Gender locked race?

[Hunky]

These are the same people who will be just as much up in arms if Viera isn't what they personally want or expect. They say they want male viera, but they each want specific versions of male Viera and will be just as upset if it's not their version than if they got something that isn't even Viera.

Exactly! We might just get male Viera, but it won't be what we're expecting or hoping for.

I think it's safe to say that most people are expecting male Viera to be the male equivalent of what female Viera are now. We're expecting handsome, tall, muscular bunny men. Like below.

But we're probably going to end up with something like this

All they have to do is slap the name "male Viera" on it and it's done.

Throughout this thread, Shippuu has made many good points. And that old quote from Yoshida about potentially creating a separate male counterpart to Viera shows that he is still open to implementing gender-locked races into the game.

Consider all the evidence:

1. Yoshida's old quote about creating a male counterpart race to Viera because "male rabbits might be kinda weird". Again, this goes back to this old-fashioned, close-minded idea of women equaling cute and sexy, and men equaling brutish and savage. Many Asian mmos do this, and FFXIV was one of them at some point. Just because they unlocked male Miqo'te, female Roegadyn, and female Highlander, doesn't mean they're going to not genderlock a race in the future. This can totally happen again.

2. Genderlocking is still happening in the game. Just recently, Alma and Ramza's hairstyles were genderlocked. Clearly the team still has this mentality of "this is for boys" and "this is for girls". Bunny ears are for girls, and bestial facial features are for boys.

3. Female Viera were presented as "The Viera Race" with no male in sight. If they didn't mention genderlocking, it's probably because they're well aware of the potential backlash.

4. The lore created for male Viera is the same kind of lore that was created for the previously unplayable male Miqo'te. It's as if they were preparing us to not expect males.

5. Yoshida danced around questions regarding male Viera. Instead of replying with, "We are going to include male Viera; they're just not ready yet," he simply said, "There's still Tokyo Fanfest." And Yoshi is usually good about telling us when something isn't ready.

6. In the Game Watch interview, when asked about male Viera, Yoshida suggested that players go back and read the lore in the game (the same lore that's hellbent on emphasizing the point on how incredibly rare males are).

Here are some lore screenshots.

"In other words, tread not the wood with hopes of finding a male Viera, for you will be met with naught but disappointment...or worse, death."

"The male lives alone and dies alone."

"I spent many a moon in the Desert Sapphire, and while I saw all manner of wondrous creatures, not once did I lay mine eyes upon a male Viera, nor did I hear of one living in the city. They simply do not exist to us."

Either we're getting trolled, or they're really trying to beat the idea into our heads that male Viera is not going to happen. This is the same lore that Yoshida told us to refer to when asked about male Viera.

7. The blue leaker's information has been extremely accurate. And according to the leaker, we are getting two new races. Considering that creating a new race takes a lot of time and energy, it's unlikely that we are getting two new races (unless they're genderlocked, cutting the time and energy needed in half). Remember, Yoshida himself said they would consider creating a male counterpart to Viera. So if we're getting a lion-like race, it's probably going to be Rev, Revgaji, or Ronso. That would be the male counterpart Yoshi was talking about. And considering that Ivalice might be one of the settings of the game, Rev/Revgaji might just be that male counterpart race.

Now, I truly, really, very much hope that I am wrong, and that we do get amazing, handsome, bunny men that are truly the male equivalent of the current female Viera.

But I'm scared to get my hopes up. When you have this much evidence stacked against you, getting your hopes up is a bad idea.

And this sucks because the female Viera are absolutely gorgeous. For anyone who wants to play an attractive female character, they're a dream. I just wish males were given a chance to have the same kind of sex appeal. But instead, we're probably going to end up with a bestial male counterpart. The best-case scenario is we get two races that are both not gender-locked: Viera and a bestial race. Let the bestial race fans get a chance to play as a bestial race, and let the rest of us who want to play as a drop-dead gorgeous bunny person get a chance too. But again, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.