It has come to recent attention that, after Winter Brawl 9, certain costumes are going to be banned from tournament play for DOA5 Last Round. They are as follows:
Now, many people are wondering why this is a big deal. The fact of the matter is this: this is community basically saying that we are ashamed about one aspect of DOA that has been part of the game since the beginning. The fact that costumes, which have NO AFFECT ON GAMEPLAY, are being banned from tournament play in order to give the game a "serious" image hurts and divides the community. In every fighting game, people have their main characters and some of those characters are frequently used. In order to be different, players have certain colors and/or costumes they like to use in order to separate themselves.
Competitive players in the DOA community, of course, support this ban. However, there are players who do not agree with this, and for good reason. For one thing, this costume ban is basically saying that we're trying to cater to outsiders who don't give a damn about our game to begin with. People know what DOA is and DOA5 has never been more competitive than it has ever been. Costumes do not change gameplay, so there is no reason to ban them from stream, just so outsiders can take our game "seriously."
Banning costumes won't get people to take our game any more seriously. To get people into DOA, you have to teach them the basics and the mechanics. If people do not want to give DOA a chance just because of some fan service, then that is a personal issue. When I'm playing the game, and I'm using a sexy costume, I'm focusing on the fighting and nothing else. If a competitive player is distracted because of a bikini or a fucking bath towel, again, that is their own personal issue. Just because I like to use sexy costumes doesn't make me, or anyone else, less of a competitive player. In fact, people like me who BUY these costumes are how Team Ninja are able to contribute to pot bonuses and give us even more additional content. We support the game too, just in different ways.
TL;DR: Banning costumes hurts our community, because we're saying that we're ashamed that we enjoy all aspects of the game. DOA has fan service, but what is wrong with that? Who decides what is "too sexy"? Banning costumes also will not get people to look at our game more seriously. It's basically the DOA community saying that our game is something that cannot be enjoyed or taken seriously just because of one minor aspect. Costumes aren't game breaking. They do not affect how the game plays. Just because people like using these kinds of costumes, that doesn't make them any less of a competitive player. If we want to support DOA, then we should support ALL ASPECTS of DOA.
Banned Costumes said:
Now, many people are wondering why this is a big deal. The fact of the matter is this: this is community basically saying that we are ashamed about one aspect of DOA that has been part of the game since the beginning. The fact that costumes, which have NO AFFECT ON GAMEPLAY, are being banned from tournament play in order to give the game a "serious" image hurts and divides the community. In every fighting game, people have their main characters and some of those characters are frequently used. In order to be different, players have certain colors and/or costumes they like to use in order to separate themselves.
Competitive players in the DOA community, of course, support this ban. However, there are players who do not agree with this, and for good reason. For one thing, this costume ban is basically saying that we're trying to cater to outsiders who don't give a damn about our game to begin with. People know what DOA is and DOA5 has never been more competitive than it has ever been. Costumes do not change gameplay, so there is no reason to ban them from stream, just so outsiders can take our game "seriously."
Banning costumes won't get people to take our game any more seriously. To get people into DOA, you have to teach them the basics and the mechanics. If people do not want to give DOA a chance just because of some fan service, then that is a personal issue. When I'm playing the game, and I'm using a sexy costume, I'm focusing on the fighting and nothing else. If a competitive player is distracted because of a bikini or a fucking bath towel, again, that is their own personal issue. Just because I like to use sexy costumes doesn't make me, or anyone else, less of a competitive player. In fact, people like me who BUY these costumes are how Team Ninja are able to contribute to pot bonuses and give us even more additional content. We support the game too, just in different ways.
TL;DR: Banning costumes hurts our community, because we're saying that we're ashamed that we enjoy all aspects of the game. DOA has fan service, but what is wrong with that? Who decides what is "too sexy"? Banning costumes also will not get people to look at our game more seriously. It's basically the DOA community saying that our game is something that cannot be enjoyed or taken seriously just because of one minor aspect. Costumes aren't game breaking. They do not affect how the game plays. Just because people like using these kinds of costumes, that doesn't make them any less of a competitive player. If we want to support DOA, then we should support ALL ASPECTS of DOA.
