Home Gaming Blizzard removing sexualised Tracer pose after Overwatch fan complaint

Blizzard removing sexualised Tracer pose after Overwatch fan complaint

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Blizzard removes sexulised Tracer pose

Overwatch features a really nice, diverse cast of characters, all proudly envisioned with their own set of character traits and quirks. Bastion, the rocking,socking rolling turret for example, doesn’t say much but has an incredibly soft side towards nature. Widowmaker, on the other hand, flaunts her seductiveness that intertwines with her murderous nature. Tracer, the British teleporter that stole hearts in the game’s very first trailer, is fun and cute and quirky, but even Blizzard agrees now that they made a slight mistake with her.

Responding to some rather civil fan criticism over one of Tracer’s victory poses, Blizzard has opted to remove said pose over is overt sexual nature. The complaint in question points out how the over-the-should victory pose just acts as another reason to reduce Tracer to another “sexual idol”, which doesn’t fit at all with the character’s charming, more childlike traits.

Blizzard forums poster Fipps explained their view in a lengthy post, pointing out that Tracer isn’t defined by her sexuality like other characters in the game, making the pose seem out of place.

“We aren’t looking at a Widowmaker pose here, this isn’t a character who is in part defined by flaunting her sexuality. This pose says to the player base, oh we’ve got all these cool diverse characters, but at any moment we are willing to reduce them to sex symbols to help boost our investment game.”

Fipps explains that more overtly sexual poses found alongside characters like Widowmaker and D.Va make more sense because it’s part of their writing, whereas Tracer never exhibits any type of behaviour like this outside the victory pose. Fipps praised Blizzard for their inclusion and diversity in the cast already, but asked that they not be sucked into degrading their characters for no obvious reasons.

Tracer is getting her butt pose removed

“What I’m asking is that as you continue to add to the Overwatch cast and investment elements, you double down on your commitment to create strong female characters. You’ve been doing a good job so far, but shipping with a tracer pose like this undermines so much of the good you’ve already done.”

The discussion on the forum remained largely pleasant too, with some users agreeing and others disagreeing with some good points. Eventually Game Director Jeff Kaplan joined in, agreed with Fipps critique of the pose and promised that it would be removed in the near future. Kaplan says making all players feel included is top of their priority list, and shared the sentiment of the pose not fitting Tracer’s personality.

You could largely disagree with Fipps’ view, but I’m rather happy that a constructive discussion took place here rather than the usual internet shouting match with little to no direction (though that has happened external to the forums, on the usual social media suspects). Fipps simply didn’t understand why Tracer was being sexualised against her character, and accepts that this forms part of other characters personalities. I’m glad Blizzard felt the need to listen too.

Overwatch is out this May on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

View my Flipboard Magazine.

Last Updated: March 29, 2016

24 Comments

  1. And now for our next character, we will be using a Nun! Oh wait? The Catholics got a problem with that? OK. Fine. A stick figure it is then!

    Reply

    • konfab

      March 29, 2016 at 08:48

      A STICK FIGURE!!!!

      That is essentially fat-shaming all overweight people 😮

      Reply

      • Jan Prins

        March 29, 2016 at 09:08

        I’m fat. I won’t be offended. I still laugh my ass off at Zombieland’s “Poor Fat Bastard.”

        Reply

  2. Kromas untamed

    March 29, 2016 at 08:53

    This is all fine and good but when do we draw the line. Right now doing anything is a PC minefield. So much so that South Park pretty much had a whole season dedicated to the topic.

    Also I thought Tracer was a sexy character in her own way. 🙂

    Reply

    • Jan Prins

      March 29, 2016 at 09:03

      Yes. But heaven forbid a girl do a victory dance and show off a well toned butt.

      Reply

      • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

        March 29, 2016 at 09:17

        Exactly!! I get so frustrated with this crap!!

        Reply

    • Brian

      March 29, 2016 at 09:28

      Tracer is not a sexualized character at all, and the pose has nothing to do with her personality. They aren’t saying

      “Desexualize everything from Overwatch!”

      but rather:

      “This sexual pose has nothing to do with the character and is unnecessary”

      Reply

      • Valaska Averia

        March 29, 2016 at 09:38

        … Why are you people who haven’t played posting? She flirts in several dialogues, is 26, cockney, scrappy, and playful… The pose was -perfect- for her character, the pose is not over sexualized at all. She was looking over her shoulder in a playful “Buh bye” kind of way sticking up her hip abit. It was cute and flirty, but overly sexualized? No.

        Besides, a character that you feel is “innocent” or “pure” MUST NOT have a sexuality? She can’t allowed to be confident or sexy? She can’t flirt? A more flat, non-busty boxum woman is not allowed to have a flirty side to her? She MUST remain innocent and pure?

