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[Doom85]

You are so aggravated by the situation that I think is much more political for you than for me... since usually politcs bring much more anger to discussions than games, you are like that woman screaming loudly at somebody asking him not to scream, you are here screaming to leave politics off when politics are not being directly discussed here outside of you.

Anyway if you think that recent DEI flagged games are not failing because of DEI thats fine, thats your opinion,we dont have to agree on this. but they will probably keep failing for now on .. so keep trying to find other reasons you will gonna need them.

when politics are not being directly discussed here outside of you.

Can’t even admit your stance is political? Wow. Yeah, you were only talking about DEI, preaching, “climate”, nothing political about all that.

 

[KeenAerondight]

I have every main AC game platinumed, but I'm thinking this is going to be the game that breaks that tradition. I really wasn't a fan of what I saw of Shadows and I doubt that's going to change between now and release. How hard can it be to just make an exciting game that honors the Japanese culture and the period? Ubisoft have all the tools to successfully craft a very compelling game, but they're hobbled by developer stupidity and Ubisoft greed.

It's so damned unnecessary and sad.

 

[Bernardougf]

Can’t even admit your stance is political? Wow. Yeah, you were only talking about DEI, preaching, “climate”, nothing political about all that.

My stance is that forced DEI is obviously bad for gaming development as a whole and its now being reject by the mainstream public to the point of huge franchises failing or at the danger of failing. if thats a political stance, and It seems to be really important for you to label it this way, be my guess champ.

 

[Doom85]

if thats a political stance

and It seems to be really important for you to label it this way

I apologize for calling out bullshit when I see it. Hopefully I didn’t ruin your day too much.

Seriously, if you’re going to be this way, at least fucking own it. Trying to be all, “I’m not political!” while making clearly blatantly political opinions is just embarrassing.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

My stance is that forced DEI is obviously bad for gaming development as a whole and its now being reject by the mainstream public to the point of huge franchises failing or at the danger of failing. if thats a political stance, and It seems to be really important for you to label it this way, be my guess champ.

DEI and politics is worse for media companies because the products themselves can be infused with politics, which can lead to lousy sales.

At least with traditional companies where an office implementing DEI and politics might not affect the final product. Hey you never know. Maybe that company that makes wine glasses is a DEI paradise. No customer would know or care. The core product is just glasses. It sounds pretty hard to fuck that up. Just keep the factory lines churning out 4-pack or 8-pack boxes of glasses and there you go.

But gaming products by nature have story, giant lobby photos of all the employees, and combative employees on social media often pushing an agenda. The wine glass maker doesn't. They may sink if the glasses or price stink, but they likely wont go down based on DEI politics.

 

[Kotaro]

go woke go broke!!!

all previous AC protagonists are fictional characters, and why all of a sudden they picked a minor historical character to be their samurai now? .....if they really wanted a real-life samurai, there are endless great samurai in Japan history, why a minor black 'samurai' whose status is very much disputed? Let's be honest here, it's because of the rise of BLM movement

so yeah they chose to be political, they deserve to go broke

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

Yep, it’s absolutely hilarious how they have misjudged the market like this.

Somebody about 4-5 years ago thought that instead of going with a straightforward idea their fans wanted, ie AC in Japan, Ubisoft should go for social commentary.

Notably this was after the absolutely stupid Watch Dogs 3 flopped, but where Odyssey and Valhalla succeeded.

And yet, here we are. Instead of a best seller they are going to get shit on by absolutely everyone.

I fail to see the social commentary angle you’re talking about. Ever thought that they just want to do something different?

IMO if Ubisoft made just another run of the mill samurai focused game with a single Japanese male character it would have flopped big time because people already compare this game to ghost of tsushima, they would not be able to escape that game's shadow or any of the other similar games/stories before it.

I think the characters and angle they chose to go with was smart because it really made people more interested in seeing how the story will play out. It made the game more interesting, like I’ve never been more interested in a AC game since maybe AC 2 and I think a lot of people feel that way.

The constant “woke” talk has to end and we should be encouraging new and original angles/stories and IMO that’s what they are trying to do with this game.

 

[sendit]

Imagine knowing that fans were craving a AC game set in Japan. Implemented the setting but decided a black lead was the way to go lol. Dumb fucks.

