In all fairness, I could see where N'Gai Croal was coming from at the time. Hypothetically speaking, if there were a game about a group of German speaking agents sent to investigate a Jewish village overrun with an "epidemic" and it entailed blasting crowds of Jewish zombies, I would feel pretty uncomfortable. The same thing applies here, and that shouldn't be dismissed outright. I hope that made sense.
The Resident Evil 6 Race Representation Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Replicant
- Start date
D
Deleted member 81567
Unconfirmed Member
but bishoptl, those games are nothing compared to the games that have the same stereotypical white male lead. I think there's an influence, but not to the point where Capcom will dismiss every other race just for business purposes.
We may be confident in saying that the race of playable characters doesn't have an effect on sales. A good game is going to sell well regardless.
But are we sure that Capcom feels the same way? What dabuddada suggested doesn't seem that far fetched. I wouldn't be surprised if that's how a lot of game companies and publishers operate.
Anyways, I find this whole RE6 race issue to be quite silly.
But are we sure that Capcom feels the same way? What dabuddada suggested doesn't seem that far fetched. I wouldn't be surprised if that's how a lot of game companies and publishers operate.
Anyways, I find this whole RE6 race issue to be quite silly.
No, it really doesn't. C'Roal was talking about a game playing into a racist stereotype of black people as jungle savages through costume and action and other subtle touches of racist imagery. This has more to do with trying to backseat develop because you don't think there's enough color up in her'!
I think concerns over racist undertones take precedence over a thread about how it would be "nice" to have an Asian leading member on the squad. It's not racist to not have an Asian leading man. It's xenochromophobic or something like that but it's not even that since this was developed by Asian people. Maybe just the developers making characters like what they had before rather than wanting to make more new characters to be angrily demanded in the next one by fans if they don't have them.
CouchMaster
Member
Jessica Sherawat from Revelations is of Indian origin, at least her name is. Isn't that good enough?
I imagine Capcom are more interested in bringing existing characters back into the series than the actual race of those characters. Leon and Chris will shift more units than some new guy no matter what that new person's ethnic origin is.
And yes there is a new guy in this and yes he's white, but until we find out more about who he is we can't really play the race card on him. If he is Alex Wesker like everyone's speculating then it wouldn't make much sense for him to not be white.
I wanted to point out the existing trademark characters aspect as well but I forgot to do so. I agree with ya to a certain extent for sure.
I think it was more that on the basis of the trailer it really seemed as if the game was playing right into standard white man in Africa stereotypes, with the self-contained, professional white guy being leered at by feckless blacks.
Also I'm really amazed at the amount of people in this thread who are abjectly refusing to engage with what is an important discussion. Like, it's pretty damn shameful that a globe-travelling game,partially set in China, with 6 protagonists has all of them being Caucasian. Narrative justification aside (and in all fairness Resident Evil is nothing if not an excellently plotted, well written tour de force of cohesive narrative), there's really no justification for that lack of diversity.
I mean you can go ahead and call it tokenism but if the alternative is having Caucasian males being so consistently over-represented in every form of popular entertainment that it should make any liberal person feel something akin to revulsion then I have no problem with a game set in China having a 'token' Chinese protagonist.
Fair enough.
Metalmurphy
Member
They should have retconed an asian S.T.A.R.S. branch with at least 4 playable characters just to please the OP.
Phonomezer
Banned
I thought the reaction to RE5 being set in Africa was totally ridiculous.
If I had my way though, RE6 China missions would be played with a Chinese recon team and in Mandarin (with subtitles). Don't see this flying in the US though.
If I had my way though, RE6 China missions would be played with a Chinese recon team and in Mandarin (with subtitles). Don't see this flying in the US though.
Wait, what? Gay guys love roid consuments?
Why would that be so absurd? Why are you making this sound like it's such an absurd suggestion from the crazy depths of political correctness land? Resident Evil has an awful, inconsistent B-movie style story. There would be no problem making the story work to include a STARS-like team from the country that the game is actually set in.
Also, Chinner, fair enough I guess? Surely there were at least a few disabled people pre-outbreak? Like is it such a ridiculous thing to suggest that there could be disabled people in the game?
Also conjoined twins and albinos.
Metalmurphy
Member
But... WHY? Why is it that already established characters can't visit another country? How is that in any way offensive?
Society these days...
Why do people keep saying this? "I want my Leon and Chris etc." Like Replicant said a million times, YOU CAN HAVE THOSE TWO, but there are SIX playable characters in the game, leads, partners etc. So you can have Chris, Leon and new bald guy with at least one Chinese BSAA agent, local force etc. If there's an African BSAA branch, it's not hard to see a Asian BSAA branch with Chinese, Japanese, Korean etc. agents. Why is it so difficult to understand. I actually don't care if there isn't any Asian agents in the game, but I understand what Replicant is trying to say. Sheva and co and white, spanish zombies are in RE5 just so people and organizations don't call the game racist, same situation here, but only Capcom didn't do anything.
