Patrick I gotta give props. You know, this website used to be pretty good when it was just Ryan and Jeff in the very beginning. Anything since then (Brad, Alex, Leigh, take out pick of poison etc) has degraded in what it's original focus was. But you, Patrick, have single-handedly turned this site into everything we hate about IGN or Gamespot. It is now nothing more than a spineless, politically-correct, holier-than-thou, sterilized sh*thole exactly like any other gaming site on the web. But it'll be interesting to see what happens to the site, since Jeff and Ryan actually embrace the insanity of the world, unlike you, who attempts to crucify anyone who's not PC. Because that's what videogames are all about, right? The complete sterilization of fun and diversity? Anyhoo, I'm toasting my glass to you, Pat. I hate what you've done to this site, but one must admire how much you've accomplished in so little time.

@darkdragonmage99 said:

@benson: The majority of people on these topics are less informed then even me maybe you should talk to them first .Oh wait they agree with you.

How do you know how informed the hundreds of people who have commented on this story are, are you some kind of internet psychic or something?

I think your doing great Patrick. I enjoy your enthusiasm in your work and enjoy all the articles you have written lately (weekend reading is awesome!), keep it up. Anyway, Aris is a creep and should understand that social superiority should not be based upon who can degrade another person's emotional boundaries the best, but who can be a positive and likable person. Sure, mild insults are funny among friends, but learn your limits and keep everything light hearted and respectable to others. Especially when your on a live stream broadcasted to thousands of people. That's all I have to say.

@myketuna said:

I feel like the little girl in Schindler's List.

I'm just looking around as this discussion is going to shit.

Well if all else fails, start name calling right? And by that, I think you're an F-ing A-hole, sir, for making such an observation!

@MangyForestKitten if he is the problem then so is GB, Destructoid, Kotaku, the tools over at Ars Technica and like 90% of the sanctemonious hypocrites commenting on this article. If it had been a male being harassed this would have NEVER made the news even if I do care. GB hopped along the drama train to try to get hits, not because they actually give a shit.

This IS the FGC...if you censor it then there is no hype. FGC NEEDS HYPE!

@DesmondN said:

@MangyForestKitten if he is the problem then so is GB, Destructoid, Kotaku, the tools over at Ars Technica and like 90% of the sanctemonious hypocrites commenting on this article. If it had been a male being harassed this would have NEVER made the news even if I do care. GB hopped along the drama train to try to get hits, not because they actually give a shit.

Pretty sure if this Aris guy were smelling other guys and asking them what their dicks looked like, it'd be news.

Some people just don't know what "sexual harassment" means, I guess.

@darkdragonmage99 said:

@benson: A good chunk of them think the guy literally said rape that bitch to someone called phoenix .

hahaha "someone called Phoenix", you literally have no idea what everyone is talking about. Do some reading before making a fool of yourself.

Good write up Patrick. I think this is a touchy subject which people can view things a certain way. However you need to realize that this guy has been so deep in the FGC for the past 15 years that this stuff becomes common. Sure it would be great for them to act super professional and see a bunch of money being dumped in. But if you follow these event (seasons beatings, evo...etc) you can see it from their point of view.

It comes down to the figureheads learning what they should and should not say while in the public spotlight. But for the bad things this guy said, there are many guys who do great interviews and make you want to jump into the FGC. People shouldn't start calling for this guys head, he said some dumb things, but let him learn what he should and shouldn't be saying while on a Capcom stream.

@DesmondN said:

@MangyForestKitten if he is the problem then so is GB, Destructoid, Kotaku, the tools over at Ars Technica and like 90% of the sanctemonious hypocrites commenting on this article. If it had been a male being harassed this would have NEVER made the news even if I do care. GB hopped along the drama train to try to get hits, not because they actually give a shit.

Giantbomb doesn't work like that. If you'd viewed the website for any length of time that should be evident to you.

