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This is the state of diversity in 2019 gaming (Every AAA protagonist’s image, and why diversity matters)

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BAD

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,565
USA
Let's first get some things out of the way: yes, some of these may be coming after 2019. No, I'm not including games where you choose some nameless and faceless blank slate to customize or play as - narrative leads only. Yes, you can point out other major releases I have missed. No, I'm not looking at smaller independent games, but you are free to discuss them.

Let's talk diversity.

Fact:
Representation matters. Straight white people are well represented. No one is asking for quotas or shoehorned in diversity. People want stories that represent more cultures and traits respectfully. There can't be great diverse stories if you don't go out there and write them, encourage them, and experience them.

Fiction:
"People want flimsy writing if that's what it takes to get diversity. People want quotas. Non-white or non-straight protagonists don't sell. Non-white or non-straight protagonists don't appeal to the white Western gamer, but that's not racism."

Without comment on the following images, I give you the protagonists of 2019:

Resident Evil 2
ResidentEvil2-Crop.jpg


Metro Exodus
Metro-Exodus-457x600.jpg


Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Dmu0bdjVsAEKGbk.jpg


Gears 5
gears-5-e3.png


Days Gone
Days-gone-555x328.jpg


Devil May Cry 5
https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F867996%2Fc27f038d-2425-4d3b-8db4-cd475a62103c.jpg


Kingdom Hearts 3
Kingdom-Hearts-3-How-to-unlock-the-Starlight-Keyblade.jpg


The Last of Us 2
the-last-of-us-2-ellie-ai-companion.jpg.optimal.jpg


Wolfenstein: Youngblood
hqdefault.jpg


Control
23a9c0d2-969e-4128-8168-7edaf8615722_maxresdefault_(2).jpg


Ghost of Tsushima
e3-2018-sony-ghost-of-tsushima-03-470x310@2x.jpg
 
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The Doctor

The Doctor

Member
Jan 17, 2018
3,339
Isn't Sekiro's protag Japanese?

Edit: also, sorry, to stay on-topic: i agree mostly with this point:
No one is asking for quotas or shoehorned in diversity. People want stories that represent more cultures and traits respectfully.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Getting old franchises with new characters that makes no other sense than to shoehorn cultural or even feminine representation is imo even worse than no representation at all. We need new IPs that represent different cultures from the very beginning.
 
AegonSnake

AegonSnake

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,566
baby steps. i see lots of female protagnanists. we had none of those just last gen.

next gen, you will get the diversity you desire.
 
Funky_Monkey

Funky_Monkey

Member
Oct 31, 2017
1,680
Shows hope that things look to be getting better on gender diversity. Lot more improvement required in racial diversity.
 
DrArchon

DrArchon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,485
As different as V is from Dante and Nero, I wish Capcom had taken the opportunity to make the brand new playable character a woman or a PoC.

I'm 99% sure that Trish and/or Lady will be playable in DMCVSE, but having the three protagonists in the vanilla release be white dudes is a little disappointing.
 
Rowsdower

Rowsdower

Prophet of Truth - The Wise Ones
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
16,572
Canada
At least we're getting more female leads. That's something.

Those pictures really drive home the lack of POC though.
 
Swiggins

Swiggins

was promised a tag
Member
Apr 10, 2018
11,452
Not2Xavi said:
Isn't Sekiro's protag Japanese?

Edit: also, sorry, to stay on-topic: i agree mostly with this point:


Getting old franchises with new characters that makes no other sense than to shoehorn cultural or even feminine representation is imo even worse than no representation at all. We need new IPs that represent different cultures from the very beginning.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
He is, but the Japanese have never really had a problem with representation in games.

Games with a Japanese protagonist are almost as common as games with a white protagonist.
 
Jawbreaker

Jawbreaker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,411
New York City
Wow, I'm liking the increase in female protagonists. That's only one step in the right direction, though. Far Cry: New Dawn is one example of going a step further in said right direction.
 
The Doctor

The Doctor

Member
Jan 17, 2018
3,339
malyse said:
No. No it's not.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It is, mate. It's frankly insulting that developers or writers (thinking about tv shows or movies) just paste a latinamerican or black face over an old character that was created as a white representation.
It's like saying: "look guys! Remember The Flash? You could be like him! Imagine that? You could be as good as this white male character!"
Why not create a completely new one?
 
Joeyro

Joeyro

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,757
Not a good look so far, i hoped that after 2016 with Mafia 3 and Watch Dogs 2 we will see more diversity and progress but nada.
If WD3 is this year did Ubisoft mention if we will continue with Marcus or is it going to be a new story?
 
Rotobit

Rotobit

Editor at Nintendo Wire
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
10,196
My interpretation is that Sora is from some fictional version of Hawaii or Okinawa.

Will be interesting to see what Ubi has in store for the end of the year, I'm kinda expecting Watch Dogs 3 to either have a female protagonist or a choice like AC Odyssey.

Also here's hoping Animal Crossing and Pokémon allow us to pick skin tone again, I'm confident in both considering recent games.
 
ASaiyan

ASaiyan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,228
Cool thread OP. You should add Fire Emblem!
br42oi12um311.png

(Three Houses, three protagonists. Geddit?)
 

Deleted member 10629

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,238
I've had people tell me that they wouldn't play Watch Dogs 2 because they couldn't relate to Marcus because he's black (but have no problem playing their harem shit rpgs lmao)

So yes, diversity is important and I'm happy we're getting more women and in general not the standard white guy.
 
Multiverse Moo

Multiverse Moo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,427
Silicon Valley
Only 10 games coming out this year, OP? You forgot Ada Wong and TOFU in RE2 :P

I like how you snuck TLOU pt 2 in there in hopes that it releases this year, too!

Here are some more big games slated for 2019, not including titles like Ghost of Tsushima which don't have a release date.

project-judge-sega.jpg

Judgement (slated for 2019 in the West) from Yakuza team

main.jpg


maxresdefault.jpg


7-final.jpg


hpKHReCcZK8bWPBjjuiXk3.jpg

(In the Valley of the Gods by Campo Santo - creators of Firewatch)

Someone beat me to Far Cry protagonists. Thought that was cool.

Is there a main protagonist for Crackdown 3? I thought it was that hispanic dude but its really unclear. Terry Crews is in the game, though!

Much like the real world, we have a long way to go, but there is definitely some headway in the right directions.
 
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Sub Boss

Sub Boss

Banned
Nov 14, 2017
13,441
Honestly it doesn't look that bad, at least there are women main characters (and co-protagonists) an asian man and a kid, we are improving, just veeery slowly.

and thats only counting AAA games
 
PucePikmin

PucePikmin

Member
Apr 26, 2018
3,760
What's the point here?

I mean, discussing diversity in gaming is great -- but you've provided a seemingly random sampling of images from 11 games, half of which aren't even confirmed for 2019. It's incomplete to the point of meaninglessness.

"Let's discuss 5 percent of 2019's video game protagonists, chosen at random." Shrug?
 
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