Why even bother with characters like Taliyah, when characters like Evelynn are what people really want?
Judging by the popularity of her visual update before her release, and comparing to all the hate that surrounded Taliyah's release because of her "not sexy" design, I think the people cast their vote.
Turns out it was all true and I was wrong: gamers want sexy hot babes. People like me are a minority not worth bothering with.
What's wrong with both?
League is supposed to have a character for all types. Some people like the promiscuous types, and some like the reserved types.
Some older champions that have been sexualized in the past are also becoming a lot more reserved; Lux, for example. Akali's become less sexual (And come her eventual VGU, Nurse Akali will look like an actual doctor, like Surgeon Shen, less like a stripper nurse). Riot's implied that they want Caitlyn to be less sexual. There's Karma and Illaoi and Leona and Quinn and Irelia and Xayah (Some people get it on for Xayah, but she really is one of the more reserved champions), and yes, Taliyah.
Yeah, people like Evelynn, but it's not all just because of her sexuality, it's because Riot is really pushing the limit, here. It's different, it's new, and it's daring, it's stuff most game devs don't try to do. Yeah, games will have sexy champions, but rarely is a champion actually sexual, much less so overtly sexual that it can't help but be exciting because it's so different and unconventional.
As a female gamer, this is the sort of thing that has long irritated me in gaming in general. However, if you really look at gaming in general and Riot in particular, it's moving in a much less exploitative direction over recent years. For League, I could be wrong, since I don't have the whole roster in front of me to look at in progression right now, but early champions seemed more slanted toward busty, scantily clad female champions, while the last few years are much more varied in overall appearance and style.
As someone else said, most gamers are heterosexual male teens. So the "sexy girl" stereotype plays to many of their interests, and gives Riot a good way to grab the largest gamer demographic. But there have been a lot of different body types and personalities over the last few years, each sexy in their own way (I happen to believe that almost every body type can be sexy). I do think that Riot does a pretty good job of diversifying the body types and personalities among their female champions overall. Eve is the first one in a good while that really jumped out at me as overly sexualized. But... She's a succubus (essentially, if not intended to be literally so). Sexualized is pretty much the defining trait for succubii.
Taliyah was a new character when she was released and she wasn't made to appeal to that demographic. Of course people that wan't sexy characters are going to complain when the new champ isn't sexy. That doesn't mean that there aren't people that like Taliyah, that just means that there are some people that don't like her. Personally I think she is fine, not my favorite design but it is definitely good.
The difference between the Taliyah release and this rework though is that there are tons of Evelynn fans that have been waiting a long time for this and they basically delivered everything that Evelynn fans ever wanted. They cranked the themes people like about her up to 11 and made her less bullshit so she can actually be balanced number wise without destroying the entire ecosystem of the game. Everyone is going to rejoice because we have been waiting since like, her last rework (which brought her in the right direction but still broke the game).
Also, in response to Dreamspitter, flat chest is best chest.
I mean, Eve seems like the first "sexy" female champion we've had in a while as Riot has been recently diversifying their female cast. The important thing is if it makes sense for the character to be a sexy bombshell.
Evelynn and for example Leblanc are meant to be alluring because it plays into their characters. Evelynn is a demon meant to tempt people into allowing her to hurt them, and as sexist as a sexy woman doing that is, there is truth to that working and is common in folklore (folklore in general isn't kind to women, but it has a lot to draw from). Leblanc is similar though not to the same extreme. There have been hints to the past that Leblanc is much older than she appears, using illusions to appear more attractive in order to better "distract" people.
Then we have Taliyah and Illaoi. Both are very different from your "sexy" build and their body types make sense. Taliyah is a teenager, maybe 14 so she's not exactly gone through puberty. So if she was a bombshell then it wouldn't make sense. Illaoi similarly needs a large and strong body to throw around her idol (which shouldn't be used as a weapon) to hit people. Giving her a bombshell body just wouldn't make sense for her character.
Riot admitted that a lot of their old female champions are basically using the same models with different hairstyles and are seeking to better diversify their women. But that doesn't mean they aren't going to stop making "sexy" or that suddenly making "sexy" champions means that they'll stop trying to diversify their women.
If it makes sense with the character, then Riot will do it.
The majority of the playerbase (and maybe the boards) is straight male teens. That's not even questionable.
That said, despite the fact that older (23+) people are a minority, they have a much higher purchasing power than teens. Especially the ones with degrees and jobs.
A stable long-term strategy for League is to attract teens and retain them into their adulthood, which will yield maximum profit. This is why I believe childish and mature designs come in waves, where the former is focused on getting new players, and the latter - on retaining and winning over older ones.
Riot made a conscious decision to make females of varying body types ever since Lissandra's release. For comparison, we've had 
and 
.
None of these characters are the super busty, hyper-sexualized stereotypes op thinks the majority of gamers want. Yet many of the (Jinx being the standout) are incredibly popular among the player base. For reference was released April 30 2013. Evelynn isn't even a new champion she was always sexy she just looks sexier now. I'd even argue all those champs I listed are sexy/attractive in their own way. I think it's actually ridiculous to complain about Riot oversexualizing a succubus character.
I'd like to see you say something positive about a new champ just once. I don't think I've ever seen you say anything good about design in this game.
