Some of my best developers are black, says Resi Evil 5 producer

By Ellie Gibson Published 22 July, 2008

"Surprised" by allegations of racism.

Resident Evil 5 producer Jun Takeuchi has defended the game against allegations of racism, saying he was "surprised" by the reaction it received.

He was responding to criticisms from journalists including Newsweek's N'Gai Croal, who said his first reaction to seeing a trailer for the game was, "Wow, clearly no one black worked on this game."

But speaking to MTV Takeuchi said, "There are black members in the development team. We do have staff working on the game, who are aware of the historical background and we are constantly checking these kinds of things with them.

According to Takeuchi, the criticisms weren't what the team expected. "We certainly didn’t anticipate the reaction. We were quite surprised," he stated. "I think everyone understands that we never set out to with the intention to make anything that was racist - that was never our intention.

"We think it was a bit of a misunderstanding when we published the first images of the game back in the day. And we think that as we move along and allow people to see more the game and more of what’s going on and more of the story, people will get a better idea of the game."

Resident Evil 5 will hit PS3 and Xbox 360 on 13th March 2009. See whether you think it's racist by watching the latest trailer, or have a read of our hands-on preview.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (109) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • systems #1 4 years ago

    N'Gai Croal was perfectly happy to shoot Spaniards in the last game, the racist bastard.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/08 @ 10:05

  • PlugMonkey #2 4 years ago

    Why is it racist when black people become zombies, but not when white or hispanic people become zombies?

  • bad09 #3 4 years ago

    I like the headline EG ;)

    seriously though, all the racisms cries now are nothing to what will happen when the game is actually released and a whole army of PC police find out there is a game where black people get shot by a white man.

    This lot is the calm before the storm trust me....

  • asphaltcowboy #4 4 years ago

    Some of my best developers are black, says Resi Evil 5 producer

    At no point does he say this! Ridiculous title, I think it should be changed to something a little less sensationalist!

  • Arnold__ #5 4 years ago

    Once again it is the white man, trying to keep the brother down.

  • firefly #6 4 years ago

    Surely the entire series is racist. Its not like they've ever made a Resident Evil game with Japanese zombies.

  • skillian #7 4 years ago

    At no point does he say this! Ridiculous title, I think it should be changed to something a little less sensationalist!

    It's a joke ("some of my best friends are black";), but I'll admit a not particularly funny one.

  • Destria #8 4 years ago

    I laughed

  • asphaltcowboy #9 4 years ago

    Yeah, I get the 'joke' and sure if it was in the strap line it'd probably be fine, but not as the thread title! You should change it!

  • DFawkes #10 4 years ago

    Of course it's super racist to assume there would be black people in Africa. They should've made all the characters white. That'd have been not racist.

  • shinki #11 4 years ago

    Surely whoever keeps making these allegations is racist themselves, thinking African people deserve a different reaction to the Spanish from RE4. If I was Spanish I'd be damned insulted.

    Anyway it's beside the point, they are ZOMBIES. Who cares what skin colour they have? They're trying to kill you, anyone would do the same in that situation.

  • DutchDemons #12 4 years ago

    what i dont get is that the man does say the following:

    "There are black members in the development team. We do have staff working on the game, who are aware of the historical background and we are constantly checking these kinds of things with them.

    so you have to check 'these things' with black people on your staff? like asking 'is this ok, do you and your people consider this racist? No? wow...*phew*, thank god for that!'

    that's absurd really. it's a game about zombies in africa. naturally the population is mostly black. no need to check anything with anyone. god, i hate this stupidity in the world.

  • Steroyd #13 4 years ago

    I don't really care what skin colour they are. I just want a part of the game to feature proper T-virus zombies.

    The slow ones? >_>

  • wizbob #14 4 years ago

    Zombies are a Haitian idea anyway - I think it's great that RE are giving credit where credit is due. IT BEGAN IN AFRICA.

  • LOLLERS #15 4 years ago

    "There are black members in the development team."

    haha best quote ever.

  • Steroyd #16 4 years ago

    so you have to check 'these things' with black people on your staff? like asking 'is this ok, do you and your people consider this racist? No? wow...*phew*, thank god for that!'

    Well they DO have to have some accuracies about Africa in general, it'd be like Capcom creating the speech for the Spanish Zombies in RE4 with random stuff not knowing exactly what they are actually saying, not to mention they might inadvertently create a scene that gets people panties in a twist.

    I bet the people who complain about this being racist aren't even black lol.

  • septimus #17 4 years ago

    Who gives a fuck what N'Gai Croal says? Anyone who has watched the Bonus Round knows he is a cock with little to no journalistic talent.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #18 4 years ago

    "Zombies are a Haitian idea anyway - I think it's great that RE are giving credit where credit is due. IT BEGAN IN AFRICA."

    + 1 wizbob

  • Monkey_Chops #19 4 years ago

    So, it's racist for a Japanese developer to use an American character to shoot Spaniards/Africans? W.t.f.?
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/08 @ 10:57

  • Fusey #20 4 years ago

    I just watched the trailer for the first time and I find it hard to see where any racist intention can be made. I would hazard a guess that anyone who can pick anything out from the video as being racist is trying very hard to do so and should take a look at themselves.

  • Xerx3s #21 4 years ago

    White Zombies: No problem.
    Latin Zombies: No problem.
    Black Zombies: Z0MG! YOU RACIST PIGS!!!!

