God of War: Ascension has manufactured a bit of a backlash in some circles for the name of one of its Trophies. The digital trinket pops shortly after you’ve finished bashing the brains out of one of the Furies, the aggressive trio of witches who form the lead antagonists of the game. After a particularly brutal fighting sequence, you earn an achievement named ‘Bros before Hos’.
At least you did. A brand new patch will alter the name of the reward to the much cleverer ‘Bros before Foes’, quashing any misplaced complaints of misogyny. “We have created and will soon push out a patch for God of War: Ascension that alters the title of one of the game Trophies,” developer Sony Santa Monica told Joystiq in a statement. “The text was offensive to some members of our community and impacted their enjoyment of the game.”
While we’ve got to give kudos to the outfit for responding to the complaints, we can’t help but feel that the reaction has been a little bit overwrought. God of War is a series that’s always thrived on controversy – let’s not forget that this is a franchise where you spend most of your time slaughtering Gods – so the Trophy title is clearly intended in the same silly spirit as the rest of the game. Furthermore, director Todd Papy recently took to NeoGAF to explain that one of the title’s female producers actually came up with the name for the trinket.
Still, we suppose if it really is offending people, then it’s best to just pull it out. Did you find the Trophy distasteful? Has Sony Santa Monica made the right decision to change it? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source joystiq.com]
Comments 21
I find it hilarious that so many had a problem over the name of a trophy. Overly sensitive people. And one of the biggest complainers was Adam Sessler, somebody who I have lost all respect for as the years have gone by. The guy is a complete joke and it sickens me that people still pay attention to him.
Killing innocent civilians and all of the gods they worship: No problem.
Killing every member of your family: No problem.
Having an orgy with six prostitutes: No problem.
Calling an immortal being a "Hoe": unacceptably offensive.
... Sigh ...
This is pathetic beyond all reason. Unbelievable.
Pretty sure I saw my first set of video game boobies playing GoW.... why is this even an issue?
Some reviewers actually gave Ascension a lower score because of that trophy. Kratos has killed a crap ton of men and gotten trophies for it and no one complained. I guess it's all fun and games, 'til a woman gets hurt.
People are never happy unless they're moaning about something.
I'm actually a little concerned, not so much by the trophy name, but by some people's strong reactions here. Honestly, there is a lot of devaluing of women in video game culture.
I'm okay with the trophy name (basically), because of the silly fun mentioned, it is God of War after all. That said, there is a fine line. It is definitely NOT COOL to casually talk about, for example, RAPING someone in a game. Some things in gaming culture really need to change. Just sayin'.
@bauckster It's not that, it's the fact that people are way too sensitive and blow things out of proportion. It was a harmless joke that was thought up by a woman. If she was fine with naming it "bro's before hoes", I think other people can suck it up and learn to deal.
@ThatOneBlackGuy: yeah, this particular instance is pretty questionable given the game involved and what it features other than the name of a silly trophy, but are you really trying to say that if one person in a given group is okay with a certain term used to describe themselves, all people in the same group should be okay with it no matter what? :/
@everyone: I understand that this is a touchy subject, but please, can we treat it with some respect for people who would indeed have had a problem with the trophy as it was originally titled? Going out of your way to be nasty to people in your comments here regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, handicap, etc. and so forth is against our Community Rules and will not be tolerated.
The trophies title really didn't bother me at all, but the overblown controversy about it led to the name being changed to something better anyway. The whole thing is ridiculous anyway, the people moaning about it could turn their attention to some of the real woes of the world that need addressing....GOW is a game that revels in offence....always has, always will.
@theblackdragon I could have worded that better, but when it comes to something like this then yes, yes they should. People these days will complain about the most meaningless things, and it's very pathetic.
It's actually somewhat similar to how a lot of women got upset about Fat Princess, then quieted down after it was revealed that the character and game concept were created by a woman.
People constantly say that women have no sense of humor, yet when a woman displays one, people get their panties in a bunch(Adam Sessler, IGN, etc.).
Well this is kinda overblown... Seriously, it's just a trophy name and really wasn't anything intended to devalue women.
