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[Bitmap Frogs]

What's also annoying is that they could have had a whole new AC set in subsaharan Africa as there are ton of interesting settings and time periods with obviously diverse cast.

And yet instead of having multiple AC games with positive reception celebrating different peoples and diversity of cultures we get a bucket full of controversy.

If anything this pisses me off even more about Ubisoft's tone deaf approach.

The Ethiopian empire (Abyssinia) would be fascinating, at one point there was a simultaneous conflict that included Arabs, turks, Portuguese and the locals who were christians!. Now that would make for a great setting.

 

[StereoVsn]

The Ethiopian empire (Abyssinia) would be fascinating, at one point there was a simultaneous conflict that included Arabs, turks, Portuguese and the locals who were christians!. Now that would make for a great setting.

Yep, you could fit multiple games just in Ethiopia. Heck, can even go to 19th century or 20th even with Italian attempt of conquest and subsequent failure.

And that's just one region. Zulu vs British, Islam expansion into different African kingdoms, fall or rise of Mali and Kongo. Various adventures around Ivory Coast in the 15th century (something like Benin traders), Kilwa in 15th and 16th centuries and more.

But no, here is your representation in a game set in AC Japan that is guaranteed to upset everyone.

 

[Principal]

If by "lizards" you mean the always obvious, "let me be offended on behalf of other people and cultures®", holier than thou, politically correct and virtue signaling hypocritical white knights you'd be spot-on.

Basically

 

[StreetsofBeige]

The Ethiopian empire (Abyssinia) would be fascinating, at one point there was a simultaneous conflict that included Arabs, turks, Portuguese and the locals who were christians!. Now that would make for a great setting.

Yep, you could fit multiple games just in Ethiopia. Heck, can even go to 19th century or 20th even with Italian attempt of conquest and subsequent failure.

And that's just one region. Zulu vs British, Islam expansion into different African kingdoms, fall or rise of Mali and Kongo. Various adventures around Ivory Coast in the 15th century (something like Benin traders), Kilwa in 15th and 16th centuries and more.

But no, here is your representation in a game set in AC Japan that is guaranteed to upset everyone.

Is there any games on the market that are high budget action/RPG games involving Genghis Khan ruling Asia and then expanding west to the Mid East and parts of eastern Europe? Maybe make a game where you are part of the Mongol side trying successfully expand and hold onto territory. Or the opposite side. Youre on the Asian, Mid East or European side and know theyre coming. Defend.

 

[Soodanim]

The Ethiopian empire (Abyssinia) would be fascinating, at one point there was a simultaneous conflict that included Arabs, turks, Portuguese and the locals who were christians!. Now that would make for a great setting.

They're planning that

The protagonist is going to be a Pacific Islander

 

[Saber]

Whoever's black on this site, I feel bad for you reading the comments.

I don't. I feel bad for your low brain social brownie post, would have a better tracking on twitter.

 

[EverydayBeast]

People keep pushing narratives and Ubisoft with the genders, and countries is sketch.

 

[laynelane]

Its just insane to me, its like the company can't get out of its own way. The same with Skull and Bones. All we wanted was more Black Flag, just removed the Assasins part, but all you had to do was make more of that game! instead you went and made this stupid MMO that no one asked for. All we wanted was Assasins Creed with a Ninja/Japan theme. And instead you went and made this tank anti-assasin character that again, no one asked for, its a net negative to your game, but for some reason you just wont give your fans what they ask for. What the fuck is wrong with your creative leads UBI? Are they so far up their own ass and agendas they can't just make the thing everyone wants and has asked for?

I think their hiring practices are part of the issue:

In an appearance at the External Development Summit 2024 (XDS24), Assassin's Creed Executive Producer Marc-Alexis Côté said:

One of the things that I've noticed since the pandemic is that we have a lot of juniors in our teams. Probably half the team that's building Assassin's Creed is building a game for the first time.

Source.

There were a lot of issues highlighted in the videos we've seen of the game - technical problems, architecture which doesn't make sense (Chinese architecture in feudal Japan, building where the stairs didn't connect to the door, etc.), out of season plants and crops, etc. So, we've seen lack of technical know-how, polish, and research so far. But, even more than that, why did they hire so many inexperienced people? I refuse to believe the most qualified people got the jobs when that many have no experience shipping a completed game.

Then there's this shitty attitude from one of the higher-ups - woe is me, gamers are toxic, and extreme virtue signalling all rolled into a very unappealing response to criticism.

