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This came up from another discussion so I decided to do a bit of Google. To my shock most articles on the matter of ethnic minorities in video games were dated up to 2009 with a few and loose articles dated from 2011 and 2012. By Google itself, it would seem that the whole matter of ethnic minorities in game industry has been consistently dropped out of the media's attention and being replaced I would say or placed under a lower priority than gender equality and presentation.

So where do Ethnic Minorities stand in this modern era of video games?

Let us reflect on the past for the time being,

Fergus Mills searches for the words. It's clear he wants to say this carefully. The 22-year-old from Macon, Ga. is black. His Xbox Live avatar is black. Except that it's not.P

Drawing it out of him, Mills says it's because of the avatar's body language. And while Mills doesn't say that's really a white guy on his screen, palette-swapped to look like him, he's pretty clear this representation is not from his neighborhood.P

"I can make him look like me, but have you noticed, when he's standing right there, the way he moves? It's ... weird," Mills said. "He puts his hand on his hip. He twirls his head. I've never seen people who act like that."

Direct Source: Minority Report: The Non-White Gamer's Experience

When I see my race represented in video games we are typically:

• Thugs whose only motives are to smoke drugs and get money (think GTA 4's Jacob).
• Extremely violent characters who hold gatling guns and shoot everything in sight.
• A Rapper/artist whose sole purpose in the game is to get famous and sign a recording contract.

Direct Source: Race in Video Games: Why it Matters... And Why Things Won't Change Anytime Soon

A recent study conducted at Ohio State University shows that white players who use black male avatars in violent video games demonstrate increased negative attitudes towards blacks, as well as increased aggression. This finding reveals the impact that negative media portrayals can have towards the public’s opinion of a minority group.

Researchers found the behavior disturbing, as white players acted more aggressively after the game is over, had stronger explicit negative attitudes toward blacks, and displayed stronger implicit attitudes linking blacks to weapons.

Direct Source: Stereotypical media portrayals reinforce negative views of racial minorities
Original Source: Playing Video Game as Black Avatar May Up Aggression

2009 Findings

USC researcher surveys 150 best-selling games, finds zero Hispanic or Native American protagonists; women, children, and the elderly also disproportionately rare.

The study also found that white people make up about 80 percent of game characters, compared to 75 percent of the US population. Asian/Pacific populations were the only other race category to be overrepresented (5 percent in games compared to 4 percent in the US), with Hispanics and Native Americans both significantly underrepresented.

Hispanics make up less than 3 percent of game characters, but more than 12 percent of the population, while Native Americans represent less than 1 percent of the country and make up less than 0.1 percent of game characters. On top of that, the two groups appeared solely as supporting characters in games, with the researchers recording no Hispanic or Native American protagonists in their study.

Direct Source: Study: Minorities underrepresented in games

Presentation of Ethnic Minorities in video games

Black female (non-stereotypical) protagonists in videogames?
Representing Arabs in video games
Digital Arabs: Representation in Video Game

Lectures

Misogyny, Racism and Homophobia

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Well I find it more troubling that gaming industry is bare-bones in the third world.

edit: so they have little power in terms of how they are being represented in the medium.

 

[Principate]

2019 findings... God damn you have a time machine.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Sazh might be representative of a "token black guy", but somehow he still manages to be many people's favorite character in the game he's from.

 

[Maintenance]

Well I find it more troubling that gaming industry is bare-bones in the third world.

Truth.

 

[Kazerei]

Sazh might be representative of a "token black guy", but somehow he still manages to be many people's favorite character in the game he's from.

I think that's more because the rest of the cast was terrible :\

 

[Anura]

Sazh might be representative of a "token black guy", but somehow he still manages to be many people's favorite character in the game he's from.

Honestly he is also so much different from other video game black guys. He might look like a stereotype in other media but he is actually one of the more unique black characters that play a prominent roll in video games

 

[z-layrex]

The most racist people in my mind are do-gooders who like to bring up the issue of 'race' at all. It's not something I normally would ever think about.