 

[sendit]

But if there’s no massive preaching in this AC game (and I mean actual preaching, Yasuke simply being there is not “preaching”) which you have zero proof there will be (spare me fucking speculation, that shit is as worthless as a 4chan “leak”), then everything you said is irrelevant unless you just want to admit you’re letting your own personal politics affect any possibility of enjoying the game, which is just as nonsensical to me as those back then who let their own personal politics affect any possibility of them enjoying Resident Evil 5.

Also, “historic”, give me a fucking break. Yes, Ubisoft was stupid to make the claim otherwise, but the facts are this series has such “historic” elements such as lighting-blasting Pope, Medusa, an actual Valhalla, and all revolving around massive conspiracies and secret Illuminati-like organizations involving time-traveling mind-fusing and aliens or some weird shit. This series is about historically accurate as that 2004 King Arthur movie, LOL.

And there are a fuck ton of Japanese/Asian male leads (since apparently Japanese/Asian woman “don’t count” for whatever nonsensical reason) in samurai and other past time periods for video games. Nioh 1 even had a white lead. Oh, but the second a black lead showed up, suddenly the nitpicking began. And I’m tired of all the nitpicking being shoved down the rest of our throats because some of you all won’t stop talking about your own personal politics.

Right….Imagine if AC:Valhalla starred a Japanese Viking.

“
Kenji, a Japanese farmer standing 5’1”, wandered the Silk Road after leaving his rice fields. Missing three fingers, he was captured and sold to the Vikings of the Great Heathen Army. Despite his stature and being Japanese, Kenji’s fierce spirit and adaptability stood out. The Norsemen, amused by his two-fingered grip, nicknamed him “Stumpy Knuckles.” Kenji, using his farming skills, wielded weapons with precision, leading Viking forces to victory over the East Anglians. The Japanese warrior later joined the Jomsvikings, proving that even a small, two-fingered man from Japan could shape the destiny of the Norse in battle.
“

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

I think the characters and angle they chose to go with was smart because it really made people more interested in seeing how the story will play out. It made the game more interesting, like I’ve never been more interested in a AC game since maybe AC 2 and I think a lot of people feel that way.

Given the way things have turned out I'm not sure I'd say it was a particularly smart decision tbf.

 

[Sharius]

They had this one can’t miss bullet in their chamber - AC in Japan - and totally fucked it up because they’re run by shitlib idiots and morons. And yes it is political. And it’s probably going to result in them going out of business.

They would has very strong 2024 but they just throw it away for the sake of modern audience, a star war game after very long time, and an AC game in japan in middle of hype after new ghost game being announced

 

[MayauMiao]

Imagine knowing that fans were craving a AC game set in Japan. Implemented the setting but decided a black lead was the way to go lol. Dumb fucks.

And using hip hop battle music too. Way to enforce the stereotype.

 

[Doom85]

Right….Imagine if AC:Valhalla starred a Japanese Viking.

“
Kenji, a Japanese farmer standing 5’1”, wandered the Silk Road after leaving his rice fields. Missing three fingers, he was captured and sold to the Vikings of the Great Heathen Army. Despite his stature and being Japanese, Kenji’s fierce spirit and adaptability stood out. The Norsemen, amused by his two-fingered grip, nicknamed him “Stumpy Knuckles.” Kenji, using his farming skills, wielded weapons with precision, leading Viking forces to victory over the East Anglians. The Japanese warrior later joined the Jomsvikings, proving that even a small, two-fingered man from Japan could shape the destiny of the Norse in battle.
“

A) this isn’t even the first AC game to feature a character not native to the region, there was Black Flag and B) again, Nioh 1, where was the massive outrage with that game? Hell, they even changed his ethnicity in that game (the real William was English, but the Nioh version is Irish).

If there was any indication of a Japanese Viking, that would be fine by me. And again though, it’s a series with lighting-blasting Popes, Medusa, Valhalla as an actual location, time travel, Ilumanti aliens bullshit, this wasn’t your high school history textbook to begin with.

 

[dreamstation]

The whole paying extra to play a few days early thing is a fucking scam anyway. Everyone should get it the same day. Period.

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

Given the way things have turned out I'm not sure I'd say it was a particularly smart decision tbf.

The game isn’t out yet and nothing has happened. They delayed the game because it needed more time in the oven and it’s as simple as that.

 

[StereoVsn]

I fail to see the social commentary angle you’re talking about. Ever thought that they just want to do something different?

