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[……forgetit]

That would be. And had they said, "there are story reasons for it that we don't want to reveal yet," then they wouldn't sound like they're scrambling to come up with reasons why the girl can't (or can't ever) be the star in the series.



I agree about the baby steps. It's not even the lack of those options or lack of Zelda starring, it's the rejection of those ever being possibilities for dubious reasons.

I honestly doubt they came up with any reasons why link shouldn't be a girl internally. It came up, they were like nah and that was more than likely the end of the discussion.

It's exactly what he meants. And still no one can find a lore reason to that, while people hide their misoginy in "it's just what the dev wants, the wielder of the bravery triforce can only have a penis!"

there is no lore reason why not because the lore doesn't matter. Also not wanting a female link doesn't make you sexist. That's a pretty big stretch imo.

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

It's exactly what he meants. And still no one can find a lore reason to that, while people hide their misoginy in "it's just what the dev wants, the wielder of the bravery triforce can only have a penis!"

Don't call people sexist for accepting the fact that the creator says Link is a male character and we are okay with that. It's very immature.

 

[Mango The Magician]

It's exactly what he meants. And still no one can find a lore reason to that, while people hide their misoginy in "it's just what the dev wants, the wielder of the bravery triforce can only have a penis!"

Yeah, misogyny that's what it is. Clearly not the creator of a series wanting his series to be a specific way, no that'd be silly.

 

[mocolostrocolos]

I never played Tenchu so I wouldn't know how that would play. But a proper ninja game with that Nintendo touch would be fantastic. Especially considering if crap hit the fan one of the mechanics could be to hide somewhere safe and transform to Princess form and "get away".

Man they could make a sick game where Zelda/Sheik is trying to get to the bottom of corruption in hyrule by going back and forth between Zelda/Sheik. Could be awesome.

Political corruption in Hyrule?

Deepest lore.

 

[MisterHero]

They've also shot down Zelda being the lead in a mainline game too. Not sure why people bring that up as a counter to girl Link when it's been made clear the creators want the biggest line of games to exclusively star male leads.

This is why Nintendo probably shouldn't say anything at all. You are taking something they said and parading it around like they made some evil statement. Conveniently, you ignored that they could be open to spin-offs, and are often in fact the king of spin-offs (regarding Mario).

They just said Link is male and will continue being the star of the series. That's all.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

I honestly doubt they came up with any reasons why link shouldn't be a girl internally. It came up, they were like nah and that was more than likely the end of the discussion.

And in modern day, not considering it, then not being prepared to address it (either by considering it early in discussions during development, or in interviews after the game releases) reflects that lack of thought. Which makes them look dumb in this regard, especially if they seemingly buy into the illogical reasoning given (i.e. "what would Link do?")

 

[DangerMouse]

We know that ... which is why we are asking for a FEMALE REINCARNATION OF LINK, THE OWNER OF THE TRIFORCE not Zelda as the protagonist

This.

This Miyamoto quote just confirmed it wont never happen. You guys should pay a little attention to this sheik spinoff hints though.

Not that there aren't exceptions or good spinoffs but a spinoff is a spinoff and rarely gets the budget or ambition of the next big mainline game the series truly relies on.

Zelda can get her own spinoff series on portables, probably puzzle-based.

Yup. Probably the type of crap we'll get and I fully expect it'll be relegated to a low budget portable game and not a proper big budget console game.
No thank you. That's the type of shit that I don't want.

If someone wanted to play as Zelda in a Zelda game, they now have Hyrule Warriors which doesn't play like a Zelda game. Seems you're actually missing the point that someone who wanted Zelda playable in a Zelda game will not be appeased by getting Zelda in a spinoff. If it's a different genre — in that it plays completely different and, in Zelda's case, will not tie into the story of the mainline series — it's essentially a different series. Does that make sense?

This right here. Many don't want a spinoff that plays completely differently just with Zelda leading, many want a Zelda (or Female Link) game that plays like real Zelda. Even if they add some expanded features like more stealth that might better fit Zelda/Sheik we still want a real Zelda-style game, not some spinoff that plays nothing like the main series.

 

[AgeEighty]

The "make Link a female" 'discussion' has been more of a "find a reason to crap on BotW and those sexist developers at Nintendo" rather than stating why it would be cool to play as a female Link or pondering the idea of it.

