Soul Calibur IV: The Great Titty Effect

(Note to readers: Today we are lucky enough to have Stefan K. as a guest blogger and expert game-reviewer. Its Stefan's first time writing for for a feminist blog, so put on your 'company manners.' Feel free to argue with him about any of his claims, though - no holding back. A guy who spends his days pretending to slash his opponents to shreds with his dominatrix whip can't be too sensitive, right?)


Taking the fight to the next generation
by Stefan K.

Should I, a thirty-something year old long-time gamer, feel embarrassed when walking into a videogame store and asking for the latest title in a critically acclaimed, technically excellent franchise? Well, unless you belong to that rapidly dying breed of people who think that videogames are an inherently adolescent pastime (with the baffling exception of the Wii, which seems to defy social condemnation for some inexplicable reason), the answer should be no, of course. Should be. But the powers that be at Bandai Namco have apparently decided that sales of Soul Calibur III, the fourth -no really- installment of their well-loved fighting game series, have been underwhelming, which means that now I do in fact feel like apologizing whenever I talk about my hobby with, for lack of a better term, the uninitiated.

The reason for this is Soul Calibur IV (a.k.a. Stonking Great Tits IV Featuring Star Wars [1], as it is mockingly called on one of the message boards I frequent). In their seemingly desperate struggle to make the elusive and oh-so-fickle consumer part with his money, the publisher has chosen lowest common denominator tactics to market their product. To get the first, more obvious publicity ploy out of the way: Darth Vader and Yoda have joined the roster of characters. So, uh, light sabers against wooden sticks, sure. Now personally I don't approve of old canteen-head and the grammatically challenged garden gnome running around in my pseudo-medieval power fantasies, but I do (grudgingly) admit that it got peoples’ attention, so I guess it's a job well done.

Then there’s this other thing, you know, the elephant in the room. In the fast-lived world of videogames, every series has to have a unique sales pitch. Street Fighter has its comic book looks, Mortal Kombat its over-the-top violence, and Soul Calibur has its, well, gratuitous panty shots and skin-hugging spandex suits. But while shameful fan service has always been a part of the series’ legacy, it has never been so seemingly desperate, juvenile, and to some extent grotesque as in the current game. Behold, for example, the bizarre transformation of notorious whip-cracking dominatrix Ivy Valentine over the years [2] (not really work-safe, unless you work at a really relaxed place). Disregarding for a second that this outfit is highly impractical for a fight to the death -or anything else not porn-related for that matter-, which I know is asking for a lot but has already been discussed elsewhere [3], it also appears that her breast size is inversely correlated with the amount of cloth and leather she’s wearing. Yes indeed, the cringe factor is quite high in this game. And still, I love it. Now at this point I could try to save face by telling you about Ivy’s unique fighting style, her vastly more fashionable alternative costume [4], or her awesome zombie pirate daddy (who, coincidentally, also happens to be a playable character [5]). Or I could simply point out that Soul Calibur is actually a really good game that is getting rave reviews left and right for a reason, and that I can now play against my friends overseas via the magic of the internet. But honestly, why bother; by the time I agreed to write this article I had already decided that I'd have to leave my dignity far behind. So here, have another screenshot instead [6] (do not, under any circumstance, click this link during office hours).

Oh hey, did I mention the clothing damage feature that was introduced in the new Soul Calibur? Thanks to the raw number-crunching power of those new-fangled consoles, you can now punch what (little) the fighters are wearing right off of them, which adds a whole new layer of political incorrectness to the whole thing. Of course there is no actual nudity in the game (otherwise the ESRB would release the hounds and retract that Teen rating quicker than you can say Hot Coffee), but still, it’s rather silly [7]. Really, it's quite funny to get hit by a meaty slash and run around in chainmail underpants for the remainder of the match. Now, all of the above makes it sound as if this game is incredibly sexist. Not so. Or rather, yes, but it objectifies both genders. Siegried for example is an unlikely prettyboy with an even more unlikely gigantic sword, the many bare-chested male fighters sport abs that might as well be chiseled out of pink marble and are handsome with few exceptions, and -well- you've likely already seen Voldo (although you really have to see him in motion [8] to get the complete experience). Which means that all of the characters in this game are, and have always been, larger-than-life clichés, or caricatures if you will. There's even an Elvis Presley lookalike for crying out loud. It's just that this time, all the trailers and previews have been shouting "hey look, huge melons and Darth Vader", instead of reminding people that there's an actual game buried under all this titillation.

Funnily enough, at least on the surface this pandering to the supposedly hormone-crazed audience has had the exact opposite effect so far. Gamers all over the web are ridiculing the characters designs, and people on dedicated fan forums have been petitioning for some decency
ever since the first screenshots have been released half a year ago. Without much success, obviously. But there's no such thing as bad publicity, and Bandai Namco have recently announced that since its debut last month, two million copies of Soul Calibur IV have been shipped (tech term meaning "not quite sold", but still impressive) [9]. Because of the nudge/winking marketing, or despite it? I guess we'll never know, but the fact remains that this game has done the average fan an incredible disservice. Thanks, guys.

[1] http://soulcalibur4.namcobandaigames.com/
[2] http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/edbighead/soulcalibur/ivytimeline.jpg
[3] http://www.womengamers.com/articles/digital-women/ivy-soul-calibur/
[4] http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/edbighead/soulcalibur/sc2pcostume.jpg
[5] http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/edbighead/soulcalibur/cervantes.jpg
[6] http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/edbighead/forgothername.jpg
[7] http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/edbighead/soulcalibur/damage.jpg
[8] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BaCUrZMzKw
[9] http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/07/soul-calibur-iv-burns-two-million-souls-worldwide/

(Oh, and the image up top comes via the gamer gene)