    Heh, I see that racism spans across all races.

  • Kiigan #22 4 years ago

    Come on Ellie, that headline is a bit weaselly. Slipping standards at Eurogamer?

    He did not say "some of my best developers are black". Obviously you're having a little joke at his expense by referencing the old "some of my best friends are black" racist chestnut, but how about you have your fun without baselessly implying someone is a closet racist? Unless Eurogamer is taking a hardline stance against having non-white videogame characters that you can shoot?

  • DB2k #23 4 years ago

    this wil lbe in the daily mail tomorrow

  • DutchDemons #24 4 years ago

    @steroyd

    i understand they have to check those kinds of things. but thats not how i read the article. and it really doesn't matter if your black or not to complain about this type of thing. it's ridiculous that this is even an issue.

  • Brogan #25 4 years ago

    i don't think the major issue is there's black people in africa but the fact that they look like they're out of a turn of the last century tobacco adverts

  • frostcircus #26 4 years ago

    Nobody said RE5 was racist. That's the strawman version, and it's insane that it's the one people have spent the most time arguing against.

    What was actually said was that the promo stuff had racially offensive imagery. Given that it showed a white man blasting hordes of black men (for those not already familiar with the series, there was nothing to suggest they were zombies), it's really not the most radical interpretation of the text.

    Also, I will pay $12 (plus costs) to the first person to scour the internet and tally how many times "so it's okay for_____ people to be zombies, but not black people?" has been said.

    edit: the people complaining about Takeuchi's comments being misrepresented are giving me a nice big ironyrection
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/08 @ 11:08

  • Fernando #27 4 years ago

    some of my best freinds are whi...oh wait

  • DanWhitehead #28 4 years ago

    i don't think the major issue is there's black people in africa but the fact that they look like they're out of a turn of the last century tobacco adverts

    Careful, that sort of common sense has no place here.

    To reiterate, the issue isn't that there are black zombies, but that the image of an armed white man cautiously walking through an African village while black faces glare at him threateningly is loaded with meaning. There's a history at work here that is unique to Africa specifically, and black people in general, and by using that imagery to sell a fantasy experience the result is something that has an undeniable secondary layer of meaning. That history and imagery simply doesn't exist for Spanish people, so comparisons to Resident Evil 4 are way off-base.

    The fact that the new female sidekick is light-skinned simply compounds this problem - it's a message that has been buried in our media for over 100 years, and still the notion endures of the "dark continent" where the darker the skin, the greater the threat. At best, Resident Evil 5 seems to be using that symbolism as a narrative short cut to put players on edge.

    I don't think that makes Resident Evil 5 overtly racist, but the portrayal of Africa and Africans in the footage released so far is certainly problematic and insensitive, and people have every right to say as much. Not being able, or willing, to see or understand an issue doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

  • mcmonkeyplc #29 4 years ago

    @Wizbob: Haiti is in central america.....

  • Crovax20 #30 4 years ago

    Remember kids, its perfectly okay to shoot up hordes of white people. But shooting black people is a sin and blatant racism.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/08 @ 11:23

  • JediMasterMalik #31 4 years ago

    That headline is awesome, anyone who doesn't like it is a miserable git.

  • frostcircus #32 4 years ago

    Actually, now I'm curious to see the comments page for Dan's review of Soldier of Fortune: Payback. I remember it slammed the game pretty heavily for its choice of baddies.

    ...

    Yep, same deal there. Bunch of variations on "so it's okay to shoot Germans and Russians, but not Muslims." People spout some truly staggering nonsense in their attempts to avoid the evils of political correctness. The voice of reason was a bit louder for that game, though. The only rational conclusion I can come to is that a lot of gamers are on Umbrella's payroll.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/08 @ 11:29

  • teddybearzero #33 4 years ago

    Your title is actually more offensive. At no point does he say "some of my best developers are black".

  • JediMasterMalik #34 4 years ago

    Good god, lighten up man.

  • snick #35 4 years ago

    @mcmonkeyplc and those people that think Haiti is in Africa... Haiti is a Caribbean island.

  • JonFE #36 4 years ago

    Listen to Dan, the voice of reason. There are more issues at stake here, so don't narrow them down to "white zombies = fine / black zombies = racism"...

  • Beek4257 #37 4 years ago

    Good one mr. Whitehead. very sensible that.

    And no, shooting Germans is not Okay. Shooting nazi's however ...

  • patchbox360 #38 4 years ago

    i look forward to reading the humanising written notes lefted by the black people re: their farming and community life before they started becoming evil killer zombies.

  • Vice.Destroyer #39 4 years ago

    @DanWhitehead.
    +1,000,000,000,000

    Just when I thought that videogamers everywhere seemed to think like Monkey_chops So, it's racist for a Japanese developer to use an American character to shoot Spaniards/Africans? W.t.f.? , Nick_JC1 Don't know why capcom are surprised, black people could find racism in a cup of coffee that has milk added to it. and others, somebody finally hits the nail on the head. Strangely enough, my aunt said the exact same thing. She is from Ghana, if that makes a difference.

    @frostcircus.
    +1,000,000,000,000

  • asphaltcowboy #40 4 years ago

    That headline is awesome

    Or more accurately, 'That headline is libelist', perhaps?

