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165 Comments

Namco Bandai Sees Your Rage Over Ivy's Breasts, Raises You One Spiky, Misshapen Voldo Crotch [UPDATED: Or Not]

It's January, you guys. This is what the news looks like.

UPDATE: Joystiq claims this is fake, as the Voldo image is taken from a SoulCalibur IV promotional shot. Perhaps it is. Perhaps it isn't. If it is, then I officially rescind my "touche" to Namco Bandai and remain annoyed at their blatant boob usage. That said, whoever cooked this up should be hired by Namco Bandai to do all their Japanese advertising from here on out.

--

Perhaps you're already aware of recent grousing among those sensitive toward the use of women's ludicrously over-sized breasts to promote various video game entertainments in regards to a recent SoulCalibur V advertisement which featured an almost comically brazen close-up of series regular Ivy's gigantic boobs. For those unaware of the just-mentioned advertisement and subsequent outrage, here is the ad in question.

Assuming you are now appropriately outraged because of boobs, I now direct your attention to the other ad publisher Namco Bandai recently posted (then quickly removed) from the game's Facebook page. Perhaps as a direct follow-up to the outcry from those who saw the objectification of the female form as crass and lazy, the publisher then posted the below nightmare fueling image of other series regular Voldo, AKA the weird S&M bendy guy with the knives and the hypnotically transfixing codpiece.

No Caption Provided

Apparently the translation of the text across Voldo's discolored, fetid-looking stomach reads "curious?" How's that for a Monday morning boner groaner?

In direct response to Namco Bandai's Voldo ad, I simply say "touche." While I do think the blatant Ivy boob-leering in the original ad wasn't in particularly great taste, I can certainly appreciate a company that can look a controversy directly in the eye and thrust out its spiky, disquieting man-crotch as a response.

In direct response to the sure-to-happen influx of comments complaining that this is "not news," I'd like to point out that it's early January and nothing of value is really happening right now. Also, having just returned from vacation, I was just so anxious to get back to writing for you guys that I just up and grabbed for the first heaving man-crotch that crossed my desk. Yes, I know how that sounds, and no, I don't plan to correct it.

Seriously, I missed you guys.

(Thanks to PlayStation: The Official Magazine's Anne Lewis for sending this my way. May your trauma be swiftly forgotten.)

165 Comments

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Zleunamme

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Edited By Zleunamme

Even more convinced not to buy the game. Soulcaliber V is more the same and the ads are desperate way to get attention. The controversy over Soul Caliber being one word instead of two has gone away?

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Harkat

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Edited By Harkat

@Lazyaza said:

Dem women's be getting objectified in game advertizing again! How dare companies use full-proof time proven strategies to sell their products, the fiends!

I lol'd. And agreed.

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lockeyness

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Edited By lockeyness

@jakob187: Hey I'm not the only one who thought Patrick wrote this! I guess this is saying a lot about Patrick's love of bondage crotches.

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MachoFantastico

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Edited By MachoFantastico

It's video games people, get over it. Seems such a pathetic thing to get upset about when there's an whole lot more troubling issues out there.

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Grimluck343

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Edited By Grimluck343

@Harkat said:

@Lazyaza said:

Dem women's be getting objectified in game advertizing again! How dare companies use full-proof time proven strategies to sell their products, the fiends!

I lol'd. And agreed.

When does sex ever sell?

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ImperiousRix

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Edited By ImperiousRix

I actually thought the first ad was a somewhat humorous tongue-in-cheek nod to the fact that the women in Soul Calibur have been ridiculously proportioned (and ridiculously under-clothed) women in their games. It was getting almost creepy, the fact that they didn't really ever acknowledge how women looked in Soul Calibur.

Now, I just find this whole campaign hilarious. If there's anything Soul Calibur could use a tad more of is poking fun of itself.

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Christoffer

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Edited By Christoffer

I'm disgusted at the objectification of creepy old S&M acrobats with knifes.

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deactivated-57beb9d651361

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WHERE IS THE SHARE BUTTON?

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Trision

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Edited By Trision

I may not be a fan of Alex in general, but he can sure write some interesting and funny news stories. Very nice article, Mr. Navarro.

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Lurkero

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Edited By Lurkero

Considering the way marketing of videogames usually occurs - reduced coverage of females and burly tough guys - I would say this is news. Voldo is neither of those.

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Legend

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Edited By Legend

@JTHomeslice said:

I love you Alex.

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DeeGee

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Edited By DeeGee

I love that Joystiq just posted about how this is a fake. If Alex had held off posting this for just ten minutes, he could have avoided the awkward "UPDATE: I was wrong. Let's move on." that will surely come.

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Aas

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Edited By Aas

Missed you too. High-five!

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alex

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Edited By alex

@DeeGee: You know, considering the frivolity of this news, I'm not really all that upset that this is fake. If nothing else, it was good for a laugh.

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PaulRevere

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Edited By PaulRevere

You say this is not news?

I say this is the best kind of news.

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StrikerTheLizard

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Edited By StrikerTheLizard

Alex kill Patrick.

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s-a-n-JR

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Edited By s-a-n-JR

It kinda looks like Voldo killed one of Bowser's kids and then shoved the carcass on his crotch.

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Jost1

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Edited By Jost1

I love it.

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lockwoodx

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Edited By lockwoodx

That's a cod piece you morons!

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jeffk38uk

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Edited By jeffk38uk

So I'm going to guess that the third advert will be one of the characters butt and we'll have covered the triangle of obvious sex appeal.

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Shady

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Edited By Shady

Stealing headlines from Kotaku, I see. We all know they are the industry leader in game journalism.