@benson:  A good chunk of them think the guy literally  said rape that bitch  to someone called phoenix .  Which was nothing more then an example about someone in the crowed yell about the character phoenix in a completely different scenario I'd say there are people here who are less informed then me. At least I  bothered to watch some of this shit even though I hate fighting games. 

@blueduck said:

@MangyForestKitten said:

If she was a male no one would have said a damn thing about this but because she is a "fragile" female every white knight on the internet is jumping to her defense. This at is very root is more sexiest than anything that dude said. Let me state my point once again. If the she would have been a guy who was "not necessarily one of those people who was brought up to deal with that kind of abuse head on" no one would be saying anything. I like when females are treated like humans who can think and act on their own accord, or not act, instead of treating them like some object to protect from the mean mean world.

You really don't get it.

Your example about men is totally wrong by the way. I'm a guy and I would never want to be sexually harassed. And I have been. It's embarrassing and degrading.

Add to that, this female contestant was harassed live on a streaming internet feed for thousands of people to see. That's terrible.

This didn't unfold and explode strictly because she's female, it's because this kind of interaction (especially on a professional level) is intolerable. They were working!

And if you truly care about your female counter parts being treated equally, then she should be able to confront this atrocious behavior head on and say that it is unacceptable, which she did.

Grow up.

Can a moderator do something about darkdragonmage99 this guy is out of control.

If you have a problem with a user take it to PM.

@darkdragonmage99 said:

@benson: Nice of you to ignore the rest of the post to make me look stupid Just like the other asshat who wanted to put words in my mouth . If you need to use dirty tactics to support your side it's kinda a bad sign.

Except that there wasn't anything worth adressing in the rest of your post and you've already admitted that you are ignorant of the issue, so I chose to just mock you instead. Seriously dude, I don't know much about Quantum Physics, so when people have a discussion about it I don't interject "hey guys I like how that Planck guy is really consistent". When you talk shit about things you have no idea about to support your side it's kinda a bad sign.

@benson: You behave very childishly. I don't appreciate it.

The way this whole scene was described in the bombcast makes me just hate it. Those guys sound like a bunch of high school kids who are insecure and have to insult others to make themselves feel complete.

Ah, I love the "out of context" line. Seriously, oldest trope ever.

Aris, allow me to quote something you said to Rae.

Rea: Can I get my Street Fighter without sexual harassment?

Bakhtanians: You can’t. You can’t because they’re one and the same thing. This is a community that’s, you know, 15 or 20 years old, and the sexual harassment is part of a culture, and if you remove that from the fighting game community, it’s not the fighting game community--it’s StarCraft.

Seriously? That's the issue. You can't use "out of context," dude. You said that sexual harassment was so core to the community that taking it out would change it, perhaps irreparably.

That's fucked up beyond all recognition, dude. You have to actually change your ways and stop being a creepy predator.

Someone tell Gimli to go back to his cave.

So competition outside the lines of corporate influence makes phrases such as "Rape that bitch!" or "Fuck that whore up!" completely acceptable? It means that new competitive talent should be shunned endlessly? It means that a woman should be berated repeatedly by asking her what her bra size is as well as other sexist drivel?

Somebody crack this fucking moron upside the head with a crowbar. Please. I beg of you.

@OneManX said:

If you gonna be a known face in the community then everything you say is gonna be held under a microscope.

This I whole heartedly agree with.

It blows my mind that people think this shit is defensible. Respecting women is not fucking rocket science. It never ceases to amaze me, how immature and idiotic the gaming community can be. Grow. The fuck. Up.

@DesmondN said:

@MangyForestKitten if he is the problem then so is GB, Destructoid, Kotaku, the tools over at Ars Technica and like 90% of the sanctemonious hypocrites commenting on this article. If it had been a male being harassed this would have NEVER made the news even if I do care. GB hopped along the drama train to try to get hits, not because they actually give a shit.

Horseshit. The "if it had been a man" line is old and played out, and you should know it. Of course it would have been different if it had been a man getting harassed - men have a completely different situation to women in the American socio-political context. Also, this was one of very few women surrounded by a group of men in a traditionally all-male context. Just imagining different circumstances doesn't justify the real ones.

