[quote name='DarkonJohn']That's like saying "guys that eat food", and I'm pretty sure that targeting the group of guys that DON'T want to get laid would be the quickest path to total and utter failure :lol:
For the sake of argument (or discussion), I disagree, because this is like saying that the television indusry doesn't get respect because of the existence of cartoons or soap operas. Any industry of any size will have a diverse set of customers with a diverse (and sometimes conflicting) set of interests.
Most of the people that don't have any respect for video games are people that didn't grow up with video games. Much like most of the parents that didn't grow up with Rock and Roll didn't have any respect for it.
The people that have respect and appreciation for the videogame industry are those that play video games, and there is no reason for people that don't play video games to have any respect for it...or understanding of it.
For me, the box art and marketing for RoAW (as well as the game) provides an entertaining "taste of Japan" (or at least a part of the Japanense gaming industry). It might not appeal to everyone and is definitely different than typical American-style products, but some of us found it amusing enough to buy the game, and some of those are actually playing it

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Well said, DarkonJohn, and I agree with you on many levels.
I guess I'm just not a big fan of marketing to the lowest male instincts. I clarify my earlier statement that RoAW seems aimed not at just males wanting to get laid, but that young teen crowd wanting to get laid (as in the American Pie audience some of us were once part of).
I'm certainly not opposed to games like RoAW; you are absolutely right that there is room in the industry (as there should be) for all sorts of genres. Heck, I'll defend Onechanbara any day. But I suppose games like RoAW, with its crazy add-ons garner far more media attention than it rightfully deserves. It reminds me of games like the The Guy Game which got heavy press when stores like Wal-Mart and TRU refused to carry it or pulled it from shelves. It's not that these games cannot co-exist with the industry, it's just that the Press cherry-pick them as news stories, and they sadly then become poster children for the industry in general.
It's a double-edged sword, of course. The publisher of course needs to sell the game so it wants to make a marketing splash. Again, I would have liked it had they taken a slightly less degenerative approach (you know, the whole -- hey, let's market this sucker as T&A, boobies, and more boobies, game).
There are so many other angles to sell this SRPG -- the generational component is merely a small piece of the pie, and even that could be marketed in a different way (just look at Fable or even how Atlus handled marketing Ar Tonelico in the US). Sometimes, less is more, I guess.
Anyways, ranting. Bottom-line, I agree with you
