Question for gaymers: Is the 360 lacking diversity?

Naah, I think JoAnna Dark is pretty Manly looking. Her and Chandra probabbly went at it a few times. And hell.. there is a Wrestling game comming out this year.

are tampon manufacturers ignoring the male demographic?

Query: Why do we even give a flying fudge about the sexual orientation of video game characters? I don't see the point.

Its like a bad topic two for one tonight... I just finnished a short post on who cares if someone uses a female charicter in Wow, and Bam! "Is there enough gay in your video game entertainment?!" Bam! "Do you realized how gay your video game entertainment has been?!" Bam! "The Super Mario Brothers are out of the closet!" Bam "Is your favrete video game hero going to jump out of the closet wearing nothing but a petosmile?!"

Seriously, If you really want games where you deal with heavy sexual overtones, why not just get a date, and rent a room? Thats 75% of what the internet is for anyway...

As for homosexual overtoned games in general, I don't care, but I really wish this stupid sexuality thing in gaming would blow over... Having a openly gay charicter is not going to magicaly help the content of the game any. And If gay gamers keep asking for gay content being thrown into games... Im preatty sure someone will ablige, but be suprized if its a marketing ploy.

opps! "don't be suprized if its a marketing ploy."

well, there have been other lists like this and there were still a lot of obviously gay people.

Enchant Arm has a gay character, who is apparently described as such in the Asian release, but no one knows if Ubisoft will alter this in the US release.

the sexuality thing in gaming isn't going to blow over. most of the noise you're hearing is the typical internet echo chamber, where one no-name person says something in some small corner, and on slow days it gets repeated ad nauseum. games will always mirror real life, and creators are just going to continue pushing the boundaries and exaggerating all sorts of real life to fit their needs, exactly as done by authors, artists, and musicians.

Being the big opinionated gay that I am, I'd like to point out a couple thoughts.

While I would buy a game with a gay character or theme to support the publisher and encourage diversity, I can't say that the "gay" part would hold my interest long. Even gay flash games are fun for three minutes, but there needs to be substance still.

I think that gay gamers often seek each other out not because they are going to get their gay on in a game, but because generally you form friendships with people that you play with regularly. Gay habits die hard and many have the learned behavior or carefully seeking out likeminded individuals to avoid scorn.

Quick example -- Xbox Live Arcade. I was playing with voice on and I mumbled something about almost being done to my partner of 8 years. A Live player thought I was talking to him and I said, "Oh, not you, sorry. I was talking to my other half, he just brought home Taco Bell," and the Live player flipped out with "f-ing faggot" this and "AIDS queer" that. I couldn't believe he was serious as I thought I had just mentioned Taco Bell. Get some new slurs already. I've been reading that on picket signs at Cher and Barenaked Ladies concerts and parades and funerals for years.

Just remember, we're not there to gay, we're there to game, but we do like to be respected and not have to listen to "that's gay" or other negative slurs in even the most casual of games. If I walked into a game and started casually dropping the n-word, that wouldn't fly either would it? Especially as white as I sound.

Though it doesn't matter, I do make it known in some games. My kart in Mario Kart DS has a gay related flag on it. My Animal Crossing town is "festive". My gamertag doesn't seem gay, but as are most gay tags, they aren't overtly gay. Just keywords that others will pick up on. Why do I do it? Because it's expression of oneself and because it's an identifier.

So the conclusion here is that most gay gamers don't care who they play or what Slot B you put your Tab A into. We just want to be like everyone else, with respect. That sentiment will get you far in life.

As a "gaymer" myself (although I never heard the term before), I do not look for anything 'special' for me just good games. I can't wait to play Dead Rising, Saints Row or Gears of War. I love Halo 1 and 2 as well as GRAW and Oblivion. The only thing that might tick me off if too many over-the-top gay characters that keep pushing the tired stereotype but anyone from any ethnic or cultural group feels that. So I "Game On" instead of worrying about "Gayme On".

I'm a first generation gaymer. Meaning: I'm gay, and I started gaming in 1976 when I got PONG for Christmas. I was eight. Do the math.

So after 30 years of gaming, you'd think that I'd be used to anything. Having seen and heard it all. Not so. About 3-4 years ago I quit playing online multiplayer altogether. The immaturity and bigotry is just too much to handle at my age.

The last few posts have been great and sum up my experiences pretty much as well. I'm there to play games, period. As with RangerPrimeX, I'm eager to see Dead Rising, GoW, Halo 3, etc. I'll admit when I play something like KOTOR I wouldn't mind if there was a romance path more suited towards me but its generally a non-issue.

