Feminists upset over "Fat Princess" video game

[Aragorn]

Complete Yahoo Games article here.

Feminists cry foul over Fat Princess
Does Sony's cartoony castle game cross the line?

She's plump, powerful and ready to cause more controversy than "SuperSize Me."

She's Fat Princess, the star of Sony's upcoming video game of the same name. Debuting at last week's E3 expo, the colorful Fat Princess is a capture-the-flag game with a twist: you can thwart capture attempts by locking the once-thin princess in a dungeon and stuffing her full of cake, thereby increasing her girth and making her harder for your enemies to haul back to home base.

.....

Over at Shakesville, however, writer Melissa McEwan cuts to the chase, telling Sony she's "positively thrilled to see such unyielding dedication to creating a new generation of fat-hating, heteronormative ---holes."

Sony has yet to issue an official response, although Joystiq did receive a particularly informative update from James Green, Fat Princess' lead art director, who clued gamers in on the origins of the game:


"Does it make it better or worse that the concept artist (who designed the look, characters, everything) is a girl?"

.....

 

[Gepard]

How in the living frak is this "heteronormaitve"? It's a fat princess! What does that specifically have to do with heterosexuality? And" fat-hating?" Making her fat is good! If anything, that's counter to traditional roles. Jesus.

 

[Roger Wilco]

How in the living frak is this "heteronormaitve"? It's a fat princess! What does that specifically have to do with heterosexuality? And" fat-hating?" Making her fat is good! If anything, that's counter to traditional roles. Jesus.

Yeah, sounds like this "feminist" is projecting her own stereotypes on other people.

 

[TGTheodore]

Pro or con, I can't believe anyone is just plain STUPID enough to create a game like this.

I'd say a few execs missed a few meetings, especially at the conceptual and naming levels.

--Ted

 

[Hermiod]

Can we ban the word "heteronormative" please ? Those using it might have had good intentions to begin with but like most attempts at equality it's being abused.

Feminists have been so busy giving themselves a bad name that they've now started dragging down those who want equality for LGBT people as well ?

 

[Rii]

Change it to Fat Prince and then cry misandry?

 

[Hermiod]

Change it to Fat Prince and then cry misandry?

No such thing. It's impossible to hate or discriminate against men.

 

[Rii]

Pro or con, I can't believe anyone is just plain STUPID enough to create a game like this.

I'd say a few execs missed a few meetings, especially at the conceptual and naming levels.

--Ted

There are many interesting PSN titles presently available and in development. So far as I'm aware, only Fat Princess has its own thread here. I'd say the name has worked out well for them.

 

[Small White Car]

Change it to Fat Prince and then cry misandry?

Considering that 90% of U.S. citizens with eating disorders are women, I doubt that your idea will strike quite so close to home.

As for the rest of you defending this game, how many of you are overweight women who get teased about their weight?

Anyone? If you identify yourselves I'll take your opinion seriously. Until then, though, I kind of have to doubt anything you have to say about this, least of all the opinion that "there's nothing wrong with this."

 

[Hermiod]

Anyone? If you identify yourselves I'll take your opinion seriously. Until then, though, I kind of have to doubt anything you have to say about this, least of all the opinion that "there's nothing wrong with this."

I'm not saying there's nothing wrong with it. I'm criticising the incorrect use of the term "heteronormative". This video game has nothing to do with sexuality, hetero, homo or otherwise.

 

[Small White Car]

I'm not saying there's nothing wrong with it. I'm criticising the incorrect use of the term "heteronormative". This video game has nothing to do with sexuality, hetero, homo or otherwise.

Which is why I said:

As for the rest of you defending this game

I leave it up the the individual to decide if that applies to them or not. For the record, I wasn't counting you in that group, so I'm sorry you seem to think I thought so.

 

[Hermiod]

I leave it up the the individual to decide if that applies to them or not. For the record, I wasn't counting you in that group, so I'm sorry you seem to think I thought so.

Fair enough.

One could argue that a video game where the hero is an overweight woman is a positive thing, but I wouldn't have called it "Fat Princess" any more than I'd call God of War "Angry Muscular Bloke".

Edit - actually, on reading the Wikipedia entry for the game, I can't really defend it much at all since the levels seem to be food themed and the overweight royal does not seem to be the hero of the game.

 

[Small White Car]

Edit - actually, on reading the Wikipedia entry for the game, I can't really defend it much at all.

lol - Yeah, I get the impression that some people think this is some kind of Disney cartoon where we're all going to learn something about ourselves.

Even though it made fun of fat people, the movie "Shallow Hal" tried to make the point that it was wrong to, uhm...laugh at "Shallow Hal." So that was a little confusing, but I give them points for sort of trying.

This one doesn't seem to have any redeeming side, which is what I think some people assume it must have, which is why they want to say "it's not so bad."

EDIT: I did want to point out how the game can be sexist though...other media (like movies) is consumed by all types of people, but video games are PRIMARILY played by young males. Coincidentally enough, overweight women go though the hardest part of their lives when they are exposed daily to...young males.

In other words, I give it good odds that this game will mostly be played by young males who often make fun of young women in the real world.

If adults played this game I wouldn't have much problem with it. Adults are adults. They can keep their private lives to themselves and their mouths shut at work. It's teenagers,however, that are going to go to school the next day and call someone a 'fat cow' to their face, so it does seem wrong to make a game like this that's aimed at that age-range of people.

It's kind of like selling booze to 9-year olds. It's not that booze is wrong, but I feel this is a very wrong medium to be exploring this.

 

[Hermiod]

This one doesn't seem to have any redeeming side, which is what I think some people assume it must have, which is why they want to say "it's not so bad."

I can't disagree with you on that. The actual gameplay mechanics seem to have a fair bit of innovation to them but the theme is not the greatest.

 

[Gepard]

...any more than I'd call God of War "Angry Muscular Bloke".

I dunno; I rather like that name.

 

[Arrqh]

EDIT: I did want to point out how the game can be sexist though...other media (like movies) is consumed by all types of people, but video games are PRIMARILY played by young males.

This is actually false. 40% of gamers are female and 20% of gamers are teenage boys.

 

[Sheliak]

I stuffed my bride so full of beer and cake and fish & chips, when I carried her over the threshold, I had to make two trips.

 

[Hermiod]

EDIT: I did want to point out how the game can be sexist though...other media (like movies) is consumed by all types of people, but video games are PRIMARILY played by young males.

This is actually false. 40% of gamers are female and 20% of gamers are teenage boys.

This is true, the average age of gamers increases every year and the percentage of women playing games has grown a great deal in the last few years thanks mainly to Nintendo and the growing popularity of casual gaming and games on mobile phones.

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

This "game" is in rather poor taste. I'm sort of on the side of the feminists.

 

[Hermiod]

This "game" is in rather poor taste. I'm sort of on the side of the feminists.

Poor taste is one thing, waffling on about it being "heteronormative" is another. It kind of suggests that the author has no idea what the word means.