Takeuchi: Resident Evil 5 not tweaked due to racism claims
- Posted June 4th, 2008 at 08:35 EDT by Mike Harradence
- 2,867 views
- 30 Comments
Capcom’s Jun Takeuchi has shot down claims suggesting that Resident Evil 5 was redesigned after a number of critics accused the game of displaying racist imagery.
Controversy arose following the E3 2007 trailer of the forthcoming survival horror outing, attracting a number of complaints, most notably from Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal.
However, the recent CAPTIVATE 08 trailer displayed a more ethnic diversity among RE5’s enemies, as well as introducing a young African woman, who serves as a partner character to game’s main protagonist, Chris Redfield.
When asked by Kotaku whether or not these changes were applied with criticism in mind, Takeuchi replied, "No, not really,” stating such complaints "didn't have any effect on the game design."
"We wanted Chris to have a partner who was familiar with the environment. She's been in there since pretty much the beginning," Takeuchi said of the female mercenary.
"In terms of the reaction, we're in the business of entertainment... We didn't set out to make a racist game or a political statement. We did feel there was a misunderstanding about the initial trailer," he said.
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richkaos |
richkaos- 8:50am BST - June 4th, 2008
- 3
Oh dear here go the PC brigade, for gods sake get a grip people, Arion has hit the nail on the head, its ridiculous! People are so dam quick to show the racist card, I am white and if it was the other way round it wouldnt bother me in the slightest, its a freakin game based in africa so its going to have mainly africans in it, if it was based in england it would have mainly white people in it. Its a geographical thing not a bl00dy racist thing
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DreamsofAnarchy |
DreamsofAnarchy- 9:16am BST - June 4th, 2008
- 4
My thing is... Did they play this crap when RE 4 was out? One white guy killing a bunch of hispanics is not racist? I didn't hear any complaints about that one. Therfore their shouldn't be ANY critics pulling this racist crap.
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psr75
- 9:19am BST - June 4th, 2008
- 5
Not to stir anything up but I don't think Arion has a point at all. I don't remember any games with black people killing white people. I'm not black but I undestand that there's HISTORY that black people have been massacred in the past in Africa and even here in the US. So, let's be a bit sensitive and not talk about double standards because then it feels indeed kind of racist.
This is a game, a horror game that doesn't reflect any reality. In RE4 the villagers had an accent and there wasn't critcism. I don't think RE5 is a racist game and never was. It's a GAME people! C'mon now! -
Solrac |
Solrac7688- 9:56am BST - June 4th, 2008
- 6
I totally agree w/ dreams of anarchy, im hispanic and i didn't find RE4 racist at all, in fact i found it rather entertaining and funny due to the fact that the Ganados were cursing in spanish. Some people love to throw out the racist card just because a game features a white male killing black zombies, its a GAME its has no literal meaning. People complained when Jack Nicholson dropped the "N" bomb in The Departed, and tried to say that hes' racist, Its a movie it just made for entertainment. People need to get their head out of their as.s and stop being ignorant
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Arion
- 9:56am BST - June 4th, 2008
- 7
@richkaos Thanks. Glad that someone agrees with me. I stay in South Africa and I know a lot about the double standards, see below for an example @psr75 There are double standards. Let me give u a 100% real life story that happened a few months ago here in South Africa. Black people all around the country were protesting about a supposedly racist video made here at the university I go to (it made world-wide headlines do dont know how many of u know about it) Whether it was racist is a whole different story, but explain the following to me A press conference was held with the president of the ruling political party very close to the same time as the racist video came out. But white journalists were not allowed to enter the press event. Yet this didnt cause one bit of stir around the country. Ill put my head on a block that if it was the other way around, racism protests would have been happening around the country. And if u dont believe me here is the article: [URL]http://allafrica.com/stories/200802221163.html[/URL]
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outwar6010 |
outwar6010- 10:58am BST - June 4th, 2008
- 9
OMG i cant believe you guys are agreeing with the attention seeking protestors! Ive been playing video games hardcore for the last 16 years of my life (im 20) and have never seen racism in a game; that has truely set out to be racist. Games portray certain situations and possibilities that derive from that situation. That is all.
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biron_w
- 11:04am BST - June 4th, 2008
- 10
The sad thing is that there are a lot of people out there who like this sort of thing to happen just so they can play the racist card.They need to get a grip!
Its a game set in africa so there will be a lot of black people there.If it was set in china there'd be chinese people and if it was set in england,where im from,you wouldn't have much of a challenger as it'd most likely be raining and cold so everybody would stay indoors.Haha!
