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[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

the last tweet made me chuckle, good for that GS employee now he has a good parking spot.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

Do you really feel like you are bringing up a valid criticism for double standards? After years and years of women being subjugated to the bullshit they've been subjugated to in media?

You post is equal to meninist saying that if women want equal rights than i should be able to hit them like i hit any other man. Why does it bother you that women are induldging in what men have been induldging in(guilt free) for all of human history?

I'm sorry, but i find ur post useless.

The only thing that bothers me is how much this clashes with the whole "Hypersexualization needs to go so gaming can grow up!" argument. If people are actually angry that they're just not being served equally, they should say so from the start.

 

[totoro'd]

As someone with a beard fetish, i think Hot Ryu has overtaken Shirtless Ike as hottest videogame guy

 

[VegiHam]

The beard doesn't really do anything for me, personally. Ryu's never been my type and facial hair doesn't change that.

That said, I remember when Smash Bros gave us shirtless Shulk. I personally loved that but some people were disappointed it wasn't Ike or someone more their type, and they seem happy today.

Certainly, this obvious attempt to pander to a demographic that don't get enough love is definitely a good thing.

Edit: haha wow ^ that happened while I typed.

 

[twobear]

The only thing that bothers me is how much this clashes with the whole "Hypersexualization needs to go so gaming can grow up!" argument. If people are actually angry that they're just not being served equally, they should say so from the start.

There's a difference between occasional sexualisation and the endless, rampant sexualisation of women in videogaming.

 

[Gbraga]

The only thing that bothers me is how much this clashes with the whole "Hypersexualization needs to go so gaming can grow up!" argument. If people are actually angry that they're just not being served equally, they should say so from the start.

Just different people, most likely.

 

[depths20XX]

There's a difference between occasional sexualisation and the endless, rampant sexualisation of women in videogaming.

What does the scouter say about the sexualization levels?

 

[Kater]

The fan art has already started:

https://twitter.com/pandamusk/status/638743420811382784

Oh my god. o.o;;;;

 

[Alcotholic]

What a hyperbolic thread title. I think he looks pretty badass, but I wouldn't say it's a progressive statement exploiting men as equally as women are exploited in video games. Women have far more revealing sexually suggestive costumes than men. And more often than not its part of their character.

 

[Lulubop]

As someone with a beard fetish, i think Hot Ryu has overtaken Shirtless Ike as hottest videogame guy

That's not even canon.

 

[Parallax]

Fair enough



Small editorial changes aside, It's still valid with regard to how a beard can change the look of someone, often for the better. Like I said in my last post, this even applies to me if I just get some stubble versus being clean shaven

If he had the same lighting, hair style, and stance id have no problem. But the first image has the dude himself look far more confident than in the last pic.

 

[Rentahamster]

Ryu + beard - shirt = hot?

That formula applied to me makes me look homeless :3

 

[Hours Left]

This got me so excited yesterday that I wrote a lengthy blog post (Note: Site NSFW) on it. I'll just copy and paste it here...

So in case you haven’t heard, the internet has been buzzing about Street Fighter’s mononymous hero and his newly revealed alternate costume for the highly anticipated sequel, Street Fighter V (shown above), and have dubbed this bearded, beefy iteration “Hot Ryu”. Now this may seem a bit redundant to some who have always thought Ryu was hot (like myself), but it brings up an interesting precedence, what we have here is a (re)design of an extremely famous character, from a huge IP, that was intentionally designed to be sexy. Of course this isn’t something completely new, but it still noteworthy due to a few factors. Firstly, this is not some innocuous Tiger Beat-esque display of tepid sexuality, but a “look at my grizzled, virile manbody that’s on display in an unironic and non-humorous” way, and that’s an important distinction. There’s tons of muscular male characters present in gaming, particularly in fighting games, and many of them are very attractive, but very few have been given such a deliberate re-imagining to play up their sex appeal as our eternally wandering warrior here. For those unaware, Ryu is the literal textbook example of the stoic and serious male lead. He lives to fight, that’s his whole shtick, and while he has always been portrayed as a physically fit and handsome man, these were almost never highlighted as defining traits in his various gaming appearances. The focus was almost always on his strength, and how seriously he takes the pursuit of battle. Subsequently, this left little room for more carnal expressions of his persona. (Though even he managed to sneak in a few moments here and there in the past, though almost always played for laughs.) But now we have a version of the famously pensive hero that’s showing off his assets in a very overt and brazen display, and for a company like Capcom that has spent decades portraying their Street Fighter coverboy in a very particular fashion, it’s quite the change of tone.

