When fat princesses are outlawed, only outlaws will have fat princesses.

[Natty Bumppo]

http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/feminists-cry-foul-over-fat-princess/1232315

Curioser and curioser.

[Atari 5200]

damn. They need to go complain over something worth complaining about, shit!

[djbeatmongrel]

wtf. wouldnt this be a positive for feminists? showing that not all women are hot young and skinny or that a fat girl can be a princess to? People are stupid.

[Natty Bumppo]

They are actually probably pro-capitalist reactionaries
hiding under the guise of feminists. How dare a video game company release a game that reveals the hidden truth that the ruling classes grow fat off the labors of the proletariat while producing nothing useful themselves. :beaten:

"The Predawn Leftist" lives!

[Garry Silljo]

It's actually a positive message. She's fat, .... and they want to save her anyway! I think that's progressive. Just add an alternate "fat prince" mode so the feminist have to shut up because it's equal. Bonus points if they get the musician prince to be the character model.

[djbeatmongrel]

It's actually a positive message. She's fat, .... and they want to save her anyway! I think that's progressive. Just add an alternate "fat prince" mode so the feminist have to shut up because it's equal. Bonus points if they get the musician prince to be the character model.

why am i thinking of a fat guy singing "purple rain?"

[G-Boobie]

Bonus points if they get the musician prince to be the character model.

They wouldn't even have to make another sprite. Just add a ruffly collar to the princess and color her dress purple.

At least the game isn't called "Fat, Stupid, Worthless Whore." Feminists are always so negative.

[heybtbm]

This is evidence that some people have way too much time on their hands. Besides, who would label themselves a "Feminist Gamer"? Are people that desperate for an identity? Have some dignity.

[Lady Jaye]

Actually, the feministgamer blog is really interesting and well-written (and no, it doesn't follow the stereotypical "all men are pigs" etc. attitude that ill-informed people associate with feminists.

BTW, there is a subdivision of the fat acceptance community called feederism (whereas the man - because it's almost always a man - feeds the woman to make her bigger on purpose). It's usually considered rather creepy. This game kinda reflects that feederism, and this is why in part it's put off so many people. It may seem fat-positive on the surface (look! it's not a half-naked wet-dream fantasy of a bimbo!) but in reality, it is offensive. Many good points have been made on this subject in the blogosphere; interestingly enough some men too have objected to the game, yet have not received the kind of trolling that the women who wrote about it have gotten.

Instead of relying only on what yahoo had to report, here's the links to some blogs discussing it.

http://www.feministgamers.com/?p=466
http://www.feministgamers.com/?p=470 (on the trolling that followed)
http://www.bigfatblog.com/fat-princess (note that this blog is actually written by a man)
http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/07/29/fat-princess/
http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2008/07/fat-princess-update.html
http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2008/07/23/well-that-was-bound-to-happen/

'nuff said.

[skaar]

It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye.

An amusing premise worth a chuckle, and at least it's an original concept.

Seriously, it's a game. If you hate it, don't buy it.

[Sudo]

Anyone complaining about this needs to get a life, and also probably lose some weight. It's just a game, a humorous one at that. I was once 6'3" 320 pounds and I didn't go getting all offended about things like this because I knew it was stupid to. I did drop down to 145 pounds though, because I was sick of being fat in general.

[Push Upstairs]

I remember a time when people would ask "Is it fun to play?" instead of "What type of agenda/message is the game pushing?"

[Lady Jaye]

Anyone complaining about this needs to get a life, and also probably lose some weight. It's just a game, a humorous one at that. I was once 6'3" 320 pounds and I didn't go getting all offended about things like this because I knew it was stupid to. I did drop down to 145 pounds though, because I was sick of being fat in general.

Actually, some of the people taking offense at the game are THIN...

[Sudo]

Actually, some of the people taking offense at the game are THIN...

Then they just need to get a life and a sense of humor, and skip the weight loss part. ;) I have no problem with people choosing to be fat. I just chose not to be anymore.

