Ryu_Niiyama

Ryu_Niiyama

Astrophysics. Perfume. Taiko. =Life

Comments 656

Re: Almost Half of PlayStation Gamers Are Women

Ryu_Niiyama

That likely doesn’t even include the those of us that play on systems owned by male family members and friends. We have always been around but many women weren’t going to make the investment in a console or hardware unless we had to. I am still the only one that maintains a library and buys consoles among my friends but we all play. My buddies just play what their boyfriends/husbands/sons/brothers bring into the house and on occasion buy their own games.

Many of them use their ipad/phone/non gaming class pc as their gaming rig because it is a multi function device. It’s the willingness to buy a dedicated console that has always been low.

Plus because women often play a lot of games that have fallen out of favor with men and are deemed casual (a game is a game, y’all) they are dismissed. The woman that plays the sims or candy crush or a visual novel is just as valid as the guy that plays COD. Also the take off of character creation made gaming more inclusive silently and now we have more and more games starring not only women, but varied women instead of the designed for heterosexual male gaze which has made gaming more appealing to invest in. Social media/online gaming has also helped female gamers find each other.

Socialization also plays a role. Video games under goes an image change like every 5 years or so. Arcades were for everyone young in the late 70s (obviously pinball is included) but in a date night sorta way, then the 80s sorta shifted to it being teenage boys, the home consoles were family consoles that slowly shifted to “boy’s toys” in the late 80s early 90s, then it shifted again as pc and early online games became varied to appeal to girls to mixed effect and now its in a mix space. There is still tons of male hostility (this comment section for instance) and doubt towards female gamers (nobody qualifies male gamers) but now women can more easily game with friends or the younger generations don’t care. Plus it helps that many women that are gamers get their daughters into it (thank you mom!) more now than ever.

Re: Rumoured PS Plus Game Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown Announced as PS4 Exclusive

Ryu_Niiyama

I don’t know how I feel about this. I mean I will buy it day 1 so let’s get that out of the way. VF is my favorite fighting franchise.

However:

Pros: VF is back! Please let this revitalize the franchise.
Stage redesigns!
New music!

Cons: Ps4 only (this should be multiplat)
Not feeling the new character models and terrified of what they are gonna do to Vanessa.
New UI looks weird (this is minor)
Doesn’t look like any moveset or balance changes...
Seriously SEGA, I own 4 copies of this game already. Where is VF6?

Re: Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown Is a Serious Step Up in Graphics Comparison Trailer

Ryu_Niiyama

I don’t know how I feel about this. I mean I will buy it so let’s get that out of the way. VF is my favorite fighting franchise.

However:

Pros: VF is back! Please let this revitalize the franchise.
Stage redesigns!
New music!

Cons: Ps4 only (this should be multiplat)
Not feeling the new character models and terrified of what they are gonna do to Vanessa.
New UI looks weird (this is minor)
Doesn’t look like any moveset or balance changes...

Seriously SEGA, I own 4 copies of this game already. Where is VF6?

Re: Make It Count with Empire of Sin's First Paid Expansion

Ryu_Niiyama

@LordSteev I have been playing on gamepass and while it still needs more polish I do like it so far. I’ve taken over two territories. My only issue is I think I broke a storyline quest, but the rest of the game still works so I have not been inclined to restart.

It is a very dense game though. Lots of systems to maintain. But if sims and tactics are your thing, you will find this enjoyable. I’m looking forward to the new content (and a price drop on Switch so I can pick it up).

If you have a gamepass system and a sub I recommend you try it there.

Re: Random: Cyberpunk 2077 Fans are Finding and Restoring Cut Romance Options Still Buried in the Game

Ryu_Niiyama

@OrigamiCrane I do think context is key. Did they cut the content because they ran out of time? Or did they cut it because they decided this was the narrative focus they wanted to take?

Unlike books, games hold “rough drafts” in the form removed content and depending on the context one can react a certain way. I’ve not played cyberpunk so I will stick to bioware examples.

Ashley Williams had dialogue to romance a female shep at first and by ME3 kaiden will romance a male shep. If mods restored the Ashley Williams content I would cry foul because despite it being in my favor I would feel it would alter the character and again go to that neutral point that only works if you are bisexual. Note when I say cry foul I mean I would just ignore it, not that I would actually get mad. For Kaiden, I would take that as character evolution and also take into account how media evolves. Having non heterosexual options is still considered “pandering” by a lot of really hateful people rather that simply acknowledging that humans are more than the bubble they exist in. There are 7 billion of us, you are going to get a lot of permutations that one’s small (relatively speaking) life won’t acknowledge and many that see another worldview react with violence and anger. As such media is still an imperfect reflection (even for heterosexuals) of the human experience but when you have less chances to get it right it becomes exponentially important.

Case in point the “bury your gays”trope. When the majority of media shows homosexuals as unhappy and usually fated to have a violent end that hits harder than say a horror movie on one channel but a family sitcom on the next. For every show that has heterosexuals having a bad time there are many more that are positive so that one is given a more healthy view on society. Media doesn’t exist in a vacuum. From books to ads to the news to religion these things shape our world view and how we deal with others. The thing is media is skewed towards heterosexuals and not in an accurate way.

I don’t presume to speak for anyone but myself but I will say that your comment about why some people that are not heterosexual react a certain way requires context that you likely have not considered or have to deal with. Erasure is a thing. There is a difference between a bisexual and a homosexual and it is dismissive to assume otherwise. Hiding or even outright lying about one’s sexuality to fit in is a thing. Oppression and privilege granted by systemic hatred is a thing. And people get hurt over that or have their lives turned upside down by choices someone else makes. And each side has their own view point. I don’t advocate any type of violent reaction of course but people have a right to feel hurt, betrayed or wary and that is different than hatred.

