Sandman and Mr. Dream are two entirely different characters, by the by.
Oops! I had no idea. Thanks!
Sandman and Mr. Dream are two entirely different characters, by the by.
Happy to help.
None, sadly. Hell, I don't recall any major gaming news sites actually calling Smash out on its racist stereotypes beyond Game & Watch's Indigenous stereotype (that was later fixed).Have any journalists actually challenged Nintendo on this?
Because frankly having a roster of 90+ characters and not one single Black person is shocking.
WHAT ABOUT THE PIC OF THE DAY WHERE RODIN WAS HOSED BY MARIO?
In case you missed the controversy, the Pic of the Day that Sakurai posted on September 16th, 2021 depicted Mario using his Down B (F.L.U.D.D.) to attempt to hose Rodin while Peach was unfazed by all of it. This creates parallels to the use of water cannons on civil rights activists during the Civil Rights Movement, most notably during the Brimingham Campaign. There was a separate thread on the topic, but it was later locked. But since it relates to the topic of Smash's anti-Blackness, I thought it made sense that I add this section & give my thoughts. Even in spite of this, I do not think that Sakurai is racist. It does however show that he has a massive blindspot for stuff like this, be it the implications this image has or the racist stereotypes that are found in certain spirit battles (as mentioned earlier). So to be clear, I believe that this situation was unintentional on Sakurai's part. But with that being said, I do very much recognize the implications & they are bad (especially considering that Rodin is the only Black character who can participate in a fight, albeit as an Assist Trophy). If anything, it shows that Sakurai needs to consult Nintendo of America on such matters to avoid similar problems going forward. Though despite all my attempts to view the image recently on Twitter, Era, or Discord on either phone or laptop, it doesn't seem to load. So perhaps Sakurai recognized the racist implications & used Twitter Cards to make it blank (something I didn't know was possible until @Urban Scholar pointed it out to me today). Still, it shouldn't have happened. And even if it wasn't intentional (which I believe is the case), Sakurai should consult those well-versed on these topics to avoid further anti-Black implications in or around Smash going forward.
I wouldn't say all of Nintendo, as the likes of Nintendo EPD Groups 5 (Splatoon, Animal Crossing) & 9 (ARMS, Mario Kart) have wised up regarding the need for diversity.This is a Nintendo wide problem. Part of the issue I have is that this is an age old Japanese company that has no concerns for the concerns of its black and brown customer base.
Every time I buy a Nintendo product (no longer own any, but might buy a switch for new Zelda), in the back of my mind, I can't stop thinking about how this is the kind of company that will never budge on these things.
It's a company that sells a certain image: cute stuff at very high prices. Because most of its customer base is older, earns more, is privileged and typically better off than your regular game console customer, Nintendo doesn't have to do anything to change. And they never will.
Sakurai seemingly removed the Rodin image
It's totally blank for me as well, so yeah.
This is burned into my mind. Fuck.The ride is finally over. We have 89 characters & not a single Black character.
As much as I'm happy for what was accomplished, this always sticks out to me as a sore spot for the game.
Like I said in the other thread, whoever picks the characters should be changed next game. Won't be buying the game if they don't and continue to have racist portrayals of black characters as spirits.The ride is finally over. We have 89 characters & not a single Black character. Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy for all you Sora fans & got excited with you. But this is something that they need to rectify next time. And to be honest, I'm not sure if it'll happen without a change of leadership at this point.
Not to take away from the Sora hype, but it's something to think about.
The current process is that Nintendo asks for a specific game or franchise, leaving it up to Sakurai to be more specific on which character.Like I said in the other thread, whoever picks the characters should be changed next game. Won't be buying the game if they don't and continue to have racist portrayals of black characters as spirits.
Only reason I actually have Ultimate is because I got it as a gift but next time even if I got it for free I won't keep it.
Same. 89 characters is an impressive roster that won't likely be rivaled for a long time. But games with smaller casts of characters have been rightly dragged through the mud for the same thing.As much as I'm happy for what was accomplished, this always sticks out to me as a sore spot for the game.
Yeah I figured which makes it even more suspect that he keeps finding himself in situations that are at the very least insensitive to black people.The current process is that Nintendo asks for a specific game or franchise, leaving it up to Sakurai to be more specific on which character.
It really sucks.
You have to set out to exclude representation by picking the most famous and obvious characters from Street Fighter, Punch Out, and Final Fantasy?The crazy thing is that there is this many total characters, and Nintendo had their pick of some franchises with historically significant black/brown representation (Street Fighter, PunchOut, Final Fantasy) and still ended up with zero. You almost have to set out to exclude representation for something like that to happen.
You have to set out to exclude representation by picking the most famous and obvious characters from Street Fighter, Punch Out, and Final Fantasy?
As much as I'm happy for what was accomplished, this always sticks out to me as a sore spot for the game.
89 characters, baring alt costumes zero black or brown characters, Ganon is a green goblin.
Nintendo is racist, Sakurai is racist, colorism is racism. Kiss my big black ass if you have a problem with the obvious.
Or they could have looked at their characters and noticed they have a big gap.You have to set out to exclude representation by picking the most famous and obvious characters from Street Fighter, Punch Out, and Final Fantasy?
Or they could have looked at their characters and noticed they have a big gap.
In fact, why does popularity matter when obsecure characters keep getting added over and over? They could have added a lot of black characters but they chose not to.
It absolutely is intentional.It has to be intentional. Otherwise I really can't fathom how you include 89 characters spanning gaming history without a single Black character being included.
For what the game ultimately is, it's a disappointing position to have ended up in.
EDIT: Yes there was.
This is a problem with lack of representation in videogames as industry, not smash-related...
Beautiful post, I'm adding it to the OP.So here's the thing
when you spend a good chunk of your life learning that people hate you and want you gone purely based on your existence, it starts to weigh on you. Finally getting to a point where we're allowed to be heroes, main characters, NOT villains or cannon fodder or treated as weird offshoots is a big thing. It's cool to see people who look like you being treated as, well, people, for once, or being allowed to take part in something. So when one of the most popular and varied games on the planet doesn't include you, or has you relegated to a costume, it hurts. It hurts that you aren't allowed to be the default or take part. And that's why it gets brought up so often.
There's issues with both, they had options from games they picked they could have gone with.This is a problem with lack of representation in videogames as industry, not smash-related...
It is Smash related though, since Smash represented a prime opportunity to include Black characters in its roster.This is a problem with lack of representation in videogames as industry, not smash-related...
This is a problem with lack of representation in videogames as industry, not smash-related...
I thought so but all i remember was him being paired with a thief or something.
Agreed.Right, you're telling me Balrog or Dudley or Barrett or shit even Doc Louis as mains wouldn't have been "popular" enough for a roster of 90 characters? Gaming fans don't immediately recognize Balrog from Street Fighter? Its a cop out.
Its both. Literally couldve gotten mike tyson from punch outThis is a problem with lack of representation in videogames as industry, not smash-related...
This is a problem with lack of representation in videogames as industry, not smash-related...