Journalist Meltdown Over Street Fighter 6 Having Attractive Women

Street Fighter 6 is officially out on most major platforms. The game was released on 2 June 2023 and is already enjoying a healthy amount of success. However, unfortunately, many online are not debating their game accomplishments. Instead, the debate is centered around an old topic of discussion—attractive women in revealing outfits and whether or not they should exist. Street Fighter is an iconic franchise dating to 1987. It has garnered a cult following and, in many ways, defined the fighting genre as we know it.

It paved the way for many classics, such as Mortal Kombat and Tekken, that we know and love today. The fact that this game franchise is still going strong is amazing. However, it is not only the longevity of Street Fighter that is impressive. It is also their consistent success that is remarkable to observe. This franchise might have ups and downs, but Street Fighter 6 is enjoying tremendous success. The Street Fighter franchise holds the record for most concurrent players on Steam. This, in large part, is all thanks to the latest installment.

Street Fighter 6 smashes the all-time concurrent player record with an impressive 66,317 people playing it simultaneously. To put this number in context, the second best is Mortal Kombat 11, sitting at 35,147. Not only are they dominating records in terms of concurrent players, but they are also dominating sales. The game sold over 1 million units in the first three days, and these numbers are still going strong. Many fans have rediscovered their love for this franchise, and there is a fundamental reason why. Developers decided to go back to the basics.

The Street Fight Two Controversy

However, not everyone is celebrating the success of Street Fighter 6. Although it is a small minority, some are pushing back against how Street Fighter portrays their women. The topic of women in revealing outfits is a very contentious debate. Some argue it is empowering, while others claim it is nothing more than objectification. As always, the truth will be somewhere in the middle. There is a straightforward truth that we all know. Attractive women and men sell video games. Everyone is happy when they play with a character that is pleasant to look at.

No one wants to play with a character who looks exactly like them. People want to escape reality and play with someone they wish to be with. When Street Fighter decided to bring back some of their classic outfits for women, a few people were unhappy with this decision. A big topic of discussion is Cammy and her iconic one-piece. Some argue that an outfit this revealing should not be in modern video games. However, Cammy did not just decide to show more in this game. All women in this game are beautiful and offer a lot more skin.

Over the last few years, many game developers have folded under pressure and completely changed the design of their leading women. They argue that a woman does not have to be half-naked for you to enjoy the game. Although I agree with this statement, most people still enjoy looking at attractive people. A simple middle ground can always be reached, but unfortunately, overcorrections always happen in a particular direction.

The Sexy Women Hypocrisy

However, it should be noted that this debate always leans in one direction despite being relevant for both sexes. It is not only men who like attractive women in video games or entertainment. Women are equal offenders in this practice as well as willing participants. There is a reason why so many anime men are beautiful. It is undoubtedly not a fan service for men. There is a reason why women freak out over BTS. Once again, it is not just their singing talent alone. It is not a coincidence that Henry Cavil has his shirt off every five minutes in The Witcher.

Fan service is real, and men are not the only people who enjoy looking at attractive people. For every video game woman in a skimpy outfit, there is a man next to her with no shirt on. It is an industry-wide phenomenon that stretches across the entertainment space. Trying to ignore this reality is delusional and will never work. Both men and women know this. That is why every male singer takes their shirt off on stage and every woman has her ass out in music videos. They will tell you it is for empowerment, but I assure you it is not. Both sides understand their audience and are catering to them.

Are Women Being Sexualised In Video Games

However, there is also a line. Women being sexual in a music video is not a crime. However, sexualizing women is still wrong. There is a big difference between a woman owning her sexuality and a woman being sexualized for the crime of dressing sexy. This, unfortunately, is still a concept that some people do not understand, and it is important to point it out. A woman can wear a mini skirt and still have the right not to be sexually harassed. Many fear that over-sexualizing women in video games can lead to the over-sexualization of women in real life.

Some don’t understand the difference between fiction and real life and will use this as an excuse to bother women inappropriately. Some also argue that the sexualization of men and women is different. For a man, it is empowering to be sexual and sexualized. However, for women, the impact of sexualization is much harsher. I would agree that those two things are different. However, in the landscape of video games, I do not believe this to be true. Women in video games wearing revealing clothes have the same impact on society as video game men with similar clothing items.

The impact is none. In the real world, there might be a different set of standards for women that can be deemed unfair, but it is all the same in video games. Attractive people exist to make the customer happy. We all have a particular video game character or anime person we have fallen in love with. People should always play video games for the gameplay and story. However, an attractive person on the game cover is also a welcome sight.

Conclusion

Although a few people are unhappy with girls’ outfits in Street Fighter 6, most are happy with what they see. Fighting games at its core is fan service. The truth is that no one is playing these games for their unique storytelling. People play it for the visual aspect. We all know that you choose your character based on how cool they look. When we create our avatars, we shape the men how we wish we looked and the women based on how we want our girlfriends to look. It might not be accurate for every game, but it is true in some of them.

I play plenty of games simply because I am excited about the story. The looks of the lead character hold no value in my decision-making. However, other times, I see an attractive girl and click for that reason alone. Trying to make women in video games unappealing does no one any real favors. Women do not have to be naked for us to enjoy games. However, a visually pleasing person goes a long way. Japan understands this, and that is why anime is popular. You might watch One Punch Man for the story, but let’s not pretend you do not freak out whenever you see Tornado on TV. Alternatively, I may be just self-reporting.