n'gai croal - Kotaku

posts about #ngaicroal more →
Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
E3 Round Table: Third Party Developers
N'Gai Croal Leaves Newsweek and Game Journalism
N'Gai, Totilo Take on Howard, Levine at Comic Con
Inside the Rockstar/GTA Launch Parties
Game Industry Turns Tables On The Press
Slate's First Annual Gaming Club
Pronouncing N'Gai
Microsoft Bets N'Gai (Again) PS3 Will Be $399 This Year
The Killzone Party

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cornunderscore2x
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
I wish you guys would give this shit a break.
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TRT-X
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
Suggestion: Resident Evil 6 features a black main character shooting up Switzerland.

Problem solved right? No racism there.
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LucasReis
05/19/09

@TRT-X: Lol. That would be actually funny.

And to spice up the stereotypes the zombies could eat cheese and chocolates, and use knifes and watches as weapons! lol :D
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TRT-X
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
I think the most amusing thing about this whole non-issue is that we didn't hear one peep when Leon was shooting up an unspecified European nation.

Has anybody bothered trying to explain to N'Gai that the majority of Africa's population is black? Maybe he just honestly doesn't know.
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JemimaAmphinomus
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
Look kids, depicting modern Africans in grass skirts and tribal masks throwing spears and shouting "Ooga-booga!" is wrong. Period. Stop defending this game. RE5 is not art. Its does not have any message or meaning. It does contain racist imagery.

The only real question is whether the images were placed out of malice or ignorance.

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LucasReis
05/19/09

@JemimaAmphinomus: Did you ever watch a documentary or something about Africa? The subsaharian parts still have tribes (just like my dear South America) and they DO DRESS THAT WAY! Jeez, open your eyes for godsakes!
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jayntampa
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
I generally like Croal's stuff, I just have to disagree with him on this point. I think the specific reaction to this game was way overblown and manufactured.
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Zeidust
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
Whatever, RE5 was nowhere near as good as L4D.
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dreamfall
05/19/09

@Zeidust: agreed.
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dreamfall
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
wait, how did the producer not remember what country their team visited for research? that's a little strange. I don't know... no matter how played out this is, I still felt very awkward shooting those tribal guys in chapter 3-1. not necessarily because it was racist, but because it the segment didn't feel like it belonged in the game. for this producer to not have justification for artistic direction in a sit down with n'gai seems a bit uneducated to be frank.
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masterisosceles
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
N'Gai, when are you going to stop turning the game debate into The View? Have you played Saint's Row? The 50 Cent games? Are you comfortable with the amount of research that went into those games and how blacks are depicted in them? Is the quotidian image of black subculture in America satisfactory to you? What would be your advice to Takeuchi's team to properly display African zombies in Africa? Remember your God of War 2 review argument with Totilo where you were talking about riffing off of the old game, where the similarities are taken to the next level? RE5 is riffing off of images in pulp horror movies, depictions of Haitian zombies and the African heart of darkness and fears from colonialism. It's clear that you understand that you and Takeuchi's team are tapped into a different vein, but maybe you're being narrow-minded for insisting that he needs to get his act together.
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hardly_working
05/19/09

@masterisosceles: You're a white man shooting black people in the face. He has a problem with it. He is black. It would have been different if Chris was black. And they make fun of Africans.
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TRT-X
05/19/09

@hardly_working: So it's a double standard. Depictions of stereotypical black on black violence is totally okay. But a guy shooting zombies is bad if the zombies are a different skin color?
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Action Bastard
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
N'Gai is so off base. Why should he expect the producer to know what country in Africa he sent his team to? Japan is known the world over for understanding of other races and/or cultures.
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dreamfall
05/19/09

@Action Bastard: I hope that's sarcasm. otherwise, this producer is not doing a very convincing job.
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VileMethoD
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
I honestly see this as Croal's attempt to further his fifteen minutes of fame. There really is nothing left of the dead horse to beat.

There will always be opposing views on this topic. Neither of them are right or wrong. Different people, different thoughts. Time to move on.
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ShaggE wants to join the Egg Council.
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
@ The people getting riled up:

N'Gai is having a civil discussion with the producer, and is apparently willing to consider that he may have jumped the gun in calling "insensitivity". So... why are you still bashing him? Did you read the article, or just see "RE5" and "N'Gai Croal" and start pulling insults out of your hats?

Wait until the full interview is out before you assume that he's still criticizing the game.
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TRT-X
05/19/09

@ShaggE wants to join the Egg Council.: I'm sorry, but that snippit to me comes off as N'Gai still trying to play this as "It's racist."

The only "concession" he appears to make is that the Takeuchi doesn't know better. And that's not a concession at all.
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Billkwando
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
Yay N'gaigate. I he's still trying to spin it his way.

Clearly no Japanese worked on that article.
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Sir-Lucius does anything for Dethklok
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
Chris Redfield hates black people. Like seriously hates black people. Durrrr.
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Pombar
05/19/09

@Sir-Lucius: Not half as much as he hates boulders. You can see the fury
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Sir-Lucius does anything for Dethklok
05/19/09

@Pombar: This is true. His rage against black people is child's play compared to the utter disgust and disdain he exhibits against boulders. Boulderism is a serious issue that needs to be addressed immediately. Join me in my cause to raise awareness for the plight of boulders everywhere.
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Pombar
05/19/09

@Sir-Lucius: FACT: Boulders don't kill people, people kill people (by pushing boulders on them).

However, due to the game's total lack of sensitivity on the issue, people killing boulders is on the rise.
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WonkersWatilla
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
Didn't Croal talk about this EXACT topic in a recent ListenUP podcast? How old is this article?
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Stephen Totilo
05/19/09

@WonkersWatilla: Monthly magazines have long lead times. He did talk about his DICE interview on Listen Up. So, yes, this probably covers the same ground. I'd hoped that people interested in this debate would find it relevant to find out how a meeting between Takeuchi and Croal went.
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Nitro378
05/19/09

@WonkersWatilla: DON'T SAY OLD OR THEY'LL KILL YOU
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Demonbird
05/19/09

@Nitro378:

I laughed way more than I should have.
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Fadecy: Rival Schools for PSN/XBLA PLZ
05/19/09

In reply to Resident Evil 5 Producer Meets His Chief Critic
This argument annoys me so much. It's only racist if you make it racist. It's only racist if you try and relate it to racist imagery.

The game on it's own is not racist at all in my opinion. Although I can see why some people might think it is.
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abcFRAG
05/19/09

@Fadecy: Rival Schools for PSN/XBLA PLZ: Yes, you're right.

So, if I make a joke about former President Bush, it is a political joke, but if I make a joke about President Obama, it is a racist joke?

It depends only if you want to make it racist or not.
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superapplekid
05/19/09

@abcFRAG: ...That might also depend on whether your joke is about Obamas race or Obamas policy...
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etchasketchist
05/19/09

@Fadecy: Rival Schools for PSN/XBLA PLZ: "The game on it's own is not racist at all in my opinion"

Either is wearing a sheet over you're head or burning a cross. It's just two sticks on fire. How is that racist?
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I_Hate_This_Place
05/19/09

@superapplekid: To some Obama worshipers it's one and the same. Many people who have opposed his policies have been called "racist" without any provocation.
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Gossy... Fortune and Glory
05/19/09

@etchasketchist: Not. The. Same.

Your point loses clarity with such sensationalistic comparisons.
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supo
05/19/09

@etchasketchist: OMG I found a picture of a black man eating some chicken, RACIST.
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