But you make it so easy.Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperMillionaire
Disney Channel musicians aren't "underground." You're just not a prepubescent female, so you're outside their target demographic. But don't worry! You're not alone. I bet you'll get along really well with this guy.
(SPOILER)What I'm trying to say that at this point, infatuation with preteen pop stars is starting to get a little creepy and you should probably try to expand your musical horizons.
SnakeQuote:
Originally Posted by Hypoallergenic Cactuar
Ryu
Cody
Guy
Haggar
The Guys from Double Dragon
The Guys from Contra
The Guys from Metal Slug
Travis Touchdown
Arthur and
Jack are not property of Nintendo
Also the guy from Yakuza
The guy from Castlevania
Chris Redfield
The guy from the Conduit
I tend to believe there's a huge maturity aspect as well. I don't think its a choice between cutesy or badass. Western games are trying to be more "mature". While in the process you end up catering to a huge "juvenile" demographic (original Mortal Kombat, anyone?) but to me, Japan likes to cater a lot to immaturity. And cutesy fluff-balls just don't entertain me anymore on an intellectual or emotional level. And I rarely play "pick-up-and-play" games. So Mario and Katamari just aren't for me. I grew out of that kinda stuff. Japan didn't. Though it should be noted, a lot of Western gamers have not, either
^ Yes. It's whatever sells to a market of 15-year-old boys (or those with the maturity level of a 15-year-old boy).
Oh god whatQuote:
Originally Posted by Ouch!
I cannot stop laughing
WHAT THE WHAT!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ouch!
Back to the thread at hand - most people are just insecure about themselves so they won't look at games that don't have boring grey and brown "realistic" art styles.
This is a good example. You may not like pick-up-and-play games, but they are a massive part of the industry. The way you've worded that makes it sound like it's something people have to grow out of, and if they don't they are immature. That is just wrong, imo. You look at the latest Donkey Kong Country Returns and you see typical platforming, so just because it has a bright and colourful art style and is presented in a cute and comical way, it's not grown up enough for someone mature to like? Why do some people have to take life so seriously all the time?Quote:
Originally Posted by Vyk
I deem you a Stick In The Mud.
Huh? All of those except for Snake and the Metal Slug guys are quite pretty boy-tier in my book.Quote:
Originally Posted by Depression Moon
Hannah Montana (which, by the way, aired the final episode on the Disney Channel a week ago) is mainstream.Quote:
Originally Posted by TimekeeperQuote:
Originally Posted by SuperMillionaire
The thought that Hannah Montana could be underground intrigues and amuses me.Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperMillionaire
But yeah, I guess it's just another variant of East vs. West differences. The museum at my uni actually had a special display on beards and how they've represented manliness in Western culture throughout antiquity :D
I never said absolutely everybody else. I said the majority, but that doesn't include everybody, so there is a minority. It's a sizable minority, but it's a minority nonetheless.Quote:
Originally Posted by JKTrixSure is some black and white over-generalization here. Are you basing your opinion that 'the majority of us here', on a Final Fantasy forum, like 'badass' characters just because people prefer Basch? Because of the Halo thread that keeps popping up? When it comes to Westerners and popular video games with manly, 'badass' characters, people rarely spend much time talking about the quality of the characters themselves.
One thing to consider about Japan's 'preference' is that there are a lot more girls who play Final Fantasy and are very vocal about it. If you look at your average male pop star in Japan, they are young and pretty men. So the female influence is strong in pushing the 'cutesy' look, as you call it.
There are psychosocial things to consider as well. Japanese people are stereotypically timid, so having a 'cutesy', accommodating, non-threatening character might naturally appeal to them. People in other cultures, particularly males, are more likely to prefer a 'badass' character that they can look up to and admire (or at least believe can take on an alien army) without feeling threatened by them. If they only had a choice between one or the other. There's a lot of middle ground that's being ignored here.
Speaking of 'ignored middle ground'; I won't ridicule your taste, but I am worried that your range of musical choices is so limited and extreme. And, dare I say, culturally ignorant. I understand the point you're trying to make, but when you try to support your point with extreme claims, you really expose yourself when you don't need to. You really didn't need to mention music.
I also don't fully understand what you meant by this:What video game 'references' are you talking about in Japanese pop culture? This is a (western) pop culture video game reference. I don't often hear popular Japanese songs talking about playing games. In Japan, video games come with theme songs from real artists. It's not so much a cultural reference as it is cross-promotion.Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperMillionaire
And I'm not talking about having video games referenced in music, but pop culture in general; in the United States, video games don't have the same popularity level amongst ALL AMERICANS as movies, TV, and music. THAT'S what I mean by "underground."
Number one, I'm not the only one in my age range that likes Disney Channel shows, as revealed in this article I found:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ouch!
Hannah Montana has following with many college students, despite age difference - Features
As you can see, there is a considerable number of college students who also like Disney Channel shows and singers.
Number two, I happen to have a wide variety of musical interests, from dance-pop stars like Miley Cyrus, to soft pop music stars such as Colbie Caillat, to soft rock bands like Lifehouse, to dance-rock bands like Good Charlotte, to punk bands like Paramore (who by the way are friends of the Cyrus family), to a few heavy-and-edgy bands such as Nickelback, to a few progressive rock bands such as Muse, and much more. Almost anything other than the majority of hip-hop and heavy metal (with the exception of Linkin Park/Dead by Sunrise/Fort Minor).
True, but still, the majority of Japanese people tend to like "cutesy-cutesy" characters moreso than "badass" characters, whereas it's the other way around here (for the most part, but not always).Quote:
Originally Posted by Depression Moon
You're really not helping your case by citing an article in which all the quoted sources are female. Try harder.
Also, please stop referring to bands like Linkin Park as edgy or heavy. It's embarrassing.
I think Super's definition of edgey is a little more watered down than the average music enthusiast. As far as mainstream music goes, Linkin Park probably is more on that side of the spectrum. Especially older Linkin Park. If you want to consider their angst edgey, I think they were only outdone by maybe Eminem
As for my quoted statement. I didn't mean to imply everyone does (or should) outgrow pick-up-and-play games. I just mean its more of a natural progression, but not a guarantee. Certainly happens more often than people growing INTO those kinda games. I suppose I could have worded it better. But I cited that the west enjoys those kind of games more frequently than realized to try to counter-balance the fact that I grew out of them. I know I'm not a normal gamer. I'm extremely hard to please. A lot of western gamers really aren't as hard to please as they sound, or as SuperMillionaire thinks they might be. JRPGs are still going pretty strong for instance. And Pokemon is still a billion dollar phenomenon over here
Dear lawdy. The categories you place your musical taste in are so off. It's kinda embarrassing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Freya
lolQuote:
Originally Posted by SuperMillionaire
I especially liked identifying Muse as prog-rock. While some of there stuff exhibits some prog-rock influence and could maybe be called neo-prog, it's just insulting to associate them primarily as progressive rock.
Why?? o_OQuote:
Originally Posted by Ouch!
Because prog-rock is prog-rock, and Muse has far stronger influences than prog-rock.