  • J.C #41 4 years ago

    Racism is still a massive problem, and will never go away. but this is going to fucking far. if the hero was a black guy, and all the zombies were white, their wouldn't be a fucking problem.

  • firefly #42 4 years ago

    Depending on the sales of Resident Evil 5 Capcom are considering offending pretty much everybody else.

    Resident Evil 6 is reportedly going to be set in San Francisco and deals with the spread of a new form of virus that turns homosexuals into zombies. Following on from that Resident Evil 7 features yet another strain of virus that only functions in women and turns them into monsters but only for a few days a month. Resident Evil 8 is going to be slightly less offensive. It'll feature a virus that turns young children into monsters - after being forced to kill them all the protagonist will discover that its not really a virus at all, just puberty. Its then that he realises that killing them really was the best thing to do in the situation.

  • frostcircus #43 4 years ago

    @patchbox360
    This made me laugh a lot

    and now I can't stop imagining the worst

  • O-Fox #44 4 years ago

    This could have easily been fixed by just making the main character black. RE4 was less racist because it was a white guy killign white zombies, so there seemed to be no possible underlying sentiments, but because it's a white american killing black african zombies, it's easy to forget the context of zombie armageddon - especially since at the moment there are no 'good' black guys in the game to poinnt to and say 'look, this guy's your friend! we're not racist after all!'. I t think the whole 'but they shot hispanics and that was ok' argument is pretty meaningless, because aside from the fact that they're the same skin colour as the main guy in that game, there's not nearly the same amount of historical racism surrounding them. Especially, considering black people in the USA have been historically stereotyped as violent, stupid, animal-like, etc, it's easy to see why people might get upset when a game like this might (unintentionally) reinforce those negative stereotypes.
    edit: Just realised the good Rev. Whitehead has said most of what I've just tried to say, but probably more clearly. But yes, that's the core of what i'm trying to say - the 'if it was a black guy killing white zombies there would be no fuss the hypocrites' argument simply doesnt work because there is a genuine historical grievence for black people all around the world.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/08 @ 12:07

  • Chufty #45 4 years ago

    All baddies in all games / films / books ever should be middle-class, middle aged straight white males with no disabilities.

  • Rash' #46 4 years ago

    "Overally PC" is an argument I would expect from the BNP, not here.

  • johnnybrn #47 4 years ago

    The sins of our fathers blah blah.

    How long must we feel guilty for the actions of our great-grand fathers.

    In a real world example, Zimbabwe is still blaming Britain for its problems 30 years on and rather be responsible for their own actions and make positive change .

    I say its time to let go and move on.

  • Rash' #48 4 years ago

    johnnybrn, Move on yes, but not irrespective of the past. It would be irresponsible to let go.
    Edited by 2 at 22/07/08 @ 12:27

  • Crovax20 #49 4 years ago

    @ Rash'

    Seriously, they are zombies. And the game is being made by a japanese company.
    And I always like how Europeans are portrait as the bad guys, while the black clans that were "conquered" were actively murdering eachother and selling the captives of war to the europeans as slaves.

    Hell even the romans had slaves. We don't hear anyone whining about that now do we?

    I just love how all these hypocrits jump to their guns when they see 1 trailer and don't know anything about the series nor the story. Do some research before you open your blabbermouth, anyone who did some research wouldn't have been crying racism.

  • ilmaestro #50 4 years ago

    I feel more insulted for Takeuchi as a result of you using this headline than I do for black people as a result of the Resi 5 trailers.

  • Rash' #51 4 years ago

    Crovax20, This is no longer about the series, my friend. It's social responsibility. Paying respect to history and moving forward in the right way. Gaming has as much a responsibility in that as any other form of communication. This whole fiasco should wake us all up to the immaturity of our love and seek to better it. Not defend it's failings.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/08 @ 12:39

  • Moz #52 4 years ago

    @frostcircus What was actually said was that the promo stuff had racially offensive imagery. Given that it showed a white man blasting hordes of black men (for those not already familiar with the series, there was nothing to suggest they were zombies), it's really not the most radical interpretation of the text.

    but part of peoples point is that they look just as "Zombiefied" as the Spanish "Zombies" in RE4, which again didn't look much like Zombies at all either, yet vids of someone running around shoot large numbers of Spanish towns folk didn't get the same reasponce.

    How is society ever going to get over all this racisum if people constantly tip toe around avoiding anything that could be interpreted as racist.

    You have a castof 10 character in a TV program and 2 of them are black because that's the average group composition in the area the characters are supposed to live. You then accouced of racisum because you have "token black people" .

    You show a black geek being bullied by a white jock, and people assume it's racist when it's nothing more then the normal Jock bullies geek senario that's in lots of kids TV show, it just happens that the geek is black.

    If people of all ethnicities would stop being complete tools and stop trying to play the race/gender/sexuality/religion/nationality card then society could move on alot quicker.

  • dllord #53 4 years ago

    It Don't Matter If You're Black Or White!

    He, He!

    Cha'mone!!!!!!!!

  • Gaol #54 4 years ago

    Don't believe a word from Danwhitehead (or NGai).

    Far from being 'reasonable', he's actually arguing because a certain person can interpret something in an offensive manner - even when the vast majority deem it inoffensive AND there is clearly no motive to offend AND the said material isn't directed at the person directly - then we should censor it.

