In fact an interesting argument could be made that physical perfection is ever present in gaming. Regardless of whether it is the curvaceous volleyball girl, the muscular hero or the hefty redneck, is not every character carefully designed to appeal to stereotypes or the mindset of players..? Surely there is a reason why women in Hollywood are pretty, why the men are also pretty, or why this guy (Noel Gugliemi) is always a Mexican gangster.
The fact is, that in fictitious portrayals, the writer or director is trying to impart an ideal to the reader or viewer and they use whatever their medium is to accomplish that to the best of their ability. I can not say for certain what the need or reason is for big breasts in a fighting game truly is, but as long as their is a growing demand for it and it sells, these games will continue to be made. After all, this isnāt Dead or Alive we are talking about, it is Dead or Alive FIVE! So the creators must be doing something right.
The last couple of paragraphs are kind of flawed in regards to the claim that fictional media and its creator try to impart an idealized version of males and females, as well as the appeal to āif there is a demand for this type of thing, then it is acceptableā.Ā
Regarding the claim that these represented females/males are idealized, you unfortunately overlook or neglect the aspect of for who the characters are idealized. The target audience for primitive, big-breasted doll-faces is certainly not your average female player and I could easily imagine that they donāt necessarily see that particular type of woman as being their ideal. As such, the writers or creators arenāt producing these absolute idealized characters thanks to an universal ideal, but as a way to appeal to a certain demographic/mindset. Which I think is fair to conclude that itās a male audience. The physical perfection you are referring to is mostly addressing heterosexual male audiences, and thus isnāt something female players are able to identify with. The āreason why women in Hollywood are pretty, why the men are also pretty, or why Noel Gugliemi is always a Mexican gangsterā is because the content in which these things occur is addressed to and specifically targeting white heterosexual males.
Moreover, even if we agree that females are not the only ones being reified and treated unfairly (meaning that men are also subject to reification), then that does not excuse either type of sexist portrayal. It is a common argument to state that āif male characters are hypersexualized, then itās okay that female characters are hypersexualized as wellā, but this is a flawed and incorrect statement to make - two wrongs donāt make a right, and it should be clear which of two genders is already marginalized and in the extreme minority.
Regarding the claim āas long as there is a demand for this, it will continue to be produced.ā While I agree that capitalism and financial profitability are great motivators for producing certain objects, the fact that the objects in question are to some extent morally indefensible should provide sufficient evidence that economics is not (or should not be) the sole deciding factor when it comes to putting controversial objects into the world. One has to take other societal and moral factors into account when crafting certain experiences that might negatively affect other people.
While I do not disagree with your position I believe we are taking about two different things. From what I gather you are more of the mind that from a creative expression standpoint, developers need to be more conscious of the world they are unleashing their creation into and be more responsible about it. My position is that, these developer's do not really owe anything to anyone, the burden is really on those receiving this and if they do not agree with or are offended by these products, then they need to censor themselves from it, one can not presume to force developer's to refocus their work simply because it is offensive to some. It is a very relative issue and in my opinion, no more "correct" to ask a developer to alter, remove or create something less than offensive; than it it is "wrong" to create something offensive. We are not talking about educational standards which need to be politically correct; these are third party developer's who have their own vision; and one can not presume to know, without a doubt, that these developer's are targeting "white heterosexual males." While it is a safe assumption, it is still merely an assumption; especially considering that the lead director of DOA 5 is Japanese and sales were split 50/50 between Japan and the rest of the world for total units sold, so if anything this was targeting Japanese heterosexual males.Ā
As for the question of economics, it again, is not so black and white. What is moral or "morally indefensible" very often has little to do with the production of a series by a major corporation. While I am of a mind with you that perhaps these sorts of games are morally bankrupt, that does not justify telling these developers how to make a game they spend years of their lives and buckets of money on for only two reasons, creative expression and making money and I don't believe anyone else has the right or moral high ground to dictate how they ought to do that.
Of course, as we see the medium of computer games grow into something more than just entertainment, I believe there is a level of responsibility some members of the community need to take on in order to direct the future of the industry forward. The computer game industry will continue to be dominated by capitalist entertainment for the foreseeable future; that much is certain. What is growing alongside of it in the form of computer game academics and education is something completely different, and this I believe is where your argument flourishes. The people in this burgeoning wing of the industry have an opportunity to create something morally sound and beneficial for the whole of society, and indeed games like DOA 5 have no place there. As for the "Hollywood" like satus quo of the entertainment producing industry, I think that instead of criticizing what is currently going on and pointing out what is sexist and what is wrong: the market itself needs to demand these changes by affecting sales and profits.Ā
Anyway, take that for what you will, it is my two cents at any rate ~ looking forward to a lively response.