640°

Borderlands 2 Release is Marred By the Misogyny of Gearbox Software and Duke Nukem Forever

Abdul Siddiqui writes, "Tuesday should be a fairly happy day for me as a gamer because it marks the release of the hotly anticipated Borderlands 2. As a game that has been well received by critics, I should be giddy with joy that I may soon get to play it. However, the game is developed by Gearbox Software, makers of Duke Nukem Forever and, as a protest to what I perceive to be a misogynistic company making misogynistic products, I have boycotted all Gearbox Software games."

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policymic.com
CustardTrout4230d ago

Well he can rest assured, while the rest of us - even the women will be shooting stuff while he sits trying to write a book.

shodan744230d ago

I think it's safe to say that he's definitely going to miss out on one of the best games of the year.

Gazondaily4230d ago

I don't understand why this, so-called news, deserves an article.

He is boycotting Borderlands 2 for the way Duke Nukem Forever portrayed women. Fair enough. But this chap is just a regular blogger, what is so special about it?

"online writer and aspiring novelist Abdul Siddiqui"

Yeah, that doesn't mean anything these days as far as this medium is concerned. There are plethora of wannabe novelists.

It's not even as if Borderlands 2 is related to DNF. I think this is just a desperate cry for attention.

TrendyGamers4230d ago

Definitely one of the best.

Lord_Sloth4230d ago (Edited 4230d ago )

Every time we see a pretty girl anymore it's sexist and they obviously hate all women even though they always make them pretty and with some deadly skills.

Can't really count Duke Nukem since that's just Duke.

jeseth4229d ago

So maybe we should just ban any kind of expressionism and free speech altogether? Any kind of art should be banned and boycotted as someone in this pathetically oversensitive world will surely be offended.

I'm sure all the chicks buying Borderlands and Borderlands love that the Siren is one of the best character classes there is ... not complaining that they can also look pretty good while doing it.

What a turd. If you don't like it, don't buy it ... but don't get on your ambiguous internet soap box and grand stand, we don't care!

On another note ..... Why can't I make her boobs bigger in the character customization menu???? I hate how this game discriminates against women with huge knockers!!! Its sooooo unfair!!! Hahahaha.

Game on people!

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4229d ago
wicko4230d ago

I bought an extra copy to make up for his one man boycott.

HammadTheBeast4230d ago

I'll PM you my address right now lol. Joking.

CalvinKlein4230d ago Show
ZombieKiller4230d ago

I won't even give this guy hits if he is basing one review of a game off of a completely different game.

That's butthurt fanboyism, not journalism

n to the b4230d ago

sorry for the disagree but it's not a review. and while I understand the concept of not wanting to give hits, how can we comment intelligently without reading the articles in question?

pixelsword4230d ago (Edited 4230d ago )

Commenting intelligently,

ON A THREAD?

;)

ZombieKiller4227d ago

@ N to the B: why should I read an article when so many of them have misleading titles for hits?
I could care less about a random internet disagree. No sweat.
Judging one game based on what you saw in another is stupid. You should go back to your normal day job.

That title made me skip the article, read the comments, and say something. If you want the hits, write something worth it.

TacoTaru4230d ago

I thought it was a video game, not a social experiment. If the market doesn't like it then the market won't buy it. Too much political correctness going around. Boarderlands the first was the only FPS that I really loved. I'll vote by buying two copies, one for me and one for my son.

Hozi4230d ago (Edited 4230d ago )

I'm started to think the majority of male gamers are gay now....I mean wtf!!! Since when is it not cool to have sexy half naked chicks in videogames?!

Honestly! This guy and all other like him should go watch some movies and then complain about the REAL WOMEAN actors who are portraying women as a piece of ass and trophy rather than criticize a fictional videogame about it's fictional characters who portray women as badass sword weilding guns blazing sexy mofos!!!

Spenok4230d ago

Seriously. This guy is a retard (OP, not you).

If he knew anything about the industry he would know that it wasn't in fact made by Gearbox. They picked up the title that was more than 80% complete, polished up the piece of turd it was, and released it for the sake of releasing it. (They did buy the rights and all).

Flavor4230d ago

The roots of sexual self repression lie in fear.

RumbleFish4229d ago

Reading this article makes me want to play DNF once again. Had so much fun!

jeseth4229d ago

It was over the top and hilarious! Not a technically great game but funny as hel l !!!