IMO if Ubisoft made just another run of the mill samurai focused game with a single Japanese male character it would have flopped big time because people already compare this game to ghost of tsushima, they would not be able to escape that games shadow or any of the other similar games/stories before it.

I think the characters and angle they chose to go with was smart because it really made people more interested in seeing how the story will play out. It made the game more interesting, like I’ve never been more interested in a AC game since maybe AC 2 and I think a lot of people feel that way.

The constant “woke” talk has to end and we should be encouraging new and original angles/stories and IMO that’s what they are trying to do with this game.

Oh yeah, this strategy seems to be working out really well for them.

Fans wanted an AC game with Samurai/Ninja characters set in Japan.

Ubisoft’s approach clearly has not been well received and you illustrate basically the thought process of Ubi execs. You don’t make the game for yourself, you make it for your customers and what Ubi is cooking is not what they want.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

The game isn’t out yet and nothing has happened. They delayed the game because it needed more time in the oven and it’s as simple as that.

'So why was Shadows delayed? It’s a complicated question without a single answer, but it boils down to a strict development timeline, polishing, and addressing the Japanese community’s cultural and historical accuracy concerns.'

Not that simple at all apparently.

And that is coming from someone sympathetic to their, ahem, situation.

 

[Pejo]

Oh yeah, this strategy seems to be working out really well for them.

Fans wanted an AC game with Samurai/Ninja characters set in Japan.

Ubisoft’s approach clearly has not been well received and you illustrate basically the thought process of Ubi execs. You don’t make the game for yourself, you make it for your customers and what Ubi is cooking is not what they want.

I'd argue nobody wanted samurais in an AC game to begin with, even. Now it's just been kinda accepted since we've been seeing this shit for a year. In my mind, the "perfect" AC set in Japan follows a Ninja and a Kunoichi (or really even just a single protag, this dual protag stuff is a meme) and a plot about sticking by your lord despite the awful things they're doing or rebelling and dishonoring your clan. I think that would have made for a compelling story.

The samurai stuff is unnecessary in an AC, but then again I haven't liked the series much since Rogue, and the way the focus is now on leveling up and direct combat with stats and stuff.

 

[StereoVsn]

I'd argue nobody wanted samurais in an AC game to begin with, even. Now it's just been kinda accepted since we've been seeing this shit for a year. In my mind, the "perfect" AC set in Japan follows a Ninja and a Kunoichi (or really even just a single protag, this dual protag stuff is a meme) and a plot about sticking by your lord despite the awful things they're doing or rebelling and dishonoring your clan. I think that would have made for a compelling story.

The samurai stuff is unnecessary in an AC, but then again I haven't liked the series much since Rogue, and the way the focus is now on leveling up and direct combat with stats and stuff.

That would have worked as well, but that’s not what we are getting unfortunately.

 

[March Climber]

Anyway if you think that recent DEI flagged games are not failing because of DEI thats fine, thats your opinion,we dont have to agree on this. but they will probably keep failing for now on .. so keep trying to find other reasons you will gonna need them.

I think part of his reasoning is that this part of your post implies that non-DEI games encounter success because they aren’t DEI, but we all know that plenty of games fail regardless of DEI status.

It would be odd of anyone to say that one factor is the cause of all failure, the same way it would be odd of me to say that one factor is the cause of all success.

The market would be much easier to navigate for all developers if this were the case, and there never would be such a thing known as ‘hidden gems’.

 

[Bernardougf]

I think part of his reasoning is that this part of your post implies that non-DEI games encounter success because they aren’t DEI, but we all know that plenty of games fail regardless of DEI status.

It would be odd of anyone to say that one factor is the cause of all failure, the same way it would be odd of me to say that one factor is the cause of all success.

The market would be much easier to navigate for all developers if this were the case, and there never would be such a thing known as ‘hidden gems’.

I dont think DEI is the only reason never said that.. I do think is a major one though, when people think DEI some times they think of just the end product, some characters or some story lines, but bad DEI implementation and culture can affect the whole line of production, from leadership trough development and to the final product, for several reasons, and I think thats what we are seeing trough a big part of the western game industry, failed products appealing to an audience that does not exist coming from DEI minded studios. Connecting the dots its not that hard imho.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Will this go down as gaming biggest failure?