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Keeng

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Edited By Keeng

This is awesome, whether it's fake or not.

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N7

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Edited By N7

Swallow sadness. Send some faxes. :(

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George_Hukas

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Edited By George_Hukas

@DeeGee said:

I love that Joystiq just posted about how this is a fake. If Alex had held off posting this for just ten minutes, he could have avoided the awkward "UPDATE: I was wrong. Let's move on." that will surely come.

What are you more mad about, the lack of investigative journalism regarding Voldo's crotch, or the realization Namco isn't creative?

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mazik765

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Edited By mazik765

I am pro-boobs and no in the least insulted by them.

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adoggz

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Edited By adoggz

@Alex said:

@DeeGee: You know, considering the frivolity of this news, I'm not really all that upset that this is fake. If nothing else, it was good for a laugh.

and laugh I did.

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Nottle

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Edited By Nottle

I hope that "raises" pun in "Raises You One Spiky, Misshapen Voldo Crotch" wasn't unintentional.

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mrangryface

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Edited By mrangryface

I prefer seeing boobs

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Harkat

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Edited By Harkat

@Grimluck343 said:

@Harkat said:

@Lazyaza said:

Dem women's be getting objectified in game advertizing again! How dare companies use full-proof time proven strategies to sell their products, the fiends!

I lol'd. And agreed.

When does sex ever sell?

I know right? Everyone knows those evil corporations only put tits and nice faces on their ads to suppress womankind, it has nothing to do with that silly theory of supply and demand.

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jozzy

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Edited By jozzy

@mrangryface said:

I prefer seeing boobs

Spiky misshapen crotches between boobs?

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Hef

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Edited By Hef

I really don't see what's wrong with using Ivy's boobs as an ad. It's an ad. They're supposed to draw attention and get people to talk about them. Guess what, it totally worked.

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ddensel

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Edited By ddensel

Clearly fake, just like any real outrage over the first ad.

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lockeyness

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Edited By lockeyness

As fake as Ivy's breasts.

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WinterSnowblind

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Edited By WinterSnowblind

@mazik765 said:

I am pro-boobs and no in the least insulted by them.

You should be insulted by what they think of our intelligence though.

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krummey

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Edited By krummey
@Harkat

@Grimluck343 said:

@Harkat said:

@Lazyaza said:

Dem women's be getting objectified in game advertizing again! How dare companies use full-proof time proven strategies to sell their products, the fiends!

I lol'd. And agreed.

When does sex ever sell?

I know right? Everyone knows those evil corporations only put tits and nice faces on their ads to suppress womankind, it has nothing to do with that silly theory of supply and demand.

I demand a greater supply of boobs!
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babylonian

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Edited By babylonian

Kind of horrified by the number of people in these comments saying that the Ivy ad is somehow inoffensive "because it works."

Apparently no advertiser ever can be faulted for being creepy, as long as the ad's effective! Neat!

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napalm

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Edited By napalm
@Grimluck343 said:

@Harkat said:

@Lazyaza said:

Dem women's be getting objectified in game advertizing again! How dare companies use full-proof time proven strategies to sell their products, the fiends!

I lol'd. And agreed.

When does sex ever sell?

I'm inclined to think you are being sarcastic, but I have a hunch you're entirely serious.
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bacongames

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Edited By bacongames

Whether its controversy, marketing, or both I have a feeling they're not going to get rid of Ivy's really big boobs any time soon. As a one time fan of the series, this is the only thing that reminds me this series exists at all. So exploitation of sex successful? Sure let's go with that for now.

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AmericanNinja

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Edited By AmericanNinja

people are complaining about the Ivy ad? SMH.

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PeasantAbuse

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Edited By PeasantAbuse

People getting offended by boobs is hilarious.

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axdemon

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Edited By axdemon

Bro, stop apologizing for giving us awesome stuff! This is hilarious! And hilarity alone makes it like a "probably" on the "is it news?" scale.

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tehbull

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Edited By tehbull

Cool...now you're like Sterling but without the fun chubby foreigner bit to make me actually like this whole thing.

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crusader8463

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Edited By crusader8463

I have no affinity for the series, but I hope this is true because gaming needs a serious smack up the side of the face every now and then and just indulge in the stupidity of this hobby.

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north6

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Edited By north6

isn't like... SOPA happening now? That is kind of news, I would imagine people are curious if it would pass how it may affect the site. Maybe this has already been covered, if so I apologize.

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Humanity

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Edited By Humanity

The ad looks fine, but Ivy in the actual game looks pretty ridiculous. Honestly though Ivy has been getting worse and worse as the series went on and they seem to have no intentions of reeling it back a bit.

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alex

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Edited By alex

@North6: Nothing particularly new has been happening with SOPA since the end of the year. Though a few game developers have come out against it (and the ESA has come out in favor of it), the bill itself has more or less just kind of been laying dormant since Congress went on break.

Suffice it to say, as soon as a development relevant to the audience here rears its head, we'll report on it. Otherwise we'd just be posting "SOPA still exists, some people still hate it" every day.

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71Ranchero

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Edited By 71Ranchero

Giant Bomb, your source for the latest click farm news from around the web!

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Ravenlight

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Edited By Ravenlight

@Alex said:

... whoever cooked this up should be hired by Namco Bandai to do all their Japanese advertising from here on out.

Crotchvertizing

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lockeyness

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Edited By lockeyness

@Alex: This is simply why I love video game news. This just in, SOPA still exists. Back to you, giant purple dong!

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Pop

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Edited By Pop

I'm sorry but that ad kind of works on me, boooooobs!