Sexist opinions turn up from the fighting game community...

... on a Capcom sponsored event. Capcom has been informed and have issued an apology for this:

Though it's really the fighting game community that should apologize.

http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/sexual-harassment-as-ethical-imperative-the-ugly-side-of-fighting-games

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/when-passions-flare-lines-are-crossed-updated/4006/

http://www.twitch.tv/iplaywinner/b/309876812

The world has become a bit more disgusting.

...ugh.

if sexual harrassment is part of the culture then its a shitty culture that should disappear.

theres nothing more to say about it other than that aris is a total douchebag.

This Aris sounds like an incredibly terrible person. The kind of terrible person you run into on X-Box Live who tries to cover up the fact that they're a terrible person by giving some bullshit "this is the internet" self-entitlement bullshit.

I think my favorite part of the article is the part where it says he claimed that because it's considered inappropriate to make sexist comments in a Starcraft game, by the same logic it should be considered inappropriate to tell someone in a Street Fighter game not to be sexist. Ugh, I don't even want to attempt to broach what kind of sense he thought that made.

One thing is true, though: fighting gamers have long come to think that total disrespect for others is inconsequential as long as they win. I see it all the damn time.

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I...

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It sounds like what he's trying to say is smack talking is an important part of the community. And too a degree, I can see that. It adds to the excitement and a little healthy competition isn't a bad thing. eSports aren't like contact sports where if someone has a personal grudge they could physically hurt someone so raising the stakes a bit usually won't end in a fist fight.

But I think you can keep smack talking and take out "Rape that bitch".

People view verbal assault(this includes sexism) during fighting games as Trash Talk and acceptable. Well, it's not.

In fact, venues and TO's can indeed ban/remove someone from the competition for that if they wish to. Tons of places have swearing and that kind of stuff banned/against the rules.

Of course Capcom would be against this kind of crap. It's not their fault that bad fanbases are disrespectful to others, and they really can't do anything about it on their own.

The fighting game scene is full of jerks, and that's putting it in mild, non-profane terms.

A fellow Troper told me about how an online match ended with the other player sending him a message which read "Good job," and I was shocked. That kind of good sportsmanship is severely lacking just about everywhere nowadays. All I usually see is bullying and... this. And this goes beyond mere Trash Talk. This is just terrible. Utterly, reprehensibly terrible.

To quote the comments section in the first link, this was Aris's response:

The user who posted that then wrote this.

smh

That's just Aris. He's the kind of guy who doesn't care how uncomfortable you get around him, guy or girl, although that doesn't excuse his behavior in the slightest. Honestly, all gaming communities suck pretty hard in general. FPS, fighting game, mmo, whatever, it doesn't matter. Your going to be made fun of, for one reason or another. Also, always take information about fighting game news from websites that largely focus on writing drivel with a grain of salt. I'm looking at you, kotaku.

I read about that on Giantbomb. Honestly, Aris seems like the kind of guy I'd gladly take the assault charge for just to punch in the throat.

That kind of shit is uncalled for. Trash talking is one thing, sexual harassment is another.

edited 2nd Mar '12 1:22:48 AM by MarkVonLewis

Harassment is never OK. It's that simple. Really, it is. When you're making someone genuinely uncomfortable, or worse, genuinely upset, then you fucking stop.

This isn't about "Political Correctness" or phony bullshit like that. Different people have different standards of what they find upsetting. They have different lines. One person might find South Park the funniest show ever, other people might think it goes way too far. The people who think it goes too far aren't being pussies. They're not being overly sensitive. They simply think some shit isn't funny.

If you're playing against people who like the smack talk, then by all means, do your absolute best to make them weep with the power of your burns. They're trying to do the same to you. But when you're playing against someone who just wants to play the game, and wants a certain level of civility, then you shut the fuck up.

It's not complicated. Harassment of any kind is wrong. If you don't like that, then pull your head from your ass, grow the fuck up, and learn a little bit of sympathy for other people. If you're incapable of that, then just shut up and don't talk at all.

Fuck yourself.

Does anyone else feel ill reading this? Sounds like he's trying to liken the fighting game community to some elitist warrior-culture that only the strong should be allowed in.

Doesn't work that way, Mr! Never has, never will.

Careful, guys. This is Aris. He could totally kick your ass... at Nintendo.

What. A. Tool.

Sounds pretty awful, and an entrenched culture of pretty awful to boot. Given the larger and larger prevalence of women in the gaming community, this sort of shit just has to stop.