 

[SJRB]

Got to get those sales in before word of mouth spreads, I guess.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

A) this isn’t even the first AC game to feature a character not native to the region, there was Black Flag and B) again, Nioh 1, where was the massive outrage with that game? Hell, they even changed his ethnicity in that game (the real William was English, but the Nioh version is Irish).

If there was any indication of a Japanese Viking, that would be fine by me. And again though, it’s a series with lighting-blasting Popes, Medusa, Valhalla as an actual location, time travel, Ilumanti aliens bullshit, this wasn’t your high school history textbook to begin with.

You aren't arguing in good faith if you are comparing Nioh to Assassin's Creed.

Just in case you are, in AC a key success factor is immersion and immersion comes with historical accuracy. And no, having fantasy elements doesn't have anything to do with that and isn't immersion breaking, that's also being disingenuous and you know full well that inserting aliens (which don't exist) isn't the same as depicting ancient Japanese inaccurately. Not even close.

 

[chromhound]

 

[OmegaSupreme]

 

[Laptop1991]

A) this isn’t even the first AC game to feature a character not native to the region, there was Black Flag

Edward Kenway in the game is a British/Welshman, set during the Pirates of the Caribbean days, who were Privateers for Britain first, who also were 99 percent from the British Isles and the most successful pirate of them all in actual history was Black Bart, a Welshman!,

why would the main character be a native of the Caribbean instead of the many British pirates?, the natives didn't command pirate ships and wern't charged with treason at the time by the British crown.

I don't see what's funny about actual, factual history!!

 

[Pejo]

Edward Kenway in the game is a British/Welshman, set during the Pirates of the Caribbean days, who were Privateers for Britain first, who also were 99 percent from the British Isles and the most successful pirate of them all in actual history was Black Bart, a Welshman!,

why would the main character be a native of the Caribbean instead of the many British pirates?, the natives didn't command pirate ships and wern't charged with treason at the time by the British crown.

Agreed, that's a dishonest comparison to begin with because Black Flag did eventually get a black protag too.

 

[Laptop1991]

Agreed, that's a dishonest comparison to begin with because Black Flag did eventually get a black protag too.

Yeah it did get a black protag, but as he served under Kenway first, no one minded that, it made sense, but if they had made Black Flag with a black protag first, it would have been as ridiculous as Shadows and would of got the same response Shadows has.

 

[Stu_Hart]

A) this isn’t even the first AC game to feature a character not native to the region, there was Black Flag and B) again, Nioh 1, where was the massive outrage with that game? Hell, they even changed his ethnicity in that game (the real William was English, but the Nioh version is Irish).

If there was any indication of a Japanese Viking, that would be fine by me. And again though, it’s a series with lighting-blasting Popes, Medusa, Valhalla as an actual location, time travel, Ilumanti aliens bullshit, this wasn’t your high school history textbook to begin with.

He is a fake fan just like many here. Even when a game like black myth wukong comes out and it is a good game with so much to discuss when it comes to gameplay, environments and lore, these guys endlessly gloat over no sweet baby involvement and about that IGN writer a whole lot more than discussing how good the game is in a gaming forum section. They are more interested in the politics than the game itself, polluting the forums with their views.

 

[Shtof]

Certainly, the story of Concord has the industry shaking.

The warning signs has been there for many years.
Last of Us 2 had immense backlash, but as a sequel to one of the most popular games ever it was too big to fail.
In the same vein, behind closed doors it was likely considered a fail both in earnings and brand damage.
I say this as someone who loved LoU2, finished it twice back to back and objectively thinks its better than the first one.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Edward Kenway in the game is a British/Welshman, set during the Pirates of the Caribbean days, who were Privateers for Britain first, who also were 99 percent from the British Isles and the most successful pirate of them all in actual history was Black Bart, a Welshman!,

why would the main character be a native of the Caribbean instead of the many British pirates?, the natives didn't command pirate ships and wern't charged with treason at the time by the British crown.

The idea of making a pirate game without a British protagonist is so dishonestly stupid that feels like arguing with flat-earthers.

 

[Bernardougf]

Certainly, the story of Concord has the industry shaking.

The warning signs has been there for many years.
Last of Us 2 had immense backlash, but as a sequel to one of the most popular games ever it was too big to fail.
In the same vein, behind closed doors it was likely considered a fail both in earnings and brand damage.
I say this as someone who loved LoU2, finished it twice back to back and objectively thinks its better than the first one.

