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Saints Row Dev Responds to Feminist Frequency Critique

"I think it's fair to be called out."

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Steve Jaros, Studio Creative Director at Saints Row developer Volition, has responded to the latest video in Anita Sarkeesian's Tropes vs. Women In Video Games series, which outlines the trope of women used as background decoration in games.

Jaros posted a link to the video via Twitter the day after it was released. "This is something we all should be better at," he said. "Yes the original saints Row is listed here. Yes it should be."

While speaking with The Escapist, Jaros admitted that there is a problem with the way women are portrayed in games. "I think that we shouldn't be portraying senseless abused women and I think that if I could go back and hop in a time machine I would have done things differently."

Jaros says that Volition has gotten better at representing women in Saints Row games over time, and that the team debates and tries to dress and address female characters in ways that don't sexually objectify them.

"I think it's fair to be called out on your s**t," he said. "I think that it's a sad man that can never be self-reflective. I think that we tried to go and carry ourselves with respect, and try to respect sexuality and respect gender as much as we can, and sometimes we fail but hopefully we'll do better and continue to get better."

Sarkeesian has faced waves of harassment since the Tropes vs. Women in Video Games series debuted, but things escalated to a terrifying level this week with death threats that drove her to contact the police and leave her home.

The most recent episode in the Tropes vs. Women In Video Games series, the second part of a program called Women As Background Decoration, was published on Monday. The series was successfully funded on Kickstarter in 2012.

Yesterday, Volition announced a standalone Saints Row expansion subtitled Gat Out of Hell for PC, 360, PS3, Xbox One, and PS4, as well as a port of Saints Row IV for Xbox One and PS4.

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