StevePharma
Member
My response when reading this thread.
everybody should watch that episode. Everybody's equal
Just stop the faux-exasperation, there is actually a discussion to be had and acting as if anyone who doesn't agree with you is wrong is really galling.
Why, in a game with 6 protagonists, at least 2 of whom are knew, are all of those characters white? What particularly annoys me is that white is assumed to be the default. Nobody ever mentions that it's just as much a conscious decision to make a character white as it is to make them another race or gender or religion.
Like it or not, the developers at Capcom made the very conscious choice to have all their characters that have been revealed so far white. It's not a particular instance of being offensive here, nobody is genuinely calling Capcom white supremacists.
It's the fact that their underlying attitudes are pretty repulsive. I wouldn't say they're necessarily bad people, just remarkably ignorant. Look at how they dealt with the Resi 5 race thing, completely missing the argument and including white and chinese zombies too. And the inclusion of Sheva, who consciously was half-white with very Caucasian facial features.
pieatorium
Member
Except IGN is saying that there is a playable Ada Wong section of the game. An established asian character of the series. How about we actually wait until we have more than a reveal trailer before calling out something for an issue that might not even be an issue.
I don't really see how an asian character would fit into the main storyline of what they've shown. The characters they picked clearly have a reason for being there. Leon and Chris are there because of their history. The third guy is there because he's supposed to be a clone or something? Ashley's there because of her father. Leon's companion is related to the clone who seems to speak with some sort of American accent, or they casted the VA wrong.
We haven't even SEEN what Chris's companions look like up close. And he's got three, so there could be one there. Maybe there is a Chinese soldier similar to Josh in RE5. It just doesn't seem that big of a deal. I don't think it's a 'Chinese characters won't sell', it's a 'we know what sells. These characters we've already established, and the females are usually used for fanservice(look at Jill. That is a FAR bigger issue than Capcom's 'racial equality')
We haven't even SEEN what Chris's companions look like up close. And he's got three, so there could be one there. Maybe there is a Chinese soldier similar to Josh in RE5. It just doesn't seem that big of a deal. I don't think it's a 'Chinese characters won't sell', it's a 'we know what sells. These characters we've already established, and the females are usually used for fanservice(look at Jill. That is a FAR bigger issue than Capcom's 'racial equality')
Yeah, IGN lol, and Sherry Birkin is in the game.... :/
Like I said, I don't care either way, but people need to stop saying I want Chris and Leon! I want established characters, why can't we have them!!! Is totally missing the point of this thread.
Seraphis Cain
bad gameplay lol
I once heard a kid say that he thought Just Cause 2 looked cool, but didn't want to play it because Rico was "Mexican".
I was disappointed as hell.
But yeah, I dunno, attitudes like that still being prevalent might have something to do with it.
I would totally not object to Fong Ling coming back.
I was disappointed as hell.
But yeah, I dunno, attitudes like that still being prevalent might have something to do with it.
I would totally not object to Fong Ling coming back.
Mr. Pointy
Member
I can see where OP is coming from. I don't see why there couldn't be Asian or Chinese BSAA agents and why one couldn't be Chris' partner for this game. I'm not bothered by it, but I can possibly see why some people are, and the discussion is interesting.
Then again, if I had to look at what is happening from a story perspective, why would the Chinese government let an outside agency handle one of their internal problems? The Chinese government's whole schtick in fiction is to be shady, be adamant about handling their own problems internally and/or stall the good guys from doing their job, if they're not the villains in the first place. Would they let one of their own join an outside counter-bioterrorist organisation?
Ada Wong won't be a main character because her whole role in RE is to be the shady, femme fatale, super spy, doing shit behind the scenes, unlockable character with ambiguous allegiances - like Akuma or Dan Hibiki.
As an aside, what happened to Fong Ling from Dead Aim? Sure she might have been an Ada clone, but she was a government agent as opposed to being a femme fatale. Then again, her government tried to blow her up with a satellite laser. There you go - she can be the Asian BSAA character.
Then again, if I had to look at what is happening from a story perspective, why would the Chinese government let an outside agency handle one of their internal problems? The Chinese government's whole schtick in fiction is to be shady, be adamant about handling their own problems internally and/or stall the good guys from doing their job, if they're not the villains in the first place. Would they let one of their own join an outside counter-bioterrorist organisation?
Ada Wong won't be a main character because her whole role in RE is to be the shady, femme fatale, super spy, doing shit behind the scenes, unlockable character with ambiguous allegiances - like Akuma or Dan Hibiki.
As an aside, what happened to Fong Ling from Dead Aim? Sure she might have been an Ada clone, but she was a government agent as opposed to being a femme fatale. Then again, her government tried to blow her up with a satellite laser. There you go - she can be the Asian BSAA character.
It just occurred to me that Revelations takes place in the Mediterranean, in/around what is ostensibly supposed to be Italy. Capcom included an Italian protagonist (complete with an accent and all).
RE6 is bound to have someone Chinese in it. To be honest, I don't think Ada fulfills that "requirement" very well -- in RE4, she's always referred to as American.
Fong Ling from Dead Aim on the other hand...
