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[AppleMIX]

Only when it clashes with the tone of the game (MGS V).

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

For those who want "fanservice" in all their games, why does titillation have to be everywhere in the media you consume? There's a plethora of porn online that you can just go masturbate to, why does it has to be everywhere?

I am of course assuming people are serious and I am taking their word at face value.

I think it's just fun to see a hot guy or girl once and a while. If it's not there, I'm fine.
For the porn part, I think it just "scratches a different itch." I guess.

 

[Intheflorsh]

This was too much.

But really, unless there's a good narrative context for it, any amount of fanservice feels sleazy and embarrassing.

 

[Durante]

I dislike out of place fanservice more than fanservice games in general. If you have a game which in general has solid designs then one character is super over sexualised that's way worse than games built around it.

I'm fine with it if I know what I'm getting in to. But Miranda's ass posing in Mass Effect 2 for example felt really out of place.

Yeah. I think this exemplifies my point about games which take themselves seriously featuring fanservice vs. games which don't.

 

[JordanN]

How I judge a game:

1. Are graphics good?
2. Is gameplay fun?

A game can have all the fan-service in the world and I wouldn't mind one bit if the above criteria is met. I actually prefer if #1 is at least met. Too many fanservice games that force you to look at low poly or pixelated models.

 

[rpmurphy]

I enjoy fanservice in games, but I would like to see more equality. I don't mean fewer sexy women, I mean more sexy guys.

What kind of sexy male designs are you looking for though? Considering male characters are of more in quantity overall and also display extremely varying levels of clothedness, are you looking for something or some kind of game in particular?

 

[Macka]

Yeah. After keeping up with the news for Fates, I really don't like where Fire Emblem is going as a series. Granted that's not just because of the fanservice, but it is contributing.

 

[MAX PAYMENT]

What is the definition of fan service?

 

[Steel]

A little bit of fanservice is perfectly ignorable. Hell even full fanservice is fine for me so long as it's only over a short period of time in-game, but when it comes up over and over again over a period of time then my face will be stuck in a cringe.

Like Quiet from MGS V. If she was only a character for two missions and didn't have the stupid as hell excuse for being skimpily dressed, I wouldn't have cared. But the moment that they explained why she has to have a minimum of clothes(Which, quite literally had me laughing out loud for a couple minutes), set her up in a cage for you to gawk at her, put her in the chopper when she's your companion and have her randomly take seductive poses in it, it just... Pure cringe and I definitely couldn't take anything in MGS V even vaguely seriously from that moment forward.

If a game doesn't take itself seriously at all, my tolerance for it goes up.

 

[EricDiesel]

Yes.

 

[Vlaphor]

I depends, but its almost never good in games that want me to take them seriously.

I probably should elaborate on what I said earlier with this in mind. If Last Of Us had a bunch of fanservice, it'd look weird and out of place and I probably wouldn't like it. Same with Walking Dead. Those games are trying to tell serious stories and they don't need the distractions.

Quiet is one of the least silly things in MGSV, a game that I cannot take seriously and I love that it is how it is. Same with most fighting games. I enjoyed the female character designs in MK9, but I can see how some people might think that they went too far. As for ass-slap-gate, I see no reason to remove it from Mika, when everything else is the same about her.

 

[Daemul]

It depends on what your definition of fanservice is. If you mean Tits and Ass then no it doesn't bother me, it gives me a good chuckle and makes me shake my head a bit sure, like Miranda's phenomenal ass shots, but it doesn't distract me from the game.

If by fanservice you mean nonsensical plot elements and story features added to a game in order to please a fanabse, then yes, that shit bothers, because it's awful 100% of the time.

 

[JMTHEFOX]

Unless it is depicted under aged kids, I have nothing against it.

 

[toastyToast]

I find it stupid in most cases but the gratuitousness of those crotch shots in Bayonetta had my laughing my ass off. There needs to be a good amount of humour to it.