Dare I say I was entertained by such filth! Oh ... sigh ... whoe is me!

Hahahah ... just kidding love every minute of it!

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 4227d ago
Blacktric4230d ago (Edited 4230d ago )

He claims that Duke Nukem Forever portrayed women in a misogynistic way while forgetting the fact that the thing he is talking about is an art form, which of course means that everything should be a fair game. So yes... He is an idiot. Maybe he is trying to look good to his feminist girlfriend by spewing bullcrap and standing against something that doesn't even exist. Who knows...

achmetha4230d ago

Not to mention that every Duke Nukem game has dealt with women the same way. AFAIK Duke Nukem Forever was Gearbox Software's first Duke Nukem game...so I think Abdul is out of touch with the gaming world.

ronin4life4230d ago

The portrayal of women in duke was meant to make fun OF misogyny and duke himself, or so it seemed from what I've heard.

I mean, it's a game were you can PLAY WITH HUMAN EXCREMENT. I don't think it was a serious game in any fashion.

MoveTheGlow4229d ago (Edited 4229d ago )

This feminist has low to no problem with Gearbox. DNF wasn't "their" game, it was a game by a melange of companies that needed to be scrapped together in some way. We needed to see what killed 3D Realms, what that guy who pre-ordered it years ago was waiting for. Bad or good.

Should they have treated the alien lair stage differently? Yes. At least with some option to skip it. If you haven't seen it, it's ridiculous and yes, the dialogue is disturbing. Check the Giant Bomb Quick Look. The rest of the material is harmless by comparison, my focus is only on that stage.

But... I don't boycott movie publishers for publishing weird, crazy, B-movie offensive material either; it's an artifact of the past, and something to be analyzed later. The Cinema Snob shouldn't be avoided because he reviewed I Spit on your Grave, for those same reasons. It's a work. Do with it what you will.

But there's an entirely different creative team for Borderlands 2, people who really cared about making an enjoyable game. While I might have my qualms about Pitchford for not doing something about that stage in DNF, it's not fair to pin those decisions on a majority of the Borderlands team.

Am I torn? Eh, slightly. But DNF is done. It's over with. If we see a much better Duke sequel later on, and it's fine, we'll know who really created that alien lair material, and that Gearbox listened to the outrage.

achmetha4230d ago

I had to look up the definition to figure out what misogynistic even meant. "misogynous: hating women in particular."

Abdul Siddiqui truly is an idiot.

Kratoscar20084230d ago

I learnt that word in Two and a half men, a shame the series hit rock bottom.

segmentnext4230d ago

Err........Yea.......the...... ....WTF?
I don't know what to say abt this article.

FCOLitsjustagame4230d ago

Sure seems like the Siren was the best\strongest character in the last game. No boobs hanging out either...lots of half naked guys running at me with axes though, guess thats it.

Varmint4230d ago

Siren was best until sniper got the ability to completely ignore shields, in my opinion.

Also, love your avatar!

NamelessTed4229d ago

Sure seems like you didn't even read the article. The thumbnail is a picture of the Siren for whatever reason, the article doesn't mention the Siren as a character at all. In fact, the article isn't even about Borderlands, but Duke Nukem.

Protip: read the article before making a stupid comment. It makes you look dumb.

FCOLitsjustagame4228d ago

User wants to protest Gearbox because of Misogyny in a game they made. Even though the first game in the series he is currently not "giddy" about had a strong female lead.

You would need to be a pro to give me a pro-tip.

Show all comments (118)
130°

Gearbox confirms layoffs following sale by Embracer

Gearbox Entertainment has confirmed layoffs at the company, following the announcement of its sale by Embracer.

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eurogamer.net
UltimateOwnage15d ago

I’m glad Embracer is selling them. I hope someone other than MS buys them and frees them up to make great games.

Knightofelemia15d ago

Says right in the article Take Two bought Gearbox off of Embracer.

Sgt_Slaughter15d ago

Reading the article is hard for most people it seems

Knightofelemia14d ago

@Sgt Slaughter

I just like how when a studio automatically goes up for sale. People automatically think Microsoft is just going to jump on it like a fat kit eating a cake.

SimpleSlave15d ago

I mean, having multiple CEOs is a redundancy, soooo... Good luck Randy!!!