I don't agree with this at all. I think this whole thing started because people saw the first teaser for BotW last year and Link looked like he might be female in it, and a lot of people got excited about the idea. I see no evidence that everyone on the pro-female side is calling Nintendo or its employees sexists; that's a view only put forth by a handful of people, and most of them seem to have been speaking sarcastically.

Good. I dislike changes made by political correcteness without any reason.

If you think political correctness is the only reason for this discussion, you haven't been paying attention.

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

And in modern day, not considering it, then not being prepared to address it (either by considering it early in discussions during development, or in interviews after the game releases) reflects that lack of thought. Which makes them look dumb in this regard, especially if they seemingly buy into the illogical reasoning given (i.e. "what would Link do?")

You need to understand, they look dumb to Americans and most westerners. People who pay attention to different social issues. You're forgetting that these particular developers weren't raised with the same values or are invested in the social movements that 90% of the people on this forum are.

That doesn't make them bad people or sexist.

Actually I'm quite curious if this "female link" issue is a wester issue, or if Zelda fans in Japan share the same sentiment.

 

[Apollo Cree]

The creator has a specific vision for his character and he made that clear. It's silly to rail so hard against it. I supported the female link argument before because there was nothing to say Link shouldn't be a girl. Now there is.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

I don't agree with this at all. I think this whole thing started because people saw the first teaser for BotW last year and Link looked like he might be female in it, and a lot of people got excited about the idea. I see no evidence that everyone on the pro-female side is calling Nintendo or its employees sexists; that's a view only put forth by a handful of people, and most of them seem to have been speaking sarcastically.

Sarcastically out of very real bitterness

Lol yeah the reasons given are pretty stupid. Doubly so after Wind Waker really hammers it down that the Link in that game has absolutely zero relation to any hero, whatsoever, he's just a rando who happens to be named Link.

Most of them have no relation. They're reincarnations

 

[Easy_D]

That would be. And had they said, "there are story reasons for it that we don't want to reveal yet," then they wouldn't sound like they're scrambling to come up with reasons why the girl can't (or can't ever) be the star in the series.



I agree about the baby steps. It's not even the lack of those options or lack of Zelda starring, it's the rejection of those ever being possibilities for dubious reasons.

Lol yeah the reasons given are pretty stupid. Doubly so after Wind Waker really hammers it down that the Link in that game has absolutely zero relation to any hero, whatsoever, he's just a rando who happens to be named Link.

 

[LordGorchnik]

You need to understand, they look dumb to Americans and most westerners. People who pay attention to different social issues. You're forgetting that these particular developers weren't raised with the same values or are invested in the social movements that 90% of the people on this forum are.

That doesn't make them bad people or sexist.

This.

 

[Maintenance]

They could make Link a Gerudo and Ganondorf white, with blond hair and blue eyes.

Could be cool.

 

[El Topo]

I don't think there is a problem per se in that, as unfortunate as it is. The notion of a (cheap) spin-off however is weird and leaves a bad taste.
There is also something to be said about female protagonists and Nintendo games.

The creator has a specific vision for his character and he made that clear. It's silly to rail so hard against it.

You mean like the entire Star Wars fandom and George Lucas?

 

[AgeEighty]

Sarcastically out of very real bitterness

Of course they're bitter, because the gaming community has stunk of sexism for years and they're tired of it. You may have a non-sexist reason for wanting every incarnation of Link to be male, but you have to admit based on all the shit we've seen in the community that there are probably a sizable number of gamers who don't.

 

[ClayKavalier]

You need to understand, they look dumb to Americans and most westerners. People who pay attention to different social issues. You're forgetting that these particular developers weren't raised with the same values or are invested in the social movements that 90% of the people on this forum are.

That doesn't make them bad people or sexist.

Actually I'm quite curious if this "female link" issue is a wester issue, or if Zelda fans in Japan share the same sentiment.

If they think a women couldn't fill Link's role for no other reason than she's a woman, that's the definition of sexism.

Didn't one of the devs make some comment like "If Zelda was the main character, what would Link do?" As if it's inconceivable that the male and female leads of the series could just swap places.

You're right that there may be cultural differences and I'm not going to call anyone "bad" people, but again believing that a woman can't be the hero in a story and that a man wouldn't be a situation where they'd need to rescued is the definition of sexist.

The creator has a specific vision for his character and he made that clear. It's silly to rail so hard against it. I supported the female link argument before because there was nothing to say Link shouldn't be a girl. Now there is.