 

[Jackson]

A study published last month in the journal New Media & Society surveyed the 150 best-selling games from March 2005 through February 2006

Native Americans represent less than 1 percent of the country and make up less than 0.1 percent of game characters...[B} the researchers recording no Hispanic or Native American protagonists in their study[/B].

Hey it's getting better! Right Delsin?

 

[Shaanyboi]

Other than the Prince of Persia and Aladdin, there are like... no brown guys in games (that aren't bad guys). Oh, and... Shantae? I guess?

 

[Cipherr]

Yeah, the thing is, its a problem in general. Not just with race, sex, or whatever. Gaming in general just seems to not be very widely inclusive. Theres a loooooong way to go with that.

Other than the Prince of Persia and Aladdin, there are like... no brown guys in games (that aren't bad guys). Oh, and... Shantae? I guess?

Yep. I mean, at least we get 'represented' with the token black guy here and there. But there are many others who have it much worse in terms of representation.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

The most racist people in my mind are do-gooders who like to bring up the issue of 'race' at all. It's not something I normally would ever think about.

Yeah, just like how all of those people who constantly bring up sexism in video games are the most sexist of all.

 

[Maintenance]

But back on topic, ethnic minorities should get more visibility, but I don't think that they should force that. Let me explain: I think that creating a character from scratch with them in mind is a lot better than just adapting because "we need to be PC". One example of the later to me is that new Peter Parker, and one example for me of the first is the girl from Beyond Good and Evil and the girl from Remember Me. It usually ends up better in the first case.

Double post, sorry.

 

[FStop7]

Nico Bellic isn't an ethnic minority?

 

[Mr_Antimatter]

Sazh might be representative of a "token black guy", but somehow he still manages to be many people's favorite character in the game he's from.

Indeed. He was the distraught father trying to help his son, while serving as the source of aged wisdom for the group. He was also a skilled pilot, with some awesome skills. Sazh and Fang were easily my top two favorites for the FF13 series.

 

[DryvBy]

Selective list. Here:

Video games ain't racist. They're video games.

 

[injurai]

Hey it's getting better! Right Delsin?

It should be noted here thought that being of Native American ethnicity, or even still closely culturally tied does not prohibit you from engaging with modern American society.

 

[MissDeviling]

I could do with some more East- and South-Asian protagonists in western games. Don't really expect Japanese developers to represent minorities in their games since a lot of them are set in Japan.

 

[Fried Food]

yeah when you stop and think about it, its kinda gross how few non white main characters there are in games. games got a ways to go before they even approach movies in terms of diversity

 

[family_guy]

Won't change until there are more minorities actually working in the industry.

 

[Cipherr]

The most racist people in my mind are do-gooders who like to bring up the issue of 'race' at all. It's not something I normally would ever think about.

How lovely it must be for you to go through life having the option to not ever think about racism. Sounds fantastic, but I haven't ever been extended that option. For some of us, the issue is forced. Regularly.

 

[aeolist]

The most racist people in my mind are do-gooders who like to bring up the issue of 'race' at all. It's not something I normally would ever think about.

are you white?

 

[MightyHedgehog]

The most racist people in my mind are do-gooders who like to bring up the issue of 'race' at all. It's not something I normally would ever think about.

Huh?

 

[Tomohawk]

I'd love to see more minority representation in games, but hard to support the games that have minorities when there are so few and the few there are usually bad.

 

[-PXG-]

As a person of color, yeah, it's annoying playing as the same old cookie cutter white dude all the time. However, I'm not upset enough to start a crusade on the internet, pretend like I'm some how being oppressed and demonize anyone who doesn't agree with me. I'm not going to go into all sorts of convoluted rhetoric over something that has zero effect on me in reality, either.