Now some may point to the collection of alternate outfits Ryu possessed in Street Fighter IV (one which is actually quite similar to this) and wonder why this particular look is getting so much attention, but I think it’s safe to say that the general consensus regarding the male character models in the previous installment was that they generally did not exude an air of attractiveness, even if some of the costumes may of had some degree of added sex appeal in mind. A step in the right direction to be sure, but one that perhaps was not fully realized for the series until now. So what makes this instance different? It goes without saying that Street Fighter V is a big deal for Capcom. This game is garnering a great deal of attention from the developer, and is a very important part of their current slate. This is evident in the noticeably improved character models, which obviously make it easier for the designers to more accurately portray their artistic vision for the various combatants. The fact that they would choose to lead off the first set of additional outfits for their core cast of characters, and particularly for their main protagonist, in such a fashion is a very interesting development. Even more interesting is the fact that said outfits are actually being used as incentives to spur pre-orders, a very important aspect of the current gaming market for developers. DLC of female characters in revealing outfits is a common practice for encouraging strong early sales, but for Capcom to say “Please consider reserving your copy of Street Fighter V, and as a special bonus, here’s our leading man in all his beefcake glory!”, this is a bold step forward.

Niche markets and sub-genres may employ male sexuality on a more frequent basis, but for a huge develop to take a “AAA” title in one of their flagship series and use their hero’s stud status as selling point is definitely a refreshing turn or events. They could of easily opted for something “safe“ or waited until the game had been out for awhile and lump it in with a bunch of other disparate outfits to see if what sticks, but this is front and center, and thankfully, it already seems to be paying off. Within hours of this outfit being revealed, it was attracting overwhelming positive approval, and even trended on Twitter. When a sexy makeover for your male lead from your almost 20 year old franchise can (even briefly) capture the attention of the pop culture zeitgeist, you know you’ve done something right. It goes to show that positive displays of male sexuality can be an engaging and enticing way to encourage a more inclusive and enjoyable gaming environment. The old adage “sex sells” will always ring true, it’s hardwired into our very DNA, but it stands to reason that the sooner developers realize that this reliable chestnut applies not just to attractive women, but to male displays of sexuality as well, and that it can be utilized to successfully promote their products, the better things will be for gaming on a whole. And with “Hot Ryu” leading the charge, previously hesitant companies may start looking at their stable of male characters in a whole new light.

Anyway, needless to say I think this is awesome, and to all those not seeing why this is important, I'd suggest analyzing this from a perspective other than "he's been shirtless before, so what?" As I've said before, it's extremely obvious that female characters definitely need to be portrayed in a much more varied fashion that doesn't always primarily portray them as sex objects, but conversely, another way to provide balance and promote a more positive portrayal of sexuality in gaming is to increase the sexualization of male characters. There's nothing wrong with sex in gaming, but a definite push for equality is something that is sorely needed, and there are multiple ways to achieve this.

 

[Boombloxer]

Wasn't this a thing in SSFIV ?

...and we're done.

OP needs to read more history. This isn't significant at all.

For the post above, again, this isn't new. Drake, Dante and Chris Redfield all have dedicated followings and they're attractive icons for each of their franchises. 2 of those characters have shirtless skins, and another has a wetsuit version.
My wife even thinks Drake is hot.

So yea, not significant at all.

 

[Golnei]

The only thing that bothers me is how much this clashes with the whole "Hypersexualization needs to go so gaming can grow up!" argument. If people are actually angry that they're just not being served equally, they should say so from the start.

Most arguments against the ubiquitous sexualisation of female characters aren't 'sex is bad and women are never allowed to look hot', they're advocating a more varied spread of portrayals, where the expectation isn't that all female characters should be designed for a narrow idea of sex appeal and nothing else. Pandering to a more diverse set of demographics is growing up.

As someone with a beard fetish, i think Hot Ryu has overtaken Shirtless Ike as hottest videogame guy

Only if you're using that lacklustre photoshop as a yardstick. There's far more flattering art out there.

 

[poncle]

Body hair next please.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

There's a difference between occasional sexualisation and the endless, rampant sexualisation of women in videogaming.

There is, yes, but the "growing up" argument is never about equality. It's about shaming developers who make a certain kind of content and the demographic they target.

