residentevilNOTracist

ali_g_84uk

-Asian Exclusion Act
-Chinese Exclusion Act
-Japanese Internment Camps (Executive Order 9066)
Natralization Act of 1790 (Limiting quotas of Asians allowed in country)
-1925 Immigration Act (barring "undesirables"... that included Asians on that list.)

Need I forget that Asian American stereotypes seem to linger longer than African American stereotypes? Need I list all of them? Should I mention that Asian Americans seem to be percieved as "perpetual foriegners"? Hell, I were born in Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, and I speak articulately, yet I am asked by both blacks and whites "What country did I come from, and how long did it take for you to learn the language?"

It seems more forgotten that EVERY race in the United States had gone through subjective prejudice and racism. In my example of Asian American culture, I express another side, and can also express for the many other groups that were subjected, exploited, and unjustly treated. If there were ANY race that I would feel bad for in the United States, it is the Native American culture and group, since they IMHO lost the most.

As a multiracial minority, I will continue to say that the race card is overplayed to the point where I question it's further validity. And it has started to have me wonder if it's blurring the line of equality and preferential treatment.

Then again, what does my anyone care of my opinion on the race card? I'm just a multiracial Asian-American, right?

Gimme a break.

Soldier_CLE

Looking at ONLY black racial issues is only looking at the issue from only ONE side.

Whites had "white slavery" in the mid 1800s.

Hispanics and Native Americans have had their fair share of inequalities, as well along with their African-American counterparts.

Asian-Americans also held in bondage in the United States, faced wide scrutiny in the past and present, from "Yellow Peril" to the 80s Japanese import frenzy, to the current scrutinies of "globalization".

But, we as a whole do not bring up those issues. Instead, we do what others don't and roll our sleeves and work on them.

To talk with a race card in hand is seemingly holding on for dear life to past oppressions, and with less constructive action to end issue.

In some ways, I would go far enough to argue that it even HURTS a races cause. I am proud of how the Asian-American community handles it's affairs, and how it looks to progress forward, despite it's past oppressions.

Other races would do well to look into this example IMHO.

And for the record, my dad ALSO dealed with racial issues. He, like other Asians also drove on in spite of it. No race card there.

Soldier_CLE

Hollowcow

dirkxxdiggler

Mactheridon

Being that the World is becoming more and more a melting pot, and since we have games with series portraying a predominance in certain races (i.e; Hispanic, Asian, Caucasian, African... with Middle Eastern for "Disney's Aladdin" and some FPSs), I am wondering why people haven't developed a thick skin for when their predominant race comes up as the majority.

I mean, I am a multiracial American, for instance. I am Japanese, Filipino, Hispanic-American. I have seen games that had the predominant antagonists being each of the four groups, and I never thought to myself "Ya know, I didn't like the way they have some boss character named "Fu Manchu", with stereotypical Pan-Asian accents from WWII.

When there are Hispanic antagonists, I never went, "Yeah, sure... Because all Hispanics walk around with only the top button buttoned and wear rags on their heads.

When it comes to Pacific Islander, I never thought "yeah, we're all terrorists, indeed.", and for my Caucasians, I never thought "Yep, they are ALL bad!"

So, when it comes time for a game developer to create a game that features a predominently African antagonistic crowd, why then do we read on a "race issue", when there are plenty of Middle Easterns that are to be shot in an modern FPS game (Because they all wear towels on their heads and shout Allah Akbar with a LAW or Bazooka when they see an American, right?), and there are a lack of Indians to fire upon in video games (in call centers, no less...)?

I feel that there is a double standard on the race issue of video games, and I feel that if there is ANY race that should be raisng their hands in the air, it's the Caucasian community, since I've counted more White people in games that I've either killed, ran over, or beat the hell out of, than ANY OTHER RACE in video games.

And no, Asians don't attack people buy running to the protagonists with their arms downward, and holding on to him till he falls off. (Reference: Kung Fu Master -- Irem)

Part of ending the race issue is knowing when it is arbitrary and capricious, and not treating a trivial topic as an easy means to throw a race card up.

As the statistical minority (4-7%) of the United States, I feel compelled to make this statement, since neither most blacks nor whites would touch this subject.

Soldier_CLE

Juststreet

mcderek3000

Scott-Survive

Pezdispenser

Hion

SirCobbins

Amiash Loves You

wait..thats racist too

Shoot2thrill

blkpaladin

realityengine

mordennight

Vidril

Seriously, the most racist thing about this game that I can see are all the people up in arms and saying the game is racist.

