343 Industries hits out at Xbox sexism

Two of the developers from 343 Industries, the company behind the upcoming Halo 4, have commented on the level of sexism that occurs regularly on the Xbox Live platform, in what seems like simultaneous personal rejection of the practice, as well as a way of distancing the developer's products from it.

Executive producer Kiki Wolfkill told GameSpot Australia: “It can be dangerous to give adolescents a broadcast mechanism. There are always going to be jerks out there, and if you give them a way to express that side of their personality without being seen, you're going to see this type of behaviour manifest itself.”

Bonnie Ross, current head at 343 was a little more aggressive, saying that she found some of the way people spoke to female gamers as “offensive and completely unacceptable.” She also said that she'd, “like to think most of our Xbox Live players don't support this kind of behaviour.”

Some of the most awful – and therefore some of the most laughable – harassment has been recorded over at FatUglyorSlutty.com. It's worth a look if you want to see how ridiculous some gamers can be.

Both developers said that they made specific choices within the new Halo to try and avoid stereotypes that would harm the experience of the game.

KitGuru Says: Perhaps Master Chief will turn out to be a woman in the end? The voice would certainly be a bit off but this wouldn't be the first time that an armoured space suit wearing warrior had revealed themselves to be female.

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