So you wanted a female Link and just changed your mind completely after the devs said "Nope"?

 

[Apollo Cree]

You mean like the entire Star Wars fandom and George Lucas?

Entirely incomparable. People felt that the lore and world building they were accustomed to was being violated. It's like expecting a glass of water and taking a big swig of vodka.

In Zelda's case, the fans expected water and they got water.

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

You need to understand, they look dumb to Americans and most westerners. People who pay attention to different social issues. You're forgetting that these particular developers weren't raised with the same values or are invested in the social movements that 90% of the people on this forum are.

That doesn't make them bad people or sexist.

Actually I'm quite curious if this "female link" issue is a wester issue, or if Zelda fans in Japan share the same sentiment.

Just insane this comment.

Of course they're bitter, because the gaming community has stunk of sexism for years and they're tired of it. You may have a non-sexist reason for wanting every incarnation of Link to be male, but you have to admit based on all the shit we've seen in the community that there are probably a sizable number of gamers who don't.

I totally agree with you but trying to argue with these people is like talking with someone who thinks the earth is flat. They will defend their stupidity like they're on trial.

 

[……forgetit]

Of course they're bitter, because the gaming community has stunk of sexism for years and they're tired of it. You may have a non-sexist reason for wanting every incarnation of Link to be male, but you have to admit based on all the shit we've seen in the community that there are probably a sizable number of gamers who don't.

That's a big jump imo. Most that I've seen just have an attachment to link. I mean ever sense the switch to 3D he's looks more or less the same. I don't know a single person who won't play a game due to a female Link but the majority I know who like Zelda want Link to stay male.

Also I don't care one way or the other, but I know a lot of people who do, and I get that.

 

[Apollo Cree]

So you wanted a female Link and just changed your mind completely after the devs said "Nope"?

If a female Link was released, I wouldn't have minded. There was nothing that said Link couldn't be a female.

I also fully support that creators in different mediums have their own visions and should be allowed to follow it.

 

[Snakeyes]

Good response from Miyamoto. If Nintendo sees Link's character as male (and white, with blonde/pink hair and blue eyes), then that's fine.

I don't get why some of those arguing for a female Link are painting Nintendo as conservative when they have the biggest and most varied catalog of good first/second-party female protagonists/deuteragonists out of all three platform holders, and most big third party publishers.

 

[El Topo]

Entirely incomparable. People felt that the lore and world building they were accustomed to was being violated. It's like expecting a glass of water and taking a big swing of vodka.

It was his creation and his vision. His alone. He felt the need to adjust things to fit his vision and so he did. He made the prequels and people lost their shit. They had every right to do so.

 

[AgeEighty]

Entirely incomparable. People felt that the lore and world building they were accustomed to was being violated. It's like expecting a glass of water and taking a big swing of vodka.

In Zelda's case, the fans expected water and they got water.

Not accurate. "The fans", or at least some fraction of them, saw what looked like a female Link and were hoping that's what they were getting, or at least the option for one, which was even reinforced by a female Link in Hyrule Warriors. Then those hopes were dashed.

 

[Pinky]

Now imagine how dumb this would sound:

And I already pointed out my example wasn't a good one. Thanks.

http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=208340610

 

[Mango The Magician]

If they think a women couldn't fill Link's role for no other reason than she's a woman, that's the definition of sexism.

Infinitum Kek. Seriously, good job in destroying the value of that word. The developers of a series preferring that they keep their character one way, and thinking the character can only be male, is nowhere close to sexism.

Not accurate. "The fans", or at least some fraction of them, saw what looked like a female Link and were hoping that's what they were getting, or at least the option for one, which was even reinforced by a female Link in Hyrule Warriors. Then those hopes were dashed.

Aonuma confirmed the day after E3 2014 that Link was the protagonist and that he was male. It was never going to happen, the fans just fooled themselves into believing so.

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

If they think a women couldn't fill Link's role for no other reason than she's a woman, that's the definition of sexism.

Didn't one of the devs make some comment like "If Zelda was the main character, what would Link do?" As if it's inconceivable that the male and female leads of the series could just swap places.

You're right that there may be cultural differences and I'm not going to call anyone "bad" people, but again believing that a woman can't be the hero in a story and that a man wouldn't be a situation where they'd need to rescued is the definition of sexist.



So you wanted a female Link and just changed your mind completely after the devs said "Nope"?

They clearly do think a women is a suitable hero in stories. They make games where that happens. It's just not the tale for this particular series.