More black, brown, red and yellow dudes ( and gals) is a good thing. But it's not the end of the world and it isn't really shocking when most people who make, sell and buy games are white males. I just don't make a real fuss about it. I'm pretty indifferent.

 

[kazebyaka]

Well, AC3 featured Native American.

 

[jackissocool]

How lovely it must be for you to go through life having the option to not ever think about racism. Sounds fantastic, but I haven't ever been extending that option. For some of us, the issue is forced. Regularly.

rekt

Seriously, if you don't think about race, it's because you don't have to. And if you don't have to and you choose not to, you're allowing it to persist.

 

[RM8]

I'm not saying the representations are optimal, but that's something cool about fighting games, isn't it? You get to choose among lots of different characters of different backgrounds. Your "main" is the most important character in the game for you.

 

[Thorakai]

The most racist people in my mind are do-gooders who like to bring up the issue of 'race' at all. It's not something I normally would ever think about.

Well I do. I want a more varied representation of race besides white people and the occasional black character. If that makes me racist then I'm proud of it!

 

[FluxWaveZ]

I'm not saying the representations are optimal, but that's something cool about fighting games, isn't it? You get to choose among lots of different characters of different backgrounds. Your "main" is the most important character in the game for you.

Well, it depends on the fighting game and there are several stereotypes of all kinds in the genre, but sure.

Still, there's a difference between that and an actual main character in a game. You wouldn't see a black Ryu or an equivalent as the representative guy/gal in a fighting game, either.

 

[funkypie]

I don't see what the problem is. The vast majority of western games that are played by westerns are white. At the same time I wouldn't care what the colour of a protagonist is in a game I play.

GTA is a massive game and so far that has had a game with a black protagonist with many other black characters.

I personally don't think nothing of it and it wouldn't effect my decision to buy a game.

 

[Chie Satonaka]

The most racist people in my mind are do-gooders who like to bring up the issue of 'race' at all. It's not something I normally would ever think about.

It's unfortunate that you think this way.

It'd be nice to see ethnic diversity in video games, just like it's nice to see ethnic diversity anywhere else. It'd also be nice if said ethnic diversity didn't get lazy with stereotypes. I'm not sure why people have an issue with this.

 

[besada]

I think all developers should be doing a better job of inclusivity. We now live in a global marketplace, but we're still making products for a narrow and parochial group.

 

[someguyinahat]

Other than the Prince of Persia and Aladdin, there are like... no brown guys in games (that aren't bad guys). Oh, and... Shantae? I guess?

Looks like someone forgot a little game called Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse.

I mean sure it's old but it counts, right?

 

[Muscle Wizard]

One of the worst things about Assassin's Creed 3 is that we finally have a protagonist from a completely different ethnic background and upbringing that due to circumstances should be opposed to the white colonials and their plans, yet he eagerly swallows their rhetoric and platitudes that they themselves disregard until like the final scene of the game.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

The most racist people in my mind are do-gooders who like to bring up the issue of 'race' at all. It's not something I normally would ever think about.

If this isn't a joke




LOL


Either way, this way of thinking no doubt contributes to the state of ethnic minority representation in games these days.

 

[piratethingy]

Is it fair to assume 1% of the population is Native American, so 1% of videogame characters should be Native American if Native Americans don't actually play videogames as much as other races?

Is it really racist if what are often white male game designers make what are often games featuring white male protagonists that are often consumed by a white male audience?

(Not that I'm even sure that's true, but just as a hypothetical. It's an interesting discussion imo.)

Do we expect, say, a Japanese Manga produced with Japanese schoolchildren in mind to feature an appropriate amount of Black characters? Say 20% of the world is black. Should games of that nature be expected to reflect that number, on average, over time? Is that different because it should only be compared within nations?

Obviously there are exceptions to everything. And like I said, Native Americans may play more games on average than Caucasians. IDK. But I'm not sure we hold other cultures to the same standard. Are Indian TV shows accurately depicting the World's white population? Should they need to?