    Do you people think a practicing Muslim approves of porn? Should we then ban all porn?

    Its a horrible fascistic train of thought.

  • MORZTAN #55 4 years ago

    Did anyone here see Black Hawk Down?

    Right? Now shut up!!

  • sillak #56 4 years ago

    I'm a black South African...and I was in high school around the end of apartheid. I remember being ostracized when I had occassion to go to 'white' areas. I remember the 'whites only' schools, buses, trains, beaches, cinemas, etc. while my friends and family were classified as second-class citizens. In my youth I was sworn at by pig ignorant white folks too many times to count, and I ain't gonna lie to you, it was shit.

    I guess that the point I'm trying to make is that most of you don't have the first clue what it's like to be the victim of real, heavy-duty, institutional racism. Maybe one of your buddies laughed at your funny haircut when you were at school and that cut you up real bad, so now you think you understand. 'Suck it up,' you say. To hell with that. I was teargassed as at the age of 11. I know people who were beaten, stuck in detention for years, and one guy who ended up on death row, all because of the colour of their skin and the fact that they were willing to fight for freedom. Countless people died for it over the 400 years that white people held dominion over my country.

    Now, to be honest, I have to admit that I don't give a good goddamn about the fact that the zombies are black, and I'll be getting Resi5 and enjoying it anyway...but I understand why some people do. And they have legitimate reasons for feeling that way.

  • Moz #57 4 years ago

    @Rash' Until you can tell me the Spanish went through the torment, indignity and violation the europeans put the the black polution of Africa through, you won't convince me that people don't have the right to stand up and cry foul to Capcom's irresponsible trailer. The white population of this world have a lot to answer for so let's not get ahead of ourselves here. The sins of our fathers...

    .... should be take by the father to his grave. No one has any right to persicute any body for any reason be that colour/religion/gender/sexuality or based on what their relatives have gone. The entireworld would be constantly at war other wise.

    We've had Hitler and the Nazi's persicuting the Jews, the africans and the Gays. Yet I don't go around shouting abuse at any germans who look at me funny, cos i know that the "Germans" aren't responcible for what Hitler did.

    You've had the persians, the mongals, the Romes. All doing their fair share persicuting people who didn't share their beliefs or origins. Just about ever group of people you can think of has at some time be used as slaves or killed on mass.

    This are no exucises for any form of violence against anyone unless they themselves have brought you harm directly.

  • Xensor #58 4 years ago

    @ Nick_JC1

    "Don't know why capcom are surprised, black people could find racism in a cup of coffee that has milk added to it."

    Well this has got to be the dumbest fucking shite i've read on the site in many a year. As a black man, according to your pearl of wisodm i should be hugely offended by Capcom, how dare they have a white man shooting black people etc. But, shock of all shocks, they are zombies. In Africa. Which pretty much means they are gonna be black. Not so offensive, more circumstance. But i find what you wrote to be very offensive. So are you accusing me of finding every single reference to the colour black used by any not black as offensive? Blackboard, blackmarket, blackbird, i must find these all racist terms to fit into you little box.

    Or how about you are just an offensive ignorant cunt.

  • spammage #59 4 years ago

    I don't care what colour the zombies are, I just want a new RE5. Capcom must love this sensasationist hype, it's a big unit shifter. Column inches in newspapers never did GTA games and harm did they?

    If you feel so upset by it then don't buy it / play it.

  • Rash' #60 4 years ago

    Moz, I agree. My initial statement was ill considered and I'll removed it. What bothers me is the number people here that feel people are being overly PC about the whole situation when they have every right to be tentative considering past perceptions and depictions of them. Capcom have been irresponsible and I'll be interested in seeing how the game pans out for myself. Let me conclude however that "the sins of our fathers" does not begin to explain the wrongs committed, so lets never forget and become ignorant of that.
    Edited by 2 at 22/07/08 @ 13:09

  • Moz #61 4 years ago

    Rash',Yes in the currently social climate maybe they probably should have presented the first look at the game differently. though I find it very sad and destressing that society is in it's current state, just hope that people can resolve their differences before it all escalates again.


    edit: for missed words!
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/08 @ 13:08

  • Arnold__ #62 4 years ago

    Yeah well Silak, Im a white South-African who was also in high-school around the end of apartheid. So, now its gone, and can you honestly sit there and tell me that South Africa today is better off than it used to be? Its gone down the toilet in the last 10 years, crime and corruption are out of control, infrastructure is falling apart, and there is a mass exodus of skilled whites at a level never before seen. Clearly on the slippery slope, just like all the other post-colonialism African 'success stories'. Zimbabwe used to be a powerhouse in the early 80's, look what mister Mugabe and his Zanu PF have reduced it to, and they have the audacity to blame Tony Blair and George Bush. Mind boggling. Same thing with Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenia, Angola etc, one success story after the other.

    By the way, the biggest problem of apartheid South Africa used to be the millions of illegal immigrants that streamed over the border - unstoppable. Kind of makes you wonder why someone would try to get from their own 'paradise' countries into an evil country where the white man is going to oppress and humiliate them. I have never heard of Jews trying to get into Nazi-Germany.