OMGitsDarkMatter

Capt_Birdseye

SuperMekman

munkah

I love how when people kill piles and piles of white people, no one says a thing. Suddenly, when it's people of color, then people get all defensive. It's a game! A game about zombies. Zombies eat people, so you shoot them to survive. You'd shoot them regardless of what color they are. The zombies can be asian, or hispanic for all I care and it wouldn't make a difference.

Plushie

Also, to the many posters who claim to be "colorblind" or to "not see color", critical race theory has a clear answer to this objection. The very claim that one can transcend color is the condition for continued oppression. Before a flood of angry and oppositional comments, let me clarify what this means. It isn't simply enough to not recognize race as an explicit, stated factor when race acts structurally and implicitly in many interactions within society. Look at the teaser trailer for RE4 and RE5. The difference isn't in the racial subject matter, but the way that this matter is approached. While the European zombified masses are originally a group who can be related to, who had their humanity only to see it stripped away, the African masses are always revealed in terms of their fundamental "otherness". This examples is a clear demonstration of this implicit racism that goes above and beyond the direct and recognizable subject matter.

nflchampion

What I find interesting is, so many people comparing it to AIDs; and How many people compare it to The saying That AIDS Began in Africa. But, this is another theory that AIDS Is a Governemnt Invented Virus. Maybe the DEVS are trying to say, The Virus was invents by Umbrella And tested in Africans, hence the origin of the Virus. Now, weither the Virus was meant to make super humans, or to be used as a BIO weapon is not known. The original Captain America was Black, do to the fact that The first soldiers the super serum was bein tested on were black.

Just someting to consider.
As a Black man I didn't see this as any sort of Racist from the start.
But I would have thought this would Null any sort thoughs that this couldbe racist.
Clearly they thought deeply into this and I see no malicious intent at all.
They just want to give people a good story. It's a pure shade of neutral Grey, Only the insecure see black and white.

Flitz

You're right, though. Good literature... just not relevant.

XWonka

Purple Dave

sainraja

hikaizer

bobtheduck

That's a good point. If they go out and say the virus started in Africa, it is very possible that the news will pick it up as a correlation to AIDS. I understand that games aren't always politically correct but this is a very sensitive issue. What if this game took place in Germany and it explicitly told you the zombies were Jewish?

I wouldn't have such a problem with this game if it wasn't set in Africa. Any other location with a "the virus came from here" would've been more suitable than Africa which has already gotten bad enough press.

kylo4

dadeisvenm

That woman is either: a) Sherry; b) Jill; c) new character.

REDFIELD8

Fitz Rhapsody

I don't see the race issue here. Most games feature mass genocide of all colours & shapes as a standard feature. N'gai Croal sounds like the name of a Ninja Turtle enemy trying to get attention.

Dr Terror

It's funny to see gamers, especially here on Kotaku, get so angry at anti-video game politicians ("what about gun control laws? what about poor parental supervision?") for not focusing on the greater issue at hand, and then turn around and cause an uproar over one video game when offensive racial portrayal has been prevalent in American television and movies for decades.

Fitz Rhapsody

There is a huge context of why black people among all other types are the ones who are so picky about this things and why intenational community tends to treat them with care.

I won't write it because wall texts are boring so I'm gonna say, lets mature all a little and stop thinking about racism and treating people like they were something different from us, there are people who will never change, but if we always care about them then we won't erase the problem.

Also, the progenitor virus was found in a queen ant, I guess it was in an excursion to Africa. From that the t and g strains were developed by Umbrella.

WDYC

Vodou (an alternate spelling for voodoo) is actually a bite-size version of the tribal religions of Africa. In Africa, the triabl religions there had numerous Gods, each of which ruled over a certain realm of life. And as such each of their Gods had their own, personal Priest who was the only one who could communicate with them.

Now when slaves were brought to Haiti and other countries, the slave populations still believed in their spiritual religions and Gods, but lacked the proper resources to communicate with them; the priests. As such certain priests had to learn how to communicate with numerous Gods and had to find new ways to perform divination spells. This adaptation of tribal African religions is what gave birth to religions such as Santaria and Vodou. So while it may look very similar to Vodou, those aspects of the game could very much be the original African tribal religions. Just thought I'd clear that up as I understand it can be quite confusing.

