.

Personally though I think the future looks bright for games with more modest budgets. Games like Space Marine 2 and Stellar Blade. Ultimately I think we’ll still get great games, but I think AAA for the most part is fucked.

 

[chokotoureiki]

I miss the times when games weren't afraid to be offensive like Duke Nukem and Conker's Bad Fur Day. If we have to be PC all the time without risk of offending anyone then eventually comedy will be dead.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

Hard to say, gaming industry is kinda like the Titanic... really hard to see them turning in time to avoid the iceberg that they are just now realizing is coming their way.

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

I miss the times when games weren't afraid to be offensive like Duke Nukem and Conker's Bad Fur Day. If we have to be PC all the time without risk of offending anyone then eventually comedy will be dead.

Same for movies, the movies in the 80s and 90s were by far the best and most interesting. Movies could be very fun during those times because the creators could do whatever they want without worrying about checking whatever list or offending people so the makers talents are without limits. Big Trouble in Little China, the Last Dragon, Flash Gordon, Return of the Living Dead, The Toxic Avenger, Return of the Swamp Thing, Night of the Demon, Escape from L.A, the Sword and the Sorcerer, The Hot Spot, Red Sonja, and so countless others. And the thing is games and movies were in fact diverse back then and diversity is done better cause it fits right in without feeling forced. LGBT stuff were also done better as well.

 

[chokotoureiki]

Democrats have been wondering how to have better optics since Tuesday, and some of the people I've read/heard about have mentioned that they've pushed identity politics too hard, which has been off-putting for the general public. So I dunno. Maybe?

Change takes time though.

I'll be damned if one day I see a game where instead of picking 2 genders, there's like 100 of them to choose from.....like oh lord do I have to sift through all of that to pick and design my character??

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

We’ll probably see some publishers be more careful with how their games are made, but what that looks like, we won’t know for awhile. They might rely on focus groups even more, and take less risks. They might try to appeal to as many people as possible. So who knows.

Personally though I think the future looks bright for games with more modest budgets. Games like Space Marine 2 and Stellar Blade. Ultimately I think we’ll still get great games, but I think AAA for the most part is fucked.

Bring on MORE lower budget games like them since Space Marine 2 and Stellar Blade are among some of the top best games of this year.

AAA is still great for games like Resident Evil and most likely GTA, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Zelda.

I'll be damned if one day I see a game where instead of picking 2 genders, there's like 100 of them to choose from.....like oh lord do I have to sift through all of that to pick and design my character??

Yeah speaking of that, making games go back to the normal male and female gender would be a great start. This should have never been debatable in the first place especially when most of the world still had common sense and were sane. Male and Female. If they wanna be gay or lesbians or bi than they could do it through game options or perks for that specific roleplay if it's a RPG game like Fallout 5 or Elder Scrolls VI.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Same for movies, the movies in the 80s and 90s were by far the best and most interesting. Movies could be very fun during those times because the creators could do whatever they want without worrying about checking whatever list or offending people so the makers talents are without limits. Big Trouble in Little China, the Last Dragon, Flash Gordon, Return of the Living Dead, The Toxic Avenger, Return of the Swamp Thing, Night of the Demon, Escape from L.A, the Sword and the Sorcerer, The Hot Spot, Red Sonja, and so countless others. And the thing is games and movies were in fact diverse back then and diversity is done better cause it fits right in without feeling forced. LGBT stuff were also done better as well.

Best movies.

It's too bad that at that time, CGI/special effects could be lousy so a movie could get notched down a bit due to laughable special effects.

Some of my fav movies are classic Arnold movies when he was in his prime. Always a combo of over the top macho man antics with hottie co-star, hilarious one liners and stereotypical roles or villains. If those movies were made now with today's budgets and CGI they would be even better. Blade 1 is another fav of mine. Such shitty effects. If they made that now, it be DEI'ed to death.

 

[Deerock71]

Trump has bigger fish to fry.

 

[chokotoureiki]

Same for movies, the movies in the 80s and 90s were by far the best and most interesting. Movies could be very fun during those times because the creators could do whatever they want without worrying about checking whatever list or offending people so the makers talents are without limits. Big Trouble in Little China, the Last Dragon, Flash Gordon, Return of the Living Dead, The Toxic Avenger, Return of the Swamp Thing, Night of the Demon, Escape from L.A, the Sword and the Sorcerer, The Hot Spot, Red Sonja, and so countless others. And the thing is games and movies were in fact diverse back then and diversity is done better cause it fits right in without feeling forced. LGBT stuff were also done better as well.

I embarassed to say that I've never seen any of those movies , even as someone who grew up during those times. I remember back when the classic trope "man who rescues the damsel in distress" was such a common theme in a lot of movies, but nowadays you have the Mary Sue archetype who's good at everything. Also, Mortal Kombat is one game I can think of that at one point was quite controversial to the point of catching Joe Lieberman's attention. I remember how much that used to anger me, and turned me into an MK fan.

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

Best movies.

It's too bad that at that time, CGI/special effects could be lousy so a movie could get notched down a bit due to laughable special effects.