 

[Captain Europe]

Use common sense though; 1 and 1 make 2. Male Link is cursed to reincarnate his spirit into a new hero. Spirit is male.

I understand the mysticism behind it. But look at it from a canon perspective. Cursed original Male links spirit is meant to appear every time Zelda is threatened, all Links had been male. Maybe that original spirit is a male spirit. I'm not grasping at straws or anything; I'm trying to bring simple logic to this insane notion that Links spirit could easily appear in a female hero. I'm not saying it could never happen in that universe, but the creator is saying that Link is male and they have a strong lore reason to always make him male.

The female gender rules hyrule whether it be the princess or the goddess, you know the most powerful being. Let the male gender have some good representation in this series... Yet again, a little sarcasm at the end.

I get your point, but those are assumptions for now and nothing(about the spirit) is set in stone yet.

It's not that insane of people to ask for this, the generally accepted representation we have of reincarnation is that any kind person can reincarnate into any kind of person, it's in tons of stories and movies. Just like we accept ghosts to be see-through, that elves have pointy ears, and fairies have wings and fly. That is why we see people asking for a female Link, and not for a female Maro, or male Lara, Samus, or female Nathan Drake.

It is perfectly fine for Nintendo to keep Link as a male, but it's also their responsibility to address it, like they have done in the OP. And now it's up for people to vote with their money.

I'm personally disappointed that Zelda isn't playable(or maybe she is, they might surprise us), but I'll still buy the game, I have seen enough of Nintendo to know they aren't a sexist/homophobic company.

 

[ClayKavalier]

Since people begging for a female Link. I want a male Zelda I dont see the fuss about that.

That would make sense if they want to retain the relationship between the two characters. I dont see what the fuss would be about either.

They may want to change the name to be less feminine. The spin-off could be "The Legend of Zeldo."

 

[kunonabi]

I like how Terry Pratchett wrote a popular book series about a girl saving the prince. Although it's a shame that sort of thing has to come from a satirist.

It's a shame that Nintendo is so rigidly inflexible that they refuse to even consider letting a girl be the hero. Girls can't be Link (because of super-important story rules Nintendo pulls out of their ass), and Zelda can't even be the hero of a game called "the Legend of Zelda".

It's just a shame. But hey, Nintendo is more progressive than most. Look at Super Princess Peach. Or Linkle. If we're really lucky, Zelda might be able to host her own second-class game if she dresses like a man.

You do realize Elma is the face of Xenoblade Chronices X right?

You do realize girls are pretty much the face of their single biggest IPs(Animal Crossing, Splatoon) in years right?

You do realize Nintendo was putting women as the primary protagonists all the way back during the famicom days(Mach Rider, Metroid) before it was a bullet point for marketing to the twitter generation right?

You also realize much of Nintendo's recent output has made a concerted effort to include female playable characters, female protagonists as well female avatar options? More so than games that only include the ability to play as a male character right?

looking at their publishing history from the Wii on and excluding sports games other than punchout, remasters, misc/puzzle/board games and the wii series the ratio of games with only a male protagonist to games with a female protagonist or choice of sex is roughly 74 - 34

Now while that looks bad keep at first glance keep in mind just how many Mario, Wario, Yoshi, Kirby, and Zelda games have been made in that time frame. A decent chunk of the remaining titles feature a lot games where you have a party of characters with several female members and games where you traverse various narrative povs including female ones.

This idea that Nintendo is opposed to females being heroes is absolute horseshit. They just don't see a need to gender bend characters that they believe to have a defined sex.

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

They clearly do think a women is a suitable hero in stories. They make games where that happens. It's just not the tale for this particular series.

And they can't come up with sensible reason why that is.

 

[The Gaming Gamer]

I want a puzzle focused game with Zelda in the lead, and highlight the triforce of the wisdom aspect of her character. It could be similar to Zelda but focus on the dungeon gameplay, less focus on combat and exploration. Even a spinoff with Ganon and the triforce of power could be interesting.

 

[Mory Dunz]

 

[Mango The Magician]

And they can't come up with sensible reason why that is.

They don't need one, he's their character. Get over it.

 

[……forgetit]

And they can't come up with sensible reason why that is.

Essentially they don't want to in this case, and is that inherently wrong?

 

[UnemployedVillain]

And they can't come up with sensible reason why that is.

