Pause - Race and Ethnicity in the Video Game Industry

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Are race and ethnicity an issue in the video game industry? Are all our protagonists white-washed? Sam tackles this controversial topic.

Warning: Opinions ahead!

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[DJCocoaButter]

MWN sent me but I'm glad he did because I'm a young black male that's been living in a predominantly white suburb for about 6 years now and I wasn't very conscious of race in America until I had my first run in with racism about 2 years ago. I figured we were all equal and my skin tone didn't matter but little did I know I was wrong. I had mostly white friends throughout all of high school and they pretty much treated me like the pet negro. I was "white" enough to fit in but my skin tone only let me get but so far with them. Now that I'm conscious about things all of my white friends shun me save for a few and I'm starting to see how bad race relations effect me even down to my job and video games. I'm glad people other than people of color are taking notice of this and are seeking change and I'd like to thank you for making this video.

[sebcubille]

Subbed. The issue of race is also one of the few gripes i have with final fantasy 7: the characters are stereotyped to hell. White blond-blue eyed protagonist, angry black friend, eye candy girlfriend, (other) girlfriend that dies, etc.

[TamJam]

Nice video! Whoever edited this did a really good job. They're the real MVP.

[swankyswankx]

this is a great video. i hope more people keep going with this dialogue. representation is a big thing...i really hope gaming goes further and kids get more relatable characters. i love the characters i've grown up with but the ones that end up being like me still end up being the best...like CJ from san andreas or Lee from the walking dead game, go further into comics/cartoons to someone like static shock or the black green lantern

[TheBoilingKettle]

I'm not bothered by this 'issue' at all to be honest and I'm an Indian male. 
Even though there is a noticeable minority for colored main protagonists, the colored protagonists that you do find are usually more badass and stack up very well compared to their non-colored counter-parts 

e.g. there is Asura and Augus - Asura's Wrath, Aurelia, Mordecai, and Salvador from the Borderlands series, and Lee - The Walking Dead

[fantaientertainment]

The problem is that it ain’t all about skin color. The gaming industry is not racist. The whole argument is racist itself. That’s the demographics. Don’t really expect things to be outside the demographics for the most part. And he didn’t point out other games either. People look too much on old games too. And just because it’s an stereotype does not mean it’s racist. People get mixed up between their heads. If they want something to come true, they need to get they asses of their chairs and and do some work they damn selves. You never know it might be a career you might fall in love with.

[dontezy]

You have just won yourself a subscriber ... Excellent post.

[breakdown]

Sad not that much people are seeing this thanks mwn for sharing, now everyone share this! They have so much great content and hardly anybody watches is. Sad...

[Nassit-Gnuoy]

Liked, favorited, and subscribed. Someone finally gets it. We need more black characters. I thought it was BS how John Stewart was just a skin for Hal Jordan in Injustice. 

[tfmii]

Thank you for this, man! Keep doing what you're doing! Thank you!

[Kooljupiter]

Its a breath of fresh air to see a White Male pointing out this issue. This issue is the same with the film industry and every other form of entertainment.

[nxtraikage]

great video, good to see to that their are people who want to see colored people as main characters in videogames.

[zXReMXz]

I disagree with Delsin from Infamous Second Son being white. He's actually Native American although, yes, he does look white rather than N.A. and being voiced by Troy Baker doesn't help either :\ Hopefully good changes in the industry start by not giving him every role ever in every video game...

On another note, fighting games are almost always racially diverse. Tekken, Street Fighter, Dead or Alive, Virtua Fighter, Mortal Kombat, etc. usually always involve fighters from many different nations & walks of life fighting in one big tournament.

Japanese games, however, are a little difficult. As in a lot of anime, characters aren't actually white or any race for that matter unless actually stated otherwise or within a real world location like Tokyo. The characters are like stick figures or avatars, they aren't really anything in particular, they're just a person. The personality is given to the character by both the writer and the audience, just like Link from Legend of Zelda. Link is always mute to help the player better immerse their self into the game and become Link aka the adventurer.

[OMAGXStudios]

I make indie games with mostly black protagonists... Surprisingly, I've actually been told my projects would be more popular if I abandoned that habit. Lol.

[russcogiv]

Second Son was a bad example. Delsin is Native American.

[youngsir.tc_GW_VS]

Black consumers like nba 2k and madden so maybe that explain lack of my race in action adventure rpg's

[DODIRTT]

great video but i believe that if a back youtuber. would have made a video and said every word you said verbatim. He would have been instantly flanked with hate comments and its sad because a good point is a good point no matter the race.