meganbmoore (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
meganbmoore) wrote2008-11-08 08:59 pm
meganbmoore) wrote2008-11-08 08:59 pm
how not to sell a game to me
So, I'm sitting here catching up on my Captain America comics, and I turn to a 2 page spread advertising Fable II. Normally I'd just skip past it, but there was what appeared to be a pouty nobleman with a vampire lurking behind him, and I was curious.
So, I know nothing about Fable, really. Either one. But this ad features what looks to be a bar full of men from all walks of life. And no women. Not even a barmaid. There could be a plot reason for this. A good one. I don't know. But from the image and description, it seems to be a normal medievaloid fantasy adventure. Mind you, 27-year-old women aren't exactly the target audience for Captain America in the first place, but my reaction to what appears to be a large, exclusively male, ensemble, is "no thanks," even if a few of them a quite good looking.Hi there, Mr. Strategically Posed Swordsman and Mr. Hooded Man.
See, if I see one or two men and no one else, or vague background characters, my mind will go "ok, main characters." If I see a full room, I'm going to take that room as representative of the entire world in the game. (And yes, even a buxom barmaid in the corner would influence that impression.)
I suppose it's the flipside of things titled Male's Daughter and Male's Wife. (If the title of the work is defining the female by her relation to a male, there better be a pretty good reason.)
So, I know nothing about Fable, really. Either one. But this ad features what looks to be a bar full of men from all walks of life. And no women. Not even a barmaid. There could be a plot reason for this. A good one. I don't know. But from the image and description, it seems to be a normal medievaloid fantasy adventure. Mind you, 27-year-old women aren't exactly the target audience for Captain America in the first place, but my reaction to what appears to be a large, exclusively male, ensemble, is "no thanks," even if a few of them a quite good looking.
See, if I see one or two men and no one else, or vague background characters, my mind will go "ok, main characters." If I see a full room, I'm going to take that room as representative of the entire world in the game. (And yes, even a buxom barmaid in the corner would influence that impression.)
I suppose it's the flipside of things titled Male's Daughter and Male's Wife. (If the title of the work is defining the female by her relation to a male, there better be a pretty good reason.)
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The irony is that Fable 1 had one of the highest attach rates for females for a non-Sims/PopCap game out there, and it looks like Fable 2 is going to surpass that attach rate. I can only think of a few games off-hand that would rival Fable 1 for attach rate (chiefly among them the horrendously awful Final Fantasy 8 (but it's easy to see why, as it caters to the same story/characters that we see a lot in major anime/manga fandoms). World of Warcraft probably does too, but with some obscene number of gamers playing it (11 mil + at last count, I believe) that doesn't actually mean anything...
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I'm assuming it means female fans?
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