    Either way, mark my words, South Africa is the next Zimbabwe. End of story.
    Edited by 2 at 22/07/08 @ 13:15

  • belmiro #63 4 years ago

    This game should be banned...blatant racism...and yeah that other game.. God of War its anti greek.....and don't get me going with that other game......Gears of War...totally racist.....aliens deserve equality...ban them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • eepic #64 4 years ago

    who cares if RE5 is racist or not?? its a videogame, and one of the few which allows you to kill blacks.. i like it

  • thats_all_folks #65 4 years ago

    Doesn't surprise me, does anyone else remember when people were accusing LocoRoco of being racist?

    I believe that everyone is equal and deserves the same rights as anyone. To turn this all into an argument about africa and slave trade is ridiculous. However nowadays to be politically correct means that white people must accommodate for other peoples cultures at the expense of there own without compromise. Its so sad that we now live in a country were white men are scared to walk down the street without be accused of being a pedophile for smiling at a child, or racist because they don't have a single black friend, or sexist because they gave that job to a man.

    If anything these people accusing Resi 5 of being racist, are the real racists because they are singling out black people as anything but another person.


  • eepic #66 4 years ago

    Arnold__:

    bravo, someone has the guts to speak the truth! the reason why africa fails is because they DO NOT KNOW HOW TO BE CIVILIZED. they have had hundreds of years of time, but can accomplish nothing and are just lagging waaaay behind the developed world. someone has to just say it: they do not have the brains to form working nation states, all black african efforts fail by default.

    cant wait to play RE5 :)

    EDIT: and who the HELL is "N'Gai"???? what kind of a name is that?? ridiculous. i bet you my 360 elte it's someone who got their name from some multiculturalist hippie parents who thought it would be cool to give a white child and africanized name.. pathetic
    Edited by 3 at 22/07/08 @ 13:35

  • ccfb #67 4 years ago

    Took them 3 months to recruit some black people.Nice.

    Misquoting the guy for the sake of a click-driving feed item is stupid.

    Dan Whitehead says it himself : "Careful, that sort of common sense has no place here."
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/08 @ 13:34

  • patchbox360 #68 4 years ago

    @ Xensor - 'Blackboard, blackmarket, blackbird'

    wait a minute.... the blackboard gets dominated by the white chalk ... the blackmarket is criminal and bad.... the blackbirds in that hitchcock film were... KILLER BIRDS!!

    IT IS RACISM !!!!

    jokes just jokes

  • sillak #69 4 years ago

    @Arnold

    It's funny that you should say that Arnold, considering that South Africa is enjoying the longest period of sustained economic growth since World War II, which began around the time of the accession of a black government in '94. Your awesome apartheid government, however, took the country to the brink of collapse (economically speaking), with a sustained recession throughout the Eighties. You're talking a lot of shit - I'm a qualified economist, so I know what I'm talking about.

    I'll admit that things are no bed of roses (especially with regard to crime), but I will say that things are a hell of a lot better for the 43 million black people than they were under apartheid. Unfortunately for you and the 5 million other white folks, well, you've lost the government protection and preferential status that made life so easy for you for so long, and quite obviously that means that it sucks for you.

    Too fucking bad. Cry me a river man...my parents were turfed out of their homes in the fifties because of group areas...my dad had to live in a shack with 4 other people and curtain down the middle after that. Despite that, my folks made it to UCT and became a chemical engineer and medical doctor respectively, but then were only paid half of what their white colleagues got until the nineties. You don't know what hardship is. Growing up on the rough Cape Flats, going to a shit ghetto school because that was the only option open to us, riots, you name it.

    It really pisses me off when people like you complain about the good old days under apartheid. Dude...ain't no way it was better for anybody other than you and a few million other white folks. This country is better off than it has ever been...you just don't realise it, cos' it's not better for you. The facts don't lie - check World Bank/IMF/Reserve Bank data and you'll see.

    And give me a break about Zim...my girfriend (and future wife) happens to be a white Zimbabwean who had to flee mad Bob Mugabe...

  • Vice.Destroyer #70 4 years ago

    @sillak

    I love your post.

  • eepic #71 4 years ago

    i feel like Sillak might be a... nigger?

  • Rodafowa #72 4 years ago

    Don't believe a word from Danwhitehead (or NGai).

    Far from being 'reasonable', he's actually arguing because a certain person can interpret something in an offensive manner - even when the vast majority deem it inoffensive AND there is clearly no motive to offend AND the said material isn't directed at the person directly - then we should censor it.

    Do you people think a practicing Muslim approves of porn? Should we then ban all porn?

    Its a horrible fascistic train of thought.

    It takes a special kind of self-centred idiocy to interpret "sensitivity to other people's experiences and points of view" as "facism".

    Nobody's saying this should be censored. Nobody's saying it's intentionally racist. Nobody's saying that white / Spanish people can be zombies but black people can't. Nobody's saying there's not an in-game rationale for it. Nobody's saying it isn't just a game.

    All people are saying is that the imagery it uses is troubling, that showing a white Westerner in a position to violently impose his will on cartoon black African savages has history and emotional baggage that showing a white Westerner shooting other white people just doesn't have. All people are saying is that this sort of game - 3rd person actioner - is in large part a power-fantasy, and that a game giving you THIS sort of power-fantasy is problematic.

    People are saying it's a problem. People are saying we need to be aware of it. People are upset that games haven't grown up past this sort of cheap, dirty, cliched bollocks. That's all.

    Don't worry, nobody's trying to take your toys away.