NeoAkira

ubiquitous

Naphtali61

NeVeRMoRe666

...

Please don't say Alice...

Eienhander

reptile168

Rockbot

@REDFIELD8: Sherry? I thought that was Alice from the RE movies. I dunno.

ChiChi_BBQ

He's talking about the Progenitor Virus.

[en.wikipedia.org]
[residentevil.wikia.com]

@KM91: - "The Progenitor Virus is a modified strain of Ebola."

It's actually not a modified strain, as the Progenitor virus was around before they started messing with the Ebola virus. You should read up more on what's already been posted here in the comments. We talked about this quite a bit. Read up on "Wesker's Report II" here:

[residentevil.neoseeker.com]

Excerpt:

"The reason Birkin was so interested in the Ebola Virus was that he was thinking of recombining the Ebola genes with the "Progenitor" virus to strengthen its attributes. By the time we had arrived at the research center there was already a sample of the Ebola Virus waiting for us."

dead_red_eyes

yaoigamer

@AlKusanagi:
"Seriously, though, I agree with all the people saying that racism is being read into the game, but you've also got to realize that Japan has literally NO insight on the black issue. In my eight years in Japan, I've seen countless things that would spark protests or boycotts in other countries, yet most Japanese people are completely unaware that they're being offensive. Hell, some of Japan's top comedians still do what could be considered blackface!"

I agree, and I think it's a good point that a lot of people aren't aware of. Japan's ethnic makeup is and has been very homogenous - they're basically one race, with very little ethnic variation. Being an island nation, their interaction with other cultures over the years has been limited to aboriginal people (Ainu, etc.), occasional exchanges with the Chinese and Koreans since ancient times, the Dutch in the 16th century, and the Americans (and eventually everyone else) in the 19th century. They certainly didn't experience the black-vs-white issue that America has, and don't have the same perspective.

Highlander Wolf

I'm black, and I support Capcom 100%
Screw Analyst and News Broadcasters posting this just for ratings and brownie points. >_>

Kayeliminal Antithesis

It's only a shame that the controversy is slightly influencing the content their putting in the game, even if it's just subconcious to the developers...

blueshoals

Orionsaint

Did anyone see the last seconds on the video?

THAT'S THE REAL NEWS! More info on RE5 at the Media Summit! Possible Sherry reveal! Can't wait! OMFG!!!!

I skimmed through 200+ post and NO. EFFING. MENTION. Of such an important thing. Tragic, really.

REDFIELD8

floppylobster

KM91

Now, which virus is he talking about? I was under the assumption that the Umbrella virus stories are over and this relate to the new virus revealed in RE4's storyline. Is that not true?

I really wish that there would've been an equally epic storyline after Code Veronica that finished off Umbrella. The story in that game had an amazing scope and really had the single most dangerous threat the series has ever seen. The giant tentacle sequence alone should make it clear that she was no joke.

+ Watch video

DARTH_TIGRIS

Seriously, though, I agree with all the people saying that racism is being read into the game, but you've also got to realize that Japan has literally NO insight on the black issue. In my eight years in Japan, I've seen countless things that would spark protests or boycotts in other countries, yet most Japanese people are completely unaware that they're being offensive. Hell, some of Japan's top comedians still do what could be considered blackface!

Like Wizbolt and a couple of others have said, I hope they don't cop out and completely sanitize the game because of misguided opinion, but I really do think Capcom USA should get a few consultants to work with Capcom Japan just to make sure they don't unintentionally do things to anger people.

AlKusanagi

------------------------------

on a side note, why do people think voicing a different opinion is trying to force others to change the way they think? we can't have a discussion unless we all have the same view? i thought this was kotaku, not the nintendo forums.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

wicko

YUYU

dadeisvenm

Anemone

Personally, I wouldn't mind it. It's something that would actually happen in that situation. "Nuke it from space, it's the only way to be sure," so to speak.

I think it would be a little thin skinned to overreact in the context of that story, though. If my entire country is overrun with zombies, I'd advocate nuking it too.

PapaBear434

TK423

Amiash Loves You

Look... As a Haitian... I was ok with the perceived locale of the game as well as the current locale. Why? Because I know the Japanese really don't get it (racial sensitivity). Should they venture to more racially sensitive? Absolutely... but, IF we are to evolve as a society color shouldn't be an issue. Rather then looking at something being "black V. white" we should see things as "people v. people". Some how we are too primitive to look past prejudices because we (oddly enough) need them to remind us of our differences and faults.