 

[Swarna]

Assuming you're talking about cartoon boobs and ass because anime fans think that's all it means, yes, excessive amounts can be annoying and I likely won't be playing the game. It's great for when you have a game catering to weabs but too much of it will alienate wider appeal. I won't mind a little bit of sex appeal but it's not like it makes me like the game better or draws me to it. I'm not some prude, either, it just gets annoying/distracting when it's shoved down your throat like they assume you literally always need to see it.

In SFV, specifically, I want the game to garner as wide of an appeal as possible and forge a long-lasting, growing community for years to come (since I'm going to be playing it for a long time). So, yes, whatever Capcom is doing with regards to making the game more palatable I will support. I could have still tolerated SFV's level of fan service, for the record, even though I find Mika as a character stupid/annoying. God, her face is so punchable. The little chipmunk.

Anime used to be so cool for me when I was young. Nowadays, most of it is garbage. They really doubled down on the little girl panty shots for no reason and I'm clearly not the target audience anymore for the vast majority of its content. I'm obviously not the first to point this out but look at the anime avatar-to-post correlation in this thread. lol

 

[sn00zer]

Any fanservice in games bother me. Gravity Rush is probably the biggest offender for taking a really neat character and devolving it into OMG SHES IN A TOWEL! titulation.

 

[Ohmygoditsjrod]

Fanservice doesn't bother me one bit. Most of the time it's dumb and just makes me Crack a smile.

To all the people that come into this thread and mention masterbation. Do you actually think that when people play games and a fan service scene comes on that there first thought is "well I guess I better get my dick out?"

Can fan service not be enjoyed without getting horny or needing to relive oneself?

 

[Breads]

I don't know. The definition of fan service seems to vary from person to person.

I played a fantasy game recently where harpies and other female beast folk had exposed breasts. I don't think that counts. Binding of Isaac features naked children - I don't think that counts either. Apparently Street Fighter V had so much that it needed to be censored? I had no idea....

I don't count fantasy dress where both males and females are equally exposed to be titilating (think dark souls/ blood borne models without armor on in how not-for-sex-appeal the exposure is) ((Side note: I loathe boob armor... like in that Zarya pic. It makes no sense)). If I suddenly saw panty shots in TLOU then yeah I say that would be too much. New Vegas has strippers with cross-tape-pasties but that's in the context of drugs, alchohol, and debauchery anyway so it was theme appropriate... but for whatever reason people who don't play games like this says it's not appropriate but w/e. They are wrong. Which brings me to my main point.

This I do consider too much. What the point of this? I've played tons of rougelikes (classic definition, not today's loose definition). Never have I once thought to myself "you know what's missing? Large character portraits painfully framed to see titties drooping over the border". Looking at this once tells me all I need to know to inform myself of whether or not I should purchase this game.

The thing is though that this isn't made for me. I already have games for me. These are made to service a very specific user base and that in of itself doesn't bother me and I'd have to be some huge piece of shit to want to take that away from someone for my own personal reasons. I know what I'm getting myself into when I play a game. Fanservice, so much as it would actually bother me as a player, is rarely a surprise. In that sense the only time I ever found it too much was in Killer is Dead.

And MGSV to a lesser extent. I was expected to be ashamed of my words and deeds. I was not an I was told it's my fault for not being able to empathize with plant ninja snipers who need to wear their clothing to eat/ breathe (aka the 9000 year old demon in the 12 year old body defense).

 

[Lime]

I depends, but its almost never good in games that want me to take them seriously.

I'm curious, what did you think of Bloodlines and its sexualization?

Any fanservice in games bother me. Gravity Rush is probably the biggest offender for taking a really neat character and devolving it into OMG SHES IN A TOWEL! titulation.

That scene was so dumb and unnecessary. Super creepy.

 

[Eidan]

I find it fairly off putting, yeah.

 

[FanDeNintendo]

None. Actually, I like it and enjoy it.