And do you really think GB needs hits from this news story? Don't come back here if you don't like the coverage, whatever, but seriously: don't try to blow that kind of smoke up our asses. This isn't 4chan.

Oh boy, here we go again... This could of been an update to the previous article but NOPE, it needed a new article. Thanks Patrick, gotta get those page hits eh?

@Homelessbird:Oh ok, so you are fighting for woman's equality rights but when they get treated like one of the guys they can cry SEXISM? Double standards.

So many panties in knots here. If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen, or in this case get back in the kitchen LOLOL

This isn't the hand holding olympics here. If she had an ounce of wit and a few comebacks everyone would be laughing at him instead of making a huge deal out of it. Boo fricking hoo. If you guys are so concerned about respect for women how about you start respecting your fellow posters more. LOL

@NMC2008 said:

So is this all because a girl got her feelings hurt? I am curious because afaik the FGS(fighting game scene) has been a world of obscene language and insults for a long time. Is Call of Duty next on the clean up your act and censor yourself list? Or do we have to wait until another girl is offended?

Are you trying to suggest you like the cesspool of humanity that is playing Call of Duty online?

I haven't really ever DESIRED to surround myself with 14 year olds who use the word "faggot" as if it were a comma.

Are you seriously implying that this is a trend that should be preserved?

@AiurFlux said:

So competition outside the lines of corporate influence makes phrases such as "Rape that bitch!" or "Fuck that whore up!" completely acceptable? It means that new competitive talent should be shunned endlessly? It means that a woman should be berated repeatedly by asking her what her bra size is as well as other sexist drivel?

Somebody crack this fucking moron upside the head with a crowbar. Please. I beg of you.

So in summary:

• Not OK: Suggesting that someone playing a video game rape a character they're fighting against.
• OK: Beating another human being with a crowbar over a difference of opinion.

@langdonx: What would you expect from the xbox generation? I miss when gamers actually had a thick skin.

I have to put my shades on man, the sun is reflecting off all dat armor. :P

@Mechabolic said:

Oh boy, here we go again... This could of been an update to the previous article but NOPE, it needed a new article. Thanks Patrick, gotta get those page hits eh?

@Homelessbird:Oh ok, so you are fighting for woman's equality rights but when they get treated like one of the guys they can cry SEXISM? Double standards.

Posting a new article of several paragraphs is not an update, but I wouldn't expect you to understand news/ web publishing.

As to your reply to me: I'm no anti-sexism crusader. But claiming that men should be allowed to be sexist to women in a public context is ridiculous. And guess what? I don't think, in that public context, guys should be saying that kind of stuff to each other either. I was merely saying that you can't expect a woman to behave "like the guys" - you're giving them a choice between abandoning their personal identifiers to fit in or not playing fighting games. How is that fair?

The sooner the term "rape" leaves the gamer standard lexicon, the better.

@blueduck said:

@MangyForestKitten said:

@blueduck said:

Yeah! I mean what do they expect from a female? Was she supposed to defend herself? This isn't a guy were talking about this is a girl and thus her fragile nature needs to be respected. Aris crossed the line big time and obviously doesn't understand that girls can't be addressed the same as men, they just get hurt too easily and have no way of defending themselves.

Nice sarcasm asshole. Not everybody is brought up to confront problems head on. There are many strong willed and confident women that would have stood up for what Aris was doing.

If the case is that SuperY4N was not necessarily one of those people who was brought up to deal with that kind of abuse head on and end it that doesn't mean she was ok with it or that she deserved it. That being said there is no reason to treat a person like that or KEEP ON TREATING THEM LIKE THAT even if they don't speak up. You're not supposed to treat people like that. She's clearly uncomfortable with his comments and his behavior throughout the entire video.

