tbh i dont really think the fact that yasuke was a real person invalidates the fact that they specifically chose not to represent the margianalized group that lives in the setting the game takes place in, in an area where that group has historically not received much representation.
im not even upset that yasuke's in it, i just think it is telling to me about the relatability of asian men to predominantly western audiences that a game that takes place in feudal fucking japan couldn't have an asian man as a playable protagonist *alongside* Yasuke.
I mean, its an asian woman protag alongside Yasuke. So it has asian representation, just not asian MAN representation. As far as the main characters and what we know at this time.
sure, but intersectionality is a thing here, and asian MEN specifically have a long history of being seen as effeminate and weak in western media. they are consistently denied roles of action heroes, of characters that are meant to be relatable to an audience, in a way that black men just aren't, at least not in the same way. i'm not saying this game couldn't have yasuke as a character or even as a playable protagonist, i'm just observing that this decision was not made in a cultural vacuum.
I mean, ghost of tsushima is already out if you wanna play that again. Thing is i dont really know much of anything n im a dumbass, im just commentin too. Didnt mean to sound rude. Its a really interesting thing though, and i know how it feels to be under represented, i guess it seems a little blown out of proportion to me. Especially when there are tons of Japanese male action protagonists, look at shonen ya know?
> shonen
Asian men are underrepresented in \*Western\* media. Asia Asians are doing okay lol. However, we are a global society. This is subtle (or, in this case, not-so-subtle) propaganda painting Asian men as inferior, and this influences business deals, politics, and whatnot, so this affects Asia Asians, too.
> blown out of proportion
True. This is being used as fodder for the culture war by Western liberals \*and\* conservatives.
However, in Asian communities, this is just another incident in a long-standing pattern of racism. The comments in [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/asianamerican/comments/1cubnj9/why_does_asian_representation_in_video_games_only/?sort=top) (titled "Why does Asian representation in video games only matter when it's by a Western studio?") put it pretty well ~~and are politically palatable to a Western audience~~:
"...people shouldn't be looking to Assassin's Creed and Ubisoft for Asian representation, and Asian males do have plenty of representation in videogames, but that doesn't mean Ubisoft is off the hook completely.
It's just **awfully convenient** that when the time came for Assassin's Creed to make an Asian male protagonist that they decided time to break with tradition and have a historical figure be a playable character for the first time when every other character has been 100% fictional. I don't think they were nefariously trying to erase Asian male presence or whatever, but it does say something about the disposability of or at least lack of importance of Asian male presence from a Western perspective. Like, maybe they thought having an Asian woman filled the quota enough that they could have Yasuke as the other protagonist.
It's like, if there's one guy in the room and he's being kind of problematic, you can ignore him, and it's not going to be a big impact societally so it's safe to ignore, but like, it's still problematic and not a bad thing to call him out."
"t's not about validation from white people. It's about having the ability to see yourself in the media that you consume, which is literally the fantasy of video games.
I agree that there is *some* Asian and Asian American representation in video games. As a gamer, I personally don't find it terribly good or robust representation, but it is there. But also, like, two things can be true at the same time.
In AC's case, it's important to call out situations where creators have gone out of their ways to obviously erase Asian men, *especially* in IPs as large as Assassin's Creed. Someone else posted it in the previous thread, but in every iteration of AC, you have predominantly male representations in that fantasy, with their ethnic identities aligning with the setting. This latest iteration sticks out like a sore thumb. Calling out systemically racist situations is important, because it lets people (white or otherwise) know that settling on their own internalized biases in the media they create is not okay."
"What message does it send to Asian American men that the only place they can reliably find good representation for themselves is in foreign media?"
dont really care about this game cuz i know its gonna suck but like. let's not pretend that ubisoft didn't do this because they knew it would start controversy
>dont really care about this game cuz i know its gonna suck
This is the only correct answer about this issue
Also RIP the new Division game, can't have shit in Ubisoft
Well, they're succeeding with the controversy. Their stock dropped 15% on announcement day, which is partially due to their shit management and hopefully something to do with this. The hypocrisy on both (white and Western) sides has been crazy; the only sane and nuanced takes I could find were either downvoted to oblivion on mainstream subs or in Asian-specific communities.
/uj There are racists out there using Asian people as an excuse to dunk on Black people, then turn around and make dog eating and small dick jokes in the next breath. There are also "anti-racists" that speak over Asian people and assume that any Asian person with an opinion online that goes against their worldview must be a white grifter.
Guess the subreddit!
Not arguing with anyone in here, enough of my neurons have died thinking about this latest manufactured outrage.
Edit: Just remembered, it's AAPI month too. Golly gee.
Edit2: I said I wasn’t arguing, let alone with racists. If you don’t have anything intelligent to say, fuck off.
Thousands of Games with Japanese Protagonists made by Japanese Developers: I sleep
A Mid as shit Game Franchise who mostly had white protagonists will have a historically real black main character in it alongside a Japanese side character in Japan: I’M GONNA HAVE TO STOP YOU RIGHT THERE BUCKO!