    And my GOD, but isn't it just a little bit presumptuous for a bunch of white affluent young men to be looking at this and saying "I can't see any problem with this, so anyone who can is obviously just playing the race card (whatever that's meant to mean). It's PC gone madItellyer!"

  • johnnybrn #73 4 years ago

    Arnold and Sillak,

    You both have vaild points, I just dont think that this forum to discuss these matters.

    I love South Africa its just a pity that I cant live there anymore.

  • Rodafowa #74 4 years ago

    I believe that everyone is equal and deserves the same rights as anyone. To turn this all into an argument about africa and slave trade is ridiculous. However nowadays to be politically correct means that white people must accommodate for other peoples cultures at the expense of there own without compromise. Its so sad that we now live in a country were white men are scared to walk down the street without be accused of being a pedophile for smiling at a child, or racist because they don't have a single black friend, or sexist because they gave that job to a man.

    Won't somebody PLEASE think of the young well-off white men?

  • Rodafowa #75 4 years ago

    Oh, and because I can't resist the opportunity to quote Inigo Montoya:

    If anything these people accusing Resi 5 of being racist, are the real racists because they are singling out black people as anything but another person.

    "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you seem to think it means."

  • Fwing #76 4 years ago

    Am I allowed to agree with the sentiment that we should be mindful of potentially racist issues at the same time as thinking this furore over RE5 is just bollocks? The trailer uses common techniques to develop a sense of menace. Big whoop. You could replace any of the ethnic groups in the trailer with any other and the sense of menace would be undiminished in my opinion.

    Mr. Croal must be loving the attention though. I have to assume that was the whole point of the original piece.

  • thats_all_folks #77 4 years ago

    "Won't somebody PLEASE think of the young well-off white men?"

    Well obviously you have a p.c and a couple of games consoles so I doubt your situation is much worse than mine. :)

  • Moz #78 4 years ago

    Ah Zero Cool, I see your living up to your name

  • MORZTAN #79 4 years ago

    Zing!

  • dirtysteve #80 4 years ago

    where was the outcry for the filthy spanish peasants? Fact checking,? THE GAME FEATURED PESO FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! national currencies not a strong point of the Resi team.

  • bitesize #81 4 years ago


    amazing how so many people can miss a point by such a wide margin...

    oh, and JSPOOLE, congrats on being the first person to make me resort to the ignore list. fanboy ranting i can handle, but i draw the line at right-wing bigoted fucks who hide behind the old 'political correctness gone mad' shield.

  • Rodafowa #82 4 years ago

    "Won't somebody PLEASE think of the young well-off white men?"

    Well obviously you have a p.c and a couple of games consoles so I doubt your situation is much worse than mine. :)

    Largely my point, fella.

  • belziah #83 4 years ago

    I married a white woman so I could get the inside scoop on the 'special' honky meetings y'all have, oh and the tax incentives.

    You're not a bigot JS, just dumb as 'pork fried' horseshit.

    Please stay away. You do your country a disservice.

  • dingo75 #84 4 years ago

    The question about it being racist or not was asked 10 min after the first trailer hit the net a while ago in a US forum I frequent.
    Over there they are much more sensitive towards this than we Europeans are.

    I think RE5 will get blasted in the US media and the developers cannot say they didn't see it coming based on all the negative outpur around the net.

  • BlackKraken #85 4 years ago

    Comments of supposed racism would be unfounded if it wasnt for the history of black segregation ending in large riots with white people shooting peaceful black protesters in the streets. What most of the people who are insulted by this are saying is that the pictures of hordes of black "people" (although they're zombies) being shot by a white guy in a uniform are a reminder of said times.
    Although i dont think this was in any way intentional on the part of the developers, after hundreds of years of persecution you can forgive black people for being a little bit jumpy perhaps?

  • Gaol #86 4 years ago

    "All people are saying is that the imagery it uses is troubling, that showing a white Westerner in a position to violently impose his will on cartoon black African savages has history and emotional baggage that showing a white Westerner shooting other white people just doesn't have. All people are saying is that this sort of game - 3rd person actioner - is in large part a power-fantasy, and that a game giving you THIS sort of power-fantasy is problematic. "

    No, it's you that's being egocentric. Just because you have this association in your mind, doesn't mean that me, the developers, or other players have the same bizarre connection between a ficticious African village full of zombies, and the historical 'violent impositions' you mention. None of us are living out KKK fantasies here, and the presumption that the average consumer can't make this distinction reeks fairly heavily of a fascistic view that the 'average joe' doesn't know whats good for him.

    And it's such a loose and unfounded connection, that if you find the images offensive then your best recourse is to not buy the game or consume the media any further. Because it isn't directly aimed at you, and as you've said yourself, isn't worthy of censorship. And as for cliched, this is what.. the seventh or eight game in the franchise? And the first to cause such 'offense'. We don't even know if the portrayal of black people in the game is 'cliched'. If you want to call it 'uninspired', 'stereotypical' or 'predictable' after playing it then fair enough. But racist? You're having a laugh.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/08 @ 16:56

  • teddybearzero #87 4 years ago

    A detailed interview as to why N'Gai Croal and some found this offensive before: Link

    This was based on the early trailer. Changes have been made since then, and I've seen an interview where N'Gai's views have changed.

    I still think the worst thing about this thread/article is that the producer has been totally misquoted by Eurogamer.