If she was a male no one would have said a damn thing about this but because she is a "fragile" female every white knight on the internet is jumping to her defense. This at is very root is more sexiest than anything that dude said. Let me state my point once again. If the she would have been a guy who was "not necessarily one of those people who was brought up to deal with that kind of abuse head on" no one would be saying anything. I like when females are treated like humans who can think and act on their own accord, or not act, instead of treating them like some object to protect from the mean mean world.

I honestly doubt that if the person being verbally or physically harassed was a man there would be this much of a ruckus about it.

On the contrary: pick a young male who differs from the norm (ethnically, sexual preference, size, take your pick).

• African American: let's say Mike Ross
• Asian: let's say Justin Wong
• Homosexual: let's say Ricky Ortiz

And let's treat him in the same derogatory way Aris treated this girl. Fried chicken / rice, chingchonglese, burning crosses, you've probably heard plenty of racial slurs and stereotypes than I can possibly think of. I'd guarantee you that no one, absolutely no one would call it "friendly jibes", "part of tradition", "it's the way our culture is". Then again:

"There are people who are racist and commit hate crimes, right? And then there are people who are racist but they have tons of friends of all colors and they have deep love for those friends. Do you think those people are one and the same? Absolutely not."

Also:

"Not necessarily one of those people who was brought up to deal with that kind of abuse head on"

Is that what we're calling ethnic minorities, people of a different sexual orientation, people who grew up with bullying, child abuse nowadays?

@Homelessbird: You would have a point if Aris said this maliciously but he didn't. Watch any footage of him playing/commenting and you will see that this is just another case of Aris being Aris. This was never a problem before and I don't see why this suddenly has become a "thing". Also, this can easily be just an update to the existing article, all that needed to be done was add Aris' response to it. Hell, you can even bump the first article as new again.

@Gaff: Like I told Homeless, things like "lol fried chicken" and "chingchongness" are just flat out insults. Now if he said something along the lines like "Oh, well at least you still have basketball" to Mike or something along those lines then I would wager money that Mike would actually get a kick out of that. You can poke fun at people without being racist. Hell, my friends would make fun of my race but as long as it was funny and made sense then I don't care. I know they don't say that maliciously, so I do get upset when people use the internet to gather white knights for themselves.

@Buzzkill said:

So many panties in knots here. If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen, or in this case get back in the kitchen LOLOL

You know, I wish that when someone posted something like this it showed up around their head like a text bubble for the next 24 hours so all their friends, family and neighbors knew what a shithead they were.

@Homelessbird I am not of those "men's rights activists" my point is that all of these articles are sensationalist, were written with absolutely zero interaction with the persons involved in the incident and the articles also try to portray the FGC as some sort of singular ball of homogenous opinions. THAT is complete horseshit and every "journalist" involved in writing these articles should be ashamed. If you want to talk about this case of sexual harassment, don't single out the FGC like it is some outlier in the overall video game populace. Anyone who has ever played any game online or gone to enough tournaments IRL knows this is not the case. Stop trying to speak for me or the people of my scene, stop trying to act like this asshole Aris represents the community as a whole because he doesn't. Fuck you if you think he does.

@gladspooky said:

@DesmondN said:

@MangyForestKitten if he is the problem then so is GB, Destructoid, Kotaku, the tools over at Ars Technica and like 90% of the sanctemonious hypocrites commenting on this article. If it had been a male being harassed this would have NEVER made the news even if I do care. GB hopped along the drama train to try to get hits, not because they actually give a shit.

Pretty sure if this Aris guy were smelling other guys and asking them what their dicks looked like, it'd be news.

Some people just don't know what "sexual harassment" means, I guess.

He did exactly that. On the same show. No mention of it anywhere.

I love fighting games and the scene. But you just don't say that kind of shit to women and this fool kept going. I don't know what the hell was going though Aris mind when he was doing this but damn.

@churrific said:

@gladspooky said:

@DesmondN said:

@MangyForestKitten if he is the problem then so is GB, Destructoid, Kotaku, the tools over at Ars Technica and like 90% of the sanctemonious hypocrites commenting on this article. If it had been a male being harassed this would have NEVER made the news even if I do care. GB hopped along the drama train to try to get hits, not because they actually give a shit.

