Current Events > Final Fantasy XVI Developers: "Here's why there are no black people."

(+) Yeah! (+)

im not boycotting a game

im boycotting their entire shitty-ass company for this bullshit

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somethings sadly never change i like how insane the racist were out when GTA had a black main character and portrayed cops as corrupt assholes now can you imagine how insane certain alt right youtubers will their butthurt rant will be if rockstar did it again

The racism against Japan is disgusting ITT

Is this a problem for some?

Robot2600 posted...

im not boycotting a game

im boycotting their entire shitty-ass company for this bullshit

Then youre a clown

i always thought shadow was black from FF6, but i was mis-reading the sprite...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/3/3/AABHfBAAD2Ul.jpg

JuanCarlos1 posted...

Then youre a clown

I think he's patronizing these fake progressives and their fake outrage

im literally not

square fucking sucks for a million reasons. i was already not going to buy their shitty games.

what the fuck do u 2 care who i boycott?

What a clown. They fell off.

Wouldn't be like this if they released their games on XBox. Just saying.

Bullshit. It's a country in a fantasy game that has almost nothing to do with real world Earth and it's history. They could have taken the liberty like so much other fictional media does to add more ethnic diversity, they just chose not to because they don't value most minorities and their representation as much as they do asians and whites. Square Enix is full of it.

VeggetaX posted...

Square are a bunch of Euroboos.

Yup. Dickriding the monarchy.

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Nah man they just umm "can't relate" with the protagonist. For some reason.

Why could they relate just fine with the protagonist in Vice City? STOP ASKING QUESTIONS!

Who was that user that pretended there weren't mods to turn the black protag white again?

Number090684 posted...

Bullshit. It's a country in a fantasy game that has almost nothing to do with real world Earth and it's history. They could have taken the liberty like so much other fictional media does to add more ethnic diversity, they just chose not to because they don't value most minorities and their representation as much as they do asians and whites. Square Enix is full of it.

this.

So much reaching with these posts. Its what they wanted and thats it. Doesnt make them racists. If historically FF hadnt had minorities then you could make a case, but you cant cry racism because one game decided to feature a mostly white cast. And Titan looks middle easterner anyway.

There hasn't been a good Final Fantasy since VI, but he isn't wrong. If the story is based on an isolated island in a medieval setting, there wouldn't be much diversity. There might be a very tiny amount, but nothing crazy.

CARRRNE_ASADA posted...

So much reaching with these posts. Its what they wanted and thats it. Doesnt make them racists. If historically FF hadnt had minorities then you could make a case, but you cant cry racism because one game decided to feature a mostly white cast. And Titan looks middle easterner anyway.

Don't bother. People who want to act outraged over little things like this are going to do so no matter what anyone says. It's just another fake conspiracy for them to rant over.

Japan has had a problem in general in portraying black people in media form. (Mr. Popo from Dragonball, the roaches from Terraformars have been some of the worst examples of this off of the top of my head) I understand why some developers might be apprehensive about doing so but it also sound like they dont want to put forth the effort to do it correctly.

The existence of Shiva, Ifrit, and Bahamut along with their arabic origins makes this kinda silly tbh

Funkydog posted...

I wonder how people would react to the fact that medieval Europe had BAME people in it and not just white people.

About as well when they announced casting of some roles in Witcher

BakonBitz posted...

Unless there's a pretty good story reason, his answer seems misinformed. I'm not gonna call him racist though.

After rereading the response, I see that it mentions the area where the game takes place is isolated from the rest of the world.

That could lead into a decent explanation if executed well, especially if it also ment that there are black people in the world at large, just not within the area where the game takes place. Of course that's just speculation, and probably giving SqEx a bit too much credit on their world building, but we'll see.

If lord of the rings was released today, it would get 6/10 because of 'racist white men'.

Cobra1010 posted...

If lord of the rings was released today, it would get 6/10 because of 'racist white men'.

Lord of the Rings was released today. It had dark-skinned characters. People lost their shit.

I also wonder how many people actually read the full answer. He didn't say there was no diversity, he said because the area involved is pretty isolated that there would naturally be less than in our real world. People just took the "medieval Europe" comment, which was a small part of the overall explanation and ran with it so they could be outraged again. He even discussed diversity being important to them and explained how the game is pretty diverse in various other ways. I guess they don't count though since it's not just superficial skin color.

He tries to give people thoughtful answers and they just rip them apart, he really should just refuse to answer these baiting questions in the future.

Balnazarr posted...

As a black man. You don't understand at all. We don't have any representation. When I was growing up I had nothing. Kids would tell me since I'm black play the criminal or victim. Why? Becaus eI'm Black and they say theres no Black superheroes. There wasn't anything to look up too. If you people like @VeggetaX had their way we'd never be on any media.

You know, I won't play your game. I'm not going to play oppression olympics with you while spouting anecdotal evidence how I have it harder than you. The only thing I have to say is that no one's experience is going to be the same. Even then, one thing we're all capabale of doing is beign empathetic towards each others struggles. I agree that the answer the dev put out is entirely BS, but at the same time it's a "creative decision" to not include blacks and other minorities. The only thing we can do is not to expect/wait for others to do it correctly and instead doing it ourselves. If I had the creative power and control I absolutely would be making games/art/movies/comics/ that has more inclusion of representation. I just lack it, hence why I'm at a point where I say "it is what it is" regarding stuff like this.

