THE iDOLM@STER > THE iDOLM@STER 2
iDOLM@STER 2!!
KIRBYSIM:
--- Quote from: blake steel on January 28, 2011, 03:50:50 am ---I have to agree with Scotty on this case. I mean where the hell do people get the idea that having male idols in im@s is a bad idea!?
I personally don't mind the fact that they put Project Jupiter into the game. In fact I think it was a pretty good idea. I sure as hell wouldn't destroy any of my im@s figures over something silly like that. Besides, I value the im@s figures I got. XD
--- End quote ---
From the same focus group that thought Gal Gun was a good idea.
****
On an unrelated note, looks like the March issue of Gemaga that comes out tomorrow will have a 12-page special on iMAS2. :-O
Clear Blue:
--- Quote from: KIRBYSIM on January 28, 2011, 06:33:50 am ---On an unrelated note, looks like the March issue of Gemaga that comes out tomorrow will have a 12-page special on iMAS2. :-O
--- End quote ---
O_O
*rushes off to the closest Jap-book shop and orders the magazine*
Elixir:
There's certainly a very positive way of looking at it, but you're ignoring the part where they want to have sex with these cute and innocent prepubescent girls.
Please bear with me:
While I admire the strong family systems in Japan, there is a downside. The men are at work all the time so mom is in charge of the household and over-intrusive parenting can lead to problems with the child's interpersonal relationships later in life.
The needs of the child to individuate as a separate person are ignored as mom's become over-bearing, creating a nation of men who on the one hand have a strong work ethic, but on the other hand grow an intense resentment of women, as evidenced by Japan's love of depravity in porn. Alternatively, they acquire mother complexes (usually unintentionally, and it isn't a bad thing per se).
Women are objects and one cannot have true intimacy with an object, plus the idea that a woman is a sexual being is threatening, so they end up destroying women with horrendous porn, be it robbing a child of her innocence with the loli stuff (quick digression: my favorite loli titles I spotted at the DVD shop was one with an 8 year old girl called "Sweet, Sweet Candy" and one with an 11 year old called "She's Only 11 Years Old!") or from the tentacle rape and hentai which has evolved into women growing breasts onto their breasts, spewing milk everywhere then being thrown into a blender (or so I hear).
The effect over-bearing parents has on girls is eating disorders and low self-esteem. Put that with a culture of women being silenced and unable to assert their own needs, throw in some passive-aggressiveness (Japanese hate confrontation) and you get a cycle of pain and ungratifying relationships.
I don't mean to speak disparagingly of the people of Japan who I respect with, work with and have lived amongst, and I'm not saying that no one in Japan is having a healthy relationship, I'm sure plenty are, but problems like the lolita thing do not occur in a vacuum. I am amazed everyday by all the stuff I see my elementary school kids doing after school (piano, hockey practice, cram school) but I also see these little girls and little boys with a desperate look in their eyes when they make one mistake and pressures like that have a price.
So how does Namco Bandai fit into all of this? Well, the majority (I would say, for merely a guess, at very least 95%) of iDOLM@STER's fanbase is male. The game itself derives from the eroge (erotic game) visual novel sub-genre, which is usually just text and voice. The popularity of the 360 version came, mostly because of Go My Way and the graphics, which is something that hasn't been seen before.
Fast forward to middle of last year. A PV for the second game comes out, excitement is strong, everyone is loving the new graphics and especially Miki's new hair. Then comes...
Male idols...
Iori isn't playable...
Ritsuko, Ami and Azusa aren't playable... (they're lesser popular in comparison to Iori, but still)
Over the years, people have become associated with these 4 unplayable characters, and what seems like the removal of their content in placement of male dialogue/voice/whathaveyou. There's been nicovideo MADs going on for years, a plethora of fanart all over pixiv and the internet in general, and these characters have been, well, established.
So when a proper sequel is announced, indirectly called "iDOLM@STER 2", you'd expect all of the characters to be playable, along with the additional characters from the PSP and DS versions, right?
People are pissed off because Namco is trying to cash-in, once again, as per usual, to an audience which is not the iDOLM@STER audience. This audience is "female". Then again it really comes as no surprise to me, given Namco's track record with DLC across all of their games. Of course, if the shoe fits, people will wear it. I know I've done so for way too much of L4U's content.
Katsuyuki-P:
--- Quote ---*Really long text cuthere*
So when a proper sequel is announced, indirectly called "iDOLM@STER 2", you'd expect all of the characters to be playable, along with the additional characters from the PSP and DS versions, right?
People are pissed off because Namco is trying to cash-in, once again, as per usual, to an audience which is not the iDOLM@STER audience. This audience is "female". Then again it really comes as no surprise to me, given Namco's track record with DLC across all of their games. Of course, if the shoe fits, people will wear it. I know I've done so for way too much of L4U's content.
--- End quote ---
Not so much about the DS part. Especially considering the DS girls are from 876 and not 765. Though SP does end with Project Fairy joining 765 (though more rejoining or such on Miki's part).
I'm kind of curious as to whose post this is you're responding to though, Elixir. Perhaps I'll find out soon enough.
I know I'm not really the brightest of people sometimes, but I can't really see what the Japanese lifestyle which the unfortunate implications and then going into stuff about hentai and then somehow ending with Namco trying to aim at a different audience. Somehow I get the feeling that the begining bits of your argument and the end don't really match up.
Unless someone can explain it in a... simpler way. Geh.
On another note, I'm calling bull3&*t on Azusa, Ami, and Ritsuko being not as popular! =P
Edit: Apologies if I sounded like an ass there, but I really don't get what you're... you know, getting at. Your argument gets a little... lost if you add supporting details that do not appear to be related to the main argument. Sorry.
Elixir:
I guess I'll have to dumb it down. I didn't want to, but okay.
Basically, the way Japanese view females heavily reflects on influence, from a consumer standpoint. The acquisition and "ownership" of females is very tempting. The last 20 years have seen fashions come and go, but the loli boom has been the most prominent. iM@S practically has every fetish under the sun, and widens it even further with accessories like glasses, cat ears and stuff like that. Even the characters are catering to specific types. Tsundere, sophisticated, attention whore, twins, tomboy, poor girl, etc etc.
This all combined with a game that hasn't really been seen before, a hybrid between visual novel, rhythm game, and online competition really sold the console version. Word of mouth really helped as well, actually I know a guy who didn't play games for over 10 years and only got back into it after seeing an iM@S kiosk playing Go My Way.
A good majority of iM@S's fanbase are male, and this is evidently a game directed towards males alone. So what place do male idols have?
Male idols are, from what I can see, are completely unwanted. Extra used disc space. They don't cater to the fanbase. They've removed (or didn't bother to create) the routes of idols which were previously playable, and within the timespan between the original game's release and the sequel, they've released other games with other idols which will not be making an appearance.
I can understand the DS characters not being in. Hell they pretty much dismissed Dearly Stars and fired the guy who created it, if that doesn't say something I don't know what will. But despite this, they have still established fans and fans of prior iM@S games have changed their favourites to DS characters. I can think of at least 2 different friends that are disappointed that Ryo is not in the sequel.
There was also a petition to remove the male idols from the game, but obviously, Namco's too proud to have them removed. Namco is also guilty of doing this to the western Tales Of fanbase. Establish fans, then ignore them.
So, to sum it up: male characters have little to no place in a male's game. Sorry if my English is a little flaky. This is the only conclusion that makes sense to me. Otherwise, I don't understand the backlash either.
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