I dont think Neil and current Sony manegement has the self awareness to even remotely consider TLOU2 a failed product, much more for the divisive reasons.

It sold a lot and it won all the awards possible (deserving or not). I think in their books it was a major success even if didnt sell all they thought it would, they would have found other reasons for under performing.

Now .. if the same game was coming out this year ? Welp... I think things would be really different.

Edit.:

Concord is the greater example, but in isolation would have been brushed off easily... but we had suicide squad, outlaws and other games bombing hard in a closer spam of time. Its all adding up and asscreed shadows its just one more major game in the line, with more to come.

 

[Laptop1991]

The idea of making a pirate game without a British protagonist is so dishonestly stupid that feels like arguing with flat-earthers.

It would be complete nonsense wouldn't it, i mean you could just look at any of the film's if history isn't anyone's thing lol

 

[EDMIX]

Edward Kenway in the game is a British/Welshman, set during the Pirates of the Caribbean days, who were Privateers for Britain first, who also were 99 percent from the British Isles and the most successful pirate of them all in actual history was Black Bart, a Welshman!,

why would the main character be a native of the Caribbean instead of the many British pirates?, the natives didn't command pirate ships and wern't charged with treason at the time by the British crown.

I mean, thats great info, that doesn't change what Doom is saying though..

This isn't the first AC to feature a character not native to the setting.

Its not suggesting the character should be a native Caribbean, its merely stating it wasn't and you were magically able to make sense of that.

Look at AC Valhalla, literally the best selling AC title, its a game where the character is literally going to England, France, Scotland etc, all places not native to the main character, yet we all understand that. You are only in Norway for the opening

Why is it this wild idea that Shadow's has a character not native to the setting? smh

This should have never fucking even been some crazy debate in a IP with monster and the Pope with powers to really fucking think that was some huge factor in this series, cause I don't recall anyone making some big deal about ACIV or Valhalla, suddenly when they are brought up, we all understand people can go to different places, yet we bring up Shadows and now folks acting like Cuba Gooding Jr from Radio lol

He is a fake fan just like many here. Even when a game like black myth wukong comes out and it is a good game with so much to discuss when it comes to gameplay, environments and lore, these guys endlessly gloat over no sweet baby involvement and about that IGN writer a whole lot more than discussing how good the game is in a gaming forum section. They are more interested in the politics than the game itself, polluting the forums with their views.

Agreed.

We are talking about folks that spent 70 pages talking about Concord. That isn't a simple dislike, that is what we call an obsession lol

It would be complete nonsense wouldn't it, i mean you could just look at any of the film's if history isn't anyone's thing lol

Ok, but you had black pirates though that were simply former slaves....it would be nonsense to act as if 1 demographic could be a pirate despite history showing us many different people where pirates lol

Yeah it did get a black protag, but as he served under Kenway first, no one minded that, it made sense,

Ok...why would it be a problem if that person was the main character instead?

but if they had made Black Flag with a black protag first, it would have been as ridiculous as Shadows

??? Well...why? He exist in that universe, Black former slaves were pirates in real life....

I don't get where you seeing that this would be "ridiculous" when the demographic exist as pirates during that exact time, but you seem to be determined that they never actually be main characters in a fictional game lol

 

[Shtof]

I dont think Neil and current Sony manegement has the self awareness to even remotely consider TLOU2 a failed product, much more for the divisive reasons.

It sold a lot and it won all the awards possible (deserving or not). I think in their books it was a major success even if didnt sell all they thought it would, they would have found other reasons for under performing.

Now .. if the same game was coming out this year ? Welp... I think things would be really different.

Edit.:

Concord is the greater example, but in isolation would have been brushed off easily... but we had suicide squad, outlaws and other games bombing hard in a closer spam of time. Its all adding up and asscreed shadows its just one more major game in the line, with more to come.

I certainly disagree that they don't have the self awareness, but that doesn't even matter.
The bottom line is what matters. And the industry will have to deal with that.
And I don't think they'll be able to. The future looks indie.

 

[Laptop1991]

I mean, thats great info, that doesn't change what Doom is saying though..

This isn't the first AC to feature a character not native to the setting.

Its not suggesting the character should be a native Caribbean, its merely stating it wasn't and you were magically able to make sense of that.

