Naughty Dog Criticized For The Last Of Us’s 2 Violence Against Women
During the Paris Games Week 2017 Developer, Naughty Dog and Publisher Sony Interactive released a new trailer for one the most awaited game The Last Of Us 2. it would be the second game in the series and would be a sequel to the 2013’s Last Of Us.
As most of the gamers know that the second game also revolves around the two characters Ellie and Joel. so it came as a surprise when the new trailer at the PGW revealed a new female character who many are speculating that it may be Ellie, the gruesome and mysterious atmosphere in the trailer has certainly hyped up most of the gamers.
But as always there are some who disliked the trailer and criticized Naughty Dog for depicting violence against women. yup, you read it right apparently The Last Of Us 2 somehow promotes violence against violence. if you haven’t watched the trailer till now you can check it out below
Major Publication websites were quick to criticize Naughty Dog and Sony for the new The Last Of Us 2 trailer. Paste Magazine claimed that the trailer is just too real and complains that games developer are selling violence.
There aren’t many videogame moments that are harder to watch, and what makes it even more egregious is that this is basically a commercial for the game. Naughty Dog and Sony think this brutal, uncomfortable violence is a primary selling point.
Polygon lambaste Naughty Dog and Sony claiming this trailer depicts real-life violence against women and they are commercializing it to sell a video game.
“The violence is particularly upsetting as it features the assault of women. Violent attacks on women, many times for perfunctory purposes, isn’t new. The Killing Joke saw the Joker torture Barbara Gordon in a statement that reinforced the notion that gender influences violence. The volatile imagery used in the trailer to underline the heinous acts being committed are familiar scenes to us”
“The fact that their antagonist is a woman herself does little to undercut what this trailer is on its most blunt level: an extended sequence of brutal and unexplained violence against women being used to thrill the viewer, and ultimately, sell a video game. “
There were various reaction all over the internet some were awestruck, some were hyped and some were showing a total disgust and disapproved the new trailer. below is a list of some of those tweets
that was a pretty nasty Last of Us 2 trailer – context is everything & that was just… weird & gross & meaningless
— Tauriq Moosa (@tauriqmoosa) October 30, 2017
First game is already overwhelmingly bleak. Don’t show me a woman’s arms being broken with a hammer & tell me that’s making a better game.
— Axel Boada (@axelboada) October 30, 2017
The new Last of Us trailer is grotesque. Violence against women to stand in for lazy storytelling.
— A. Bettridge-Wiese (@lucidiguana) October 30, 2017
The last of us part 2, because I play games to watch women have their arms smashed in with a hammer….
Jesus fuck that was miserable— Hellius Spookius (@Hell_Plus) October 30, 2017
Following the outcry on social media, Telegraph talked to Jim Ryan, the PlayStation president of SIE Europe, about the violence in the trailer to which he replied wisely that the game is made a mature devs more a mature audience with a mature rating.
“The Last of Us obviously is a game made by adults to be played by adults. I should never prejudge this but it will probably be rated ’18’, I think it’s fair to say. And there’s that market for those people who like that sort of game. Adults who like that sort of game. And I think we cater for that, and at the other end of the spectrum there was Concrete Genie, which my 8 year old decided was the game she would like to play very much.
“I think a platform holder provides a platform and the people who make games, whether they’re our own studios or third party publishers, they bring the content to the platform. We provide the platform. We have to ensure the right content is played by the right people – of appropriate ages in particular. I thought The Last of Us Part 2 was a great way to end the show and I feel very good about it.”
The situation seems to be crazy and funny at the same time. crazy because the trailer showcase strong female characters in a post-apocalyptic world but somehow angry Journos are labeling them as a victim and sign of selling violence.
And funny because Neil Druckmann creative director of Naughty Dog on many instances has supported video games critics Anita Sarkessian. but now is under fire from the same progressive group.
The issue will dimish eventually but as it always has been this topic will rise again when more details about the game comes out and the release date of The Last Of Us 2 closes in.