[heybtbm]

BTW, there is a subdivision of the fat acceptance community called feederism (whereas the man - because it's almost always a man - feeds the woman to make her bigger on purpose). It's usually considered rather creepy. This game kinda reflects that feederism, and this is why in part it's put off so many people.

Feederism? Yikes, "Creepy" is right.

Anyway, I doubt this is something 99% of gamers have even heard of, so I don't see why it's a relevent issue to these people. I guess if you look hard enough, you can always find at least someone offended by any particular topic.

[Natty Bumppo]

I can only imagine Mrs. Bumppo's reaction if I tried to force feed her (or force her to do anything). I would literally have to tie her up and shove a tube down her throat. Mrs. Bumppo is extremely independent - which is one of the things that made her attractive to me when she was still the not-yet-Mrs. Bumppo.

And is "feederism" always the man's fault (seems implicit in the implication since it is "almost always a man") - seems his responsibility perforce could only be 50% at best - and given the nature of the problem (isn't it curious how isms have been breeding faster than rabbits the last decade or so)
I would question how even that figure could even be arrived at.

If we were talking about pigs (ALA "Hogs of War" (playstation game) would we even be having this discussion? I would hope not since it is basically a cartoon - wait a minute - the game as it is is basically a
cartoon, is it not?

In reality, methinks the Romans didn't take the weight of the Sabine women into consideration when they kidnapped them (the common adage of "the rape of the Sabine women" is actually a misnomer ALA "Rape of the Lock" by Alexander Pope.)

[DigitalSpace]

/me says "meh," continues browsing porn

[monkeychemist]

I think this issue is full of crap frankly. I mean video games, like movies are meant for entertainment purposes. As soon as you take one too seriously you start looking like an idiot. I read Lady Jaye's post and followed the links to at least see their point of view but it just ends up frustrating to see people taking their personal vendettas and trying to CENSOR something like this. If you don't like the game DON'T BUY IT!!! There is no need to have an outrage and try to take away the freedom of choice.

I for one am anxiously waiting to get to play it because it seems like a fun game to pick up and play...unlike pixel junk monsters that just seems like a chore (after playing the demo).

So lighten up, this video game isn't going to be the downfall of our civilization.

[slapdash]

That's not what Nostradamus said.

[Push Upstairs]

Feederism? Yikes, "Creepy" is right.

Anyway, I doubt this is something 99% of gamers have even heard of, so I don't see why it's a relevent issue to these people. I guess if you look hard enough, you can always find at least someone offended by any particular topic.

I have never heard of this until Lady Jaye mentioned it. I'm curious to know what percentage of the *average* person has heard of this.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Fat people, stirring up controversy since Henry VIII. :bullshit:

[LucidDefender]

How many of these "intelligent" bloggers would object to the game, if it were called "Fat Prince", and involved a male character?

Enough said. Typical double standard garbage.

[boatofcar]

This game kinda reflects that feederism, and this is why in part it's put off so many people.


Yeah, in the same way GTA is a murder simulator. Just another example of people saying they hate political correctness until their issue or hangup gets attacked...

[rbudrick]

They wouldn't even have to make another sprite. Just add a ruffly collar to the princess and color her dress purple.

At least the game isn't called "Fat, Stupid, Worthless Whore." Feminists are always so negative.

Best. Game. Name. EVER. Especially if there's a dude mode.

Ultra-feminazis have a tendency to be super-hypocritical, ja?

-Rob

[calgon]

why so serious?

[Daria]

I have never heard of this until Lady Jaye mentioned it. I'm curious to know what percentage of the *average* person has heard of this.

I've heard of it, and I've seen what I suspect to be a few of them too. I think everyone's seen this couple while eating out, the grossly obese woman and the abnormally skinny man. And then you feel a pang of guilt for thinking about it. I mean, it could easily be a very loving spouse who can see past her outer appearance or the guy's a creep.

