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[StereoVsn]

Ah, yes. The Phoenicians had a great deal of influence on Greek culture.

Which is why it’s silly to propose that Carthage was colonizing Italy in the sense that people mean under colonization now days.

 

[xanaum]

I'm confused here, japanese asians no longer considered diverse people? Did they remove asian men from the catalog? Is a japanese man now seen as equivalent to the so-called feared Western white man?

Pretty bold to push that ridiculous narrative, underestimating the intelligence of the entire world.

 

[EDMIX]

But their source for Yasuke is saying what they believe is true.

What does any of that matter though?

Japan themselves have made content about this person being a Samurai in games, manga, anime etc, I see it as fair game.

It would be like if Japan made something about Paul Bunyan with his big Ox and some ancient aliens expert was like "and theses bones show giants really existed, thus HE existed THIS TALL and they don't want you to know the real hidden truth" lol EVEN if that guy told them about this dude and they made a game about him, if its a game that is fictional in the first place and in the United States we have tons of content about Paul Bunyan and some mythical Ox, I don't see enough here to make a claim about anything offensive or anyone seeking to spread something falsely

The truth of that is irrelevant in a series already fictional, with time travel and monsters.

We can argue that the name doesn't matter but it's a prime example of how companies like Ubi are only pretending to be culturally sensitive when they haven't the faintest idea what they're doing. We have plenty of non-gendered names but they went with the equivalent of naming a burly viking Samantha.

True, but all this means is that they've been this way for a long time, that never stopped those games from moving massive units.

 

[SlimySnake]

It's funny how he brings up past AC protagonists but fails to mention that in their Italian Ac games, they picked an italian guy. not an indian or an arab or american. in their american AC games, they picked a native american and a white guy, not an italian or japanese or an arab guy. in their african AC game, they picked an african guy. not a white guy. For their greek and english AC games, they picked a greek and for their viking AC game they picked a dude straight out of norway.

And yet for some reason, they are choosing an african dude for their very first game set in Asia. you simply cannot justify this and definitely not by bringing up past AC games.

The problem is that the game is done. they waited too long to reveal it and now nothing can be changed. had they revealed it 2-3 years before it was supposed to be released then they couldve replaced the actor but now nothing can be done and they can do nothing other than double down.

this is going to go the way of dragon age. a complete flop.

 

[JerryinSoCal]

If they had gone with a Japanese male and Japanese female protagonists for the main story and had "Yasuke" as a DLC story or something nobody would have cared, well most wouldn't have anyway. Fans have been asking for an AC game set in Japan for a very long time and they wanted to play as a Japanese character, nobody was asking for this. Now most people don't know anything about Yasuke, I had never heard of him before but I don't think the right way to take your franchise into a Japanese setting is to go with a Black man as one of the two playable characters. I mean what if they had gone with a Korean woman for Origins? or a Lebanese man for Valhalla? I'm sure someone could have come up with someone to fit that if they had wanted to lol. The point is they were asking for this backlash and they should have known better, I plan on buying the game anyway I'm not offended just puzzled by the poor choice but the game looks fun.

 

[Sgt.Asher]

They Couldn't just choose a setting within the songhai empire, something so rare I'm not sure a game ever did that.

 

[Fess]

"To our players - the ones who have stood by us, supported us and celebrated our work over the years with enthusiasm and constructive feedback - this stance is for you," Coté concluded. "You are the heart of our journey. We create for you, and your support fuels our creativity and strengthens our resolve to keep pushing boundaries, to tell stories that matter. This journey is yours as much as it is ours, and I thank you for being with us every step of the way.

This is where they’re failing. They really don’t listen at all. They still think that the big global Assassin’s Creed audience is interested in these western focused and politically driven stories that ”push bounderies and matter”.

Most gamers just want great games. And cool game worlds and characters. And when games are based on a real world location or real people they want to see a good representation of that real world and that person with some solid research done, otherwise it’s better to just go with fantasy worlds and characters.

 

[ProtoByte]

It's funny how he brings up past AC protagonists but fails to mention that in their Italian Ac games, they picked an italian guy. not an indian or an arab or american. in their american AC games, they picked a native american and a white guy, not an italian or japanese or an arab guy. in their african AC game, they picked an african guy. not a white guy. For their greek and english AC games, they picked a greek and for their viking AC game they picked a dude straight out of norway.

Only Edward’s game was set in the Caribbean, and he was white European.

This also sounds a lot like the ethnic matchmaking progressives are correctly criticized about.

And yet for some reason, they are choosing an african dude for their very first game set in Asia. you simply cannot justify this and definitely not by bringing up past AC games.