        Literally the original poster more than likely does NOT have an 8 year old daughter (playing a fricken teen rated game!?) and likely has a VERY creepy… VERY gross and DISGUSTING vision of what “his” Tracer has to be, and if she isn’t that he won’t be aroused by his no longer “pure” and “innocent” Tracer. He literally stated that she has to be pure and innocent…

        Reply

        • Kromas untamed

          March 29, 2016 at 10:50

          I am in agreement with both posts and therein lies the problem. There is no entity that can standardise sexuality. I mean for the love of bacon some people have over sexualized my little pony!!!!!. The problem I have is with the duality of it all. This may be a minor thing in the grand scheme of things but wait till ass hats with nothing else to do ( like Anita ) catch wind of it and start protesting something or the other.

          And then we get another dam gamers gate.

          Reply

          • Valaska Averia

            March 30, 2016 at 10:40

            I can get that, seeing the merits on both sides, but its quite the stretch to see the pose as out of her character in my opinion. She’s striken the pose before, she is a little bit on the playful flirt side, and she has tooshie wiggle taunts lol.

            https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10391856_508542905998307_8577122342461189653_n.jpg?oh=4c8c333d7c7cb523f71236010119ae9f&oe=578CECB4

            Even cosplay artists and fans that use the character who identify with Tracer (gals on the Blizzard forums) are saying that the removal of the pose is like stating their sexuality is invalidated and basically something that should be censored and removed due to the sensibilities of one very questionable source.

            But hopefully we do go Anita’less with this. Posts with titles like this “sexualized tracer pose” are acerbic and acrid, clickbait meant nothing more than to sensationalize the issue.Look at Siren in that cosplay post, does she honestly look like she’s putting it all out there, or is she striking a cool, badass, prominent pose?

  3. Valaska Averia

    March 29, 2016 at 09:31

    … The title here is BS author, it wasn’t a sexualized pose. It was literally a little cutsey her looking over her shoulder and her butt happened to be in the view. Sort of flirty and cutsey, and fit right in with the character how she is well, playful, scrappy and somewhat flirty in a lot of her lines. She even strikes the EXACT pose in the Museum trailer.

    Reply

  4. For the Emperor!

    March 29, 2016 at 09:35

    A civil discussion on the Interwebz? The HORROR!

    Reply

    • For the Emperor!

      March 29, 2016 at 09:37

      Reply

  5. Francois Knoetze

    March 29, 2016 at 11:20

    Moan moan bitch bitch moan moan, opinions matter, more bitching and moaning from entitled gamers…this is going too far.

    Reply

    • Jan Prins

      March 29, 2016 at 11:47

      Wonder what would happen if gamers found themselves in the romance/erotica section of a book store?

      Reply

      • Francois Knoetze

        March 29, 2016 at 11:55

        They would criticise the cover, say the content is over sexualised bitch there is not enough gay relationships, why are the characters white, the name of the member should not be named X but rather XY, complain that it costs too much and not worth the money, that they have read better books in the adult store next door, they would rather go digital than hard copy, there is no plot, it is repetitive. the predecessor was better than the sequel… Man this could take forever o.O

        Reply

        • Sageville

          March 29, 2016 at 13:52

          To be fair, most wouldn’t have actually read the book, but a mate did and that’s enough to form a hurt opinion about the whole book….

          Reply

      • Francois Knoetze

        March 29, 2016 at 12:02

        KINDLE!! IPAD!! HARDCOPY MASTERACE with 500 pages of thick leather-bound glory, printed in indian ink, Illustrated by the queen of hard ons Hana Jockstrap, BOW BEFORE ME PEASANTS! Dammit now you sent me off into my own head.!

        Reply

  6. Sageville

    March 29, 2016 at 12:22

    You can argue both sides, the pose is or is not in line with her character…

    Frankly, It’s such a minor quibble, I can’t be bothered, neither will 99% of those actually interested in the game (I ignore the trolls and SJW with agendas).

    In the end, the publishers will take the path of least resistance and just change it to avoid forced drama.

    Reply

  7. Sageville

    March 29, 2016 at 13:13

    How fragile are people these days?

    “I was hurt by a fully and appropriately clothed virtual character’s pose, one similar to poses we see daily in TV, Movies and in life…”

    Reply

  8. Ghost In The Rift

    March 29, 2016 at 13:30

    I’m just here waiting for that Miranda pose!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  9. Jim Hogan (Banana Hulk Hogan)

    March 29, 2016 at 16:07

    Man, the regressive left is getting on my tits.

    Reply

  10. Stefan Kühn

    March 30, 2016 at 13:28

    The character remains the same, the game remains the same, the story remains the same, there’s just one less cartoon ass – which makes all this backlash seem really creepy. If you get this angry about SJWs taking away your cartoon butts then you got some thinkin’ to do.

    Reply

  11. Basura Nephilim

    April 3, 2016 at 16:46

    Because having the slightest sexual tinge, in a personality….is dumb, stupid, misogynist.
    Nobody should allow to have a bit of sexy in them. We’re all a homogeneous lump of a sexual mannequins.

    Seriously though. I like it if tracer has a little pinch of sexappeal. It’s like a cheeky little wink, from a very eccentric characters. Every facet of a person adds to them, and tracer is cheeky in herself already, so it fits perfectly imho.
    As long as it stays that very small little thing that she does.

    Reply

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