My better half is itching to get his hands on Viva Pinata. I showed him the trailer (he's into Animal Crossing) and knew he was hooked. Now I just need to get him his own Live account so he doesn't go buying hats and outfits for the pinatas on my credit card... :)

Sorry guys most people (including myself) just don't like talking to sexualy inverterd. Also why would I want my hero in my game gay, If Indiana Jones got Marcus at the end of the movie instead of the girl it just wouldn't be the same. Get over it you whiney homosexuals (homesexuals that arn't whiney are not included).

if every game developer/company has to make sure there product appeals to everyone, then video games would never come out because you cant appeal to everyone. Why not just make a game the way you want it and not try to appeal to a certain group. Last i checked in the United States and many European countries you could say whatever you want, but it seems like more and more people are trying to take that freedom away just because they dont like whats being said.

Whiney bigots are way worse than whiney homosexuals.

While it would be fun to pass marines holding hands in Halo 3, I'm much more interested in shooting stuff than I am in watching a desperate dive for sales in the name of corporate diversity. If a company wants to make a character in a game, gay, then that's fine. Unfortunately, it's unlikely they'll avoid: Making an issue of it, being ludicrously stereotypical (camp men, butch woman etc.), or planting gay woman in the game simply to appeal to straight guys who want to see polygonal woman kissing.

I couldn't agree more with DCFC Fan, the real issue we come up against is really online. The best thing Microsoft could do to help 'gaymers' out (someone shoot the person who came up with that) would be to add racist/homophobic to the bad feedback you can send someone on Live.

Yeah I'm not fond of the "gaymer" thing...Why does everything have to have a label? Eeesh.

I agree, Julian. Sorry, noticing "two marines holding hands" would be like when friends used to tell me how awesome anti-aliasing was to eliminate "stair stepping" on walls and such in games. My response being...I'm WAY too busy shooting people to notice if a starcase is a teensy bit jaggy. :)

LMAO, "gaymers."

(I'm easily amused)

Guys you're not realizing that any game that has a homosexual male lead (in a non comical role) will not sell. Think about it: "Hey what do you think of X game starring a homosexual?" "Phhht that game is for fags." They don't make these games because they hate gays, they don't make them because they won't sell.

Look at it this way. I'm not gay, and as such, I would immediately be turned off to purchasing any game where I would see gay themes in. The majority of Americans, I think, would feel the same way. There is not enough of a market for games of that type, and expecially with ever increasing development costs associated with the next-gen consoles, developers of "gay" videogames would never recoup their development losses.

Who cares

I'm not black, and I would be totally turned off playing a game where the characters are black. And nobody's going to buy a game with black characters in it except black people.

Yeah,... sounds bigoted when you replace "gay" with "black", doesn't it?

This isn't the 1950's people! Get over yourselves thinking that your way of life is the only acceptable way of life! Join us in the 21st century and LOSE YOUR BIGOTED WAYS.

James, I have to agree somewhat with the posts above. Skin color is just that...skin deep (barring cultural differences). Sexual identity, however, cuts to the heart of how many people view themselves and affects them as a result of the cultural norms for their gender. And I don't really disagree with those norms by and large.

I really don't see any reason for having a game with a gay lead character (other than to be in your face about it). It's about the games not the social commentary. I really see no need to drag my personal life into my games anymore than I'd like to see the behavior exhibited in most games (killing, etc) reflected in the real world.

no gay characters from xbox 360? Please! The must not even look at every game, they forgot Makoto from enchanted arms, hes a gay among gays..

Ummm...My XBOX LIVE TAG is THEGAYGAMER and I of course do not appreciate the underlying meaning of this post. you should see the hatred and darn right hatred for me when I get online just for my name, it is hard for me to even play team games without my own teammates killing. but i will stay strong for the gay gamers of the world.

So, how would you know if a character in a game was gay? Think of Master Chief, he could be gay. He's never hit on a woman, or kissed anyone.. There is no evidence that he is gay or straight, he's just a character. What was the last game that you played that focused on a characters heterosexuality? Probably Leisure Suit Larry, and that's about it.. Being Gay, I wouldn't play that game, but if a funny game like that came out where the main character was gay, I would play that. I think it would be funny..