Pretty sure if this Aris guy were smelling other guys and asking them what their dicks looked like, it'd be news.

Some people just don't know what "sexual harassment" means, I guess.

He did exactly that. On the same show. No mention of it anywhere.

Where's your clip?

@Mechabolic said:

@Homelessbird:Oh ok, so you are fighting for woman's equality rights but when they get treated like one of the guys they can cry SEXISM? Double standards.

I dunno about you but when I'm playing with my friends they don't ask me how big my dick is.

@Homelessbird:

Nope, I don't play COD so I don't care what goes on, just like the people here who don't play fighting games but because of one incident involving a girl(something that probably happens everyday between guys)they want it changed to respect female players(notice it's all about them), the men strung up(notice they are badmouthing the guy and name calling, which makes them just as terrible as he supposedly is, which I am sure they will deny). All I am saying is there is no problem in their eyes unless a girl was harmed, no matter of everything else, but there was a girl hurt here, we gotta do something. That's total bullshit.

If there was a similar problem tomorrow in some COD tournament I am sure the same thing would take place, but if not, COD continues to be what it is with no objections from outsiders, nobody cares unless a girl is involved. People do this in the FGC but it's none of my business, I don't game online, so im not gonna try to march for a change with something I know nothing about and have nothing to do with, if I am not mistaken that's what gamers fight against with the likes of congress and fox news and yet, here we are. lol

I am done with this situation, reading and writing into it, it is what it is, people will always rush to the aide of a damsel in distress, even if she isn't in distress. I personally think this whole thing has been blown completely out of proportion by 20, but whatever. *shrugs*

While I don't participate in the FGC I do watch and read sometimes(especially MvC), so I am not a clueless bystander, I like to watch skilled FG players go at it, the drama and hype go hand in hand, you know it's not personal, it's hype and drama, like the WWE.

If people want to tackle the COD monster then tackle it because it's an issue and not because it's a girl issue.

@DesmondN: What would you expect from a QUALITY patrick article.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fvqJlsgHL0#t=0m10s

@Mechabolic said:

Oh boy, here we go again... This could of been an update to the previous article but NOPE, it needed a new article. Thanks Patrick, gotta get those page hits eh?

@Homelessbird:Oh ok, so you are fighting for woman's equality rights but when they get treated like one of the guys they can cry SEXISM? Double standards.

@Mechabolic said:

@langdonx: What would you expect from the xbox generation? I miss when gamers actually had a thick skin.

@Mechabolic said:

@Homelessbird: You would have a point if Aris said this maliciously but he didn't. Watch any footage of him playing/commenting and you will see that this is just another case of Aris being Aris. This was never a problem before and I don't see why this suddenly has become a "thing". Also, this can easily be just an update to the existing article, all that needed to be done was add Aris' response to it. Hell, you can even bump the first article as new again.

You are insane and all of your posting reeks of Men's Rights. You might as well flash your reddit mensrights subforum badge and get it over with. If not, go there and I'm sure you will realize how similar you are.

Women should be treated like one of the guys or it's sexist? Women are treated LESS THAN MEN on a REGULAR BASIS. It's a numerical fact. How can you even fathom that they should be treated like men when they aren't in every other aspect in life? Are you insane?

Way to defend a psycho with a simple wave of the hand and "Aris is just Aris." Yes, we should not condone someone for being creepy as fuck because hey, that's just how he is. You can't blame the guy for wanting to smell a woman on his team, or complimenting all of her individual bodyparts, or asking about her bra size repeatedly, or trying to coax her into wearing a skirt for the internet, or saying out loud that he hopes she is crying in the bathroom after this kind of verbal onslaught. IT'S JUST HOW HE IS. WHAT A WACKY DUDE.