Neither can fans other than "I don't care what the creator wants. My feelings matter more"

This discussion is reminding me of the discussion of traditional feminism vs intersectional feminism.

"Oh as long as there's a white female Link, it doesn't matter that he can't be other races."
"But I thought the whole argument was anyone was equally likely of being a reincarnation?"

I kid...mostly

This idea that Nintendo is opposed to females being heroes is absolute horseshit. They just don't see a need to gender bend characters that they believe to have a defined sex.

I've brought this up plenty of times. Link's gender is the only thing that matters in the topic of Nintendo's inclusivity

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

And they can't come up with sensible reason why that is.

They don't need to come up with a sensible reason. If a creator makes a character male then that's the only reason why it needs to be male. They made the character that way.

If people aren't happy with that, then simply don't buy the game. I don't get why you think they need to give a sensible reason as to why they want Link to be male.

 

[Apollo Cree]

It was his creation and his vision.

And I support him following it. Ignoring the entire contents of that post is going to cause us to spin tires here.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

This is why Nintendo probably shouldn't say anything at all. You are taking something they said and parading it around like they made some evil statement. Conveniently, you ignored that they could be open to spin-offs, and are often in fact the king of spin-offs (regarding Mario).

They just said Link is male and will continue being the star of the series. That's all.

Aonuma said “...if we have princess Zelda as the main character who fights, then what is Link going to do?"

Miyamoto said that "Link will always be the hero," of the mainline series. If they've giving/coming up with reasons why Zelda can't be the main character of the main series, and that they always want a boy Link as the lead, then they want the leads to be male. That's not a misinterpretation or twisting of their words — that's merely a takeaway from what they've said.

I've already discussed spinoffs in this thread:

If someone wanted to play as Zelda in a Zelda game, they now have Hyrule Warriors which doesn't play like a Zelda game. Seems you're actually missing the point that someone who wanted Zelda playable in a Zelda game will not be appeased by getting Zelda in a spinoff. If it's a different genre — in that it plays completely different and, in Zelda's case, will not tie into the story of the mainline series — it's essentially a different series. Does that make sense?

There's no guarantee spinoffs will be good, loved, or what fans were hoping for (e.g. Metroid). It's tangential to the point people are discussing when saying they wanted a playable Zelda or girl Link.

You need to understand, they look dumb to Americans and most westerners. People who pay attention to different social issues. You're forgetting that these particular developers weren't raised with the same values or are invested in the social movements that 90% of the people on this forum are.

That doesn't make them bad people or sexist.

Actually I'm quite curious if this "female link" issue is a wester issue, or if Zelda fans in Japan share the same sentiment.

These games are being sold in America and most Western countries. I don't get to portray other nationalities in terrible ways that might be accepted/unnoticed in America, then try to sell it in those nations. I'm subject to criticism in that instance.

It's not about people being bad or sexist at their core. It's more about what the creators are actually doing and the ideals they're perpetuating.

They don't need to come up with a sensible reason. If a creator makes a character male then that's the only reason why it needs to be male. They made the character that way.

If people aren't happy with that, then simply don't buy the game. I don't get why you think they need to give a sensible reason as to why they want Link to be male.

And if they give a terrible reason, or willingly give out bad logic, they're subject to criticism.

 

[Shig]

"Fine by me. Playing a mainline Legend of Zelda game with a character other than Link would feel like playing a mainline Legend of Metroid game with a character other than Samus." ...?

Haha, touche. But transitioning from playing as a female adventurer to playing as a floating appendage-less blob would require some pretty drastic drastic gameplay changes.

Going from playing as a male adventurer to playing as a female adventurer? Not so much.

It's just weird to me that they've been able to justify making games called the Legend of Zelda where Zelda barely appears, but a Legend of Zelda game starring Zelda? Whoa now, whoa now. Crazy talk.

 

[AgeEighty]

That's a big jump imo. Most that I've seen just have an attachment to link. I mean ever sense the switch to 3D he's looks more or less the same. I don't know a single person who won't play a game due to a female Link but the majority I know who like Zelda want Link to stay male.

I agree that there are many who have non-sexist reasons, but Zelda is far from the only series where this debate has come up and there are always gamers whose arguments are purely sexist, and it's gotten really old.

 

[ASIS]

It's exactly what he meants. And still no one can find a lore reason to that, while people hide their misoginy in "it's just what the dev wants, the wielder of the bravery triforce can only have a penis!"