What’s so wrong with it in principle that it can’t be justified other than “they wanted to do it”? People don’t have to buy it, but to say that it’s illegitimate in some sort of pseudo legal or “traditional” way is a little unhinged.

Somehow, I think this site would be defending Ubisoft if the male character was a Portuguese missionary while Ree and the other usual progressive spaces would bash it.

 

[Digital-Aftertaste]

I am sure his stance is going to help sales tremendously!

Edit: What I don’t understand is what the fuck are executives doing!? Concord, Veilguard, this game. After seeing pushback and hell, even before that , why the fuck would they keep pushing while knowing it is doing to tank sales?

Well I bet they've seen it now but the problem is that these examples happened way after the grand majority of the game was already done with... Also the rare incel victory that was Outlaws lol.

More than certain that Ubi along with other studios are looking at Wukong and Space Marines 2 very carefully after everything that has transpired up till now this year. The era of ham-fisted progressive pandering may soon be over.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

The game might be the best Assassin's Creed yet, but this and their responses is what will be remembered.

It won't be though, it's going to be another super mid generic Ubisoft open world like the last 37 Ubisoft open world games

 

[Sakura]

They have already explored northern Africa (Egypt) in AC origins, genius. If they do another one in Africa, the goal posts with many of you rage-baiting, fake gamers would then shift and you would find other reasons to scream "woke".

I said time periods/historical events that never get covered. Egypt would hardly apply. And when was I rage baiting or whatever it is you're going on about?

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

I don't give two fucks about this lame-ass franchise to begin with but I loved the part where he starts sounding like a melodramatic resistance fighter in a Hollywood WWII flick. That was unintentionally hilarious and the most entertainment Ass Creed has bestowed upon me.

 

[kunonabi]

I'm confused here, japanese asians no longer considered diverse people? Did they remove asian men from the catalog? Is a japanese man now seen as equivalent to the so-called feared Western white man?

Pretty bold to push that ridiculous narrative, underestimating the intelligence of the entire world.

For the most part only Asian Americans account for diversity with these people especially in regards to men. Hell, that new scooby doo cartoon is doing the same thing as shadows where they go to Japan and team up with a black boy and a Japanese girl.

 

[Haint]

Looks like the resounding 100k concurrent success of the most unabashedly down your throat "Woke" AAA game in videogame history--DEI:Veilguard--has clearly informed and emboldened developers/publishers that the "counter culture resistance" really is just a minority of chuds who are massively outnumbered by the "don't care" normies and REEEtards.

 

[CGNoire]

Don't forget

Thats actually a pretty cool beat....reminds me of Samurai Champloo.

 

[diffusionx]

you know what would be an interesting story to tell, in a game about japan? one about japanese people.

But yea, this kind of proves everything I said in the other thread, they decided to make this game the way it is right around 2020, they realize they fucked up, they can't really go back, and they just have to kind of plow ahead and hope for the best. They tried to be "nice" about it but they are rolling out the attacks against the audience.

 

[Boss Mog]

So they're doubling down again and saying that gamers who don't like it are the problem. Bold strategy, let's see how that works out for them in February.

The fact remains that they are 100% pandering to their DEI overlords. Assassin's Creed has always featured a native person and never a real historical figure. Yasuke fails on both of those points and they embellished his history tremendously based on the imagination of one dude. Also it's pretty insulting to both Japanese and black people to have hip-hop playing when the game takes place in Azuchi-Momoyama period Japan, as if all black people love hip-hop and they always want it to represent them. Yasuke's appearance is a complete joke as well, he looks like a modern day NBA player and not at all what he should've looked like.

 

[Elginer]

What a prick - I have bought nearly every Assassins Creed game (and have platinumed Black Flag and everything from Syndicate onwards) and I think it sucks that they are trying to fight culture wars with their daft premise for this game. This isn’t about the fans - it’s about a select few bellends telling people what to think. I paid nearly £100 for Outlaws and it is a big disappointment - is there any sign of them being conciliatory at all or is it all just our fault?

If he wants all the people who paid full price for their games in the past to fuck off so they can get new, morally better fans, good for him - but then don’t whine when your stock tanks.

Here here

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

This reads like the studio(s) working on Asscreed shadows told the higher ups that “contrary to popular belief we cannot recreate swaths of this game in time for a Feb 2025 release” so the C-suite has to put on a dog and pony show for the investors.

Wonder how the investors will react…

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Can someone explain to me how any of this DEI makes sense from a business perspective?

It does not, yet you try to challenge people with it and they get defensive.