160°

Layoffs Hit Gearbox Staff Hours After Embracer Sale

Less than a day after the news that Take-Two Interactive would acquire Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment from the embattled Embracer Group, layoffs have already begun. In the hours since former Gearbox employees were made redundant, they've taken to Twitter, and while the total number of staff impacted remains hard to determine, it sounds significant.

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pushsquare.com
Knightofelemia21d ago (Edited 21d ago )

I am glad to see Gearbox under Take Two. But lay offs I am not surprised they aren't the only company cutting staff and they won't be the last. And I have a feeling the Borderlands movie honestly will tank when it comes out. The cast is just wow a complete mess Lilith is too old Roland is to small and scrawny. They are missing Brick and Mordecai and I don't think Tiny Tina will be as bat shit nuts as she is in the games.

20d ago
Inverno20d ago

The movie will definitely flop. It has all the usual actors that have casted in all these video game movie adaptations. Whenever I see Kevin Hart or The Rock or Jack Black i just know it's a cash grab. More so when it's all three together. (The Rock isn't in it)

Juancho5120d ago

When you see actors like that in a movie you can expect it to be bad, i definitely do. They have good chemistry but the movie doesnt shine because it just banks on their presence and people going to see them.

Inverno20d ago

Pfft, literally said yesterday how it must be nerve wracking for the devs and then this shite. People aren't looking to get fired, and these companies don't care in the slightest.

Andrew33620d ago

People aren't looking to get fired. Good insight.

kaos8920d ago (Edited 20d ago )

Inflation post 1/20/2020 is really causing pain to everyone. The cherry on top was companies waiting post 11/8/2022 to start doing layoffs. Hmm, I wonder why they waited past that date... Staring with Google in January 2023 and everyone following suit there after.

anast20d ago

Companies that over-hire should be fined heavily and the CEO loses his/her bonus during layoffs, and that money can go to the workers that they laid off.

Leeroyw19d ago

There's a lot going on in this post that needs further scrutiny.

anast19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

It's a game forum. But you are free to chose one and argue it.

Shiore2u20d ago

I hope Pitchford got let go for the sake of employee safty. The man is a walking grease fire waiting to happen.

250°

Embracer Group Looks to Sell Video Game Studio Gearbox

The game developer is best known for Borderlands, which has generated more than $1 billion in revenue

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bloomberg.com
persona4chie219d ago

Hey n4g, can we maybe not allow articles where you can only read 3% of it before hitting the pay wall?

Snookies12219d ago

The disagrees were from people that already paid, haha.

neutralgamer1992219d ago

They just bought them not long ago. This is absurd. Embracer owns so many gaming studios and IP’s. They just don’t know to manage them right TBH

Give us saints row 1-2 proper HD remaster (3-5 million in sales confirmed as long as no major bugs)

Focus on AA games that cost less than 40 million go develop while funding 2-3 major AAA titles. Those smaller titles should aim for 8/10 type games with focus on fun and be released within 2 years while bigger games are given 3-5 years

Sniperwithacause219d ago

You got it all figured out!
Sounds like you need to send over your resume to corporate office! Lol
All jokes aside. They need to figure it out quickly.

neutralgamer1992219d ago (Edited 219d ago )

Lol no they need suits and number crunchers haha

What use to be available to us as bonus content for free by unlocking or cheat codes is now micro transactions

Gaming is generating so much money that we have so much soulless content simply for money grabs

Ristul218d ago

Embracer's problem is that they have spent too much on acquisitions of game studios and when they did, interest rates were lower when compared to today. With higher interest rates on their loans, they have to sell studios to raise capital.

crazyCoconuts219d ago

Sounds like a multi-million dollar "oops"

BrainSyphoned219d ago

If they would have bought Bethesda their stock would have crashed and sunk the company a couple days ago.

1Victor219d ago (Edited 219d ago )

I’ll be the jerk that says it
Get’m Microsoft get’m, or Sony 🤷🏿

Outside_ofthe_Box219d ago

Hopefully Microsoft saves us and buys them. Gaming has never been better because of them!

shinoff2183219d ago

If your not a borderlands fan what have they made good

dumahim219d ago

@shinoff2183
Brothers in Arms series.

1Victor219d ago (Edited 219d ago )

Thank you your disagrees makes me feel good to know you don’t think I’m a jerk 🤣

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