For once, it would be nice to hear "I'm mad I don't get that." instead of "Ugh, anyone who likes this kind of stuff must be a manchild."

 

[Suzushiiro]

Can someone explain to me why this is seen as perfectly fine to have a sexualized Ryu and every praises Capcom but last week when R. Mika was revealed and her outfit is sexualized everyone was shaking their heads and saying shame on Capcom and that it's just fan service to horny teenage boys?

Either both are fine, or neither are fine.

R. Mika's a poor counter-example here as she's in that Bayonetta zone where there are a fair number of women who are normally turned off by characters with male gaze-focused designs that actually like her.

What it boils down to is that most male characters in video games and other geek-focused media who are attractive to women are also designed to appeal to men, whereas there are plenty of female characters that are designed to pander to male fantasies without any real likable characteristics to anyone who isn't attracted to women. It's not "hot men = good, hot women = bad" so much as "characters who are likable regardless of your gender/orientation = good, characters designed solely to pander to the fantasies of one gender/orientation = bad."

 

[Lulubop]

...and we're done.

OP needs to read more history. This isn't significant at all.

For the post above, again, this isn't new. Drake, Dante and Chris Redfield all have dedicated followings and they're attractive icons for each of their franchises. 2 of those characters have shirtless skins, and another has a wetsuit version.
My wife even thinks Drake is hot.

So yea, not significant at all.

The beard wasn't done, and that's the whole point. The whole pointttt. Plus SFV Ryu's model and art style look a 100 times better. I don't think we're done anywhere.

 

[xaosslug]

So Hot Ryu is a thing now. Daddy has taken the world by storm.

Does anyone else think that this could be a watershed moment for equal inclusion of eye candy? Capcom have dabbled with this kind of thing before (mostly Chris in RE) but never this forwardly and with their most significant character.

Maybe now the floodgates have opened we are entering a brave new world of videogame fanservice? Discuss.

[edit] For the people questioning 'Hot Ryu' instead of 'Hobo Ryu' or 'bearded Ryu', the name is in reference to his given name among people with an interest in this sort of thing.

what kind of stealth Chris Redfield stanning thread...

i c u

Spoiler

why are you paying Dante dust, tho? Capcom has always put him "on display" so to speak

 

[Off-Kilter]

...and we're done.

OP needs to read more history. This isn't significant at all.

For the post above, again, this isn't new. Drake, Dante and Chris Redfield all have dedicated followings and they're attractive icons for each of their franchises. 2 of those characters have shirtless skins, and another has a wetsuit version.
My wife even thinks Drake is hot.

So yea, not significant at all.

"and we're done" posts don't have nearly the same impact 13 pages into the discussion

 

[Lights and Waves]

How much will the Happy Trail DLC cost? My wallet is ready.

 

[GreatestHits]

*adds beard to Ryu*
*Ryu becomes 'Hot Ryu'*

That's not even canon.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. It's another example of catering to male fantasy (Ryu)

 

[Golnei]

why are you paying Dante dust, tho? Capcom has always put him "on display" so to speak

Not really always - he was designed to be attractive from the beginning, sure, but the closest he ever came to being put in even slightly revealing costumes was in 3

Spoiler

and Viewtiful Joe, technically - that costume needs to show up in the main series at some point.

. 1, 2 and 4 didn't have him show any skin from beyond the forearm. Hopefully, this gets remedied in 5...

 

[Boombloxer]

"and we're done" posts don't have nearly the same impact 13 pages into the discussion

Neither do posts stating such without contributing anything else.

The beard wasn't done, and that's the whole point. The whole pointttt. Plus SFV Ryu's model and art style look a 100 times better. I don't think we're done anywhere.

Going to assume you're joking.
You know what would be fun? Give him a "dad bod" and put him on the cover.

 

[Lulubop]

Neither do posts stating such without contributing anything else.



Going to assume you're joking.
You know what would be fun? Give him a "dad bod" and put him on the cover.

i don't get it

 

[Staccat0]

"Daddy" is such a creepy term for a hot dude.

Creepy as fuck like.

Okay mommy

 

[Sai-kun]

Neither do posts stating such without contributing anything else.



Going to assume you're joking.
You know what would be fun? Give him a "dad bod" and put him on the cover.

this post isnt as funny as you think

...and we're done.

OP needs to read more history. This isn't significant at all.

For the post above, again, this isn't new. Drake, Dante and Chris Redfield all have dedicated followings and they're attractive icons for each of their franchises. 2 of those characters have shirtless skins, and another has a wetsuit version.
My wife even thinks Drake is hot.

