Not out of the realm of possibility.
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Sony was nervous about Horizon's female protagonist, did lots of focus testing
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
Not out of the realm of possibility.
Man Called Aerodynamics
Member
She is super cool looking. I wish the game's name wasn't so blah though.
ColonialRaptor
Member
Tomb raider....
Deified Data
Banned
Unsurprisingly the robots just want to play as robots.
eerik9000
Member
Did not reach initial sales target. And Horizon was in development before Tomb Raider 2013 launched.
Im totally quoting ourselves when it happens down the line.
Didn't it beat sales expectations once the dust settled? Just a slow burner?
Hero Prinny
Member
Dont really care for her gender or looks, I just hope she isnt boring like everyone in shadow fall
I love MH and it looked like what I always wanted MH to be.
Acrylic7
Member
lol. Had to call in focus testing.
Just terrible. Its funny because hes basically saying that Sony could have butt in and changed shit because of the protagonists sex. And if that's the case then you might as well throw in race and culture into the mix. Terrible management with these sorts of things.
Makes you wonder how many games were shot downs or altered in any way.
Just terrible. Its funny because hes basically saying that Sony could have butt in and changed shit because of the protagonists sex. And if that's the case then you might as well throw in race and culture into the mix. Terrible management with these sorts of things.
Makes you wonder how many games were shot downs or altered in any way.
Fantasy Final
Member
I actually never noticed that she was a female until people pointed that out after.
I only saw an awesome demo with a great protagonist. I couldn't care less what gender he/she is.
I only saw an awesome demo with a great protagonist. I couldn't care less what gender he/she is.
I wonder if my appeal for this game is because it came out of nowhere but I'm with you. I fucking love what I've seen of this game and I hope it lives up to it. It seems awesome.
Is there sales data to suggest games like Silent Hill 3 sold worse than other games in the franchise? People mention the AC game, but that had Vita limiting the sales. It seems like the whole argument gets skewed by how well military shooters sell, which are typically featureless protagonists to begin with. Or sports games just using actual player likeness.
i think GG did great with the character and IMHO it was a slam dunk.
At the same time, you bet they do a lot of focus testing on everything that might get people not to buy product, including race and sex. There is too much money in play here.
There is a reason for big budget games and movies usually having similar main characters - they try to figure out what would all of their market (gamers in NA and Europe) play the most.
But things are moving in right direction, at least when movies are in question... more and more female leads are happening, even in blockbuster movies.... that was almost unheard of just few years back.
UltraGunner
Banned
The fact that they had to do focus testing to see if gamers were fine that a female was the star of the game is ridiculous
TheDarkKnight774
Member
With the amount of money that goes into these projects? I think a lot of people are nieve in the amount of focus/play testing etc that goes into it all and what topics they cover
Triggerhappytel
Member
spons
Gold Member
I can't imagine for the life of it why he meddles with affairs he can't even begin to comprehend. For God's sake, please leave this guy out of this and let GG do their job, because right now this is looking to be the game of the decade, the Half Life 2 of the 2010s. The sheer scope of this work of art, the beauty of it, the art direction and of course the protagonist. The basic elements of this game are perfection envisioned by the greatest artists, programmers and designers from around the world. Make no mistake people, we are looking at an entire new phase in gaming as a hobby and the industry as a whole.
Fix The Scientist
Member
Have you played a GG game before?
Yeah it's nothing new. Many publishers hesitated to fund Life is Strange because of the female protag. Square Enix was the first to choose not to interfere with the devs' vision. And that was for a small budget episodic game. And you know what is even more fucked up? Many gamers are part of the problem.
Case in point:
Now imagine you focus test your game to see if it's financially viable and half of them share such opinions. It's not just the publisher that gets all the blame.
Seeing a tough and beautiful girl fighting in a such awesome way a big robotic dinosaurs was pretty amazing.
I agree, I really hope this game will live up to the expectation.
Not to mention the amazing panorama ...
Corpsepyre
Banned
I don't know if people realize that big publishers and devs focus test everything. In terms of protagonists this can be from the gender all the way to hair and eye colour. When you are putting millions of dollars and countless worker hours on the line you try to make everything perfect for the current market climate.
Obviously artistic vision can override these findings but focus testing occurs no matter what.
Obviously artistic vision can override these findings but focus testing occurs no matter what.
ugh_the_boot
Banned
Game looks great and as much as I don't mind using females in games I really would prefer to have a male protagonist in this. What a missed opportunity to use a Questar like character from Dino Riders.
Also I really hope they cut out most of the useless banter while playing, I hate hearing characters talk to themselves while they perform actions and there was way too much of that going around: "Gotta hunt" "Gotta sneak" "Gotta dodge" Gotta stfu!
Also I really hope they cut out most of the useless banter while playing, I hate hearing characters talk to themselves while they perform actions and there was way too much of that going around: "Gotta hunt" "Gotta sneak" "Gotta dodge" Gotta stfu!