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DraosTheDark
- 11:18am BST - June 4th, 2008
- 11
People will knit pick anything. Was the Movie Candyman Racist? I mean here you have a black male killing people? What about 2 GTA games, so stealing cars and killing people isn't making a statement? As richkaos stated...if the outbreak were in any different country, you would be killing a certain nationality. People kill...we're still basically animals..and this is a frikkin video game. Lets make all video games with a G rating..maybe smurfs going to damn candy land, then there won't be any violence in games, then they can not be used as some kinda damned excuse.
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Intervention
- 11:30am BST - June 4th, 2008
- 12
Who are these loser good for nothing critics anyway, Jerimiah Wright, Jessie Jackson, or maybe Al Sharpton? Screw all those hate peddlers! Whoever the critics are they all need to rot.
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bracomadar |
bracomadar- 11:32am BST - June 4th, 2008
- 13
Just curious, but did "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune" seem racist to anyone? I loved the game and I think most politican correctness just seems stupid, but even I started thinking it was a racist game after a while. All the enemy in that game except for 1 is non-white and all 3 of the good guys are white. Of course the part of the world it's set it, I doubt you'd get that many white pirates after you. Then again, the good guys did get some help from the Nazis in a way. Ten bucks says in Uncharted 2, Drake will have some black, Jamaican buddy, or manybe a little Asian kid that follows him around (Short Round).
Seriously though, racism, while stupid, isn't the most horrible thing in the world. People have lost their jobs over racist remarks, but some have kept their jobs while doing much worse things, like murder and theft. If you're going to be outraged over something, be outraged over something that really counts. Somebody's hurt feelings isn't something to waste your time on IMO. If they lose their freedoms, life, or property over racism then yes, make a big deal out of it because it IS a big deal.
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evilmonkey501 |
evilmonkey501- 12:05pm BST - June 4th, 2008
- 15
@ psr75 All I did in san andreas was kill white people w/ my African American character...This whole "news article" reeks of nonesense.....
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iplayonlysony
- 12:36pm BST - June 4th, 2008
- 17
Hmm, I find it funny how some of you people say this game is freedom of speech, but get mad that people want to protest this game. Isn't that like a double standard? Why doesn't everyone just drop this topic. If no one is rasing a concern over this game anymore, then why should you?
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chomperbull
- 12:58pm BST - June 4th, 2008
- 18
and it wasnt racist when they killed hispanic zombies hence el gigante in res4
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nextgenfan
- 1:56pm BST - June 4th, 2008
- 19
well said.Im an african american and i dont think the game is racist.I cant wait to play RE5 just come out so i can play.If yall may notice RE2 had a few black zombies on the game an nobody said it was rasist then,and in RE0 that clip when they murdered 23 african's noboby said anything then. I think they are just trying to start something that is no big deal,people need to stop saying that.RE5 i can't wait to play you lol
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Alti |
Alti- 3:54pm BST - June 4th, 2008
- 21
its not racist.. wtf... they're not slave driving the people.... they're just... killing them because of an epidemic. Hollywood does it constantly. Look at the other RE movies. Look at 28 days and weeks later. Look at will smith's movie [forgot the name] etc etc etc. So it happens to take place in africa. W0W. killing all those "white" people doesn't look so racist, so why should this?
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Staticneuron |
Staticneuron- 8:06pm BST - June 4th, 2008
- 23
Nothing was changed in the game. The people that were complaining were not gamers. There is no such thing as a double standard in this case because there hasn't been a game in which you play a black guy that only kills white people.
The complaint was made after some none gamer saw the advert and sure you could use games like 50 cent, true crime, GTA: san andreas and the def jam vendetta series to imply some type of racism but the truth is they never had an advertisment that would implicate them as such.
What this is about is non gamers complaining about what they do not know about. Anything more, including talk about double standards and PC is just hot air.
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Alpha2
- 9:31pm BST - June 4th, 2008
- 24
They're Japanese, they dont understand racism like we do here in the US. They've actually grown more facinated with other races than they ever have in the last 20 years, probably had every intention of making the female heroine a white woman (probably from the UK) untill the complaints started but we'll never really know. They probably realized they had to even things out a bit, they even added some caucasian looking enemies since the first videos.
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ThaoNguyen
- 9:33pm BST - June 4th, 2008
- 25
OMGZZ THEIRZ A WHITE PERSONZ AN HEZ KILLING BLACK PEOPLEZ!!! OH NOEEEES! ITS RACIST!!!!!!!1111!!!!!1
...almost like they're in Africa or something. What are the odds?
that reminds me...i've been meaning to file a complaint against Nintendo and Sony for the blatantly racist imagery in their bowling games. All you ever do is obliterate white pins with a black ball. How obscene!