Skin color isn't superficial tho

Blue_Inigo posted...

Skin color isn't superficial tho

It should be.

A lot of times when people say "but it's based on medieval Europe!" it's on the fandom side, and they're complaining about existing minority inclusion when it really isn't a big deal. But if it's part of the creator's initial vision to go after a specific aesthetic, I don't see an issue with it tbh.

Null_Gain posted...

Japan has had a problem in general in portraying black people in media form. (Mr. Popo from Dragonball, the roaches from Terraformars have been some of the worst examples of this off of the top of my head) I understand why some developers might be apprehensive about doing so but it also sound like they dont want to put forth the effort to do it correctly.

Popo was created like, thirty years ago lol. Yes, Japan is a notch or two more likely to have unfortunate portrayals crop up in in popular media just because of their distance from most of that history, but there's been tons of perfectly fine black representation in games and anime, too. Hell, Claudia from Macross predates Mr Popo by like, five or so years <___<

KeeperOfShadows posted...

It should be.

Well as soon as you solve racism maybe it won't be

Blue_Inigo posted...

Well as soon as you solve racism maybe it won't be

I think you meant "maybe it will be"

KeeperOfShadows posted...

I think you meant "maybe it will be"

Got 'em

Kim_Seong-a posted...

Popo was created like, thirty years ago lol. Yes, Japan is a notch or two more likely to have unfortunate portrayals crop up in in popular media just because of their distance from most of that history, but there's been tons of perfectly fine black representation in games and anime, too. Hell, Claudia from Macross predates Mr Popo by like, five or so years <___<

yeh japan had a mix of people who didn't know how to handle black people and then there were some who researched and did them right like macross hell it even had lynn minmay a japanese chinese main girl as the love interest which was rare at the time and still

Prestoff posted...

You know, I won't play your game. I'm not going to play oppression olympics with you while spouting anecdotal evidence how I have it harder than you. The only thing I have to say is that no one's experience is going to be the same. Even then, one thing we're all capabale of doing is beign empathetic towards each others struggles. I agree that the answer the dev put out is entirely BS, but at the same time it's a "creative decision" to not include blacks and other minorities. The only thing we can do is not to expect/wait for others to do it correctly and instead doing it ourselves. If I had the creative power and control I absolutely would be making games/art/movies/comics/ that has more inclusion of representation. I just lack it, hence why I'm at a point where I say "it is what it is" regarding stuff like this.

Yeah, I'm not sure how he can say that when there's less representation of asian-americans, even of east asian heritage, in the west. Sure, there's japanese games, anime and other eastern media but those are far less mainstream than western media, are still seen as "exotic" and often derided, and aren't exactly asian-american.

Blue_Inigo posted...

Skin color isn't superficial tho

It literally is

Blue_Inigo posted...

Skin color isn't superficial tho

It's literally is. Race is a social construct. It's purpose is racism.

Look at "white" people. They can have wildly different phenotypes. We call mixed race (white parent, black parent) people black when we could have just as easily called them white. None of it makes any sense.

Humans are actually one of the most genetically similar animals on the planet.

We really doing the black people arent realistic enough in my world of magic and dragons?

Everyone who says "why don't we just not have race" always thinks they're the first person to come up with the concept and that it makes so much sense just to flip the switch that surely exists to turn off the history of racism and just make everything good.

Because surely there aren't people in power and influence out there still perpetuating the issue of race to their own advantage, right?

Lemme enjoy ma game without guilt trippin ppl

We have a fair representation in most of media in todays world. Do we have to criticize if every now and then a racially homogenic series, movie, game gets made?

Also game is made in Japan. Shouldn't be held to the same standards when theyre so retired from what happens over here. Also they put characters like Sahsz and Barret and they get called stereotypes. Damn if you do damn if you dont.

I am late to this topic, but I dont see the issue with the answer to the question?

I think this might be a spoiler for the anime, but Ill tag it just in case:

Attack on Titan could be perceived as having one race of people, no? Ignoring Mikasa. But thats because the early seasons focus on a specific location of the world.

Isnt that what hes saying? I feel like yall are focusing too much on the medieval setting part. Like, a secluded landmass probably would be one type of people.

Now if different races besides humans are in the game, then its a bs.

But I also dont really care tbh. Like what has been said, I dont expect representation from a Japanese game. Is what it is for now.

Robot2600 posted...

It's literally is. Race is a social construct. It's purpose is racism.

Look at "white" people. They can have wildly different phenotypes. We call mixed race (white parent, black parent) people black when we could have just as easily called them white. None of it makes any sense.

Humans are actually one of the most genetically similar animals on the planet.

As a white hispanic who looks like a South Carolina hillbilly I agree with this.

Nah I don't care if u wanna play it. U can have fun wiv it.

i think some of you are twisting our words it's not we are saying they must put people of color in this if they want to tell a story of a closed off country we don't mind that and they should've just said that is the reason for that
instead we are calling out the BS of them saying they are going for ''realism'' BS about medievil europe was pure white and that somehow translate in a freaking fantasy story that is a fictional setting must follow that even tho they have freaking dragons and magic but somehow it breaks muh realism if a person of color shows up and that is why we are calling it what it is bullshit logic

man, can't wait for persona 6 and people getting outraged because there's still no black people in the series.