 

[Arcayne]

Fanservice AND its intent is either uncomfortable or amusing to me.

For example, Quiet's design in MGSV is awkward and uncomfortable to watch. In contrast, R. Mika's design is amusing and fun to watch.

The intent of Quiet's outfit doesn't make enough sense to justify designing her like that (even after you find out why she's designed like that lolkojima). Whereas the intent of R. Mika is designed around Japanese wrestling. With tits and ass. Okay. Simple enough. Makes enough sense. Sure thing.

The best kind of fanservice imo is going back to Shadow Moses in MGS4. Beautifully done.

 

[Cloyster]

I find it stupid in most cases but the gratuitousness of those crotch shots in Bayonetta had my laughing my ass off. There needs to be a good amount of humour to it.

Bayonetta is the best use of fan-service in any game, I think.

 

[jerry1594]

Depends in where, but not for the most part. I'm not gonna seek out vomitrocious ecchi games though, fuck that.

 

[Hollow]

It generally doesn't bother me.

Usually I'm just upset with how poor some attempts at sexiness are, especially the janky scenes like the stripper and sex scene in Metro Last Light.

I wasn't really bothered by SFV before they changed it. It looked light hearted and fun and best of all, the models and animation were handled well.

I'm gonna miss R.Mika's ass.

 

[Vincent Alexander]

Glad Japanese game developers stick to what they are doing right now.

I can't stand most of those designs.

Then I kindly say I'm glad you arent a game developer.

 

[Fhtagn]

What is the definition of fan service?

It has a double meaning. One is references that only fans will get. Homages to what's come before. This in general is almost always good if done in a way that doesn't stick out obnoxiously.

Kill Bill vol 1 & 2 are endless fan service if you are a film nut. Endless references to obscure stuff like Lady Snowblood, Thriller A Cruel Picture, Master of the Flying Guilotine, Django, Coffy... has actors from lots of exploitation films, including even very recent ones (lots of actors from Takashi Miike films)... This is fan service done right.

However (and unfortunately) most of the time people just mean gratuitous wank fodder like panty shots.

 

[DeaviL]

None of it bothers me.
It just doesn't add anything either.

If i wanted to mast. i'd look at porn.

 

[The Baron Count]

Any at all bothers me.

Sorry but it's totally fucking childish as far as I am concerned. Fan service as a concept does absolutely nothing to enrich the experience unless the game is built around it, in which case it's probably a shitty game devoid of any inspiration.

Unpopular opinion probably but oh well. I'm an adult, I got over needing to see boobs in everything by the time I was like 17.

This falls under the same category as excessive cursing in games to me. It's just there to appeal to people who haven't fully grown up yet.

 

[Vlaphor]

What kind of sexy male designs are you looking for though? Considering male characters are of more in quantity overall and also display extremely varying levels of clothedness, are you looking for something or some kind of game in particular?

KOF is a good example. I'm a bi male (technically I'd say pan, but then I have to define it and it's a pain, so I just say bi), but not really into muscular men, so I can really dig several of the men from KOF. Ash is damn hot, and is sexualized in the ways I like (flirty behavior, you can see his nice ass in one of KOF XIII's cutscenes), but even guys like Benimaru, Iori, or Kyo all speak to what I like.

I understand that a fit man being shirtless doesn't automatically make him equal to a sexualized portrayal of a woman, and that it take more than just looks to match the kind of fanservice usually seen in gaming, but I feel that devs could try a bit harder to give us some kind of male fanservice.

 

[Crossing Eden]

It has nothing to do with sexualization in my case. Fully clothed girls are cool too, even if I like some smut. Those characters, aside from Zarya, just legit look pretty plain to me.

Actually no, Faith looks pretty sweet too, but yeah, I feel nothing for the rest at all.

I feel that they all fit appropriately within the context of their games, and considering that this is an industry where female sexualization is still ridiculously prevalent, they're quite unique in that regard.