What I'm trying to say is that video games are never going to force homosexuality into them where they don't fit. I think you'll eventually start to see games like Leisure Suit Larry appeal to the gaymers, and things like Fable allowing you to marry another man, but I think being worried about Marines in Halo holding hands is indicative of the homophobia that protrudes the video game community. Does a Marine have to be holding another man's hand to make him gay? Believe it or not, there are a good amount of gays in the military (which is stupid, as I see it, they don't want you, they don't care about you, screw them, they can fight on their own), but there are also a larger amount of gays in Law Enforcement. If a game isn't centered around an intamate relationship between two people, there won't and shouldn't be homosexuality forced into it.

And I agree with the others that the online homophobic comments are annoying.. We get it, you're "straight", the whole world knows. We wouldn't want you anyway, you're not pretty enough.

eric

The only time that I see sexual preference as being of interest in a game is when that game is an RPG. The best RPGs offer both homo and hetero options, so it’s not really that big of a deal.
In terms of on-line gaming, I’m a married heterosexual, but I welcome anyone looking for a safe gaming environment. Anyone one who uttered anything derogatory would be immediately complained against, given bad feedback and kicked from my server.

James,

Like I said, there is not enough of a market for "gay" themed games. You can replace "gay" with "black" all you want, but your point is moot, because there sure are a lot more people out there of African descent than there are homosexuals. There simply are not enough video game purchasing homosexuals to warrant games geared to their demographic. (btw: "black" is not PC, so if you want to express to everyone how '21st Century' you are, you might want to refrain from its usage, and instead use "African", "African American", or many of the other PC terms out there)

no the important point that i've learned is that it's not about the characters and their backgrounds that sell games. it's about whether a game is fun, and that's really all that gamers (and gaymers) care about in the end. yeah there will be those who get hung up on other issues, and won't want to have the game for fear of being called a fag by their friends.

we've already seen that in the US and the world just because things have 'gay' in it, doesn't mean it's doomed to failure. just look at the barrage of movies with gay main characters and the increasing number of tv shows with gays in them.

you may claim that you don't want a gay lead character, but chances are you've played one of the games with gay characters in them, and either didn't notice or didn't care because the game was good. all i care about is that the story is interesting and the game is fun.

i certainly didn't play King's Quest IV or Tomb Raider because they were somewhat pioneering in having women lead characters.

Proove that Master Cheif aint a fudge packer.....

he could b gay.....

just because he aint IN YOUR FACE BIATCH gay dusent mean he aint gay....

Sexuality dus NOT need to be shown in games.... y the hell should it... i dont care if there gay, strait or likes pigs asses....

would u prefer it ses in the intro of games.... "the main charecter loves the cock" or " the main charecter is a muff diver".... just to make sure that the people who NEED to kno are satisfied....

sexuality is shown constantly in games, and it will always be. it's part of life. it's just maybe not always as obvious as people might think. Link and Princess Zelda, as an example. PS3 and generations as another example.

it _has_ to be in games, because it helps defines characters and drive their motives. it never has to come out in the credits and spell it out as Keef has so eloquently done, but it helps add flavor to the game, just as in life. in some cases, it adds humor to a game, in others, it explains their personality and why they'd be willing to do certain things. you're generally never playing the character that's gay, unless you're playing a game like Fable or the Sims, where you're given a choice, but it's eventually inevitable, as designers look to add more depth to their stories and new interesting gameplay.

if you're not afraid to learn more, wikipedia has a very nice article about it, where they go through some of the characters such as Vamp from MGS2 to the references in GTA:SA.

to answer the questions about the audience, you're excluding women. there are a lot of straight women who have an interest in gay male characters, just as many men have no problems, with lesbian characters. in fact, there is an very large number of female artists who draw gay comics.

to further address it, there have been games with major characters who were gay, that have sold well, such as Shadow Hearts:Convenant. i'm not sure how well Fear Effect 2 sold, but it had an entire lesbian sub-plot.

#26 - FYI, Mr. I'll Correct Your Terminology.

Not all "black" people are from Africa, and are hence not all African-Americans. In case you haven't noticed, people with dark pigment in their skin come from many continents.

The real downfall of the country is coming from ignorant, closed minded and ultimately threatened by anything different than themselves.

Again, my best defense is a good offense. If someone brings up "gay" negatively, I'll go into a random very sexually explicit homosexual rant and it usually runs them off.

28 - While I agree that sexuality doesn't need to be in games, why is it that I have to look at big jiggly tits every time I play half of the games out there. No, it doesn't affect the game, but I don't wanna see it any more than you wanna see two guys fighting with their junk out.

So while sexuality does not need to be in games, in lends emotion to it and helps it become relateable. I agree we won't really see many, if any, gay themed games.

The original question posed by the article was posed to gay gamers was "Is there enough diversity on the 360?" My answer is "Yes, but..." Yes, but there could always be more.

