Too Manly For Color!
By now you’ve probably seen the commercial for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 racer Blur, because I don’t even watch that much TV and I’ve seen it probably 70 times. This commercial is awful and represents a lot of what’s wrong with video games these days.
Also, yes, I know Kotaku kinda wrote about this today, but I was going to write this up yesterday but decided to do the contest instead. Whatever. I didn’t steal the idea.
Anyway, you have a generic colorful fantasy setting, and the character pining to escape into the edgy, dark realistic world of Blur. Blur, in case you haven’t read about it, is pretty much Mario Kart but with less colors and real cars. You still get power-ups to give you the edge in races and everything. It’s Mario Kart minus Mario. And karts, I guess. But it’s still takes a lot of its inspiration from Mario Kart, if that still makes sense.
The problem with this ad, though, is it just reinforces the ignorant attitude of far too many gamers these days. “YOU LIKE COLOR? YOU’RE A WUSS. WE HAVE REAL CARS AND DARK BUILDINGS. GROW UP.” Who’s more grown up: the person who can enjoy something regardless of how it looks to others, or someone who has to constantly overstate their masculinity by subscribing to society’s “macho” stereotype?
I mean really. If you want to play Mario Kart, play Mario Kart. Everyone likes Mario Kart.
Like we’ve talked about before in posts and podcasts, far too many gamers these days feel it’s necessary to insult everyone who plays anything that’s considered “kiddy” or “casual.” This commercial only throws more fuel onto the fire. It’s fine if you don’t want to play Mario Kart, but why do you need to take the time and effort to rip on people who do?
I’m 26 years old and I still enjoy colorful games. I enjoy mature games, too. I don’t, however, enjoy trying to make people feel bad for enjoying games that they think are fun. I mean, yeah, I guess I’m kinda ripping on Blur here but THEY STARTED IT.
It all comes down to this: ten years from now, people are still going to be playing Mario Kart. It’s distinctive, it’s well made, and it’s fun. In ten years, are people still going to be playing Blur? If someone mentions Blur in a conversation, will it evoke memories and excitement from others?
10 Comments
I heard it sucks anyway,
The people who think that games that have color are “kiddy” don’t deserve to call themselves “gamers.”
The fun thing is, I bet Mario Kart has tighter mechanics, game play and courses.
Quit ripping on Mario Kart. We may not have Ferari’s but we have parakoopa shells that EXPLODE!!!!
You know what it is? Blue Shell jealousy.
thank you im tired of people making fun of the games i play because its not halo or grand theft auto just because you cant hit someone with a car or blow someones brains out doesnt mean its not a good game
YES!!! Although really, I hate casual games because they’re ruining the gaming market and making Nintendo systems gradually cease to be viable game consoles, but just because a game has bright, colorful visuals and no guns doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be cool. And doesn’t mean it’s a casual game. I was just talking with a friend about Pokemon and how it’s not popular anymore since people who don’t play it don’t realize how deep it is. They see the anime and the trading cards and say, “Pokemon sucks. It’s a stupid game for kids.” (And they probably pronounce it “pokey-mon,” too.) Have they ever heard, say, the term “Effort Values?” No. It’s the same sort of issue as with this commercial. It’s like if a game doesn’t feature guns and explosions, it can’t be popular.
Really are there ANY racing franchises as popular as Mario Kart? The only other one that comes to mind is Gran Turismo.
BLUR. RACE LIKE A BIG BOY.
(rated everyone ten and up).
HAH.