Remedy Entertainment had tried so hard to avoid devaluing Control into little more than gender identarianism and yet another game burdened to leave a bad taste in the mouths of gamers due to sociopolitical angst. However, it was inevitable given that 505 Games decided to politicize the game’s marketing just days before release with – of all things – the first set of streams for Control.
The news comes courtesy of a tweet published on August 24th, 2019, where 505 Games declared that in light of Womens Equality Day, they would be excluding men from the first set of livestreams by partnering with specific female streamers to promote the game.
We’ve partnered with select female creators to introduce @remedygames’s newest protagonist, Jesse Faden, in the first streams for @ControlRemedy!
➡️ https://t.co/W1Px6aYIGc
➡️ https://t.co/z9iJCwx8Ev
➡️ https://t.co/voosUreKEi#WomensEqualityDay pic.twitter.com/XH0ctKzd6e— 505 Games (@505_Games) August 24, 2019
The first streams for the game took place on August 24th, 2019, with streamers like AlyskaPlays and TrishaHershberger given exclusive access to Control ahead of everybody else.
Watch Exclusive content! Lets regain control #Ad from AlyskaPlays on www.twitch.tv
Watch Streaming CONTROL early!! SO EXCITED!! from TrishaHershberger on www.twitch.tv
It wasn’t just those two that had access to the game, though. Various others also streamed on August 24th, 2019, including MegKaylee, Morrigh4n, and Smashley, among others.
Watch [Avant Première !] On découvre CONTROL from Morrigh4n on www.twitch.tv
Male streamers weren’t allowed to begin streaming ahead of launch until Sunday, August 25th, with a few top names in the streaming sector like DansGaming announcing that he was given permission to stream a day after the women had been given access to Control.
Good News! I’ve gotten permission to stream the start of Control (@ControlRemedy) by Remedy Studios this Sunday! This will be a few days before the official launch! #EarlyLook pic.twitter.com/XrIgP3XPnZ
— DansGaming (@Dansgaming) August 24, 2019
Now some people tried justifying it, saying that they didn’t see a problem with the tweet and that it was totally fine.
Others, however, took issue with the fact that the tweet was tagged “WomensEqualityDay” while excluding men from the stream. Typically, equality means for everyone… right?
A few posed the question of what would happen if the reverse were true and they only had male streamers posting content for Control ahead of and without any participation of female streamers?
Looks like sex discrimination to me.
— Tox (@Tox_Of_Oz) August 25, 2019
“Equality” means, deprive men and give women special privileges over them in a misguided quest for revenge.
Anyone who tries to deny it by now is just, a joke.— Malamo Diamanto (@MalamoDiamanto) August 24, 2019
Excluding for inclusion is like having an orgy for virginhood.
— Je suis Ruben. (@JeSuisRuben76) August 24, 2019
also women already get ‘a day’ this subject is brought up on.
A subject that is and has been debunked over and over.
Whatever misandrist studies person you recently hired is going to cost you your business.— OtherBarry (@OtherBarryM8) August 25, 2019
sexism against men. imagine the gender roles reversed
— mrpotatoman (@litmrfrosty) August 25, 2019
just as they rushed out to buy Gillette razors…
— Gambler X (@GamblerX99) August 24, 2019
I’m pretty sure if 505 Games’ tweet were a YouTube video, it would be downvoted into oblivion.
At the end of the day, nobody wants to pick up a game and be reminded of all the caustic, socially debilitating politics that have invaded every single waking moment of our lives.
This idea that you cannot escape from sociopolitical propaganda is one of the major reasons why a lot of people are tuning out of media and products they used to love and enjoy, such as the mainstream comic book industry, properties like Star Wars, or even Gillette razors.
In this case, if Control was already facing an uphill struggle due to featuring yet another strong, independent female protagonist, and the proverbial backlash that comes with it, now they have the 505 Games doing them zero favors by bringing gender politics into the fold to further push people away who may have otherwise been willing to give the game a chance.
But then again, a similar issue happened before with 505 Games and Bloodstained leading up to release, with the publisher creating unnecessary drama for those who wanted refunds after finding out the Linux version was cancelled. Seems to be a running theme these days with publishers turning against fans.
(Thanks for Wolf Rourke)