The premise of the "exotic locale" is not without its prejudices. Greenland is exotic (in the quirky of the beaten path sorta way) but its not exciting and MOST importantly, it won't SELL. But a predominantly "Black" nation is viscerally exotic and will SELL based its controversy and that is MOST important.

dadeisvenm

That's funny, considering that you posted the following :

"Resident Evil, the hero is an Arabic Moslem and the only way he can save the world is by flying the plane into a building full of American Zombies.

Would you be cool with that?

How about this.

A strapping blonde haired blue eyed Aryan German has to go into Israel and excecute all the Israeli Zombies?"

Ooooo what an intelligent post you have there. *Rolls eyes*

dead_red_eyes

Yeah, the plotline is pretty deep. It's what I love about the series.

dead_red_eyes

Brian Ashcraft

fourth game was set in spain. spanish people are white. 'hispanic' is a term coined by the nixon administration to describe people from mexico and south america, who are generally a mixture of the indigenous peoples of those areas and the spaniards who colonized them. the game is not intentionally 'racist', but the lack of a black protagonist in the series, makes the image of a white guy mowing down a bunch of black people a little unsettling for some.

rennyf77

Should I cry racism the next time a black character shoots a white character in a video game? What happened here is really simple:

A) Chris is an established character who is already white.

B) Shockingly... Most of the people in Africa are black. I know I was surprised too! I thought the devs were just being racist.

I completely understand how someone could mistake this as being racist but it's not. I think a major part of what the team was getting at was how completely devastating the outbreak of such a virus would be in a poor environment where it could spread easily. If anything it makes me feel sorry for people who are suffering today from disease in Africa.

If you're offended by the game don't play it. But don't force your interpretation of it on other people. It's not racist in my view. Chris isn't running around spouting pro white propaganda while capping every non-white character he can.

Iron_Dragon_2.0

2NinjasTapedTogether

*sigh*

Converse intelligently much?

Dude, as much as racism offends me, nothing offends me more than stupidity. If you want people to take anything you say seriously, you'll have to put your toys away and start interacting like an adult.

Cruithne

Silent Predator

And I know it was just a Video-Game. Is it racist to find blacks where the game setting is taking place? I mean seriously. Take a fucking Chill Pill. I'm sick of this whining.

Capcom has my full support for still developing the game, and sticking to their planned settings.

k_dash

I can't think of too much else to say. Countless people have brought up the fact that white and hispanic zombies were in previous games of the series. I just can't see the game as being racist.

If it were a brand new franchise I would be more wary, but the context of this being the latest of a very long line of games, placed in a new setting (which just so happens to be inhabited by black people) makes me highly skeptical.

Maybe I'm crazy, and Capcom just made those other games in order to blind me, so I would think nothing of their rampant racism and white-on-black violence advocation. Or maybe not. Who knows, right?

Crawl to China

i guess you can say that the game is a microcosm for gaming as a whole, where there are very few non-white protagonists.

rennyf77

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

You're telling me with all of the games that we've played over the years that a development team couldn't make a story out of any of the examples I gave? They wouldn't be PC but they could do it. Hell, I could do it, but I never would...for the reasons I've been saying all along.

Regardless of whether it's part of a larger story or not...you still have, in the example I gave, the US nuking Japan. that's going to raise a helluva lot of rad flags with people referencing Hiroshima and Nagasaki and rightfully so. then you'll have people raising the alarm because you'll see two people that can't escape the skyscraper they're in...as it's about to be destroyed. They have a choice to stay and be eaten (burned alive) or jump. they jump. Sound familiar?

Doesn't matter what the logic or story is behind it, some people aren't going to see or want to hear about a T-virus or "part of series" All they're going to see is a white guy in an impoverished african village killing black people. And they will be offended.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

That's the heart of where we disagree. Neither of us suspect that the game, its designers, or its proponents are racist. We both acknowledge the validity of the POV of those who aren't bothered by the trailer.

We just differ on whether it's also reasonable to find the trailer's content unsettling. I don't think that one has to be foolish or thin-skinned to find the gameplay depicted in the trailer unappealing.

