I get what they mean - that like with everything nowadays, making this game appear like it's 'with the times' will (they hope) net them more players (particularly ones that pay attention to what is meant to be current and 'cool'?), and therefore more sales. But it's a poor choice of words from NT, because Dante never looked 'cool' in the sense that if he existed in real life he wouldn't be laughed at, save at a cosplay gathering, maybe. How do we go from the idea that a game that is essentially action horror-fantasy needs to become one whose chief aim is to correspond with reality and current issues?
In most of the DMC games, Dante's costume is not the sort of thing I'd expect to see anyone wearing casually or not on the street. Not even in the hardest-core goth-metal dens have I seen much like what Dante wears (except the Dante of DMC3, wearing trenchcoat, leather boots and trousers... yeah, you'll see that kinda thing in a goth/metal den often enough), and I hear you only find that kind of music (from DMC1, as NT is suggesting) in Japanese electronica bars.
So they're suggesting Dante did look cool on the street 12 years ago? News to me. Dante's a 'cool' character for his personality, not necessarily his clothes. I think they're paying a bit too much attention to fashion here - unless CAPCOM and NT plan on releasing a DmC clothes and accessories line. Wouldn't be the first time DMC sold clothes, I guess. ¬_¬
Otherwise are they suggesting Dante's personality wasn't 'cool' enough, previously? Or he was too cheesy? Or too silly? They ought to tread carefully, because last time someone decided to try and make Dante cooler by removing his ****y, loudmouth attitude, we got DMC2, the Dante of which doesn't have a whole lot of fans for his personality (although many people liked his 'look'). This new Dante is going to have to have some charisma or he'll suffer the fate of his DMC2 counterpart - nearly always being considered an inferior Dante next to the others.
And this whole idea of trying to incorporate some kind of Brit-punk rage-against-the-establishment ethic... I am bemused by it; unless Dante really doesn't have half a clue who he is in this game, why on earth should he resemble our 'disaffected youth'? Why should he give a crap about 'the establishment' or the government? Surely he knows who his father is, and if he knows anything about himself he will appreciate that he has little to fear from humans, and that the human establishment probably shouldn't concern him much at all. Of course it seems that Dante is weak enough to be confined by someone in this game, and so perhaps he just has a little rage at them. Still - I don't like the idea of changing so much of the series' ethos to fit in with some kind of socio-political tangent, turning Dante from happy-go-lucky anti-hero into a rebellious youth so that new gamers will identify with him?
If it falls within good (series or canon-based) reasons for Dante being the way he is I can accept that, but if it's just because CAPCOM and NT have decided they want to charm some young new gamers to the series with political and fashion statements... then pfffft.