Gaming.... a "white mans" medium?

[Erik_Twice]

Well if you're agreeing with his statement that there are probably more asian male leads then white male leads.

Unlike you, I never claimed I knew the answer I just asked you for proof to back your statement because there's a very reasonable doubt about it.

[Flake]

tl;dr version: Diversity would be nice but there is no engaging reason for the industry to change.


I think ZeroAX does have a point. The demographics that games are intended for do a lot to define what features are going to be important to the developer. I hate to say it but a lot of gamers are not looking for a meaningful gaming experience where they learn the virtues and values of a person completely different from themselves socioeconomically, sexually, or racially.

The 16 year old kids buying Call of Duty 12 just to shoot people in the head in multiplayer might be the ones who most needs a little culture shock but they are also the ones least likely to desire it.

So there is little incentive for game companies to provide for this absence of diversity.

I think almost everyone here would like to see the old tropes set aside and a new breed of protagonists who look, act, and think differently to be ushered in. But we are not exactly indicative of the majority of the people who engage in our hobby.

[TopherMan]

Well if you're agreeing with his statement that there are probably more asian male leads then white male leads.

Unlike you, I never claimed I knew the answer I just asked you for proof to back your statement because there's a very reasonable doubt about it.

Oh god.... you're really gonna hide behind the word "probably?" Even if I used that word in my first post you'd still be up my ass about proof.

And although this may not be proof of video games throughout time... its still a good showing of white males in games (today).

http://www.popsci.com/entertainment-amp ... epresented

[Erik_Twice]

Oh god.... you're really gonna hide behind the word "probably?" Even if I used that word in my first post you'd still be up my ass about proof.

There's no hiding. The word means what it means.

You were asked for proof and you dimissed it instead of providing it. It's that's simple, mate

And although this may not be proof of video games throughout time... its still a good showing of white males in games (today).

That study is actually pretty well-known for being a pretty good example of incompetence. They weighted each game based on their sales, meaning that the number of fat Italian pumblers is ridiculously huge.

To add to the injury they compare the games to the population of the United States as if it should be the reference point for everything including Japanese games

They also very much included games based on WWII and added them to the numbers as if black people in that setting were as expected as in any other game.

And even then, the very own article you linked contradicts you:

Overall, males, Whites and Asians are overrepresented,

[Hatta]

Gaming is still in it's Charlie Chan phase. Give it 80 years.

[Breetai]

Considering that, in America, the most popular games are NFL and NBA games, I would say that non-white characters make up a very good portion of playable characters in games.

Non-black characters are in the great minority here.

Yes, I am being a bit satirical here. I would guess that, historically, the majority of characters are Asian or white. In the worlds the designers live in, this is what they experience; Japanese living in a society where almost 100% of people are Asian. When they come in contact with non-Asians, it is usually through American TV where Caucasian people are of the majority. On the Japanese side of things, this is just a product of environment. Likewise with western-produced games, most of the designers grew up in a mostly white environment (I am guessing here, but I think it is a good guess). The games they create are a product of this.

I imagine that most games I play feature Asian characters, since I usually play Japanese-produced games.

Anyway, I'm done. I'm going to play some GTA: San Andreas.


Something tells me there are a few stereotypes going on here...

[J T]

There's very little ambiguity when it comes to race in anime.

Uh, yes there is. They usually have huge eyes, multi-colored hair, and white skin. I've never understood why Japanese cartoons rarely look Japanese.

[ZeroAX]

Uh, yes there is. They usually have huge eyes, multi-colored hair, and white skin. I've never understood why Japanese cartoons rarely look Japanese.

My cousin actually asked a Japanese friend of his why this happens, and his answer actually makes a LOT of sense. It's not that anime characters are supposed to look "Japanese". It's that to them, this is what cartoon characters should look like.

For example:




non of these characters look very "American" or "French". They are just characters, with "comic" features (aka features you'd expect a comic/cartoon character to have). You wouldn't go to America and expect most of the people to look like comic book characters, would you?

[jfrost]

Cause black people are 15% of USA population and like <1% of European and Japanese population? 300 million in the US, 700 million in all of Europe and 100 million in all of Japan. Out of that 1.1 billion people only about 55 million are black (actually I doubt Europe has 20 million black people, even though a lot of them have moved to Europe, from ex colonies). So if 1 in 22 game protagonists are black then it would be a proper representation of the population. But that's only if you count games made in Europe and Japan. American games should have black leads more often.

In the US, at least, black people, despite being in the minority, have a big cultural impact in other mediums, such as music and movies. We could think that would translate to videogames as well.

[ZeroAX]

In the US, at least, black people, despite being in the minority, have a big cultural impact in other mediums, such as music and movies. We could think that would translate to videogames as well.

They have a big impact on music that was developed through their own culture (namely Jazz and rap). How often do you see a black rockstar?

And I wouldn't say they have such a big impact on movies. Even if there are plenty of black actors, how many black directors exist? At least successful ones?

In the end, life will never be fair, and the people will always have to fight for their rights to equality. If black people want to see more black game leads, they'll have to study, start their own game companies, and make a successful game with a black lead, which is influenced by black culture. and then wait for white business men, deprived of imagination to start stealing their ideas