 

[RM8]

Well, it depends on the fighting game and there are several stereotypes of all kinds in the genre, but sure.

Oh, of course. I'm Mexican, El Fuerte from Street Fighter is a luchador, lol. But I think it's cool, and despite being a stereotype, I like that Mexico is now represented in the roster.

Spoiler

I'm still maining Rose, though

 

[FourMyle]

The most racist people in my mind are do-gooders who like to bring up the issue of 'race' at all. It's not something I normally would ever think about.

got to be joking

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Won't change until there are more minorities actually working in the industry.

This is the truth.

Plus do we really want someone other than those minorities being the ones in charge of handling how they are represented?

 

[KmA]

The most racist people in my mind are do-gooders who like to bring up the issue of 'race' at all. It's not something I normally would ever think about.

Yeah all those racist ethnic people. Jeez they need a new issue to worry about amirite?

 

[Hatchtag]

It's not really a problem exclusive to video games so I don't think people care too much. Movies and TV shows usually have the exact same problems.

That said, late 20/early 30 something straight white male protagonists have almost became a bad game to me because it just screams "this game was focus tested out the ass" to me.

 

[RMS Gigantic]

There isn't a single game I know of with a protagonist anywhere on the Autism spectrum, and very few where supporting characters fall on the spectrum (and when they do, generally either the creator explicitly states as such but the character itself comes off as an every-stereotype-and-characteristic-at-once mashup, or the character fits the description but is never explicitly stated by the creator nor described in the game as specifically having an autism spectrum disorder).

There's a misconception that autism, Asperger Syndrome, and PDD-NOS are only present in children, and presumably that the person somehow either outgrows or gets killed by the "disease" upon reaching the teenage years. The other big misconception tends to be classifying autism on the whole as a disease at all, or suggesting that all (or, for that matter, most) people with an ASD "suffer" from the disorder.

Neither of these misconceptions are true, and I feel like these myths might be responsible for autistic spectrum disorders being massively under-represented in video games.

 

[BobbyRobby]

The OP complains that the black guy from FFXIII is too stereotypical, but also that the Black avatar doesn't act black enough. Seems like a tough balance to strike.

I guess the solution would be to get more black people involved in the design process.

 

[Shaanyboi]

The most racist people in my mind are do-gooders who like to bring up the issue of 'race' at all. It's not something I normally would ever think about.

Dude, come on...

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Sazh is the only character I like from XIIIs cast.

 

[Gestault]

I think all developers should be doing a better job of inclusivity. We now live in a global marketplace, but we're still making products for a narrow and parochial group.

Let me preface this by saying I unequivocally agree, but I think it's odd structuring studies for getting a statistical basis for discussion on top-selling titles rather than simply published titles, if we're focusing on the creative side rather than the market side. It just seems like a strange metric.

 

[Oersted]

I think all developers should be doing a better job of inclusivity. We now live in a global marketplace, but we're still making products for a narrow and parochial group.

Guaranteed money vs risk. Money speaks in a capitalistic society.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

The most racist people in my mind are do-gooders who like to bring up the issue of 'race' at all. It's not something I normally would ever think about.

Please elaborate.

 

[DocSeuss]

My goal has been to include more diverse casts in the stuff I work on, but there are external factors which limit my ability to reach a broader audience.

I realize we're talking about race, but I'm reminded of the NOLF story, where people returned the game because they thought the sexy woman on the front was someone other than the player character. I don't really understand why people have a hard time as playing people other than themselves.

I was moderately surprised/pleased to discover that the protagonist of Aliens vs Predator 2010 was a black guy. I do have to wonder if the "sales" thing has something to do with the quality of the games. I mean, AvP2010 wasn't that great, so of course it didn't sell well, for instance. Are audiences racists, trying not to buy games with diverse leads, or is it that, for whatever reason, our most diverse leads only seem to show up in games that aren't that great?