  • SpyroViper #88 4 years ago

    Surely, having more white zombies in africa would be more insulting. Since it would be a reminder of what happened in the past. Surely having more blacks in their own rightful country would be a good thing, shows that they got their country back from our pig headed ancestors.

  • ekko #89 4 years ago

    I'm pretty sure there was a little bit of an outcry with RE4 - some Spanish minister or something made a remark that he wasn't happy with it.

  • Feanor #90 4 years ago

    "I think RE5 will get blasted in the US media and the developers cannot say they didn't see it coming based on all the negative outpur around the net."

    I doubt it. The E3 version of Resi 5 has many different races & colours of enemies. Plus a new playable character who is not white.

  • Saltefanden #91 4 years ago

    Africans are black! Surprise!

  • BlackZam #92 4 years ago

    The games looks cool, let it be...

  • belziah #93 4 years ago

    JSPOOLE

    Link me to one game related article where the 'jumped up black people' are supporting Mugabe and whats happening in a country that you haven't got a fucking clue about.

    Also, pray tell, the country's getting shitter than what? Tell us of this wonderous time when the streets were crime-free, when immigrants were mythical beings that only darkened foreign soils.

    Why is it black people with an opinion are 'jumped up', as opposed to just expressing their view?

    It suggests that in expressing said opinion they are stepping above their station in society?

    Is this what you're suggesting?

    And if so, what is your position on black people in society?

  • Latinleader #94 4 years ago

    +10 to Rodafowa for quoting the great Inigo Montoya :D

    *Throws JSPOOLE out the window*

  • worstgamerever #95 4 years ago

    @Arnold

    "Im a white South-African who was also in high-school around the end of apartheid. So, now its gone, and can you honestly sit there and tell me that South Africa today is better off than it used to be? Its gone down the toilet in the last 10 years, crime and corruption are out of control, infrastructure is falling apart, and there is a mass exodus of skilled whites at a level never before seen. Clearly on the slippery slope, just like all the other post-colonialism African 'success stories'."


    Your argument is flawed. Apartheid is not the same as colonial rule - make no mistake about how radically different the latter is from the former - point number one.

    Point number two: People may have a more organized society under slavery, and persecution, and segregation but at what price? Shoud we then say that Hilter and the Nazis should have won WWII because they had an efficient rule and would have brought order to the world? because that, my friend, would be a hard argument to sustain.

    People have the right to be free. It doesn't matter how they run [or ruin] their society thereafter or how they abuse that freedom - at least they are free in doing so. Perhaps if you were a black South-African - and so on the receiving end of apartheid - you may understand this better.

    I know this is a games forum and I really do not think the skin color of the zombies will affect my decision to support Capcom's excellent franchise, but I decided to point out why your argument doesnt make a whole lot of sense.

    Btw Sillak, your post was spot-on.

  • Kryon #96 4 years ago

    Yes, it's <a href=http://i36.tinypic .com/24ne3kh.jpg>racist</a>, can we all go home now?

  • m0thr4 #97 4 years ago

    I love the whole "I can't be racist because I know/work with black people" argument. Lost count of how many racist bosses have told me that.

    To be honest, I think any racism pales into insignificance compared with setting a game about a nasty Zombie-creating virus in a country that has been blighted by AIDS, Ebola, Avian Flu, etc.. How thoroughly tasteless and insensitive.

  • Transcendent #98 4 years ago

    I hope someone makes a game where you can kill politically correct assholes.

    You think it's disrespectfull? Ever heard of moral subjectivity? Should we ban things that aren't considered "respectfull" by everyone, and in effect ban everything?
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/08 @ 20:13

  • Lotek #99 4 years ago

    Well if buying this game means i'm racist or supporting racism, then pass me a white linen mask and a pick fork and show me the nearest black owned computer game shop.....

    ........my god, what has the world come to..........?

  • Nithron #100 4 years ago

    You know what? It aint hurting anyone. Literally no black people were killed in the making of this game. No green people were either. Or yellow and red stripey people. If you don't like this game, don't play it. What the hell is the problem?

    You can talk about how troubling the imagery is, how much "history" is in the portrayal of black people as savages and whatever you like, but the fact of the matter is it's completely inconsequential. It's a game. Not even a footnote in history. In fifty years time when people look at the Virtual Reality Enabled Wikipedia Of The Future and look up "2009", or whenever this game will be released, it wont even be mentioned.

    Honestly. The people complaining about this need to go and find something more important to do. There are real, actual problems in the world that need solving.

    Like gay people being allowed actual positions in the Church. What the hell is the world coming to?
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/08 @ 20:46

  • VMerken #101 4 years ago

    Oh dear, not this again. I am "surprised", too, that it's still going on.

    Fact 1: Resident Evil is an entirely fictional video game series.
    Fact 2: You are not fighting real human people. You are trying to keep the fictional Player Character alive from a horde of fictional virus/parasite creatures who are out to EAT him/her. The genre is called Survival Horror for a reason.
    Fact 3: This fictional series always made a point of showing the drama/horror behind Fact 2, that fictional science went one step too far, and that the fictional bad guys responsible for this fictional, biochemical disaster deserve some fictional come uppings.