Look at AC Valhalla, literally the best selling AC title, its a game where the character is literally going to England, France, Scotland etc, all places not native to the main character, yet we all understand that. You are only in Norway for the opening

Why is it this wild idea that Shadow's has a character not native to the setting? smh

This should have never fucking even been some crazy debate in a IP with monster and the Pope with powers to really fucking think that was some huge factor in this series, cause I don't recall anyone making some big deal about ACIV or Valhalla, suddenly when they are brought up, we all understand people can go to different places, yet we bring up Shadows and now folks acting like Cuba Gooding Jr from Radio lol

Agreed.

We are talking about folks that spent 70 pages talking about Concord. That isn't a simple dislike, that is what we call an obsession lol


Ok, but you had black pirates though that were simply former slaves....it would be nonsense to act as if 1 demographic could be a pirate despite history showing us many different people where pirates lol



Ok...why would it be a problem if that person was the main character instead?


??? Well...why? He exist in that universe, Black former slaves were pirates in real life....

I don't get where you seeing that this would be "ridiculous" when the demographic exist as pirates during that exact time, but you seem to be determined that they never actually be main characters in a fictional game lol

What a load of nonsense from you as usual, he did state that Black Flag didn't have a local protaganist which he was saying is wrong for some strange reason, and Kenway being British/Welsh fits the history and game perfectly as history proves but you think historical facts are funny and history says otherwise,

Your changing it just to make an argument again and all you do is laugh at people and talk rubbish and as Pejo pointed out Freedom Cry had a black character afterwards, and there was no controversy about it, i wonder why and black slaves didn't command ships is what i said, i didn't say there wern't any black pirates, you said i said that.

And why shouldn't Vikings be in England or Britain, you ever heard of The Danelaw, it was never in Scandinavia and there were many Viking kings of England, Cnut the Great! ever heard of him!. your making things up to suit your argument.

Point Proven lol

 

[EDMIX]

Kenway being British/Welsh fits the history and game perfectly as history proves but you think historical facts are funny and history says otherwise,

I never stated he doesn't..... I never argued against any historical facts or anything like this, merely pointing out this same history supports black former slaves existed as pirates too..

I means one can make a game with either

Not that big of a deal...

And why shouldn't Vikings be in England or Britain,

? where did I say they shouldn't? So....

Read what is being stated. You are basically making up an argument to argue...

My point is if you can understand this person went from 1 country to another in a fictional game, you can understand Shadows....


Thats it...

I never stated you claimed no Black Pirates existed btw. read what is being stated vs making up what you assume is being argued or something.

Im just pointing out they exist and the game is fictional, they have all the liberty to do a game like that as its not like time travel with DNA is real or monsters are real or the Pope with powers is real lol

The game series is fake Laptop, its not that serious...

"i didn't say there wern't any black pirates, you said that."

??? Where?

Stop, calm down and actually read what is being stated. I think you are greatly misunderstanding that post, to the point of making things up that factually not being stated.

 

[jason10mm]

Right….Imagine if AC:Valhalla starred a Japanese Viking.

“
Kenji, a Japanese farmer standing 5’1”, wandered the Silk Road after leaving his rice fields. Missing three fingers, he was captured and sold to the Vikings of the Great Heathen Army. Despite his stature and being Japanese, Kenji’s fierce spirit and adaptability stood out. The Norsemen, amused by his two-fingered grip, nicknamed him “Stumpy Knuckles.” Kenji, using his farming skills, wielded weapons with precision, leading Viking forces to victory over the East Anglians. The Japanese warrior later joined the Jomsvikings, proving that even a small, two-fingered man from Japan could shape the destiny of the Norse in battle.
“

That would be AWESOME as a side story adventure. Little historical quirks like that are what the AC games SHOULD be hunting out to add flavor and depth to their games.

But it wouldn't sell as a main character, because the overall AC experience is mostly being immersed into the mainstream flow of the society being represented.

I figure the Yasuke thing was backwalked from the desire to have a black "modern" assassin character and then the need to have an ancestor of that person be in Japan. Now they could have just written a nice "my japanese grandma" throwaway line for an explanation but instead someone mentioned yasuke and they ran with it.

