Link gets some lovin' from Out magazine
by Ross Miller 
{ May 29th 2006 at 4:55PM }
GameSpot is reporting that Legend of Zelda protagonist Link was named "Hottest Video Game Character" by Out magazine, purported to have the "highest circulation of any gay monthy publication" in the US. According to the magazine, "when darkness enshrouds the land, Nintendo's sexy farm-boy-turned-wolf sets out to save the day in this upcoming game. His weapons: a sword, a bow, arrows, and kick-ass grooming skills."So often we hear about how hot game vixens like Lara Croft are, it's refreshing to see a male character get some props for their looks.
Zelda fans of all sexual prefences will be able to play with Link using their Wii's when Twilight Princess is released at the end of this year.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Artimus @ May 29th 2006 5:02PM
How long before this falls into an argument over whether being gay is ok or not? 5 posts? 10?
Sgt.Princess @ May 29th 2006 5:02PM
that's it, i've changed my mind. as of right now -- i just can't bring myself to buy and or play anything on wii. ever.
thanks joystiq for ruining my support of nintendo. and thank you, out, for being so... gay.
1up_clock @ May 29th 2006 5:04PM
*isn't sure whether that feeling is homophobia, or pity over the fact that the sacred franchise has been sullied.
Blink @ May 29th 2006 5:09PM
Sounds like Wii all over again, "any publicity is good publicity".
Momus @ May 29th 2006 5:10PM
I've always said that tunic isn't long enough to conceal his Master Sword.
sonofnone @ May 29th 2006 5:11PM
Wait a second. If you want to blame anyone for ruining your chance to play Nintendo's next-gen system with any shred of dignity from friends and family members make sure you blame the people who are truly responsible: Nintendo.
1up_clock @ May 29th 2006 5:13PM
Also, Sgt. Princess,
Just because some gay guys think Link is hot, doesn't mean the games are crappy. For example, a lot of morons think Napolean Dynamite is funny. That, however, is not the reason numerous people hate it. They hate it because it's a pretty crappy movie.
Guys, don't be like Sgt. Pretty, Pretty Princess. Don't let homophobia let you think any less of the greatest game series ever, or even an entire console.
Borjan @ May 29th 2006 5:13PM
Hell, come on guys.
If Link HIMSELF appeared before you, sweaty and tired, looking for a place to stay after another effort saving the world....
And he asked for a shower...
Well, you wouldn't actually do anything. But you'd think about it.
......
Stealing his wallet I mean.
Yes.
Marc @ May 29th 2006 5:14PM
Ummm...O.k.
So the homosexual gaming community loves Link. I'm sure this doesn't mean that Link is gay, himself.
All this means is that I won't be getting the game for a while after release. No big deal.
(although someone is gonna say "don't buy the game cuz you're supporting gays!", even though i don't. But this is gonna turn into a big discussion on wether or not gays are "acceptable".)
Thanks a lot Joystiq!
DKH @ May 29th 2006 5:15PM
Well it just goes to show that there is truly no such thing as bad publicity.
Jordan @ May 29th 2006 5:17PM
hmm...as a gaymer I'm going to have to agree with the mag...
Nick @ May 29th 2006 5:20PM
Well... I'm quite glad we're all mature here! If someone finds a character attractive (male, female or otherwise) it shouldn't affect in ANY way whatsoever how, or if, you play a game. Nothing has been "sullied" by the simple admonition of the fact that Link is physically attractive. If a lesbian were to have looked at something like the Playboy series of "Videogame Vixens" and had said, "Wow, that Bloodrayne girl is hot." Would that have "sullied" anything for you?
I'm not here to argue the morality of homosexuality or the like, but, as a gay man, even I can look at a woman and see that she is good looking, and if a publication wants to name her as the sexiest video game character, then good for them (PS the winner should be Samus!)
So, just for the record: It looks like the answer was 2, Artimus ;)
Mike @ May 29th 2006 5:24PM
Theres a differance between the lara croft comments and the link comments. The link comments are coming from men, and the croft commets are also coming from men. It would be a little wierd to see a bunch of females bragining about how sexy lara is.
I guess it doesent bother me. The great thing about playing online games over xbox live or other, is you dont need to know if people are gay or not, because what does it matter? Unless they come in with that fake "gay" accent over the xbox live mic. But ive been playing online with voice chat for 3 years and I have yet to hear one person talking like that?
Aaron @ May 29th 2006 5:26PM
Wow, a couple weeks after the name "Wii" was enough for jokes, but now it's just getting retarded. Please stop.
Momus @ May 29th 2006 5:26PM
"and if a publication wants to name her as the sexiest video game character, then good for them (PS the winner should be Samus!)"
That's another news post altogether! You could write a whole essay on the end-game pinups and shit, and the stupid hair, and the grotesquely pouty lips, and everything!
But, back on topic: should gay Hylians be allowed to marry?
Lutraphobic @ May 29th 2006 5:29PM
Oh noes, don't catch teh gay!!!
Seriously guys, grow up.