RE6 is bound to have someone Chinese in it. To be honest, I don't think Ada fulfills that "requirement" very well -- in RE4, she's always referred to as American.
Fong Ling from Dead Aim on the other hand...
Mr. Pointy
Member
^
Does Capcom want to remind people that Dead Aim exists though?
Does Capcom want to remind people that Dead Aim exists though?
Metalmurphy
Member
I would find it much more repulsive and insulting to add an half assed asian character with an undeveloped story and background just for the sake of political correctness.
RE4 deals with a British corporation, members of an american special forces team and secret agent for the US president, but because of that they should be restricted to "white soil"?
If this was a new IP you might have had a point, but this is just nonsense.
But haven't they already shown the six characters from RE6?
All the recent RE games have "half assed local" characters with an undeveloped sotry and background for the sake of political correctness, so what are you talking about?
RE4 - Luis Sera who was Spanish
RE5 - Josh and Sheva, both African
RE:R - Parker Luciani, Italian
Same.My response when reading this thread.
everybody should watch that episode. Everybody's equal
It wasn't a bad game, really. Had decent production values and even could be seen as a precursor to RE4. The same developers eventually made the Chronicles games.
I see what you mean, though. Unless Capcom threw Dead Aim in as an unlockable extra or put it on PSN or something, 99% of RE6 buyers would be totally lost regarding her history.
Metalmurphy
Member
I know, and I found that extremely insulting. Specially Luis. (Haven't played RE:R)
Capcom already threw Beards Nevance, a guy who until now only appeared in a Biohazard manga (released in Japan only), into the game and he is probably Chris' partner. I doubt Capcom cares about consumers being lost in character's history.
Seraphis Cain
bad gameplay lol
Well, not 99%. I mean, Fong Ling WAS in Namco X Capcom too.
Oh wait, nobody played that either. =/
there could be a really good qte sequence when leon gets chased down a hill by a zombie in a wheelchair
Luis is a guy who looks like your stereotypical Spaniard (in the earlier version of the game he even had a mustache) and he only appears in 5-6 short cut-scenes throughout the whole game. I don't think this is what RE6 needs and that this is what this thread is about.
That's for Lollipop Chainsaw
on-topic: IF you guys wanted to be 'equal' about it, it should be an Asian Male. There's plenty of Asian Females in video games as romantic interests; it's usually the males that get the shaft which is an odd thing to say related to video game characters.
I'm spaniard I didn't found Luis character insulting, the only bad thing was southamerican accent instead of castilian accent, that character was pretty good. [Salazar was a pile of shit but was very similar to some of our historical Kings XD like Charles II]
Finaika
Member
Because asian girls are hot.
Zombies.
I honestly feel that Capcom could do more in this respect. Your suggestion is valid (I particularly like how the physical restrictions experienced by someone who is wheelchair bound mirrors the ludological constraints imposed by QTE sequences) but fails to get to the heart of the diversity/zombie problem.
I really think that Capcom could improve the game tenfold by including a level where Leon explores a hospital that had been evacuated prior to the outbreak, so there's no zombies, enemies, puzzles, bosses or gameplay there. To progress, you have to enter each of the patients' former rooms, read their medical chart and ponder the fragility of their condition for five minutes per patient per room. Your weapon remains holstered throughout.
Kinect could be implemented to great effect maybe? Like, you replay a scene as a woman who was formerly addicted to marijuana, now hospitalised for depression. You have to guiltily steal over to the window to have cigarette, ocassionally flailing your arms to stave off a wave of self-hatred. There's also a scene where the patient has a discussion with a Milo-like character (or just Milo maybe???) over the widespread social belief that marijuana can't be an addiction.
Sickboy007
Member
Is this thread for real?
Films as well as games are guilty of this.
Mass effect, Earth is suddenly only Americans.
British characters always bad guys (uncharted, numerous films, killzone)
90% of protagonists are white, straight, good looking, American, middleclass men.
Stereotypes which are not only racist, but sexist, discriminate against appearance, weight, accent, country, personality.
We come to expect a white male protagonist for the same reason we come to expect a blond haired blue eyed hero.
It is not secret that Capcom as a company are trying to appeal to western gamers. They look at western entertainment and see that COD sells well, so they change the mechanics of the game to be more action orientated. They look at the heroes of western media and copy them.
So perhaps it is racist, but not in a whites are superior to other races way. Just conforming to expectations to be safe maybe?
Tbh, idk.
Mass effect, Earth is suddenly only Americans.
British characters always bad guys (uncharted, numerous films, killzone)
90% of protagonists are white, straight, good looking, American, middleclass men.
Stereotypes which are not only racist, but sexist, discriminate against appearance, weight, accent, country, personality.
We come to expect a white male protagonist for the same reason we come to expect a blond haired blue eyed hero.
It is not secret that Capcom as a company are trying to appeal to western gamers. They look at western entertainment and see that COD sells well, so they change the mechanics of the game to be more action orientated. They look at the heroes of western media and copy them.
So perhaps it is racist, but not in a whites are superior to other races way. Just conforming to expectations to be safe maybe?
Tbh, idk.