I REALLY wish they would just dump the "artifical sim" nature of the game. I know its been there from the beginning and is used to explain a lot of the game like aspects of the world, cover invisible walls, prevent wholesale slaughter of the innocents, etc but I'd just like an entirely historic AC game where the templar/assassin stuff was just background fluff/side quest stuff and the main drive was building up my town/ship/castle/mercenary company whilst striking down mine enemies.

 

[Kenpachii]

I wonder why the season pass aspect has changed. With the delay I wonder if they're wanting to change the base game content wise (add some of the DLC upfront) or simply all the planned DLC has been put on hold indefinitely as it all needs to be redone. But that doesn't make sense to me as I'm sure they'll be wanting to do a semi GaaS thing like they did with Valhalla so whatever happens they'd need content to be flowing after launch. Regardless, I would be surprised if they don't have something of value in amongst all the development they've done.

All a bit of a mess. It'll be interesting to see what gets released finally in Feb in terms of quality and how much is reworked & changed.

Probably no faith in the IP, so cancelling DLC entirely to move on to the next game.

 

[BaneIsPain]

I have every main AC game platinumed, but I'm thinking this is going to be the game that breaks that tradition. I really wasn't a fan of what I saw of Shadows and I doubt that's going to change between now and release. How hard can it be to just make an exciting game that honors the Japanese culture and the period? Ubisoft have all the tools to successfully craft a very compelling game, but they're hobbled by developer stupidity and Ubisoft greed.

It's so damned unnecessary and sad.

I am in the same boat although I didn't plat mirage. So sad what happen to this IP.

 

[The Mad Draklor]

What's left to actually cancel this game?

Bundling it for free with every RTX 5000, RDNA4, and Battlemage video card.

Anyways, looks like the usual suspects are trying to run defense lmao

 

[coachmcguirk91]

5 years between major AC releases and this is what we get? I would honestly be happy if Tencent just fully bought out Ubisoft at this point This level of incompetence may be unprecedented for a publisher as big as Ubisoft. They have the lowest opinion of gamers in the business. So much wasted resources

 

[Draugoth]

Ubisoft has cut the price of the Japan-set Assassin's Creed Shadows' Collector's Edition by $50 in lieu of the cancelled Season Pass, scrapped early access plans, and the game's delay to 2025.

The developer confirmed the price drop in a Discord post, telling fans it would now cost $229.99 instead of $279.99 and no longer contain a handful of the bonuses originally announced.

via IGN

 

[Dynasty8]

That's cool. Still not interested.

 

[jason10mm]

I mean, thats great info, that doesn't change what Doom is saying though..

This isn't the first AC to feature a character not native to the setting.
.....edited for brevity


I don't get where you seeing that this would be "ridiculous" when the demographic exist as pirates during that exact time, but you seem to be determined that they never actually be main characters in a fictional game lol

I think you have to balance the "historical accuracy" of an AC game with the expectations and suppositions of the target audience.

Close your eyes and think about ancient rome, Alexanders conquest, the height of the Aztec empire, the middle kingdom, or any iconic time periods that would be suitable for AC. From a western audience perspective there are some very deeply rooted images and assumptions about these periods that AC can easily enhance and build upon, which they have done very successfully. If they want to subvert the expectations of their audience, and featuring a guy who has like 3 sentences written about him in Japan is a prime example, then they need to REALLY sell it. And they failed, spectacularly, in doing that with those early trailers. They failed to meet the expectations of their audience and they failed to sell their vision.

They could set an AC game in 1800's Africa with an Alan Quartermain type character and play on the expectations and cultural imagery of colonial africa and most of the heavy lifting will have been done for them. OR they could set a game in sub-sarahan africa with 100% indigenous characters in the pre-colonial period and guess what, their actual video game audience knows very little about that era in that context and Ubi will have to spend a LOT of time and $$ selling the concept to their usual audience. Doesn't mean the game wouldn't be good, it could be amazing, but since it would be totally divorced from what the audience "knows" about that part of Africa its a much harder sell. Same with setting something in the Incan Empire, or ancient Australia, hell even southeast asia or China would be tough for western audiences. TBH a game from the POV of the Picts with the early roman 'invasions' of Britain would be a hard sell if you didn't lean into the druids and all the mythic stuff the audience is expecting.

 

[HAYA8U5A]

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

Oh yeah, this strategy seems to be working out really well for them.

Fans wanted an AC game with Samurai/Ninja characters set in Japan.