Momus @ May 29th 2006 5:29PM
"Theres a differance between the lara croft comments and the link comments. The link comments are coming from men, and the croft commets are also coming from men. It would be a little wierd to see a bunch of females bragining about how sexy lara is."
Hahaha! Yeah… because she isn't.
geves @ May 29th 2006 5:31PM
i've never heard of this magazine before (and after re-reading the article that sounds like a good thing.. at first i thought it was a gaming mag >< )
good thing i didn't order a subsciption.
oh well. i'm sure link will only take the gay spotlight off of gackt for a little while.
1up_clock @ May 29th 2006 5:34PM
Nick,
I'm not saying the series has been marred forever (or sullied, which is really a word, albeit a fun word to say aloud), it's just that this makes me go "Ugh", like looking at really sick pervert fans who like Lion King WAY too much. I like the movie, just not the really sick pervert fans. The same also applies to Homestar Runner, but replace "really sick pervert" with "Annoying idiots who WILL NOT STOP QUOTING IT. ARGH. IF I WANTED TO LISTEN TO THE LINES, I'D WATCH THE CARTOONS. I DO NOT WISH TO HEAR IT IN A MONOTONE WITH A SHODDY ATTEMPT AT A LISP."
vidGuy @ May 29th 2006 5:38PM
He definitely is a little... well groomed. But he's a badass, too, and the games are FUN, that's why I can't wait for TP.
Since when do people play videogames for the feeling of "dignity" they get? "Oh, wow, it has a goofy name and pretty colors and no Halo3, I won't enjoy it and my friends will make fun of me."
You know another funny name? XBOX. What the hell is that? Wait a minute, PlayStation and GameCube are also pretty silly. Who cares what it's called? Are you bothered by "iPod", and have to make stupid jokes about it constantly?
Here's a name that needs to get a little more critical look: DualShake. Yes, that's the name of the crippled DualShock that'll come with the PS3. "What shakes?" I ask. It doesn't rumble (even the Wii remote rumbles) and you don't shake it to use it. Please, enlighten me.
Momus @ May 29th 2006 5:39PM
"it's just that this makes me go "Ugh", like looking at really sick pervert fans who like Lion King WAY too much."
Augh, way to put homosexuality on the same level with furries.
The ZeroCorpse @ May 29th 2006 5:42PM
Some of you little boys need to grow up a lot.
1up_clock @ May 29th 2006 5:43PM
"Augh, way to put homosexuality on the same level with furries."
Well, they both receive the same level of ridicule from the internet.
Darune Validayne @ May 29th 2006 5:43PM
"thanks joystiq for ruining my support of nintendo. and thank you, out, for being so... gay."
That is an AWESOME statement coming from someone with the handle "Sgt. Princess".
Link is an interesting choice too, you'd think they would pick a Final Fantasy pretty-boy Character, like Squall or something.
Nick @ May 29th 2006 5:45PM
Point well taken 1up, and sullied is REDICULOUSLY fun to say, much like cacophony or bucolic: I mean how can you not try to make a single sentance out of the three: "You have sullied my bucolic reverie with a cacophony honking horns" hmmm, I like it.
As a side note:
lmao Momus, the answer is NEVER, if the hylian constitution is ammended than Ganon will rule the world with a leather whip, obviously!
Finally:
I stand by my original point, but, as I said I can see what you're trying to say 1Up
1up_clock @ May 29th 2006 5:47PM
Hey, we've gone through a story where "gay" and "Zelda" are used in the same sentence, and not a single person made a Tingle joke!
That's quite an achievement, guys! And you know what that means: SMOOTHIES FOR EVERYONE.
Threnody @ May 29th 2006 5:47PM
You think gay guys only go for pretty boys? I can tell you I'd much rather have a night with Solid Snake (no pun intended)!
Momus @ May 29th 2006 5:48PM
Hmmm…
LIST OF THINGS THAT GAMERS SHOULD NOT DEBATE:
•Geopolitics
•Gay rights
I should have started this years ago! What else should we add?
Nick @ May 29th 2006 5:49PM
By the way 1up, how'd you end up with -1 stars?
1up_clock @ May 29th 2006 5:50PM
"I can tell you I'd much rather have a night with Solid Snake (no pun intended)!"
Someone, somewhere, just played a slide whistle after you typed that.
Nick @ May 29th 2006 5:51PM
Hmmm.... momus, religion is a staple on the "don't discuss" list as is utilizing the CD-i games in any argument against nintendo... let's keep thinking!
Stevie (aka Lord of Hair) @ May 29th 2006 5:51PM
meh
I'm not gay
but if I was I'd say bring back Tusk from Killer Instinct, he's awsome + his serpent tattoo is cool as
then theirs Ryu Hayabusa from that Ninja game
nice to see Joysiq isn't that homophobic
1up_clock @ May 29th 2006 5:53PM
"By the way 1up, how'd you end up with -1 stars?"
My guess is lazy mods. But saying that makes me sound arrogant. Really arrogant.
:{
Rob @ May 29th 2006 5:54PM
is not okay to bash homosexuals, but it IS okay to bash homophobics?
on one hand, people say it is irrational to be homophobic...but on the other people say it is irrational to be homosexual.
kind of a double standard if you ask me...its okay to be gay because its "natural" and "not mental" but its not okay to have a phobia of something even though it may be "mental"?