Some of my fav movies are classic Arnold movies when he was in his prime. Always a combo of over the top macho man antics with hottie co-star, hilarious one liners and stereotypical roles or villains. If those movies were made now with today's budgets and CGI they would be even better. Blade 1 is another fav of mine. Such shitty effects. If they made that now, it be DEI'ed to death.

Yeah love tons of movies from his prime days besides the obvious Terminator and Predator. I also really liked Total Recall and the Running Man as well as other great ones like the Last Action Hero. The CGI from the 90s were pretty bad since it was new but I actually prefer particle effects from the 80s more than any cgi. Since the particle effects combined with fleshly made suits makes the scene seem legit and real like it could really happen in real life or something. While cgi even when done right and cool still looks too digital for me with exceptions of course.

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

I embarassed to say that I've never seen any of those movies , even as someone who grew up during those times. I remember back when the classic trope "man who rescues the damsel in distress" was such a common theme in a lot of movies, but nowadays you have the Mary Sue archetype who's good at everything. Also, Mortal Kombat is one game I can think of that at one point was quite controversial to the point of catching Joe Lieberman's attention. I remember how much that used to anger me, and turned me into an MK fan.

It was the complete opposite for me since I was born after the era that had most of my favorite movies lol. I started a big 80s movie watching spree starting in 2020 cause modern movies don't interest me with the exception of a few.

 

[chokotoureiki]

Yeah speaking of that, making games go back to the normal male and female gender would be a great start. This should have never been debatable in the first place especially when most of the world still had common sense and were sane. Male and Female. If they wanna be gay or lesbians or bi than they could do it through game options or perks for that specific roleplay if it's a RPG game like Fallout 5 or Elder Scrolls VI.

Oh I agree! A couple of other games that spring to mind are Mass Effect and Fable, and neither of those games received any backlash for giving you the option of turning your character gay. Whenever I had my character kissing other guys or flirting, it was mostly for the lulz.

 

[Eotheod]

Pretty sure it will be the complete opposite, because gaming and "technology" was almost born out of a push against the system that was prescribing war and hatred. What you'll see is increased costs to hardware and software due to tariffs (they never, ever hurt the foreign country) and an overall increase in safe games.

 

[Stu_Hart]

You think politicians give a flying fuck what happens in the gaming industry? They have tried to blame and cancel gaming when some psycho kid shoots people in school multiple times. You think they care about some stupid ideology. They have bigger fish to fry when it comes to cost of living. Go figure.

 

[JimmyRustler]

No, if anything it will get worse.

You guys delude yourself by thinking this to be some movement to please investors. The game studios are littered with people who fully believe in the woke cause.

The only effective way to get rid of all this would be for most studios letting go of like 50+% of their workers. Nobody will do this.

 

[chokotoureiki]

It was the complete opposite for me since I was born after the era that had most of my favorite movies lol. I started a big 80s movie watching spree starting in 2020 cause modern movies don't interest me with the exception of a few.

I remember a lot of the films in the 80s were quite wholesome back then. Back to the Future was quite a charming film that centered around the importance of family and overcoming adversity together. ET was also pretty magical where it made me feel like a kid again.

 

[namenotfound]

I just want some new fantasy games where every character talks like pure fantasy lived in characters rather than callbacks to the real world. The shift in 18-29 voters conservative and the growing interest in the chinese market may shift things away from american social progressive politics. Sure this will motivate a lot to make really american social politics infused games but at least I'm hoping there's more funding for someones crazy brainchild fantasy that's just super geeky and deep in its own made up jargon

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

No, if anything it will get worse.

You guys delude yourself by thinking this to be some movement to please investors. The game studios are littered with people who fully believe in the woke cause.

The only effective way to get rid of all this would be for most studios letting go of like 50+% of their workers. Nobody will do this.

Yeah while there's decent companies like Capcom, the one from Space Marine 2, Stellar Blade, Wukong etc. There's still a lot of those brainrot woke devs for many games so we're definitely still going to see a lot of crap like Dustborn, Unknown Awakening, Outlaw, Veilguard, Concord etc. Best thing is they will continue flopping or being below expectations while great games will do well.

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

I remember a lot of the films in the 80s were quite wholesome back then. Back to the Future was quite a charming film that centered around the importance of family and overcoming adversity together. ET was also pretty magical where it made me feel like a kid again.

Yep and that era got every damn genre done really well like it had the best horror, the best slashers, the best sci-fis, the best actions, the best fantasy. Them filming movies with real sets also makes everything more immersive and nice. The 90s and 2000s weren't as good but still better than now since the woke lunatics haven't taken over yet during those times.

I just want some new fantasy games where every character talks like pure fantasy lived in characters rather than callbacks to the real world. The shift in 18-29 voters conservative and the growing interest in the chinese market may shift things away from american social progressive politics. Sure this will motivate a lot to make really american social politics infused games but at least I'm hoping there's more funding for someones crazy brainchild fantasy that's just super geeky and deep in its own made up jargon

YES! Like how Witcher 3 and the Elder Scrolls games are or Final Fantasy Rebirth.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

I think that this is some people reading the room and acting accordingly as they sense the winds of change.

 

[Haint]

Trump won cause a stick of butter is $10, a shit mobile entry level car is like $40,000, and an 800 sq ft starter patio home in podunk nowhere is like $300,000, it had little to nothing to do with culture wars.