(yes i know both of those games have different colored balls; if you needed this, you're missing the point entirely; if you hurry, you may still be able to catch it)
@arion like San Andreas?
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Arion
- 4:32am BST - June 5th, 2008
- 26
@ThaoNguyen I wasnt referring to any specific game. I'm just saying that if a game like that did exist that it wouldnt be considered racist (dont know if San Andreas is one of them, havent played any GTA games). And for those of who that say double standards dont exist, then comment on the story I explained @post # 7
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Staticneuron |
Staticneuron- 10:12am BST - June 5th, 2008
- 27
I am not even touching the subject of revers apartheid and/or revese racism. South africa.. no.. africa as a whole is messed up. But to try to blame what happened on one race or even one culture would be a complete cop out. The people that decided to sit on africa t are to be blamed. The tribal warfare, feuled even hotter thanks to religious warfare is to be blamed. The apartheid and reverse apartheid are to be blamed.
Do you honestly expect us to believe that there were going to be no hard feelings after what happened there? Do you honestly believe there "should" be no hard feelings.
I feel bad for you but if it is getting uncomfertable there....... then leave. Trust me, you might very well be happy elsewhere.
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Arion
- 11:19am BST - June 5th, 2008
- 28
@Staticneuron Im not really sure what side u r on, but let me say, the stuff that happened in apartheid, yes, they were probably bad enough to protest over (I was very young and dont remember much about apartheid). But the black people here protest over literally nothing. Ill refer again to the alleged racist video. Im studying at the same varsity, and classes had to be cancelled because of concern of safety of the students from the protests. "They" claimed that human rights were above education rights, thats why they should rather protest about the video (which would achieve nothing, whats done is done) than get an education. If anyone sees the logic there please explain it 2 me
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bakerboi
- 2:25pm BST - June 5th, 2008
- 29
First just let me say, I first don't believe Capcom was initially trying to be racist about what they did with this game.
Namco and Capcom have a track record of being two of the only japanese companies that consistantly put african decent people in their games and them not be garbage.
But japanese media as a whole has had a track record to be racially insensitive and when some one calls them on it people make the excuse for them, "Oh they didnt know."
Yes they did, they always know. There's a band called Sambo Master. So you tellin me they dont know what a Sambo is? In this day and age there is nothing that has been stereotyped about black folks that isnt globally known.
All these other countries some how know these little racist what-not's but some how japan is out of the loop and they continue to use them anyway...Yeah...
But that's not even my real point, which is:
White folks in general never want to hear any body complain about racism or any wrong doing when they're involved. This is subjective to whoever has done somethin in a situation pertainin to what I'm talking about.
What this means for the slow ones is, im not giving a specific case because we all know racism still goes on, and most of the time some caucasian is involved. Don't believe it? Well...hahaha of course you dont...
Which brings us to the fact that no matter if you're a gamer or not this game is not going to seem racist to you guys. I know a lot of you are going to accuse me of being a racist and hosting a double standard after you read this, but it's typical.
I'd like to agree with you though there is a huge double standard not just in America, but in the world. Everything "black" is held in low value and people still have the mind set of judging black folks as something "other". Judged from how we dance, our music, what we eat, how we live (and where), how we dress, our dialect...I mean c'mon...
And lets not forget the african descent people in Jamica and Brasil...especially in brasil they just now in recent years started to be embraced by the whole country for what they are(brasil doesnt classify by race, but what the color of your skin is EX.Brown, light brown etc.)
Reading that article Arion put down there, well consider this @Arion. Remember in america where that was the truth for black people almost every where? Couldnt sit here, couldnt eat there, couldnt attend this or that.
Noooo body raised an eyebrow then either. So what's your point? No double standard there, just a taste of your own medicine. Coviently forgot that fact did you?
You should take a closer look at the "Double Standard" you are talking about because it's never us who initiates racism, but some body always doing somethin racist-like that makes us call you on it. So if you dont like being called a racist stop doing things you know are akin to it.
I think Arion is confusing being a Seperatist with being a racist. It's not the act of hate but the act of wanting something you can call your own. Lol sort of like video game exclusives. Look at american history blacks always did have things they did on their own but you see when others started doing it, stealing, blacks stopped doing it.
There's alot more I'd like to go into but nobody's gonna read it already anyway so ill stop here.
Im just trying to get you to see that we know the game isnt racist on purpose but in the world that we live in, it is because of the standard the world holds to black people. Even the dark East Indians know how it feels, but you wont understand cause you arent us and dont want to be.
so next time you want to mention a double standard think about everything all these black people across the globe are enduring and then rethink that thought.
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