I think I've contributed enough to the explosion of posts in this thread, so I'll just join you in urging people to consider that points of view other than their own may be valid, and leave it at that.

DireWombat

Well, I don't know of too many games were it's been an important part of the gameplay ... but there are quite a few games out there that have HDR in their engine and will pretty much do the same thing that RE5 will do. Go from a dark room to a bright light room ... your eyes bug out ... and vice versa. It's a nice touch of realism, and I'm betting that with all of the effort they're putting into that ... it just might be the best HDR & lighting that we've seen in a game yet. Guess we'll find out next year when it's released.

dead_red_eyes

Hahaha, that cracked me up.

dead_red_eyes

I wanted to ignore it too ... but I can't help it. I don't understand how Capcom are a bunch of fascists. Sounds like someone is living back in the cold war era still, where everyones a commie or a fascist.

dead_red_eyes

I need to stop posting. I'm starting to get redundant. And repeating myself too.

PapaBear434

I'm betting all my cash that it's Sherry Birkin. In Wesker's Report I, it reveals that Wesker has custody of Birkin's daughter Sherry.

Now Sherry had 2 different endings in RE:2. In the "Claire A" scenario, she is implanted with a G-Virus embryo by G, the creature that was once her father, and Claire must prepare a G-Virus vaccine before Sherry undergoes mutation. In the "Claire B" scenario, Sherry is chased by the Tyrant sent by Umbrella to retrieve the G-Virus hidden inside her locket.

Now I have no idea what Capcoms "true ending" was, but I'm guessing that she's already infected. That's why she's in the tank.

I wonder if she will be unleashed, and all fucking hell will break loose.

dead_red_eyes

I was wondering what he was talking about too. I just chose to ignore it. I can have a civil conversation with you and Striderhayasa (one of my first PSN buddies) and you.

Someone making a comment like that would likely drag me back into ban-land.

PapaBear434

WHAT?

dead_red_eyes

Ok, fine, let's take those examples. It would not make sense, none whatsoever, to have zombies jumping from buildings. And if you are still designing for cell phone sales, I can't see how zombies would fit anyway, but I digress...

This game is set in Africa, which is

1) the beginning of zombie legend,

2) a hotbed of virus infection known for high transmission rates,

and

3) predominately full of black folk that have never actually experienced violence or slavery at the hands of white people.

We are simply projecting our own guilt (in the case of white people) and our unresolved feelings of victimization (the black people in the US) on a situation that doesn't call for it at all.

PapaBear434

Witz, we're going to make you earn your money this week. Now don't you wish I had gotten the job? :P

PapaBear434

This is about trying to see the situation from another's perspective to understand the argument better. (like was mentioned) Many people are unwilling to do this. If you take an example that is tied to the fabric of the nation (like 9/11) then it becomes easier to understand why some people would be offended...

Case in point...I used to work as a designer for Verizon Directory Graphics during 9/11. After the WTC attacks, we were told under no circumstances we we allowed to us any images of people jumping from windows, falling from buildings or anything that could be misunderstood as a 9/11 reference. Why? because it was a tragic event that would offend legions of people. Did any designer argue the directive? no, because it was completely understood. it was a tragic event that should not be made light of.

That's the point. Now if you take any of the examples I gave and just added zombies and an elaborate story line, does that make it better? no, those examples will still be offensive to some. That's the point. Even though we see it as "RE5...the series we've been playing for over 10 years" everyone isn't going to see it that way. It's entirely possible for many people to be offended by the trailer and the game...however it turns out. That has been my point since this all started.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

Krumm

Personally, I laughed at the PSP ad. I got what they were trying to say, even before I knew what country it came from.

Secondly, I don't believe there was anything racist, purposefully or accidentally, in this trailer. As I said, anyone that would give it the slightest bit of thought before reacting would likely infer that these guys are zombies, as you don't normally "die" and then start bleeding from the eyes and craving the flesh of the living.

And seeing that the entire crowd of people he's shooting and kicking into are shuffling about, grabbing clumsily at him, trying to bite him at every second, AND not even moving away as he points a weapon and shoots at the man next to them (instead, they keep shuffling slowly along) I'm going to say only a fool or someone looking for something to be offended about would infer anything different.

PapaBear434

SuperMekman

Go Team Venture

Antiterra

toastydoom

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

Nice, doing some digging I see. That's good stuff right there. Krauser was probably infected with the same exact virus, it makes sense. Krauser kept a human form up until the end (and I could swear his eyes were like Weskers ... yellow and red). He had increased strength and speed ... just like Wesker.