Its not misogyny because it IS the creator's intent. That word holds serious weight and I really do not like it being thrown around left and right for no reason.

He's not suppressing any women by making link male. And in fact we need to respect the creators in this decision. If he says he doesn't want to, then he doesn't want to. The whole idea that needs to make "excuses" for something that's inherently not wrong is kind of baffling to me.

Don't get me wrong, it will be cool to have a female link but its not like he's saying women cannot play this game at all.

 

[……forgetit]

I agree that there are many who have non-sexist reasons, but Zelda is far from the only series where this debate has come up and there are always gamers whose arguments are purely sexist, and it's gotten really old.

I agree, there are games when it happens and it's purely sexist. At the same time it's dangerous to throw everyone in a group with people who obviously have pretty revolting opinions. Even in this thread we have people accusing Nintendo of hating women and saying that Nintendo thinks girls fan't be heroes despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary.

 

[Mango The Magician]

Haha, touche. But transitioning from playing as a female adventurer to playing as a floating appendage-less blob would require some pretty drastic drastic gameplay changes.

Going from playing as a male adventurer to playing as a female adventurer? Not so much.

It's just weird to me that they've been able to justify making games called the Legend of Zelda where Zelda barely appears, but a Legend of Zelda game starring Zelda? Whoa now, whoa now. Crazy talk.

It wasn't even originally called "The Legend of Zelda." It was called "Hyrule Fantasy" and "Link" was named Link for like three different reasons, to connect the player to the world, to connect the characters of the world to each other, and because he was gonna connect different time periods. They likely settled with "Zelda" as the series name though because it sounds more mystical than "The Legend of Link." However considering the turn around to "Zelda II: Adventure of Link" it's been clear since day one that Link was always on equal footing to Zelda in regards to the whole "character v. avatar" nonsense.

All that said, it really doesn't matter much, as Zelda does play a huge role in most of the games, even if she ends up being a damsel, she's still a strong and important female character.

 

[ClayKavalier]

They don't need to come up with a sensible reason. If a creator makes a character male then that's the only reason why it needs to be male. They made the character that way.

If people aren't happy with that, then simply don't buy the game. I don't get why you think they need to give a sensible reason as to why they want Link to be male.

That's a great way to treat your fans. "We don't give a shit what you'd like and you sure as hell don't deserve an explanation as to why you're not getting it."

They don't NEED to have a reason. I don't see what the big deal is with people being curious about it though. I also don't see what the big deal is with wanting a change in a series people love. I'd never boycott a Zelda game because it didn't have a female lead, but I also think it could be an interesting change.

Not really sure what you get out of reminding people they're not owed anything by a corporation. People would like a see a change in a series they like. Plus Nintendo has done stuff like Linkle and not immediately responding to everyone initially think BotW Link was female.

 

[Avenger54321]

No surprised there, Link is always the first thing that pops up when I think of Zelda. A Sheik spinoff would be awesome and, if it were to happen, I would buy it day one. I can imagine the player running into Link, and he wouldn't have any dialogue. Just: ...

 

[El Topo]

And I support him following it. Ignoring the entire contents of that post is going to cause us to spin tires here.

You do that, that is fine. My intention was to point out that generally speaking people don't have a problem with criticizing the creator of a property or his vision. He or she is not immune from that.
No one gives a shit about George Lucas and his intentions for Jar-Jar Binks or the prequels.

 

[Red Arremer]

I've always hoped for a Sheik spin-off. That character would be perfect to make a stealth game like the Thief series, though I sadly don't believe that Nintendo would be willing to do something like that.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

That's a great way to treat your fans. "We don't give a shit what you'd like and you sure as hell don't deserve an explanation as to why you're not getting it."

Fans throwing up a stink at not getting to dictate what the creator of a series wants with his character =/= The creator treating their fans like shit. A creator is obligated to explain everything about their decision just because some fans demand it

 

[AgeEighty]

I agree, there are games when it happens and it's purely sexist. At the same time it's dangerous to throw everyone in a group with people who obviously have pretty revolting opinions. Even in this thread we have people accusing Nintendo of hating women and saying that Nintendo thinks girls fan't be heroes despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary.

I think you're overreaching on exactly what people are accusing Nintendo of. Most of the sarcasm I've seen is thrown less at Nintendo and more at the people forcefully defending their choice with this game. With regard to Nintendo the reaction I'm seeing is less anger and more disappointment, especially since their explanation for their choice seems kind of flimsy.