[monkeychemist]

I've heard of it, and I've seen what I suspect to be a few of them too. I think everyone's seen this couple while eating out, the grossly obese woman and the abnormally skinny man. And then you feel a pang of guilt for thinking about it. I mean, it could easily be a very loving spouse who can see past her outer appearance or the guy's a creep.

you have it all wrong. When you see a grossly obese woman eating with an abnormally skinny man that means that he goes out and works all day while her lazy ass sits at home eating all the food he worked so hard for

[Zing]

The thing that gets me about those two "feminist" bloggers (I forget their names) is that in their comments, it seems very obvious to me that they just plug their ears and say LALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU to anyone who expresses an opposing point of view. Their fans eat that shit up and cheer on this attitude, which is frustrating to anyone with rational thought.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

There's so much to say on this issue that I could easily write a book with all of my thoughts.

But to filter all of my opinions on this topic down to my core feelings it would probably read like this.

Video games, especially those dealing with absurd and comical subject matter (in the way "Fat Princess" does) contain many "stereotypes", be it the male zero-body-fat muscle-builder military hero, the female gravity-defyingly-large-chested bikini wearing martial artist, or any other of a hundred unrealistic archetypes have always and will always contain these types of characterizations in the same way that centuries-old fiction has. (the Greek plays, comedia del arte, pantomime, etc.)

Young, old, fat, skinny, kind, mean, good, evil, it's the extremes that cause us to love/hate/relate to these characters, and without said extremes, we would be left with the "middle" ground in all areas. Bland, mediocre, middle-of-the-road "sanitary" characterizations have rarely been entertaining in fiction, and sure as HELL don't fly in the world of Video-Games.

The imagery presented in Fat Princess is SO comical and absurd that I would be hard pressed to see it as social commentary against overweight people. (Even though obesity is a top medical issue that America faces.)

People need to get over this and get over themselves and see this for what it is ... a comical, absurd game with no intention to be relevant to the degree that its critics are making it out to be.

[RadiantSvgun]

People need to get over this and get over themselves and see this for what it is ... a comical, absurd game with no intention to be relevant to the degree that its critics are making it out to be.

Damn, you beat me to this...

[calgon]

Frankie Says hit it on the head.

[monkeychemist]

Frankie Says hit it on the head.

I said the same thing a few posts back, where's my praise? :D

[YoshiM]

If this game does well based on the negative media, Namco should release a "binge and purge" version of Pac-Man.

[skaar]

If this game does well based on the negative media, Namco should release a "binge and purge" version of Pac-Man.

Awesome.

[j_factor]

I'm pretty pro-feminism most of the time, but I think this is much ado about nothing. It's just playing around with old clichés; there's nothing serious about this game.

It's like how in Metal Slug, when you eat too much food, your character becomes suddenly and comically obese, and it makes them slower. After enough exercise, your character slims down again. It's not supposed to be offensive to fat people, it's just cartoonish.

[punkoffgirl]

I kinda like the idea of changing how a capture-the-flag type game is played. I feel like saying FINALLY! I mean, it's about time someone thought about making the flag a bit harder to be captured instead of just trying to kill as many people on the opposite team as many times as you can before time runs out.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I said the same thing a few posts back, where's my praise? :D

:bday::villagepeople::band::rocker::dance::cheers: \\^_^/:hail:

[monkeychemist]

:bday::villagepeople::band::rocker::dance::cheers: \\^_^/:hail:

AWESOME! just awesome!

[Cryomancer]

If this game does well based on the negative media, Namco should release a "binge and purge" version of Pac-Man.

Clean Sweep for the vectrex could be turned into that with minor graphics hacking.

[G-Boobie]

If this game does well based on the negative media, Namco should release a "binge and purge" version of Pac-Man.

Yeah! They could call it "Fat Stupid Worthless Whore"!

Of course, then Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears would get angry at Namco and publicly blog about it...

[dgdgagdae]

At least the game isn't called "Fat, Stupid, Worthless Whore."

Played it. Lost.

[FrakAttack]

It was originally going to be Starving Princess, but Paris Hilton threatened a lawsuit.

[kedawa]

The developers should change it to 'Pregnant by Rape!' and adjust the gameplay accordingly.