And thanks for bringing up the Leon B ending. I find it out odd how in RE:UC they talk about it being the true ending ... and yet, there she is in RE4. So does that mean that RE4 is not in the same RE continuity? What gives? I hate stuff like that!

dead_red_eyes

I read it wrong, I read it wrong. Sorry!

dead_red_eyes

chup88

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

I meant YOUR logical fallacy, not "Hour."

Typing while drinking is not advised, folks.

PapaBear434

Freebase crack while watching Faux News much?

@coin_operated_boy:

I'm guessing anything like lions, cheetahs, antelopes, bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, mandrills, duikers, okapi, hippopotamus, bushbabies, hippos, elephants, gazelles, snakes, crocodiles, ... they're all game.

dead_red_eyes

Hour logical fallacy in these cases is assuming that they made this game to be deliberately racist and play on people's conceptions of racism. This was not the case.

Those scenarios you talk about would be purposefully made to shock based on real, historical events. The one in this game is something else, and only being view this way because of the subjective cultural impression people are pressing upon it.

PapaBear434

luckyguy183

You don't need to support your point any further, I agree with it.

But, if you were a Japanese (or other non-American) ad exec or somesuch who was responsible for those images, would you release them in the US (where they carry all kinds of heavy emotional baggage) and not expect controversy?

I get that other parts of the world have different perspectives and more or less baggage surround racial/ethnic issues. You don't need to prove it to me. If you and I were debating whether the RE5 trailer was meant to be racist, your points would be very relevant. What I'm talking about, though, is my own personal reactions and some speculation about the reactions of others with similar points of view.

To refer to your examples, can I not have a negative reaction to that PSP ad because people in Japan and Europe didn't? Does the validity of their point of view somehow invalidate mine, and those of anyone who feels similarly?

DireWombat

"wait for the media summit"

Cant wait :).

luxusa

Shalashaska

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

Even if someone had no idea about the subject of Resident Evil as a series, it seems like they would realize something is up when

1)Two guys bum rush a man in a shed, biting and trying to devour him.

and

2) When that man, just being bitten, rises up from his apparent death, tries in vein to scream as he anguishes in silence, and his eyes start bleeding before he rages up and attacks the previously mentioned pale hero.

Again, I would hope that someone with a micron of rational thinking skills could tell that something unhuman was happening to these poor folks. And anyone who has not been under a rock for the last forty years would likely think "Zombie."

PapaBear434

Silent Predator

When Achebe delivered his lecture An Image Of Africa, he was met with mostly instinctive reactions (whether positive or negative). It took some time for nuanced points of view to emerge, for Achebe's arguments to be considered by people who had at first dismissed them.

Whether one agrees with it or not, Achebe's lecture was undeniably a turning point in the literary criticism of Heart Of Darkness, because it forced people who would otherwise never even have thought that racism was an issue to consider the novel from a different viewpoint, and to question the way they had perceived it up until then.

These debates and controversies are useful, regardless of whether you think they have merit or not, because they force you to consider the "other person"'s point of view. And that can never be a bad thing.

And it's not just Achebe/Conrad. It's O.J., it's torture in Algeria for the French, it's the Muhammad cartoons for Muslims, and, yes, the comparatively insignificant RE5, a game produced by Japanese developers whose minds it never crossed that the image of a White man killing rabid Black zombies could be hurtful to some.

[By the way, the many posters who bluntly dismissed N'Gai Croal might want to notice that he never accused Capcom devs of being racist. His entire argument was that the imagery in the trailer evoked racist stereotypes - an argument that I find hard to refute.
Shit, why do I even bother posting this when I know it will be buried under 300 new messages in about five minutes... which is why I didn't comment on the original article in the first place.]

Antiterra

How about a Metal Gear Solid that ends with Joe America Snake bombing an office building in middle america?

Or how about a flight sim that allows you to play as the japanese attacking pearl harbor. You get bonus points and an achievement for suicide runs and ships sank...

How about a Call of Duty that allows you to play as a terrorist where your job is to conduct televised beheadings of americans for bonus points and achievements...

