For those who might not know, Niantic, the company behind the widely-known Pokémon GO mobile game, has recently rolled out an update that significantly changes in-game avatars.
To make matters worse, the update was introduced with the pretext of providing players with a more authentic representation of themselves. However, it completely overhauled female avatars, altering their chest, shoulders, and hips proportions so that they resemble a more masculine and androgynous physique, rather than maintaining the distinctive features of a woman.
And now we finally understand the rationale behind Niantic’s decision to introduce these changes nearly eight years after the release of Pokémon GO. It’s hardly surprising that these alterations were made primarily to cater to the LGBT community, particularly transgender individuals hence the defeminization of female avatars so that they appear more akin to that of male avatars instead.
It appears that Niantic is among the clients publicly associated with the GaymerX consultancy group. Once again, another consulting firm has imposed its beliefs and ideals on a game product, introducing elements that exclude the Pokemon GO userbase, particularly female players who have been up in arms about thes changes rather than actually actually being inclusive for diverse audiences.
As the saying goes, something that’s made to cater towards everyone ends up catering to nobody.
GaymerX, as its name implies, is a consulting group dedicated to assisting companies in enhancing LGBTQ representation in their products. Among their publicly listed partners is Niantic, who recently introduced a controversial and regressive update aiming to diminish femininity in Pokémon GO.
Another partner is Behavior Interactive, the developers of Dead by Daylight, who have faced criticism from a transgender voice actor demanding reparations for the alleged transphobia associated with a monster called “the unknown.”
Interestingly, the third and last partner that consulted with GaymerX was none other than Volition, which has since become defunct following the disastrous reception of the Saints Row Reboot. Coincidentally, Volition also sought guidance from Sweet Baby Inc. during the game’s development. One might wonder if there’s a connection between these two firms.
The company asserts its pride in providing consulting and training services to the gaming industry. As part of its mission to promote and honor LGBT people and “culture” in games, it offers a range of LGBT-centered training programs, along with tailored solutions aimed at fostering Diversity, Equity, Visibility, and Inclusion in gaming.
Furthermore, the company emphasizes its commitment to serving individuals and businesses across the video game and tabletop gaming sectors. This includes independent game developers, game studios of various sizes, publishers, media outlets, and other entities involved in gaming.
Recently, there was a shitstorm surrounding a consultancy firm called Black Girl Gamers, which focuses predominantly on catering for Black women in gaming, by excludes males and White people. Black Girl Gamers tried to pursue legal action against those who have brought attention to their discriminatory hiring practices, which unlawfully exclude certain groups.
It’s not uncommon for purportedly inclusive groups to harbor biases against those who don’t align with their ideals, especially considering that Sweet Baby Inc, the most notorious consultancy group in the gaming industry, employs individuals who are openly racist, it’s also a coincidence that Compulsion Games seemingly race swapped the protagonist for South of Midnight after consulting with Sweet Baby Inc.
GaymerX professes to assist in creating more LGBTQIA+ inclusive games, workplaces, and events. They offer a range of services utilizing their in-house “experts” and a network of consultants with diverse and intersectional identities, which as previously mentioned likely includes the guidance of overt racists such as Sweet Baby Inc.
Among the services listed are sensitivity training, marketing support, and various workshops aimed at promoting gender identity in both the workplace and community management strategies tailored to support LGBTQIA+ players.
One thing GaymerX refuses to acknowledge happens to be their past scandals involving sexual misconduct, Activision Blizzard for example promotes LGBT characters or initiatives when facing allegations of workplace sexual misconduct.
In 2018, GaymerX was embroiled in a scandal of sexual misconduct, leading to the resignation of then-CEO Matt Conn from his position within the nonprofit organization.
Matt Conn, also the founder of MidBoss, an indie game studio responsible for the queer-inclusive narrative adventure game “2064: Read Only Memories,” faced allegations from former employees. They reported experiencing sexual harassment, emotional manipulation, and other toxic behaviors while at MidBoss.
Additionally, they claimed they received threats of legal action for criticizing their work environment and discussing inadequate pay.
Nevertheless, Volition, Behavior Interactive, and Niantic opted to seek consultation from GaymerX, despite its troubled history of sexual misconduct and toxic behavior. Perhaps they believe in giving second chances, as GaymerX positions itself as an inclusive nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing products to be as great and LGBTQIA+ friendly as possible.
According to Candid, the company had its tax-exempt status revoked by the IRS for failing to file Form 990 several years ago. Form 990 is a tax document used by tax-exempt organizations to report financial activities, governance, and programs to the IRS. It ensures transparency in their operations and helps assess their compliance with tax-exempt status requirements.
Despite their fraudulency legitimacy, the impact of their consultancy is evident among the tens of millions of Pokémon GO players each month. Niantic’s update, rather than enhancing inclusivity and representation, merely removes feminine features from in-game avatars, making them resemble men.
This move caters exclusively to transgender individuals while alienating women in the process.
Because that’s what “diversity” is all about. Women and feminists like to believe that the “patriarchy” will gradually bow down to their demands however they fail to understand that there’s a genuine hierarchy among marginalized groups that society and most certainly corporations tend to prioritize. In this hierarchy, minorities receive greater attention than women, with the LGBT community often considered among the most protected classes.
I encourage you to ask lesbian women their perspective on the significant increase of transgender individuals identifying as “lesbians” on dating apps. You’ll soon discover that their answers are immensely bigoted and transphobic.
There’s absolutely no excuse for Niantic not to have offered this new ambiguous and hipless model as a third optional choice, catering extensively to the they/thems of Twitter while actual women can continue to actually be depicted as the correct gender.
It appears they’ve chosen the path of least resistance, likely to boost their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investment scores. Nintendo, among other Japanese game corporations, has transformed into a globalized tyrant.
Nintendo of America even posted a job listing for a localizer emphasizing cultural adaptation and DEI understanding, while the Pokémon Company seeks a “director of diversity.”
Given this context, it’s unsurprising that Niantic implemented such regressive changes in Pokémon GO. If anything, the real question should be why it took them so long to make these alterations.
These alterations in Pokémon GO, removing the distinction between depictions of women and men, appear to be an attempt to accommodate “everyone,” influenced by their consultation with GaymerX. However, these changes have sparked universal disdain among the player base, leading to numerous negative reviews on app stores expressing frustration.
Despite this backlash, given the protected status of the LGBT community in modern society, it’s unlikely that Niantic will reverse their decision so genderless depictions of “women” in the game will be here to stay forever.