I came to the conclusion that you are insane. You think this kind of thing doesn't exist because clearly you are too engrossed in your own male-centric community to even realize how prevalent it is which while not shocking is an absolute pity as you will probably never grow up and that's just too bad for the rest of us.

@Sabata: Then their punchline isn't about your penis size. Though truth be told, that's not much of a punchline.

ZING

@Allison: And you sound like one of those feminazis that won't stop until men are nothing more than slaves to womyn. See, I can pigonhole you too! Also lolreddit. That place is even more of a giant circlejerk than the comments here, and that's saying something.

@Sabata: Then their punchline isn't about your penis size. Though truth be told, that's not much of a punchline.

ZING

"I didn't mean it, you made me say those things to you"

@Sabata: Then their punchline isn't about your penis size. Though truth be told, that's not much of a punchline.

ZING

@Dooftastic said:

@DesmondN said:

@MangyForestKitten if he is the problem then so is GB, Destructoid, Kotaku, the tools over at Ars Technica and like 90% of the sanctemonious hypocrites commenting on this article. If it had been a male being harassed this would have NEVER made the news even if I do care. GB hopped along the drama train to try to get hits, not because they actually give a shit.

Giantbomb doesn't work like that. If you'd viewed the website for any length of time that should be evident to you.

I think the word you're looking for is GiantBomb USED to not work like that. I'll say it as I've said on both these "articles". This i shoddy sensationalist garbage journalism with not enough proper research done and I seriously hope this won't be a continuing trend of Patrick slipping.

@Mechabolic: It doesn't matter what the intent of your words are when they are said in a public context as the representative of your culture, or brand, or company, or what have you. When Aris asks a female contestant on a Capcom-sponsored live stream what their bra size is, it doesn't matter if it's just "Aris being Aris." It's taken at face value for what it is: inappropriate. It's become a "thing" because Fighting Games aren't just EVO and Team Spooky and dudes in each others garages and arcades anymore. It's becoming a bigger deal. And people like Aris are going to have to learn what's appropriate in the larger social context or they will fade into the background. It's just the truth when money gets involved. The FGC is just going to have to grow up. Sorry.

@DesmondN: Patrick repeatedly said he has reached out to all parties involved and will continue to do so, so I don't know where you're getting the "no interaction at all" part. This article itself is about a direct response from Aris.

If you're up on the fighting community, then you should know this isn't the first time this sort of thing has been brought up. There have been issues with racism and name caling, etc, before. And to say that Aris isn't a representative of the FGCis just silly, although of course he doesn't represent the opinion of the whole.

You have to understand: the fighting game community is an outlier in a specific way - it's getting more popular, and getting more attention. It's becoming more like Halo and Starcraft, whether you like it or not. And there are going to be some changes involved with that. I'm not meaning to single them out for their words - you're right, gaming as a whole has a problem with racism, misogyny, and general hateful behavior - but a lot of that is coming from anonymous 14 year olds. This guy was on a Capcom sponsored live stream as a team leader. It's a different set of circumstances.

Also, I'd suggest that saying things like "fuck you" to me isn't making your case about Aris not representing your community very well.

@gladspooky said:

@churrific said:

@gladspooky said:

@DesmondN said:

@MangyForestKitten if he is the problem then so is GB, Destructoid, Kotaku, the tools over at Ars Technica and like 90% of the sanctemonious hypocrites commenting on this article. If it had been a male being harassed this would have NEVER made the news even if I do care. GB hopped along the drama train to try to get hits, not because they actually give a shit.

Pretty sure if this Aris guy were smelling other guys and asking them what their dicks looked like, it'd be news.

Some people just don't know what "sexual harassment" means, I guess.

He did exactly that. On the same show. No mention of it anywhere.

Where's your clip?

Well I'm not the reporter that Patrick is supposed to be, but it's on the stream archives of the show. If Patrick felt like actually doing the research and digging through the hours of footage of the show, there's one moment where Aris grabs a guy and straight up unbuttons his shirt on stream while he's playing. No mention of that anywhere.