Kicking your ass in the game does not equate to kicking your ass in real life...or getting himself shot in the head...

edited 2nd Mar '12 3:17:21 AM by onyhow

So, according to that guy, instead of feeling like I'm in a place full of bros who like to have fun and help others out, I should feel like a 60's era U.S. soldier who got dropped into North Vietnam in the middle of a Viet Cong meeting? Fucking hell, fighting game community, get your shit together.

Erm, yeah. I think Alucard hit the nail on the head for me. This guy talks about the fighting game community as if its some kind of dog-eat-dog gladiator culture rather than a bunch of people who like to play the same type of video game. That's not a healthy mindset to have when interacting with other people. I'm irked when people give into GIFT online, but when someone takes to acting like that in real life, I think some self-assessment is in order.

The beauty of the fighting game community, and you should know this - it’s based around not being welcome. That’s the beauty of it. That’s the key essence of it. When you walk into an arcade for the first time, nobody likes you.

What?!

O___O

What in the....

Fighting games are Serious Business. Sexual harassment and bullying are also Serious Business. Therefore, sexual harassment in the fighting community is A-OK.

I'm just...aghast. Has this guy forgotten video games are supposed to be fun? Where's the fun in hostility?

What an idiot...

“The beauty of the fighting game community, and you should know this - it’s based around not being welcome. That’s the beauty of it. That’s the key essence of it. When you walk into an arcade for the first time, nobody likes you.” (first link).

I know there are other issues, such as the sexism stuff, but this quote hits me a lot harder. It's this kind of mentality that made me quit Monster Hunter Tri and Team Fortress 2 (although I have recently gotten back to TF 2). I like it when I go online and see newcomers being greeted and given a little help.

As for the insulting players issues, I'll admit that I tend to make insulting remarks from time to time, but there are two points that I follow. 1, I try to make it apparent that my insults are meant to be funny. I do not try to actually insult anyone. 2, I tell everyone that I am insulting to call me out when I overstep my bounds. If someone really is getting hurt from my remarks, I stop and apologize.

This guy is right about that stuff being part of the fighting game community. Where he's wrong is that it's not what the community is all about, that's straight up bull. I'm sorry but I grew up around arcades and saw players who could walk in, play each other and still maintain a healthy degree of respect without acting like 13 year d-bags towards one another. The whole, "you're new and everybody hates you," wtf? That's the rule in some places but not all if even most. The guy is a crass, ignorant clown who tries to make an entire circus out of his single act.

Really, the guy is an elitist, and if anything those guys are one of the WORST part of the fighting game community. The FG comunitty, like any has its bad parts but the best part of it is the pure spirit of competition and bonding that comes with it, stuff you can easily have and get without the tasteless douchebaggery this guy apparently endorses.

edited 2nd Mar '12 5:58:34 AM by VertigoHigh

The problem is that, in this day and age, a lot of the fighting game community is like that. Not all, but a substantial portion and growing. Being a good sport in terms of fighters isn't as rosy as you're making it out to be, Vertigo. The only other genre I think of that has it as bad is the FPS crowd.

This.

Though. I'm all one for actual smack talk in competition, though there's certain ways you can express it. But no matter the medium, I find it important to not actually be mean spirited.

• IRL sports: there's tons of trash talk you can do without personal attacks or vulgarity. I've had a back and forth against Yankees fans in Yankee Stadium, but the second the game ended things were good. I've defended another team's fan from a fellow Bulls fan because the drunken fellow was using vulgarity with plenty of kids around.
• fighting games: MAHVEL BAYBEE is hilarious to me, partly because I'm black (and don't care for the Knicks). I was disappointed to see Marn walk away after BIONIC ARM, but happy to see Clakey D shake Tokido's hand after that Akuma pose. The only time I remember playing a fighting game online where I could talk with I don't know personally was DOA 4, and we were complimentary to each other. 5-6 years ago and I still remember that positive experience.
• Other genres: TF 2 matches with are much more fun with civility, and Dueling Network games are damn near no fun without it.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is you can talk smack without being a douche.

There is a line, it can be crossed fairly easily, and excuse the figure of speech but Aris is so far past it it isn't funny. It's just sad.

And that's all the time I'll spend on him.

Hey I'm not saying it's perfect or that that stuff doesn't happen- I even said it does - but it's not as defining of the community as that guy makes it out to be.

It's interesting that only now that this sort of thing has gotten attention though. It could be very well reflecting what you say, that it is becoming more of an issue and the fighting game community is becoming more and more dickish, but personally I feel as though there's a good number of players out there who aren't like that.

Mind you, trash talk is fine, just know who you're talking to and keep it to where lines aren't crossed(unless you're crossing it twice, which maybe this guy tries to do but kind of falls short of).