@bauckster
Who here said they are ok with rape? We're talking about the name of a trophy in a game where a guy beats in the faces of all his enemies (male and female) and the thing people cry about is the word hoes? It is laughable to even try and defend that.
@Gamer83
My comment about the use of the term "rape" was simply meant to reflect that there is still a lot of sexism in gaming culture. I'm not implying that anyone here is okay with that. And I don't personally have an issue with the trophy name.
But seriously, like blackdragon says, let's just remember to be respectful, okay? One reason I haunt this site more than most is because people generally are cool and don't engage in flame wars. That is a good thing. Peace out, y'all!
@bauckster
Well, it didn't seem to me like anybody here was engaging in flame wars, I don't have anything against anybody who has posted about this article. I do however take issue with Sessler and I do think there are times the game community is overly sensitive about stupid stuff such as the name of a trophy, one that was meant in jest by the way. You say some things in gaming culture need to change and that's fine, you're entitled to your opinion. I on the other hand think some people in the gaming community need to get a sense of humor.
@Gamer83 Absolutely! I don't disagreee, and I don't think the things that we're talking about are mutually exclusive either.
Wait wait its ok to devalue women, show mass murder, be racist, show lots of violence on television and movies but we draw the line when it comes to games? Yes rape is ok as long as it is in a movie or tv show, or extreme violent could only be seen in movies but we bring the questions of morals and what is right and wrong when it comes to games. Smh... When did human became such hypocrites and pansies?
@Kayoss You're missing my point. It's not about being a "pansy." My point is that in some gaming communities the term "rape" is tossed around extremely casually. Here is a quote that kinda explains where I'm coming from:
"The difference between rape and murder is that there is no murder culture. By that, I mean our society has fully accepted murder as absolutely horrible crime. It’s (almost always) fully investigated and afterwards there are pretty much no questions like “Were they asking for it?” “What were they wearing?” “Did they ACTUALLY not want to die?”. It’s always taken seriously. There is rarely victim blaming or objectification. Rape is a different story." (taken from http://gamersagainstbigotry.org/2012/07/why-you-should-stop-saying-rape-casually-in-games/)
You don't have to agree with me. Personally I think it is never a term to be used lightly, as over half the instances of rape are never even reported. Thank you and good night.
Lord, folks are silly. Nobody should be offended by the title unless the offended consider themselves hos. In which case, they deserve to be ridiculed.
@Bauckster
I'm not disagreeing with you that rape is bad. But how come the word rape or the act of rape is ok to depict in movies and other media but when it's portrayed in games it's taboo? Either you ban it in all media or you don't. We can't just pick and choose when and where it can be used, then criticize about if we find it in other media somewhere else. Its the same thing with violence, murder, and racism. Either you ban it or you don't there are no middle ground with these sensitive subjects. Rape do get thrown around loosely but regardless of what it's meaning is, its still bad, but its the fact of life that unfortunately happens. But don't be a hypocrite about it and accept it in one media and bash it in another.
@Kayoss Okay, I should probably just let this go, but just to be clear. I completely agree with you that there should not be a double standard. I don't like the fact that violent video games for example, tend to get scapegoated for causing violence in the real world. There's no evidence to support that this actually happens.
Lookl, I'm a gamer, I play all kinds of games, including violent ones like God of War. I was referring to the casual use of the word "rape" in many gaming communities, not the depiction of it in games or any other media. The way the term is used among and between gamers is what I think is a problem. If somebody says to someone else after besting them in an online match, "I just raped you like a little girl" that is disturbing to me. Dude, I have a little girl. That s**t is not cool.
It is not the same thing as a movie or a game or a book, etc. exploring the ramifications of rape. I would be just as disturbed by a character in a movie or game saying "I want to rape you like a little girl." However, that doesn't mean the filmmaker or game designer thinks it is okay.
Sorry this thread got into a bit of a tangent, but I wanted to be clear. I am certainly no hypocrite as what we are talking about are 2 separate issues: the depiction of violence, etc in games (which I am fine with) vs. the casual use of rape language in a lot of gaming culture (which I am not fine with).
Peace.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...