If it were only a joke, we could laugh and move on -- but it's not a joke. It's time to rethink how far the kitsch fun-factor of gaming fashion can actually go. J!NX is cool, Hot Topic gets a little more commercial and the belt-buckle idea was kinda neat a year ago. But now we've been slapped with Dolce and Gabbana's atrocious $175 Mario shirt and spanked with the unbelievably awful NES Advantage belt buckle. Gamers already have a lot of stigma to overcome as is, this isn't ironic fashion, it's ugly. On the other hand, if fashion is cyclical, then we passed way beyond bad and are on the breakthrough of respectable gaming fashion. No idea what that will look like.
If it were only a joke, we could laugh and move on -- but it's not a joke. It's time to rethink how far the kitsch fun-factor of gaming fashion can actually go. J!NX is cool, Hot Topic gets a little more commercial and the belt-buckle idea was kinda neat a year ago. But now we've been slapped with Dolce and Gabbana's atrocious $175 Mario shirt and spanked with the unbelievably awful NES Advantage belt buckle. Gamers already have a lot of stigma to overcome as is, this isn't ironic fashion, it's ugly. On the other hand, if fashion is cyclical, then we passed way beyond bad and are on the breakthrough of respectable gaming fashion. No idea what that will look like.
Reader Comments (17)
Posted: Dec 2nd 2006 7:15PM (Unverified) said
That's funny, we blogged about this yesterday. Our conclusion: retro & irony only go so far, and then you're just being stupid.
They're charging $50 for the damn thing too.
Reply
They're charging $50 for the damn thing too.
Posted: Dec 2nd 2006 8:07PM IcedEagle said
Speaking of gamer fashion...
http://store.valvesoftware.com/productshowcase/productshowcase_HL2HeadCrabHat.html
Reply
http://store.valvesoftware.com/productshowcase/productshowcase_HL2HeadCrabHat.html
Posted: Dec 2nd 2006 8:13PM (Unverified) said
I have to admit, there's something fun about being part of an underground hobby. Watching that hobby get progressively more mainstream takes some of the uniqueness of my identity as a gamer away. That said, trying to recapture that "fringe feeling" by becoming an eXtreme gamer seems fairly ridiculous. I game because I enjoy it, not because I'm pretending to be a rebel.
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Posted: Dec 2nd 2006 8:33PM (Unverified) said
For $50, it had better be a working NES Advantage.
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Posted: Dec 2nd 2006 8:43PM (Unverified) said
Pretty funny - These crack us up too - Funny T-Shirts - TShirtHub.com - Um,
We Like T-Shirts.
Reply
We Like T-Shirts.
Posted: Dec 2nd 2006 8:58PM (Unverified) said
...It looks like it is once again up to me to rule the world and guide mankind into a future or sensibility and logic.
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Posted: Dec 3rd 2006 8:22AM (Unverified) said
wow i just remembered when controllers had name Nes advantage NES Max etc etc
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Posted: Dec 3rd 2006 6:18AM (Unverified) said
A Wii-mote could potentially make a great belt buckle.
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Posted: Dec 3rd 2006 6:19AM (Unverified) said
Also @5
Thanks for that link, dude. I think I have just found my brother the greatest Christmas gift ever.. (He has sort of a weird fetish for head crabs.)
Reply
Thanks for that link, dude. I think I have just found my brother the greatest Christmas gift ever.. (He has sort of a weird fetish for head crabs.)
Posted: Dec 3rd 2006 11:30AM (Unverified) said
What? That's hawt. Who doesn't want to walk around with a gigantic belt buckle sticking out in front of them - pulling their pants down, getting caught on doors, making it impossible to stand close to a counter-top. I guess the plus side is that it shields your most vulnerable area, but I'd have to imagine that wearing it would invoke others to really try hard to kick you in the balls. At least I'd try really hard to kick you in the balls.
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Posted: Dec 4th 2006 2:28AM (Unverified) said
I also blogged about it a few days ago (in Portuguese, though). I still think Nintendo should make a Wii-mote version and use it for a remake of X-Man.
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Posted: Dec 4th 2006 2:34PM (Unverified) said
I really thought this was a joke. Who the hell would want to look like theirs is that small?
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