[Push Upstairs]

It was originally going to be Starving Princess, but Nicole Richie threatened a lawsuit.

Corrected to better reflect reality

[SegaAges]

I remember a time when people would ask "Is it fun to play?" instead of "What type of agenda/message is the game pushing?"

This says it best.

I could literally break down every single game in existence (including sports games) and say how every single game offends people.

Sports games offend me because I think it is wrong that they can adjust the stats of individual players when that is not accurate. Madden games give us the option to be able to change the game settings, thus losing even more accuracy. I went something so real that I might as well try out for the Bills or something, but I get 2 minute quarters and special "cards" where you can make a field goal from anywhere.

This is a game people. What the hell?

People that read too deep into these things need to just simmer down and play the game. Get gold? I don't want to get gold, I want to save a princess, but a scronny princess is easier to save.

I have read very little on this game. Has anybody complaining about the game played it?
Feederism. Wow. Yeah, the game makers made a game designed for feederists, I bet.

Uh, games come out that offend people. Hahaha, RE5, wow, that is getting buzz about offending people too. Honestly, if a game offends people, I want to play it more. Why? It is a f'ing GAME!!!!! You guys are telling me you listen to all of the crap Jack Thompson rambles about (and he has very valid and good points sometimes whether you want to admit it or not)?

There will always be somebody offended at random games, even if they have valid reasons. Hey, if you don't like a game, don't f'ing pay for it or play it. You can speak up, but I am still going to buy it if I like it.

Why should I not be able to play a fun game because person X is offended by it?

I play what I like, and I don't play games I don't like. It is, honestly, not my problem that others do not do that.

Basically, it sounds mean, but it is true. I don't care about somebody else's opinion on a game. I don't. Let's be honest. Can I be honest? Can I shock you? I rather enjoyed Superman 64. I did. Do you think I care that I am 1 out of 3 people on the planet that liked it? I don't care what you think about a game. I play what I like. I read reviews on games to get a good idea of what it is I am playing before I play it.

Sure, voice your opinion. That is what the internet is there for (that is what I am doing right now), but let's be honest, I can do to your opinion the same thing you should do to games you don't care for, tune it out.

Long post, I know, but case in point, I had only 2 or 3 sentences about the game itself, and that was it. The true issue here is what do we do with offensive games, and what makes a game offensive. You guys are going back and forth trying to justify whether the game is offensive or not. Play it. If you don't like the opinions of others, then tune them out. They will always be there whether you like it or not, whether they have valid points or not.

If it is not interferring with your gameplaying, why should you care? This is not politics, this is not a war, this is entertainment. There are bigger problems in the world then games. It is a waste of time complaining about entertainment when we are lucky enough to have it to the point where we can complain when we don't like it. Not everybody around the world has that luxury. Maybe do something to help them instead of being selfish and helping your cause and that is it. One person can save the world, but they have to know what to do (and complaining about offensive games is not the answer, hahaha)

/rant & long post over (sorry, I had alot to say about the matter)

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

If there's a silver lining here, if the gameplay IS fun (which it looks to be), this negative press will likely spur sales through a bit broader advertising/coverage than the game may have previously had.

[Flashback2012]

why so serious?

I dunno why but this replay made me LAWL when I got to it in the thread.

[Flashback2012]

I kinda like the idea of changing how a capture-the-flag type game is played. I feel like saying FINALLY! I mean, it's about time someone thought about making the flag a bit harder to be captured instead of just trying to kill as many people on the opposite team as many times as you can before time runs out.

I agree. The game certainly looks interesting. In CTF games like WoW's Battleground map Warsong Gulch and on alot of Team Fortress 2 maps, it's all about killing everyone on the way to the flag and then getting it back as fast as possible. I'd like to think in this game, the getting there isn't too hard but getting the "flag" back proves to be the challenge.

If they included a sprite for a fat prince to rescue with female characters coming to the rescue, would it require a name change for the title to something like "Robust Royalty" or something? ROFL