    Frankly, to me, the game consists of the Survival Horror setting, Player Characters and Opponents - All I want is to play a great game and break the mechanics. I like the fact that the team chose Chris since he's my favourite protagonist in the series and thus allows for a nice story development but, I won't have any qualms if the "political correctness" school of thought wins and forces Capcom to choose some other protagonist (Jim Chapman would be quite fun for example, or George Wilkins). It's great if more boats float in the end - it means more copies sold, and thus a bigger chance of ever seeing RE6.

    It's sad, however, to see others crying wolf after seeing what are only game snippets. How about waiting for the whole deal for a more informed stance, 'ey?
    Edited by 4 at 22/07/08 @ 21:16

  • CARL05 #102 4 years ago

    This is the same sort of thing which happened when Bully was released! It's basically over-sensitive non-gamers that complain and it pisses me off when the developers have to go back to the drawing board!!!

    RE5 was looking good to me, I am not racist and didn't even notice at first the lack of white zombies but now capcom have added white people! why? it's africa, it makes no sense especially when the only people that will recognise when the game is released will be the newspapers if they can be bothered!

  • haldier #103 4 years ago

    No, there are only white people living in Africa that is why it is racist? Would seem quite ignorant having only whiite, yellow or red people in the game when it actually is in africa.... (Call me a racist but i feel the setting is what kind of person plays the part).

  • haldier #104 4 years ago

    Sorry, forgot green people.

  • RedSparrows #105 4 years ago

    WARNING: STRAW MAN APPROACHING


    never let that get in the way of conceited whining though...

  • m0thr4 #106 4 years ago

    You think it's disrespectfull? Ever heard of moral subjectivity? Should we ban things that aren't considered "respectfull" by everyone, and in effect ban everything?

    Yes, I think it's disrespectful, tasteless and insensitive; that's my personal opinion. I didn't say anything about banning it though. I just won't be buying it myself.
    Edited by 1 at 23/07/08 @ 07:01

  • orakio #107 4 years ago

    At least we all agree that we don't all agree on the subject.

  • Rodafowa #108 4 years ago

    No, it's you that's being egocentric. Just because you have this association in your mind, doesn't mean that me, the developers, or other players have the same bizarre connection between a ficticious African village full of zombies, and the historical 'violent impositions' you mention. None of us are living out KKK fantasies here, and the presumption that the average consumer can't make this distinction reeks fairly heavily of a fascistic view that the 'average joe' doesn't know whats good for him.

    Let's not spend too long dancing around this particular mulberry-bush again. I don't advocate censoring this because I don't advocate censoring everything. All I'm saying - all anyone's saying, it seems - is that this sort of thing shouldn't pass without comment. That to stay silent on it is to accept it. Like it or not "Africa is a desolate continent of savages" IS still a cliche - or a sterotype, or a predictable portrayal, or whatever you're comfortable with calling it.

    Christ, just look at the number of people in this comment thread that have replied with variations on the theme of "But that's what Africa's like!" or "Africa in "full of black people" shock"!!!111!!eleven!"

    To repeat. Again. Nobody's calling anyone a racist. Nobody's saying the game should be banned. There's absolutely nothing that anybody needs to get defensive about.

    Spare me the "the vast majority don't see a problem" bollocks. When 9-year-olds working down coal-mines was the accepted way of things, did that make it OK? It's not that Joe Average doesn't know what's good for him, it's that we - and I use "we" because I definitely include myself in this - have a hard time seeing past our own interests. We're basically selfish. We can't help it. That's how we're made. Of course the majority are going to be OK with the status quo if it benefits them, why wouldn't they be? Of course the majority are going to be OK with having media that reinforces their preconceptions and panders to their interests, why wouldn't they be?

    Given that you throw the word "fascist" around a lot, this'll probably amuse you - know what the symbol for the fascist movement is? A bundle of sticks tied together. Because individual sticks are weak, but brought together in a mass they're strong. Fascism is, fundamentally, rule for the benefit of the majority to the detriment of the minority. See why I find it so funny that you keep going back to that well?

  • the_mtfr #109 4 years ago

    This is the best comment page on Eurogamer. So fun and serious things put together. It's simple like when Germans banned violent games. Because it's morally subjective, governments who feel racist-ized will ban the game in their country and that's it.

    I think the title is funny. And I think that it's because assholes like that journalist who cry racism in every story involving both black and white people, that the world cannot move on. I can't wait for the mod that changes the colour of the skin: black main character shooting Japanese zombies :p

    And will you please stop using the word "franchise" for a series of games developed by the same team? Franchise means anyone can open a McDonalds under certain met conditions. Franchise is Call of Duty, where games with the same name were developed by more than one team. Read a book.

  • coomber #110 4 years ago

    Rodafowa, so what you are saying is that a game set in a remote African village should be designed to make it look like a sprawling modern metropolis, so as not to offend anyone with "cliches"? And you know what? People are pointing out that there are a lot of black people in Africa for one good reason. See if you can guess what that is.

    And what point were you making with your drawn out "nine-year-olds down the mines" comment? We were discussing a computer game. You are debating child labour laws. What would you like the "media" (it's always that damn media causing trouble ain't it?) to do to change people's perceptions of Africa? Lie about it?

  • bushwod #111 4 years ago

    @coomber

    Did you actually read Rodafowa's post? It doesn't sound like it. Try again.

  • SG #112 1 year ago

    Jesus fuck can people really find noting better to complain about?!

    Fuck off.

    FUCK.

    OFF.