Basically, I don't think giving fans what they want is a priority at all. Rot at the top and a slew of inexperienced people, plus a combative attitude towards their paying customers, makes it seem like that's the case.

 

[xanaum]

If I were Ubisoft, I would've saved 60% of this game a long time ago by adding a third protagonist, a native Japanese male who looks like Hiroyuki Sanada, or just given the option to create a male or female character in the character editor.

To be honest, this game is already cursed, nothing could save it at this point. It would need to be rebuilt from scratch with a strong team of native consultants and Japanese anthropologists to avoid controversies, just like Sony did with Ghost of Tsushima.

 

[Edgelord79]

Yup, because a lot of people are sheltered and they don't think black people/minorities should be in non stereotypical roles especially as main characters.

Is it lonely up there on your pedestal?

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

These are always random choices. That's right…. Completely random.

It wasn't random, they wanted to go a different route than the norm for the story. IDK what is so hard about that to understand.

Its no secret, some studios just want to make more diverse stories, but this doesn't stop the non diverse stuff from being made also. Did you see diverse leads in Ghost of Tsushima or Rise of the Ronin? ... no you did not.

What is wrong with having a variety in stories? But we know the real answer... don't we.

The fact that, unlike EVERY other main character in the franchise, they actually had to go with a real person instead of a fictional character for Yasuke to make sense just goes to show how forced and out of place he feels.

So let me get this straight, they did a game based on a REAL person and that feels forced and out of place to you?

Whatever, can't wait to play this one day one....

 

[notseqi]

So let me get this straight, they did a game based around on a REAL person and that feels out of place to you?

this i can get along with

Whatever, can't wait to play this one day one....

this i cannot

have you ever played assassins creed? you can't wait to play this day one? really? its gonna be overwatching some stuff, follow-this-guy-missions, dropping into a bale of... uh, hay, they had hay in japan, right? so, hay. then you kill a guy and he is relieved to die and spills the beans. repeat until assassins creed: 40k
fifa is more respectable

 

[Edgelord79]

What is wrong with having a variety in stories? But we know the real answer... don't we.

Enlighten us. What's the real reason?

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

It wasn't random, they wanted to go a different route than the norm for the story. IDK what is so hard about that to understand.

Its no secret, some publish just want to make more diverse stories, but this doesn't stop the non diverse stuff from being made also. Did you see diverse leads in Ghost of Tsushima or Rise of the Ronin? ... no you did not.

Out of curiosity, what do you understand as "diverse character"?

 

[YeulEmeralda]

I would love to play as a Japanese ninja hunting down Jesuits and stopping white piggu invasion.

 

[Fortuneelsewhere]

People are no longer willing to put up with this woke garbage in their games… these purple lunatics manage to take over very important positions in games and entertainment industry the last decade but now they are finally being exposed and taken care of..

Watching all this crazy bastards scrambling in despair to salvage them selves is very satisfying..

 

[laynelane]

Enlighten us. What's the real reason?

People have given in-depth reasons for their views on this and other such matters but, to some people, the "real answer" is some pretty severe projection, imo.

 

[april6e]

Have a character creator for the player character. Have a nice side quest where Yasuke can accompany you. Done.

"If a game requires me to play as a minority character or a woman I don't find attractive, it is woke". Instead of, you know, not buying the game and playing the overwhelming majority of other video games that have non-black main characters.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

"If a game requires me to play as a minority character or a woman I don't find attractive, it is woke". Instead of, you know, not buying the game and playing the majority of other video games that feature caucasian protagonists.

Most people do end up just playing other games which is the problem when trying to sell a product

 

[Hudo]

"If a game requires me to play as a minority character or a woman I don't find attractive, it is woke". Instead of, you know, not buying the game and playing the overwhelming majority of other video games that have non-black main characters.

I don't plan to buy the game. And it has nothing to do with the main character. I am just burnt out on Ubisoft's formula for AC. Have been for a quite a while.
And by the way, a character creator would allow everyone to make a character he/she wants to play as. So if you want to play as a black woman, you could totally do that. So not sure what your point is.

 

[PhillMeCream]

I just find it funny that we're talking about a game that blends fantasy and history together. I can completely understand why the Japanese are upset, and their feelings are valid, but jeez, the racism is seeping through the keyboards. I guess if we have Tom Cruise in it, then it'll be okay.