So yea, not significant at all.

this post isnt as insightful as you think

check out this post:

To everyone saying 'I don't get it, he was shirtless before': congratulations! You just learned that there's a difference between male power fantasy and male sexualisation.

 

[Clawww]

So, this thread inspired me to ask actual girls if they found dad Ryu to be attractive. They did not.

I think this is aimed towards what men consider attractive; what we wish to look like.

is this what they call "science"????

 

[GreatestHits]

this post isnt as insightful as you think

check out this post:

But dude, his wife even said so

 

[HMD]

Must be a slow day for GAF.

 

[GreatestHits]

Must be a slow day for GAF.

It is XP. Discussing Ryu's beard and how it's a bastion of equality has got me wanting to pick my nose or something

 

[Trickster]

How much will the Happy Trail DLC cost? My wallet is ready.

Nothing, It'll cost nothing...Assuming you get the pc version and download the inevtiable mod.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Who on Earth managed to scar Ryu between SF4 and SF5?

 

[Off-Kilter]

Neither do posts stating such without contributing anything else.

Huh? I merely pointed out that it's difficult to be snarky and/or clever with "and we're done here" and "/thread" replies when the discussion has been long festering.

 

[Lulubop]

Who on Earth managed to scar Ryu between SF4 and SF5?

How long before sf3 did ryu meet oro? Or did he meet him during sf3?

 

[Jigolo]

This whole situation is hilarious

 

[Boombloxer]

this post isnt as funny as you think



this post isnt as insightful as you think

check out this post:

This is again, terrible posting.

Been there, done that.

 

[twobear]

There is, yes, but the "growing up" argument is never about equality. It's about shaming developers who make a certain kind of content and the demographic they target.

For once, it would be nice to hear "I'm mad I don't get that." instead of "Ugh, anyone who likes this kind of stuff must be a manchild."

Why are you ignoring the context? There are literally hundreds of examples of women being sexualised in all kinds of weird and inappropriate contexts in videogames. The 'grow up' argument is levelled because it seems like a significant proportion of the time, women are only in videogames specifically to serve as eye candy for men. That's just crazy immature.

Literally nobody I know of has a puritan attitude towards sex in videogames.

 

[Sai-kun]

i'm pretty sure that's only appealing to a very specific demographic of gay men but i could be wrong

back me up, gays

 

[backflip10019]

what about those sheep tho?

 

[SRTtoZ]

Hot dad bod IMO

 

[Golgo 13]

Lol, NEOGAF is so gender ambiguous.... I honestly cannot tell who the people are who find this attractive -- gay men or straight women. There are no indicators whatsoever. Having a male/female avatar here means nothing about your gender or sexual preference, neither does your username. Lol

 

[Blood Diamonds]

this post isnt as funny as you think



this post isnt as insightful as you think

check out this post:

bu...but... the wife...!!!

 

[ZiZ]

I love beards, but the problem with this is that Ryu could've had a beard all this time, but instead elected to waste time shaving it in between fights and traveling the country barefoot.

 

[Kaako]

This is totally why I have a full beard, yes. You all can call me 'Hot Kaako' from now on.

 

[Clawww]

Lol, NEOGAF is so gender ambiguous.... I honestly cannot tell who the people are who find this attractive -- gay men or straight women. There are no indicators whatsoever. Having a male/female avatar here means nothing about your gender or sexual preference, neither does your username. Lol

there's a life lesson in this post

 

[XxSlasherMcGirkxX]

Must be a slow day for GAF.

You would think that but it's really not. MGS5 topics, Ace Attorney 6, Mad Max, Danganronpa, Resident Evil announcements, Uncharted stuff ect

 

[staticneuron]

To everyone saying 'I don't get it, he was shirtless before': congratulations! You just learned that there's a difference between male power fantasy and male sexualisation.

Yes, apparently power fantasy is something the devs are accused of creating. The sexualization is something that seems to be created by a select fans.

Yes it has been pointed out before that he has been shirtless. The think that makes this logical from a design standpoint is the beard. He is a wandering warrior and if they want to portray him growing older while doing these battles, the scars and the beard assist alot in this regard.

If fans want to sexualise Ryu, more power to them. Let us not pretend though that this is the explicit intent of devs (unless you have some dev/designer quotes you would like to share) or that it is illogical for him to be portrayed this way.

 

[outsida]

Those sheep though...