I don't want a "gay game". But what I do want, is diversity and respect in games. Would I identify with a game more if I ran into an NPC or fellow gamer that I identify with? Maybe? Many other demographics complain that there aren't enough representation of many minorities in games, whether the minority is a racial group, sexuality association, more non-DOA jiggle fest girls.

In my humble opinion, Samus Aran was one of, if not THE greatest female hero of all time. She didn't need big breasts, an anorexic figure and a fringy two piece bikini with an oversized hat to kick ass.

SO -- I'll agree to support no gay characters in video games, if you support my no large breasted, whoreish, schoolgirl fetish characters... WAIT, that's like half of the games out there.

If there is going to be sexually tinged gaming, you can't be hypocritical about it. Either accept it all or denounce it all. The fact is that most of the world is so permeated with sex EVERYWHERE, that people need to get over their residual WASP-y hang ups about sexuality.

#30

You aren't correcting anyone's terminology. You are making yourself look like an idiot. I didn't say to call them African-American, I made the point to call them something more PC, and used that as an example (Hence my insertion of the "or any of the other many PC terms out there") Take your elitest attitude elsewhere. Furthermore, do you think you are doing the gay community any justice by grossing people out/making them uncomfortable by getting overly sexually explicit when you feel you need to defend the gay community? No, on the contrary, you are only further alienating them. Way to go! Why would you attack someone who already clearly thinks poorly of the homosexual community by doing something that would further reinforce their negative feelings?

Back onto the topic, sexuality as a whole should not be the topic of a game. Fable, in my opinion, handled the matter in the best way possible. (By making the sexual orientation of the character an option, and not having it be an integral part of the storyline)

As a matter of record,... this question was posed to gay gamers.

If you are NOT gay, you are NOT qualified to answer the question. And you have no business whatsoever speaking for the gay community. You have NO IDEA what it means to be gay and the hardships that homosexuals face on a daily basis.

Who the f*** cares about gay characters in games anyway??? I just want to be able to hold hands in public without fear of being ridiculed or getting my ass kicked. Not to mention, marriage rights.

I'm so sick of breeders spouting their sorry ass opinions on homosexuality when they have absolutely no idea what they're talking about.

Never heard the term gaymer before but since I am one I suppose, I'll give my two cents.

I don't care if gays are represented in video games, it's really not a huge concern of mine. It makes me chuckle when I see one though and I do enjoy poking fun at the stereotypes that the developer's stick in there, or the secret innuendos.

Hate to burst your little high horse bubble, but the term "black" is acceptable. Oprah said so.
And she's the queen of the United States.

Yeah, I watch Oprah. Is that so shocking? Heh.

I agree that the first thing Microsoft should do would be to get rid of the racism/homophobia on Xbox Live.

As for gay characters in videogames: I agree that a game shouldn't focus on the "gayness" of its characters - I wouldn't want homosexuality to become a gimmick. But it would be nice to see some more unique characters in video games, as opposed to the constant stream of shallow archetypes. And yes, that would include gay characters.

As it is now, developers seem to be actively avoiding homosexuality in video games. Look at "Army of Two." EA is hyping it as a super-innovative project, yada yada - but try asking them if the main characters are gay. "No. Definitely not. Not at all. Stop asking." I would have way more respect for EA if they just said "Yeah...so?" It would show that they were committed to adding an extra layer of depth to their characters - taking chances with their characters, and making them more than just shallow archetypes. That would be truly innovative.

32 - The reason I go off on a disgusting rant and "alienate" someone is if they attack me first, whether xbox live or not. I've been attacked physically and verbally and I won't put up with it in the past so and am not going to start now.

Generally, reasoning with ingorant bigots doesn't work. Respect is mutual and I give what I get. I've had enough bible beating self righteous people waving picket signs, yelling hateful things at me when I'm out with my young nieces. I can't tell you how many concerts and events I've been to where I have to cross a picket line of demonstrator's preaching hate, showing photographs of murdered gays and lesbians, saying it was "God's way". Oh and have you been to a funeral that's being picketed? That's classy. And it doesn't stop at funerals of GLBT. Haven't you heard about the picketing of military funerals in the last couple years, just because of their policies regarding homosexuality in the military.

So yes, I will defend myself, even if it comes to saying horrible things that would make my own mother cry with shame. But when it comes to people who believe they are righteous and Jebus is behind them, and get in my face, I'm obviously not going to be able to reason with them and change their mind. Should I ignore it and take it? Pacifism is an option, I choose to live a little louder than that.