Nick @ May 29th 2006 5:54PM
Actually, threnody, I'd choose Leon Kenedy... mmm....
Nick @ May 29th 2006 5:58PM
It is certainly an interesting idea, Rob, but I think the main difference is this:
People who are being outwardly homophobic are (usually, though certainly not always) trying to deny someone's rights and/or insulting them whereas those being outwardly homosexual (I definitely don't fall into that specific camp, I may be gay, but I'm not femme) aren't trying to hurt anyone.
That having been said: I guess it is wrong to bash anyone, and I appologize if my first comment was in any way offensive.
Momus @ May 29th 2006 5:58PM
Nick, I just realized no one's made a game about abortion yet. Let's chalk it up!
Okay, so… the comments to this article pretty much degraded they I thought they would… no thanks to me. O: )
Anyway, everybody grow up for a sec: does this honestly bother you? I mean, most of you have got to be out of high school; aren't you past that phase where anything gay just completely makes you cringe?
Lutraphobic @ May 29th 2006 5:59PM
Rob, no; disliking someone for who they are, and disliking someone for hating a certain group of people, are two very different things.
Threnody @ May 29th 2006 5:59PM
Another nice choice Nick, I like how you think.
Scott Jon Siegel @ May 29th 2006 6:01PM
Kudos to Out Magazine for identifying Link's newly acquired hotness, and hurrah for gaymers everywhere! Now, why hasn't anyone been talking about Leon's transformation into a well-dressed pretty boy? -sj
Nick @ May 29th 2006 6:03PM
Hmmm... Fetus Juice: The Game! sounds like a bad idea all around.... but, they'll pretty much develop anything in Japan these days ;) So our list is now:
-Geopolitics
-Gay rights
-Fetal maters
-Religion
-Zelda CD-i games
looks good, I'd say we've done a good job momus!
By the way momus, I'm actually in high school, so...
Yeah, I'm really not entirely sure where I intended to go with that.... just saying I guess.
Nick @ May 29th 2006 6:05PM
Couldn't agree with you more SJ!
Ross Miller @ May 29th 2006 6:05PM
1Up clock --
I don't know how you lost it (I could sort through your old comments and find out, but I'm lazy), but I'd say you earn yourself back to the neutral 0 stars, so it's done.
And I'm surprised by how decently tame this comment thread has been, so thank you everyone for having some decency.
n8dogg @ May 29th 2006 6:06PM
Link looks like an elven Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
Anyway, I won't be one of the gamers who will use a wii to play with Link.
This game is for the GAMECUBE. It was MEANT for the GAMECUBE. I haven't used my GC at all for the past FIVE MONTHS. I won't let them take away the last good game for it.
Threnody @ May 29th 2006 6:08PM
It seems like a lot of people here are offended at the idea that real-life homosexuals are in their precious world of video gaming.
Welcome to reality, it's time to wake up. Whether you realize it or not, gay people are everywhere and this fluff article from Out is no more objectionable than so many articles in Stuff (or whatever) about Lara Croft.
This is supposed to be a gaming community, but rather than coming together as gamers you're making this seem like a hostile place for some people because you don't agree with their lifestyle. We're not invading Joystiq with this gay content because Joystiq is not inherently a straight site. It's a video game site. This is a story about video games. Deal with it.
Mintz @ May 29th 2006 6:13PM
"Zelda fans of all sexual prefences will be able to play with Link using their Wii's when Twilight Princess is released at the end of this year."
I just knew you wouldn't be able to resist that joke!
Amir @ May 29th 2006 6:13PM
Wow, all this fuss about feelings for a VIRTUAL character. As a straight guy, I've never seen the appeal in Lara Croft because, well, she just looks like a bunch of awkward polygons stuck together (why ANYONE would want the Nude Raider patch for the original game with that triangular "bosom" is beyond me). I say to each their own. Gay gamers like Link? Fine, not going to stop me playing as him in Smash Bros., 'cause I'm not homophobic. Just on a sidenote, what gay characters have there been in video games (lipstick lesbians don't count as they are obviously gratuitous fodder for horny teenage boys)?
ele©tro @ May 29th 2006 6:26PM
I, for one, am totally disgusted. I mean, come on...Link? Little elf boy Link? Twinky Link? That might work for Michael Jackson, but give me a real man like Sam Fisher any day! : )
Oro @ May 29th 2006 6:27PM
It gets a little bit creepy when you think of the fact that Link is usually between the age of 14 and 17 in most of the Zelda games... Jailbait!!
Anyways, hooray for gay people!
Invader Alex @ May 29th 2006 6:27PM
" Theres a differance between the lara croft comments and the link comments. The link comments are coming from men, and the croft commets are also coming from men."by Mike
I like your point there. But this should make such a big deal, it just one magizines opinion. They can say what they want because it there opinion. Dont be dissing link because of their opinion, he awsome(to my opinion) because he doesn't talk but he kicks ass!
Also people grow up, take it from 13 year old boy.