Male Viera as a playable character! show your support

[Lauront]

Yup, and then the race moves beyond the concept stage and re-enters the fray.

You're also over-estimating how well known that interview is. It is extremely obscure. The concept art, by comparison, was much better known and again conceived in association with the fact that they were considering Viera at the time. Pretty easy to just say "we're not binding ourselves to any prior concept art designs for the race, so don't rely much on those."

The lore is just a paper-thin excuse to cover a decision motivated by separate concerns. WHM lore makes them even more prohibitively rare. Yet you can play one. It's a non-starter and also the reason they've not doubled down on it since the reaction to the gender-lock. Mooncat man lore is also similar and they're playable. Again, a non-starter. If anything, the lore states that they do exist but don't venture out of the woods - doesn't take much to change that, though, especially if one is called as a WoL.

I think they bear part of the blame in how expectations were formed in this case and it was a consequence of trying to build hype or avoid disappointment before the JP fanfest.

[Mutemutt]

Yup, and then the race moves beyond the concept stage and re-enters the fray.

You're also over-estimating how well known that interview is. It is extremely obscure. The concept art, by comparison, was much better known and again conceived in association with the fact that they were considering Viera at the time. Pretty easy to just say "we're not binding ourselves to any prior concept art designs for the race, so don't rely much on those."

The lore is just a paper-thin excuse to cover a decision motivated by separate concerns. WHM lore makes them even more prohibitively rare. Yet you can play one. It's a non-starter and also the reason they've not doubled down on it since the reaction to the gender-lock. Mooncat man lore is also similar and they're playable. Again, a non-starter. If anything, the lore states that they do exist but don't venture out of the woods - doesn't take much to change that, though, especially if one is called as a WoL.

Though, apparently in this case, it didn't make it past concept. They thought about it, and then went with something else. And I don't think concept art that ancient is really that relevant anyway. They've even showed us more concept of viera for this upcoming expansion -- there were only females though.

I guess they've managed to avoid adding some more glaring lore inconsistencies. I suppose they deserve some applause for that. But honestly, I don't wanna get into the lore talk especially when it's gonna go with the whole "If it ain't fixed, break it" route.

[BillyKaplan]

there were only females though.

Because at that point they had already decided on females only, why work on more male concepts?

I guess they've managed to avoid adding some more glaring lore inconsistencies.

There aren't inconsistencies in the lore because other playable characters don't matter, that's always been the rule of thumb. That's why male Miqo'tes running around still isn't lore breaking - they're fewer in numbers so the one playable character You play as doesn't contradict that, no matter how many other cat boys show up on your screen. Same with WHMs running around, especially with That One Soul Crystal, same with DRKs running around all with Fray's Soul Crystal, same with BLMs running around with Shantotto's Soul Crystal (or in general, you'd think people would panic more if a forbidden art like that was resurrected en-mass). Same with more than one person running around with a Gigi minion, etc.
That's why the lore as given is so... weak. Because it shouldn't matter to the PC, especially when similar lore already exists yet that race-gender option is playable.

[Mutemutt]

Because at that point they had already decided on females only, why work on more male concepts?

That's my point. Thought about it, went in another direction.

[BillyKaplan]

That's my point.

Which is proven right due to hindsight. We've already beaten up the horse where it made sense they were postponing the males for a Tokyo reveal.

[Lauront]

Though, apparently in this case, it didn't make it past concept. They thought about it, and then went with something else. And I don't think concept art that ancient is really that relevant anyway. They've even showed us more concept of viera for this upcoming expansion -- there were only females though.

If we're going down the "ancient" route, the interview is even older and less relevant, particularly since unlike the art, next to no one knew about it, and it predated it. The art, meanwhile, has been widely circulated. It is not unreasonable for people to base expectations on it when it was originally brought about when the race's introduction was first contemplated. Yes, it did not make it past the concept stage - at that point. Naturally, it would go through further iterations - again, something you would expect. What was not expected, for reasons articulated already, was that they would just drop the males, when they already had something in mind for them.

The concept art shown at the EU Fanfest would be consistent with the notion that they were saving the males as a surprise for JP Fanfest. Only after JP Fanfest did the decision to make them female only actually come out.

We're going in circles on this and I don't really see anything being brought to the table which is going to change my mind on the matter. Obscure interviews, unreliable leaks and allusions to lore that did not suffice to invoke gender-locks on other occasions is really not clear communication.

[Mutemutt]

If we're going down the "ancient" route, the interview is even older and less relevant, particularly since unlike the art, next to no one knew about it, and it predated it. The art, meanwhile, has been widely circulated. It is not unreasonable for people to base expectations on it when it was originally brought about when the race's introduction was first contemplated. Yes, it did not make it past the concept stage - at that point. Naturally, it would go through further iterations - again, something you would expect. What was not expected, for reasons articulated already, was that they would just drop the males, when they already had something in mind for them.

The concept art shown at the EU Fanfest would be consistent with the notion that they were saving the males as a surprise for JP Fanfest. Only after JP Fanfest did the decision to make them female only actually come out.

We're going in circles on this and I don't really see anything being brought to the table which is going to change my mind on the matter. Obscure interviews, unreliable leaks and allusions to lore that did not suffice to invoke gender-locks on other occasions is really not clear communication.

Well yeah, I don't really care about the interview that much either. Just like I said, I wouldn't care about anything that ancient, I included both the interview and the concept art in that. Concept art just doesn't guarantee anything. We see this same thing happen again and again.