Doctor Shatner
Member
Her design is utterly fantastic and really goes well with the world (at least what little we've seen). While I imagine they probably could've changed the gender and still gotten a great game, I'm glad we're getting their original vision.
SolicitorPirate
Member
What sort of stupid bullshit am I reading.
The main problem for the western publisher (and I know this) when it comes to female characters is that male teenager prefer to play male characters. You know, things like puberty, sexual insecurity etc. It's something pretty well know ...
My exact opposite. I know no one who are not willing to play a female character !
No seriously, I never know anybody who have this "issue"!
You'd be surprised at how many people I know who would do that.
My exact opposite. I know no one who are not willing to play a female character !
No seriously, I never know anybody who have this "issue"!
She'll change ever so slightly. They always do.
Lee Chaolan
Member
Shame they had to feel nervous about it when they've had Lara Croft for years, and Nariko from HS amongst other female protagonists mentioned in this thread.
Game looks fantastic though!
Game looks fantastic though!
Itachi87
Member
Don't you mean Life is Strange? Remember me is not episodic and was published by Capcom.
I'm glad they kept that protagonist, she looks so normal, it actually made me realize how bad most female characters are designed.
& can people stop bringing up Metroid, Mirror's Edge, Heavenly Sword, or Beyond? If Horizon sells as well as those games, it would be considered a flop, the best selling game out of those is probably Metroid, & that game sells what, 2 million? Horizon selling only 2 million would be a disaster. I hope it breaks 6 million though. This was my game of E3, & that's in a year that had Dark Souls 3, Uncharted 4, The Last Guardian, Fallout 4, & FF7R.
& can people stop bringing up Metroid, Mirror's Edge, Heavenly Sword, or Beyond? If Horizon sells as well as those games, it would be considered a flop, the best selling game out of those is probably Metroid, & that game sells what, 2 million? Horizon selling only 2 million would be a disaster. I hope it breaks 6 million though. This was my game of E3, & that's in a year that had Dark Souls 3, Uncharted 4, The Last Guardian, Fallout 4, & FF7R.
SolidSnakex
Member
It would be bad management to not look into things. As others have said, this is going to be an extremely expensive project. One that if it fails could possibly lead to people being laid off. And anytime someone is laid off at Sony, guess who fans point the finger at? Yoshida. Because he's running that ship. It's important to make sure that what's being made is going to sell, particularly when there's a lot riding on it. Not just the IP itself, but jobs as well.
I'm sorry but logic and objective data have no place in this thread. You're supposed to say they are idiots for thinking the game would not sell because one franchise (Tomb Raider) is successful.
It's so insane that doing a female protag is still somehow considered "risky".
Obviously there are still a lot of "boys and their toys" out there, but seriously if that's the demographic you're trying desperately to appeal to, your game is not going to leave a lasting impression.
The one thing they should worry about is writing her (and the rest of the game) well.
The narration and character "chat" in the gameplay trailer was corny as heck, and didn't do an otherwise decent-looking game any favours.
*Stabs robot raptor*
"Shh... I'm sorry little one..."
Oh please! Just get back to rolling around and stabbing more robuts!
Obviously there are still a lot of "boys and their toys" out there, but seriously if that's the demographic you're trying desperately to appeal to, your game is not going to leave a lasting impression.
The one thing they should worry about is writing her (and the rest of the game) well.
The narration and character "chat" in the gameplay trailer was corny as heck, and didn't do an otherwise decent-looking game any favours.
*Stabs robot raptor*
"Shh... I'm sorry little one..."
Oh please! Just get back to rolling around and stabbing more robuts!
The bolded is the only one that had enough sales to justify a game as big as Horizon, & even then the scope of TR is nowhere close to Horizon, which is probably the most expensive first party project ever.
Regardless, I'm glad the game is still happening, & I hope it becomes this gen's Uncharted.
Kenshin001
Member
This bodes well for the game since Yoshida also had doubts about God of War and thought Demon's Souls was crap.
To reiterate:
- They're braids, not dreadlocks.
- Focus testing is ubiquitous and done on nearly every product and piece of marketing you can think of, from movie posters to snack food to political candidates. They're not some special team you go to when you want opinions on something like a female or minority protagonist.
- Focus testing is not "bad". It doesn't "ruin the developer's vision". It's feedback. The choice to change anything remains with the developer.
- Focus testing is vital because people are launching products and they have no idea how they will be received. It's a huge investment and they have to reduce risk.
- They're braids, not dreadlocks.
- Focus testing is ubiquitous and done on nearly every product and piece of marketing you can think of, from movie posters to snack food to political candidates. They're not some special team you go to when you want opinions on something like a female or minority protagonist.
- Focus testing is not "bad". It doesn't "ruin the developer's vision". It's feedback. The choice to change anything remains with the developer.
- Focus testing is vital because people are launching products and they have no idea how they will be received. It's a huge investment and they have to reduce risk.