I think it's just fun to see a hot guy or girl once and a while. If it's not there, I'm fine.
For the porn part, I think it just "scratches a different itch." I guess.

The thing is that video game characters are usually still "hot" by anyone's standards. Even more so since they scan in the actress's face most of the time now and they usually cast actors/actresses that are attractive. They don't need their cup sizes to be upped to be considered "hot."

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

I hate how making a character naked is somehow fanservice. What kind of fans do they wish to serve?

I'd rather have relevant and less embarrassing fan service.

 

[kadotsu]

I like it when it's short and for the sake of comic relief. Too much of the objectification discussion treats sex and eroticism as this always serious and constantly demeaning evil that needs to be weeded out when it's actually just a flavor of a joke.

I hate fanservice when it clashes with the tone of the world, scene etc. Mass Effect is a perfect example. The Normady seems to be fueled by the libido of its crew. Another game that looks like it will disappoint on that front is Atelier Sophie, which takes the shit costumes that were DLC in the earlier games and makes them canon.

 

[SliceSabre]

What kind of sexy male designs are you looking for though? Considering male characters are of more in quantity overall and also display extremely varying levels of clothedness, are you looking for something or some kind of game in particular?

This the the eternal problem. People say they want equal fanservice from male characters but nobody can fucking agree on what is considered male fanservice unless he is running around in his undies and even there there is huge disagreement.

Then you have the people who go "Men with beards and beefy chests aren't fanservice! to women!" or "Beautiful toned men with style and grace aren't fanservice to women!" Then what the fuck is? And no that bullshit "I value a man for his mind and character." is a fucking cop-out answer we're talking about things that tickle your fancy on a different level.

You can't have equal opportunity when you don't even know what you want out of the other side.

 

[Cloyster]

I feel that they all fit appropriately within the context of their games, and considering that this is an industry where female sexualization is still ridiculously prevalent, they're quite unique in that regard.

maybe unique for video games, but that doesn't make the character designs more interesting in general.

 

[Bright-Light]

What is the definition of fan service?

Wiki says: "Fan service (ファンサービス fan sābisu ?), fanservice, or service cut (サービスカット sābisu katto ?), is a term originating from anime and manga fandom for material in a series which is intentionally added to please the audience. It is about "servicing" the fan – giving the fans "exactly what they want."

So as a real world example, marvel bringing Agent coulson back from the dead in the avengers because he was a fan favourite( I will never understand why he is loved so much)

But it appears GAF's version of this would be bringing back agent coulson from the dead and then watching him have sex with Thor.

 

[Laws00]

Absolutely
those damn compile/idea factory games

Considering i have some doesn't make it all the better

 

[cosmicblizzard]

The only time it bothers me is if it's during a scene meant to be taken seriously, and even then it doesnt bother me that much but might make me roll my eyes.

The one possible exception is Kotoko in Danganronpa AE because I'm still trying to figure out the intent of some of the scenes that either undermined her backstory or elevated it.

If the game is meant to be shameless fanservice from the beginning, I don't care.

 

[Cloyster]

This the the eternal problem. People say they want equal fanservice from male characters but nobody can fucking agree on what is considered male fanservice unless he is running around in his undies and even there there is huge disagreement.

Then you have the people who go "Men with beards and beefy chests aren't fanservice! to women!" or "Beautiful toned men with style and grace aren't fanservice to women!" Then what the fuck is? And no that bullshit "I value a man for his mind and character." is a fucking cop-out answer.

You can't have equal opportunity when you don't even know what you want out of the other side.

I'm making a thread on thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis <3

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

I feel that they all fit appropriately within the context of their games, and considering that this is an industry where female sexualization is still ridiculously prevalent, they're quite unique in that regard.

I don't think he/she is disagreeing with you on that. Just that don't appeal to him/her.

 

[Puruzi]

I feel that they all fit appropriately within the context of their games, and considering that this is an industry where female sexualization is still ridiculously prevalent, they're quite unique in that regard.