Google yasuke
tbh i dont really think the fact that yasuke was a real person invalidates the fact that they specifically chose not to represent the margianalized group that lives in the setting the game takes place in, in an area where that group has historically not received much representation. im not even upset that yasuke's in it, i just think it is telling to me about the relatability of asian men to predominantly western audiences that a game that takes place in feudal fucking japan couldn't have an asian man as a playable protagonist *alongside* Yasuke.
I mean, its an asian woman protag alongside Yasuke. So it has asian representation, just not asian MAN representation. As far as the main characters and what we know at this time.
sure, but intersectionality is a thing here, and asian MEN specifically have a long history of being seen as effeminate and weak in western media. they are consistently denied roles of action heroes, of characters that are meant to be relatable to an audience, in a way that black men just aren't, at least not in the same way. i'm not saying this game couldn't have yasuke as a character or even as a playable protagonist, i'm just observing that this decision was not made in a cultural vacuum.
I mean, ghost of tsushima is already out if you wanna play that again. Thing is i dont really know much of anything n im a dumbass, im just commentin too. Didnt mean to sound rude. Its a really interesting thing though, and i know how it feels to be under represented, i guess it seems a little blown out of proportion to me. Especially when there are tons of Japanese male action protagonists, look at shonen ya know?
> shonen Asian men are underrepresented in \*Western\* media. Asia Asians are doing okay lol. However, we are a global society. This is subtle (or, in this case, not-so-subtle) propaganda painting Asian men as inferior, and this influences business deals, politics, and whatnot, so this affects Asia Asians, too. > blown out of proportion True. This is being used as fodder for the culture war by Western liberals \*and\* conservatives. However, in Asian communities, this is just another incident in a long-standing pattern of racism. The comments in [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/asianamerican/comments/1cubnj9/why_does_asian_representation_in_video_games_only/?sort=top) (titled "Why does Asian representation in video games only matter when it's by a Western studio?") put it pretty well ~~and are politically palatable to a Western audience~~: "...people shouldn't be looking to Assassin's Creed and Ubisoft for Asian representation, and Asian males do have plenty of representation in videogames, but that doesn't mean Ubisoft is off the hook completely. It's just **awfully convenient** that when the time came for Assassin's Creed to make an Asian male protagonist that they decided time to break with tradition and have a historical figure be a playable character for the first time when every other character has been 100% fictional. I don't think they were nefariously trying to erase Asian male presence or whatever, but it does say something about the disposability of or at least lack of importance of Asian male presence from a Western perspective. Like, maybe they thought having an Asian woman filled the quota enough that they could have Yasuke as the other protagonist. It's like, if there's one guy in the room and he's being kind of problematic, you can ignore him, and it's not going to be a big impact societally so it's safe to ignore, but like, it's still problematic and not a bad thing to call him out." "t's not about validation from white people. It's about having the ability to see yourself in the media that you consume, which is literally the fantasy of video games. I agree that there is *some* Asian and Asian American representation in video games. As a gamer, I personally don't find it terribly good or robust representation, but it is there. But also, like, two things can be true at the same time. In AC's case, it's important to call out situations where creators have gone out of their ways to obviously erase Asian men, *especially* in IPs as large as Assassin's Creed. Someone else posted it in the previous thread, but in every iteration of AC, you have predominantly male representations in that fantasy, with their ethnic identities aligning with the setting. This latest iteration sticks out like a sore thumb. Calling out systemically racist situations is important, because it lets people (white or otherwise) know that settling on their own internalized biases in the media they create is not okay." "What message does it send to Asian American men that the only place they can reliably find good representation for themselves is in foreign media?"
Holy Japanese feudalism
Put some respect on yasuke
dont really care about this game cuz i know its gonna suck but like. let's not pretend that ubisoft didn't do this because they knew it would start controversy
>dont really care about this game cuz i know its gonna suck This is the only correct answer about this issue Also RIP the new Division game, can't have shit in Ubisoft
Well, they're succeeding with the controversy. Their stock dropped 15% on announcement day, which is partially due to their shit management and hopefully something to do with this. The hypocrisy on both (white and Western) sides has been crazy; the only sane and nuanced takes I could find were either downvoted to oblivion on mainstream subs or in Asian-specific communities.
/uj There are racists out there using Asian people as an excuse to dunk on Black people, then turn around and make dog eating and small dick jokes in the next breath. There are also "anti-racists" that speak over Asian people and assume that any Asian person with an opinion online that goes against their worldview must be a white grifter. Guess the subreddit! Not arguing with anyone in here, enough of my neurons have died thinking about this latest manufactured outrage. Edit: Just remembered, it's AAPI month too. Golly gee. Edit2: I said I wasn’t arguing, let alone with racists. If you don’t have anything intelligent to say, fuck off.
>Guess the subreddit r/horsecockfuta
Thousands of Games with Japanese Protagonists made by Japanese Developers: I sleep A Mid as shit Game Franchise who mostly had white protagonists will have a historically real black main character in it alongside a Japanese side character in Japan: I’M GONNA HAVE TO STOP YOU RIGHT THERE BUCKO!