Here's a better one for Capcom...Give me a flight sim that allows me to play as the pilot on the Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-Bomb runs. Bonus points and a achievement for the total annihilation of Japan in three runs

the company that tried to release any of those ideas would be blacklisted. But as you said...it's just a game so no one should have the right to be offended...

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

alright, cool. so what giant animals do you think are going to be in this one, if any... we've seen snakes, sharks, spiders, gators...

i'm hoping they don't do lions, they just don't seem all that scary. i mean, i'd be scared to shit if one was looking at me like dinner, but i just haven't been frightened of any fake lions since lion king.

coin_operated_boy

I would likely be a little shocked at first, and then have a laugh about it after I looked at what the game was about.

Then, I don't like to be willfully ignorant of subject I protest and lament.

PapaBear434

You're welcome. I'm really excited for it too!

dead_red_eyes

To back up my point, I present this series of pictures from an informational form from Japan informing folks of what to do in case of an earthquake. From what I understand, this was as of two or three years ago.

Their perception of racism is slightly different than our own. And let's not forget the old PSP ads that caused such a stir here in the States, but people in Europe and Asia couldn't give a rip about.

This entire thing is much gnashing of teeth about nothing.

PapaBear434

Probably so, since RE5 is not coming to the Wii. And for the record, I bought RE4 the day it came out for the GameCube, and I did the same for the Wii version. I think both versions are a lot of fun, and I quite enjoyed the aiming on the Wii version. I could pull off headshots with ease.

dead_red_eyes

godammit, i can't believe i'm getting sucked into this inane bullshit.

coin_operated_boy

Yeah, I've been trying to do that ... but people still want to continue the racism discussion from the N'Gai article. Oh well.

@KrylonBlue:

Thanks for reiterating for what I've already said. Haha.

dead_red_eyes

Highlander Wolf

I'm not accusing anyone of racism, and I think that not many people here are. We're describing [i]our[/i] reactions to the imagery, and wondering about the effect of that imagery on more-casual gamers and non-gamers who may have even less context on the images in question with which to evaluate them.

You are absolutely, 100% right that there are other, valid points of view on this. I was very careful to never imply that my point of view was somehow superior to or more correct than someone else's. It's not.

Anyone making "shrill" comments accusing Capcom or those excited about RE5 of racism needs to "take a step back and try to take it from another point of view. A point of view that doesn't see this the same way as them." Yes.

But [i]some[/i] of us found the trailer's imagery unsettling, and that point of view is also valid. I (and most of the others expressing a similar viewpoint) are not saying that everyone has to feel uncomfortable about the game, or that anyone who doesn't is secretly racist, or that the game is actually racist.

Can you understand, though, that a perfectly rational person [i]could[/i] have a negative reaction to the RE5 trailer, worry about the general public's reaction, and wish that Capcom would find a way to tread a little more carefully in marketing to an international audience for the sake of public perceptions of their game and the industry as a whole?

DireWombat

wow, your post is complete and utter shit.

yea, those scenarios would be horrifying, because they happened. you just took two historic events and added in zombies.

last time i checked, there weren't any zombies that could only be destroyed by a jihadist hijacking, fool.

way to completely lose sight of everything relevant in this discussion and just stoop to the lowest levels of sensationalism.

coin_operated_boy

@San: dude, where's your star? Awesome post. Let me give you an example. the World of Animation Celebration a few years back had a special presentation on vintage animation that happened to have a section on black face animations. Many black animators, many of them students were offended by it. Some of the other students and staff didn't understand why. They couldn't understand why the presentation wasn't just accepted as a historical lesson more than anything else.

Look at Japan...as a designer, I see this all the time which is why I have no respect for Japanese designers in general (there are exceptions) Japan depicts black characters in the worst light in many games across many genres. We can run the gamut from Zak in Dead of Alive, to Elena in Street Fighter. There is absolutely no effort to correct this in most cases even though there is a wealth of history in regards to black people across the world throughout history. I agree with you 100 percent.

@i_lie_to_fit_in: you bring up a great point also and it's so sad but true...powerful nations of the world will not intervene unless it's in their best interest to do so. this was proven yet again in the Rwanda genocide. The US government wouldn't even acknowledge it as genocide and turned a blind eye to the killing. later it was report that if the US just granted intel about the activities just prior to the massacre, over 300,000 people could have been saved. But African's just aren't important I guess.

Back on topic...am I the only one that's worried that the controls are going to be gimped compared to RE4 on Wii?

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.