I will use an example - I work in Sales, I always try to quantify the business impact as much as I can. Why? Because I know “we can demonstrate to deliver 10x the investment” is a much stronger proposition than “your product looks cool”. Yet I constantly meet and interact with sales leaders that all go about how “their industry is different, you cannot quantify many things”, etc. Without a single exemption these are all professionals that struggle generating revenue.
You would think the correct course of action would have been - “how can I quantify something I don’t do now”? But that thought never occurs to them. It’s the same with DEI, no one ever demonstrated all things equal DEI initiatives add to the bottom line, but it’s one of those things nobody wants to go on the record against.

 

[Stu_Hart]

I said time periods/historical events that never get covered. Egypt would hardly apply. And when was I rage baiting or whatever it is you're going on about?

I said goal post shifting, and that's exactly what you did. Easy work.

 

[Sakura]

I said goal post shifting, and that's exactly what you did. Easy work.

That was literally the only post I made in the thread, how was I moving goal posts? No idea what you are on about man.

 

[strike670]

The large majority of people don't know what Assassin's Creed is and have never held a gamepad.

I am referring to the majority of people who play video games.

 

[rubenburgt]

I was hoping to read why they have chosen a black man as the main character, but instead do they keep talking about the female main character.

I haven't heard much backlash about this. Does anyone actually have a problem with the female protagonist?

 

[SNPlayen]

I was hoping to read why they have chosen a black man as the main character, but instead do they keep talking about the female main character.

I haven't heard much backlash about this. Does anyone actually have a problem with the female protagonist?

First I’ve heard it

 

[kiphalfton]

 

[Robb]

"devastating" impact of Shadows' diversity and inclusivity backlash

 

[strike670]

Delete

 

[strike670]

The discussions initiated by this "small minority" are having substantial effects on the sales of woke games though. There's a substantial portion of the gaming audiences opposing the wokeficiation of western games by activists. Publishers/developers who are blind to the increasing consumer backlash or ones who double down on the woke elements like this game director to spite the chuds are going to be in for a world of financial hurt.

Western publishers don't seem to know their audience anymore and they've let their development studios get infiltrated by activist who want to push THE MESSAGE. That's fine for an indie game, but when it comes to $200 million AAA games that need to sell at least five million copies just to recoup the development costs, this is a recipe for disaster. They need to understand why Japanese games are now more popular than they've ever been in the last fifteen years while western games are getting rejected by western audiences, because if they don't they'll go under.

THE MESSAGE? Lol

I am sorry but all of this whining I hear here sometimes about this stuff, is just like the whining they do over at resetera but from the other perspective. I find all of this rather hilarious to be honest. All of the issues facing the world today and some people want to waste time and energy focusing on this shit.

 

[shamoomoo]

There's no need for diversity and inclusion in Japan setting, especially at that time. All they had to do was make a cool Japanese protagonist, cash out the big bucks, and avoid all this drama, but they're tripling down and they'll fall massively for it. Now they're looking for petty points. Ubisoft can fuck off and die.

Why? Japan isn't a homogeneous country. Though the Yayoi,the ancestors of the current inhabitants tried to genocide the Ainu,the most original inhabitants of Japan that still exists,the Ainu should be depicted in Japanese entertainment more.

Also,Yasuke stood out. And,Yasuke isn't even the only character in the Assassin Creed trailer,there was a ninja lady with him.

 

[Exede]

Ok.... I read the article. Seems like they still don't get the problem.

 

[BigDeadFreak]

Yeah, so never. Hannibal didn’t try to colonize Rome. He went there with the intent of beating them on their own turf and draw them out.

Carthage was a tributary to Rome. They were the ones getting squeezed dry. It wasn’t some kind of war of aggression that Hannibal attempted like the others you mentioned.

Carthage was not a tributary of Rome until after the Second Punic War. It was during this war that Hannibal invaded Italy. Prior to that they had been competing empires, vying for control of the Mediterranean. Prior to the First Punic War Carthage had been the stronger of the two empires with control over Sicily and Sardinia. They clashed and Rome won.

The point is that these are complex periods of history and we can go back and forth discussing them with nuance. Everyone will have their different perspectives and such discussions can be interesting and enlightening. All of that is absent from modern culture which seeks to elevate certain groups over others. It presents everything from the perspective of the oppressors and the oppressed. As a result, certain perspectives will never be represented whilst others are blown out of all proportion and distorted to fit a narrative.

 

[ahtlas7]

This echoes the selfless bravery of our Assassin's Creed protagonists," he continued. "They fought for freedom, knowledge and the right to chart their own paths, just as we, as creators…

 

[shamoomoo]

Not a single person gave a flying fuck about Naoe being female. The last two AC games had optional female leads that were well received and dialogued.

