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Were you just serious?  I can respect your discomfort around homosexuals, but honestly, what the hell were you even saying?  Homosexualism?  That's not a word.  Promoting homosexualsim?  Where are you from?  The Bible Belt?  Sorry to burst your bubble, but /homosexuality/ is just a reality.  If someone misinformed you that it was an invention of the 20th century, they're only half right as it was only then recognized as a sexual orientation, which in fact, just added to its stigma.  There's nothing to promote.  People get off in different ways; that's how the world is, and the game would be engineered around player choice meaning unless secret gay desires bubbled up in your playthrough you could date any of the "hot chicks" in the game.

Quote from citizen zero on 05/23/08 at 12:19:55:

*gasp!* Homosexuals being just like the Average Joe down the lane? Preposterous!  
 
Seriously though, the minute I saw the P2IS's character designs, I could tell immediately which one was Jun. Maybe it's just because I'm familiar with yaoi and the way the Japanese usually do these kind of things, but come on, he just screams fangirl bait.

Quote from Apollo62 on 05/23/08 at 03:25:33:

 
Ha! I knew it. Fear my awesome powers of precognition...and deduction. BTW, can we not turn this thread of course again? If Citizen Zero dislikes gays for whatever reason lets it alone. This is the Persona 4 thread people.

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I kneel in awe of your mighty powers And for Christ's sake, if you don't want your MC to be gay then don't flirt with the dudes. It's that simple. These games are about opening your mind to different possibilitys( and i'm not talking about "gay agendas"), if you can't see that then why are you even here? And Tallgeese, I totally respect your opinions, but seriously, don't fan the flames. Or in this case flame-haters.

That's the whole point. If Kanji did have some sort of storyline revolving around his questionable sexuality, it would break barriers. It could set a precedent. To be quite honest, your right. Why would the major Game companies release games centered solely on gay character's and thier plight? That wouldn't sell a shitload of games, but that doesn't mean their aren't gay gamers out there, or gay friendly ones at least. Maybe they would like someone to identify with every once in awhile, or at least someone who would help them think outside of the box. Nobody said "Hey we should have a gay MC and play his gay life!", but if some people wouldn't mind a quistionably gay secondary character don't burn them at the stake for it.
 
And don't try to be all cutesy and change the subject...of course he's not a real bear

Well of course it's not the first game with LGBT Character's in it, but most of those were not relevant to the story. That's why Kanji could become very important. And I'm sorry but I don't think Sims count, that's along the lines of MC and other "silent protaganist" roles. I had a previous post along these lines when I mentioned Jun and Kiros from FFVIII(Don't deny!).  
 
On a side note, where are you from?(You said you americans), and I don't get the koromaru reference.
 
Also, I'd hate to take that jerks lead, but what the hell is kuma? A cartoon or a character from a T.V. world? Like I said , he obviously isn't a real bear. Maybe we could use some of Eikichi Girl's "mysterious powers" to figure it out

Quote from Apollo62 on 05/24/08 at 07:19:07:

 
True, Jade Empire and Mass Effect would have been much better examples.
 
Quote from Apollo62 on 05/24/08 at 07:19:07:

 
I'm from Portugal, an European country where the Megaten games are mostly unknown, store clerks will look funny at you if you ask about them, and a store was so desperate to get rid of their 3 Digital Devil Saga copies that they sold them for 5€ (that 7.88 dollars with the current exchange rate).  
 
And the Koromaru reference was about the fact that since we already had a dog using a persona, a bear talking and using a persona too wouldn't be that much of a stretch.

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Well, aren't all video games about empowering weak, ineffectual males to begin with?  Just kidding.  
 
To citizen zero, I don't really care if you like or dislike gays, I am simply saying it's not a big deal because it's a role playing game.  Rest assured, even if every single male in this game were straight, you'd still have a collection of revolting fan fiction and homo-erotic art between every conceivable male on male pairing.  The imagination is a powerful thing.  On top of that, Apollo62 makes some really good points about offering characters that alternative audiences can relate to, even if they are ancillary to the story as a whole.  Obviously a sausage fest wouldn't sell, but a game that is provocative will.  There's the difference.
 
I kind of don't understand Kuma at all.  I don't know how he is essential to the story in the least, or what he could possibly represent.  I kind of hope he evaporates into spiritual nothingness like Gouto does before the end of the whole game.  Taking that little fuzzball into the final battle would be too much to bear (punnnnnn).