They can be as appropriate as they want, but that doesn't make the design anything interesting to look at. Cool that you like them I guess, but everyone who posts that western designs are better keeps posting this same old shit with the same old reasons and it's just like, whatever. I think there are lots of cool female designs in indie games, but everyone keeps showing off these boring ass AAA designs.

 

[TheChillyAcademic]

Can I be biased?

Female fanservice, NO NO NO

Male FanService YES YES YES

But you know, there are like 12 games that not explicitly pornographic that feature Male FanService.

 

[ChiefofCitadelSecurity]

Nah, I think most times I get over it and will usually smile or laugh at it.

 

[Past]

Why do Japanese games get so much shit for having "revealing clothes", but no one shit on Western games for having full blown nudity?

 

[Alex]

I have no idea when 'fanservice' became a reference to sexism in gaming... Very odd.

For fan service done well you can check MGS4's act 4. Taking the players back to shadow moses and treating the series faithful to lots of references and sight seeing.

It's an old anime phrase from back when it was a pervy throwaway joke character or 1-2 scenes in a show. It pops up now in a broad sense as it's a common, permanent staple in order to sell shit products to awkward, lonely men.

I'm of the opinion that some sexual themes are fine, some reasonable titillation is fine however the current Japanese otaku scene is pretty fucking ghastly. Ruining a section of the landscape by catering to a crowd of people so fucking sexually broken that they're confused why normal folks take offense to creeping out on 13-15 year old looking, subservient anime girls.

 

[toythatkills]

This I do consider too much. What the point of this? I've played tons of rougelikes (classic definition, not today's loose definition). Never have I once thought to myself "you know what's missing? Large character portraits painfully framed to see titties drooping over the border". Looking at this once tells me all I need to know to inform myself of whether or not I should purchase this game.

You should read more into this game because that portrait is the least of its problems.

(Your breasts grow as you get more powerful, and to identify "???" items you have to jiggle them between your breasts.)

 

[The Baron Count]

I hate how making a character naked is somehow fanservice. What kind of fans do they wish to serve?

I'd rather have relevant and less embarrassing fan service.

The idea of fan service is that they make a character naked for no other reason than to titillate. In theory nudity can absolutely serve a creative purpose, but if it did then it wouldn't be fanservice.

I say in theory because I'm struggling to think of a time in games where a half naked girl was that way for any real reason other than to appeal to perverts.

 

[FlyingSaucer]

It depends on the game and whether it "fits" in it or not.

Destructible clothes in Nier 2, for example, seems to me to be a very poor choice - fanservice has never been (and never will) what I expect from a SE game.
Same thing for Metroid Other M and the sexualisation of Samus in it, a low point in Nintendo history and a tragic inability to grasp the appeal of both the franchise and the character.

On jiggling in SF5, I'm torn : on one hand I don't care for it and me find it distracting, on the other hand it's not as if there is an history behind this on versus fighting since the days of Mai in KoF.

And there are the cases were the fanservice is welcome, feel justified and isn't out of place. Bonus point if it's used to raise some weird dissonance between freudian monsters and erokawaism. Silent Hill does it too (the weird, sexual dissonance thing), you may even argue usually with less western controversy ;p

 

[Cloyster]

The idea of fan service is that they make a character naked for no other reason than to titillate. In theory nudity can absolutely serve a creative purpose, but if it did then it wouldn't be fanservice.

I say in theory because I'm struggling to think of a time in games where a half naked girl was that way for any real reason other than to appeal to perverts.

Bayonetta.

Catherine, maybe?

Drakengard 3

Nier.

TWEWY.

 

[The Baron Count]

Bayonetta.

Catherine, maybe?

Drakengard 3

Nier.

TWEWY.

Man, how could I forget about Bayonetta and Kaine? Good examples. I would say Catherine absolutely counts as well.