They’re quadrupling down on this horrible Yasuke decision and it’s laughable.

This game and all the other DEI infested games out there can rot.

Hmm? Was Nioh a DEI game? Did anyone actually care about the protagonist being European? The studio is Japanese based too.


This is the Wikipedia entry about the zee game.


Set during a fictionalized version of the year 1600, the plot follows the journeys of William Adams, an Irish sailor named after and inspired by the historic William Adams, an Englishman who became a samurai. Adams pursues the sorcerer Edward Kelley into the final battles of the Sengoku period during Tokugawa Ieyasu's efforts to unify Japan, an effort complicated by the emergence of yōkai that are flourishing in the chaos of war. Gameplay revolves around navigating levels and defeating monsters that have infested an area; combat revolves around stamina or "Ki" management and different sword stances that are strong or weak against different enemies.

Nioh - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[IDKFA]

Sounds good! I look forward to a future Assassin's Creed where you play an historical figure in the Royal Navy as they combat slave traders, including native Africans, in 19th century Sierra Leone. No compromises, right?

Speaking of slavery.

Slavery existed in feudal Japan when this game takes place. Since the historical Yasuke was given a house by Nobunaga, it's very likely that Yasuke also had his own slaves.

However, I doubt we'll see any indication of slavery in this game, just like in AC: Valhalla where they brushed over the Vikings being huge fans of slavery.

 

[Windom Earle]

This absolute retard acting like he is making Citizen Kane instead of Jersey Shore.

 

[Mattyp]

I'm confused here, japanese asians no longer considered diverse people? Did they remove asian men from the catalog? Is a japanese man now seen as equivalent to the so-called feared Western white man?

Pretty bold to push that ridiculous narrative, underestimating the intelligence of the entire world.

This is the weirdest aspect of the entire thing, a nation rarely represented in anything isn’t diverse enough against what exactly? So then it comes down to skin colour which we all know this is about, which raises even more questions.

Comments like this is guaranteeing how hard this game bombs. Death to the entire studio at this point.

 

[ProtoByte]

This is the weirdest aspect of the entire thing, a nation rarely represented in anything isn’t diverse enough against what exactly?

Sorry, Japan is hardly represented in anything? Lmao, give me a break.

So then it comes down to skin colour which we all know this is about, which raises even more questions.

What questions are those? Please, explain. Because it appears to be about skin colour on every side of this argument.

 

[RCX]

Framing AC slop as a piece of culturally significant art and a vanguard of evolved thinking.

Its a Ubi checkbox game. Strip all the controversy away and its a chore simulator.

 

[Jibran#one]

Keep going woke keep going broke ubi

 

[LimanimaPT]

Hmm? Was Nioh a DEI game? Did anyone actually care about the protagonist being European? The studio is Japanese based too.


This is the Wikipedia entry about the zee game.


Set during a fictionalized version of the year 1600, the plot follows the journeys of William Adams, an Irish sailor named after and inspired by the historic William Adams, an Englishman who became a samurai. Adams pursues the sorcerer Edward Kelley into the final battles of the Sengoku period during Tokugawa Ieyasu's efforts to unify Japan, an effort complicated by the emergence of yōkai that are flourishing in the chaos of war. Gameplay revolves around navigating levels and defeating monsters that have infested an area; combat revolves around stamina or "Ki" management and different sword stances that are strong or weak against different enemies.

Nioh - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The main difference is that Nioh developers didn't make the game with DEI politics in mind. Shadows was made with checkboxes to tick and that's what we don't like.
I really hope the game bombs so hard that even Ubi starts running away from this politics like the plague.

 

[laynelane]

Hmm? Was Nioh a DEI game? Did anyone actually care about the protagonist being European? The studio is Japanese based too.


This is the Wikipedia entry about the zee game.


Set during a fictionalized version of the year 1600, the plot follows the journeys of William Adams, an Irish sailor named after and inspired by the historic William Adams, an Englishman who became a samurai. Adams pursues the sorcerer Edward Kelley into the final battles of the Sengoku period during Tokugawa Ieyasu's efforts to unify Japan, an effort complicated by the emergence of yōkai that are flourishing in the chaos of war. Gameplay revolves around navigating levels and defeating monsters that have infested an area; combat revolves around stamina or "Ki" management and different sword stances that are strong or weak against different enemies.

Nioh - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There's a difference between the two games and this quote illustrates that difference:

"Assassin's Creed has always been about exploring the full spectrum of human history, and by its very nature, that history is diverse. Staying true to history means embracing the richness of human perspectives - without compromise. For example, in Assassin's Creed Shadows, we highlight figures, both fictional like Naoe, a Japanese woman warrior, and historical, like Yasuke, the African born samurai. While the inclusion of a Black samurai in feudal Japan has sparked questions and even controversy, Naoe, as a fictional character, has also faced scrutiny for her gender.