There is a person (Statistically speaking more than a few, actually) in this world that hates me simply for breathing...that is real hatred and it is terrifying. Reactions I feel are more nuanced. That being said if we worried less about someone else’s life (within reason, don’t ignore the serial killer) so many of our conflicts will fade. But we don’t do that because it might upset our own worldview.

Re: Random: Cyberpunk 2077 Fans are Finding and Restoring Cut Romance Options Still Buried in the Game

Ryu_Niiyama

I will say one thing I like about some modern games is that they actually acknowledge sexual orientation instead of making everyone bisexual. The fact that there is a lesbian option actually put this game on my radar.

@OrigamiCrane I know you weren’t talking to me but as a female homosexual I would like to weigh in. I actually enjoyed that Cassandra was written as heterosexual. Primarily as her dialogue wasn’t neutral in the way that many games try to do that feels like all they did was change a pronoun. The lens of sexual attraction is bigger and more nuanced than that. As are the ways females and males are socialized and our own natural dispositions. And while I applaud any game that allows me to romance a female or that has npcs that are of varied orientations, that is due to lack of representation and not because I think a one size fits all method is the best approach. Often as a minority one has to get poor representation first so that it is first acknowledged that everyone isn’t actually in a hive mind and then you hope for actually well written representation later (which is sad, I agree but such is the monolith of “the majority”)

I loved that Cassandra was flattered, nervous that she led the player on/would damage their friendship but ultimately didn’t waver. That is not often done in media (general or otherwise) and there is still this horrible view that being a female homosexual is a phase, or if you meet a guy with supposedly all the qualities you are looking for, you can ignore that he is male (the “you just haven’t met the right guy” bs) without understanding that what is being casually implied is r a p e, as sexual contact with a male would be unwanted. And the everybody is bisexual option “I love someone for the person” is dismissive of homo- (and hetro ) sexuals as a whole. Which may be annoying to a hetrosexual if they even care but is erasure to a homosexual.

Especially in a world where you still have to be very, very guarded about your attraction/interest as there can be very harmful (sometimes fatal) consequences.

So while my Inquisitor pined for Cassandra and remained alone, it was wonderfully refreshing to see. Same with Sera, whom I hated as a person, but enjoyed her existence as a Lesbian (female homosexual). I love Briala and Celene for that reason as well despite how unbalanced their relationship can be. Josephine while gorgeous, was more the kind of woman I would like to be friends with (I felt as a diplomat and former bard she had too many skeletons in her closet).

Re: GreedFall - Spiders on the Cusp of RPG Greatness

Ryu_Niiyama

Just finished this a few days ago. Really fills the void for me looking for a ME:1/DA:O type experience. It is lacking in some ways that a bigger budget would have fixed, but the core game is solid and the factions surprising. I would love them to do a director’s cut later.

Re: Reaction: How Does It Keep Going Wrong for Big Game Launches?

Ryu_Niiyama

@3MonthBeef the public isn’t understanding. People lambasted Nintendo every time Iwata-dono announced a delay or change and they still complain now. Folks complained when metroid prime 4 development was restarted and they are still pestering platinum games over Bayo 3. Nintendo are just willing to stand their ground and explain to shareholders why they have to delay and ignore public backlash.

Re: Reaction: How Does It Keep Going Wrong for Big Game Launches?

Ryu_Niiyama

It goes wrong because shareholders, the accounting department and ceos don’t let middle/upper management and devs do their job on a realistic timeline. The public also puts pressure as well.

A lot of shareholders think it is worth the risk of PR backlash to chase money now. Which sorta works most of the time because usually consumers don’t rally this hard. It seems like it because of the internet but in general the average consumer either trades it in or keeps the game than going through hoops for a refund. Those that do are often acceptable losses. It’s like EA and micro transactions: for every boycott or pitchfork, 100 people are lined up to buy.

Same as every mid sized to large company.

For indies that is usually a “bit off more than they can chew” thing.

Re: The Next Mass Effect Game Teased, Liara Appears in Post-Trilogy Trailer with N7 Armour

Ryu_Niiyama

Considering that Liara has the potential to outlive everybody in Shepard’s crew (including Samara/Morinth given the age difference) it will be nice to see the series shift focus to her.

I do hope they do some kind of save state generator like with The Keep so that my Shepard’s romance with her remains intact. That being said, not even my favorite ME character can make me jump back in sight unseen. The series fell flat for me. And EAware is not Bioware of old. Still, convince me EAware.

Re: Reaction: PS5 Reveal Event Plays to Sony's Strengths

Ryu_Niiyama

Lots of remasters/remakes and timed exclusives means I'll be sitting out this launch. My launch purchase quota is 5 unique games that I'm interested in and I'm not seeing that. So far only interested in Horizon, Spiderman MM (once I get more clarification) and maybe ratchet and clank. Anything else I sorta liked I can get on my ps4... See you in 2023 Sony.

Re: Don't Worry, Your Horse Can't Die in Ghost of Tsushima

Ryu_Niiyama

I kinda liked that your horse could die (not easily mind you) in BOTW (and that the Horse God took you to task for it lol) as it meant that like your weapons and your life, resources were limited and precious. Really made the game feel more desolate.

Not a deal breaker for Tsushima but I feel that it kills some of the realism.

Re: Talking Point: Will You Be Buying Ghost of Tsushima?

Ryu_Niiyama

Got the CE preordered. There were some nice bits in the state of play but nothing that blew me away (combat looks a little slow and I don't care about the customization aspect-- that being said the b&w mode is my new favorite thing). Lucky for me I've been hankering for this game since it was first announced. It and paper mario are going to eat up some hours.

I will have to buy a new controller though. I am certain this will not be comfortable for me to play on a dualshock.