Ubisoft’s approach clearly has not been well received and you illustrate basically the thought process of Ubi execs. You don’t make the game for yourself, you make it for your customers and what Ubi is cooking is not what they want.

The game isn't out yet, how do you know people will not buy it? Because a couple immature people are acting outraged online because they don't want to play as a black or female character?

Also the last time I checked, the game does have a Samurai/Ninja characters set in Japan.

At the end of the day, If its a good game people will play/buy it. Ubisoft knows this which is why they delayed the game to give it more polish.

 

[diffusionx]

We all know what happened here. Valhalla came out in 2020 and was a huge hit. This game started development then or was in very early stages. What happened in 2020? What did every single dev on the planet start saying they needed to do in 2020? To ask the question is to answer it.

The problem for Ubishit is that the world has turned over, Star Wars Outlaws (which I will always believe was a Han Solo game that they modified for similar but not identical reasons) was a massive flop, nobody wants this stuff they're selling.

The game isn't out yet, how do you know people will not buy it? Because a couple immature people are acting outraged online because they don't want to play as a black or female character?

Also the last time I checked, the game does have a Samurai/Ninja characters set in Japan.

At the end of the day, If its a good game people will play/buy it. Ubisoft knows this which is why they delayed the game to give it more polish.

last minute delays, talking about reworking the game and bringing in historians last minute (which is EXPENSIVE), going over everything for historical accuracy reasons, canceling the season pass, canceling early access, cutting the price of the premium edition, this game is a total disaster. They don't want to release the game in EA and people realize that like 38 people are playing it like Concord.

 

[Doom85]

What a load of nonsense from you as usual, he did state that Black Flag didn't have a local protaganist which he was saying is wrong for some strange reason

Hey, HEY, how about you not put words in my mouth. Where in my post did I say it was wrong? Where? Please point out the exact sentence because otherwise you are misquoting me, and my post wasn’t exactly long so that doesn’t come off as an innocent mistake.

Kenway being British/Welsh fits the history and game perfectly as history proves but you think historical facts are funny and history says otherwise,

Your changing it just to make an argument again and all you do is laugh at people and talk rubbish and as Pejo pointed out Freedom Cry had a black character afterwards, and there was no controversy about it, i wonder why

-ah yes, as I stated before, the series Assassin’s Creed is well known for its consistent “historical accuracy”

-yes, we’re aware AC has had black playable leads before, but Freedom Cry was 2013 and Liberation was 2012. Yes, there was little to no controversy, but I didn’t need to wonder why, it’s because it’s only since the mid-2010’s do some people see a lead who isn’t male, white (Asians are often exempt too in their eyes), and/or straight and they proceed to grab their thick rulebook to prove the lead isn’t “justified” or “logical” or they’ll just start screaming, “woke!” if the setting is 100% fictional so they have to rely on their comfort food word.

Just because the mindrot that caused people to whine about Chris Redfield being a lead of Resident Evil 5 and the mindrot that caused other people to whine about Yasuke being a lead of Assassin’s Creed Shadows are different flavors doesn’t change the fact they’re both mindrot. It’s fucking video games with zombies, giant monsters, a dude in shades with flash step abilities, lightning-blasting Pope, Medusa, Valhalla as a location, secret organization using time merging alien bullshit, etc. Anyone who looks at all THAT and goes, “uh, well, the white dude shooting black people, even if they’re zombies, seems problematic!” or, “excuse me, but I need absolute proof Yasuke was a samurai!” each sound like they’re coming from someone who is just deep down miserable or some shit.

And to be clear, I’m not being dismissive of the Japanese people who are criticizing the inaccurate depictions of buildings, locations, etc. of their culture and history. That’s a separate thing from Yasuke, and I would hope they would not criticize Yasuke specifically because video games and especially modern media in general are not starved for Japanese leads (or rather Japanese male leads since apparently the female character “doesn’t count” for some) in modern or historical time periods. And lord knows Japan is no stranger to making games with a playable character not native to the primary region in the game (again, look at some of the Resident Evil games). Hell, a development team in Hong Kong is making an upcoming Silent Hill game (Silent Hill f), you know, the series focused on a town called Silent Hill specifically located in the U.S., and apparently setting it in Japan! Should us Americans get outraged about that? I’m American, and get this, I am not outraged. And neither should any sensible person get outraged, whether at Yasuke, at Chris Redfield, at Silent Hill f, etc.