Nioh, just like your summary states, is a "fictionalized version of the year 1600". Ubisoft has gone back and forth on this, but it appears they are back to Yasuke was a samurai. This point is contentious in terms of its accuracy. We have scholars, historians, and many Japanese people who are asserting this is not an accurate portrayal of their history and we have even more who believe this is just Ubi being Ubi - except this time, the blow back for their virtue signalling was a little more than they expected. Everyone will have their own opinions on that, but Nioh - which is entirely a work of fiction and never pretended to be otherwise - is fundamentally different from Shadows, imo.

 

[ProtoByte]

Framing AC slop as a piece of culturally significant art and a vanguard of evolved thinking.

Its a Ubi checkbox game. Strip all the controversy away and its a chore simulator.

So then, all of this historical accuracy stuff is trite then? If everyone’s making fun of this guy for his mentality? Either AC is the Fast & Furious of gaming in its mass appeal brainless slop, or it’s a piece of video game art that should be “historically accurate” to fit into the tapestry of auteur projects. Can’t be both.

And I use those quotations deliberately.

 

[shamoomoo]

There's a difference between the two games and this quote illustrates that difference:



Nioh, just like your summary states, is a "fictionalized version of the year 1600". Ubisoft has gone back and forth on this, but it appears they are back to Yasuke was a samurai. This point is contentious in terms of its accuracy. We have scholars, historians, and many Japanese people who are asserting this is not an accurate portrayal of their history and we have even more who believe this is just Ubi being Ubi - except this time, the blow back for their virtue signalling was a little more than they expected. Everyone will have their own opinions on that, but Nioh - which is entirely a work of fiction and never pretended to be otherwise - is fundamentally different from Shadows, imo.

No,there real isn't. Assassin's Creed is already a long running game, taking Yasuke or any similar character with be a shake-up for the series instead of designing/writing totally new character.

Where are these experts? Also, you do realize Ass Creed is an action/adventure game,you thought Yasuke inclusion was solely for looks?

 

[laynelane]

No,there real isn't. Assassin's Creed is already a long running game, taking Yasuke or any similar character with be a shake-up for the series instead of designing/writing totally new character.

Where are these experts? Also, you do realize Ass Creed is an action/adventure game,you thought Yasuke inclusion was solely for looks?

I have no idea what you mean by Yasuke's looks and the type of game it is. If you don't understand the difference between a work of fiction and one that is claiming to be historically accurate, then I'll just leave you to it. As for the experts, google is your friend.

 

[Madserb2023]

The left really hasn't moved on from the Soviet Union; it's not the system that's the problem, it's just that everyone else doesn't get it lol Ubisoft is going down unless they change and they aren't going to if they believe people are the ones that need to change.

 

[Team Andromeda]

Like with so-called football fans, it makes me sick to see so-called gamers thinking its ok to personally abuse staff members online.

Its a bloody game

 

[Mattyp]

Sorry, Japan is hardly represented in anything? Lmao, give me a break.


What questions are those? Please, explain. Because it appears to be about skin colour on every side of this argument.

How many western developed games have had a Japanese protagonist? Or Western developed movies with a Japanese lead?

Don't misinterpret being represented by themselves in their own Japanese game and home movie markets to that of the white western development company banging on about inclusion for races other than white.

 

[Hypereides]

EDIT: Wrong thread.

 

[RJMacready73]

Ubisoft Pitch Meeting: were gonna make an Assassin's creed game in feudal Japan and you can play either as a Japanese dude/Samurai or a Japanese woman/Ninja, game is gonna be fucking awesome and we'll make a ton of money

Purple Haired They/Them at the back: Can we make the man a POC?

Ubisoft Pitch Meeting: Shut the fuck up and go back to your HR cave

This is what should've happened, they had the ingredients for a non controversial highly anticipated game that didn't need any fucking DEI as it was set in Japan and could've added Yasuke as a fucking Day1 DLC character to appease the Reee crowd and it would've been $$$ all the way... But nope, these studios really can't say no to these people or tell them to fuck off, this should've been an easy win and how in the hell did no one at ubisoft think "who the hell wants to play a massive big African dude in feudal Japan FFS where everyone is the height of a fucking hobit" I bet the house the vast majority of POC simply wanted to play a cool AF Japanese Samurai or Ninja but it was some White Purple Haired cunt who made the decision to include Yasuke.. it's always us whiteys fucking shit up