Diversity is a hot button topic in the games industry right now, but we can probably all agree that greater representation is a good thing as the medium becomes more mass market. It’s something that Sony believes in, too, and has been illustrated by games like Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Detroit: Become Human, and Horizon: Zero Dawn. Speaking with MCV, Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida weighed in on the subject.
“We need to cater to all kinds of people, whatever the age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or belief,” he said. “As we provide an experience to game players to become a hero or heroine to do amazing things in our games, it is good to try to create protagonists that people of different backgrounds could associate with.”
It’s great that Sony’s thinking this way, and kudos to the organisation for having the balls to bring characters like Ellie from The Last of Us to the fore. This isn’t a case of the company checking boxes and patting itself on the back – it’s introducing meaningful heroes who we all enjoy playing as, and who just so happen to be changing the industry without smacking us over the head.
[source mcvuk.com]
Comments 120
I would like to hope that this comment thread will not turn as hateful as some other sites that I have visited. There are too many people criticizing Sony and Naughty Dog at the moment for making Ellie gay.
Claiming that they are just pandering to sjw's to make a sale. It's kind of disheartening to see that the world can still be such a toxic place.
That being said I am super pumped about The last of us 2 and a characters sexuality, gender etc has no impact on whether or not I buy a game.
I think this is a smart business plan for any company. After all, everybody’s cash is the $ame. Sadly though, catering to a certain demographic will likely cause the alienation of another. Unless you’re like me and can enjoy something regardless of race, gender, religion, and/or political affiliation.
@torne All you have to do is tell them to play The Left Behind
@torne There'll be none of that nonsense here. Ellie is a brilliant character, irrespective of her orientation or gender. Can't wait to spend time with her again in The Last of Us 2!
@torne What amazes me is that I see this “SJW” talk mostly on gaming sites than political ones. In fact, the gaming sites I frequent have become more politically toxic than the political sites.
Ellie is ace. Im more excited about seeing her story develop than i am about actually 'playing' tlou2 if that makes sense?
@Rob_230 Makes total sense. I kinda feel the same.
playing devils advocate here but i think the main reason people moan is because instead of creating new content to include more people they change already established content instead, they ignore the fanbase/group they already have in order to try and grab another one
and most of the time it doesn't work (just look at the Ghostbusters movie)
i would like to believe that most of these people ain't angry about the fact that a series introduces a female or male or gay character for example but that the original characters are either completely ignored or all but destroyed in order for them to do it
did that make sense?
@AhmadSumadi Nah, it's the most common word toxic people use all over the internet. Read the comments on any post on 9gag and you'll see most talking about SJWs even under completely unrelated posts. Simple minded people can't resist a hate bandwagon.
A few years ago they were hating on Bieber. Before him Britney Spears and so on.
@FullbringIchigo It does, creators should make the stories they want to make.
I've never felt like I've played a PlayStation game where the cast has been forced, though — it just feels like they introduce the characters they want to introduce, which is the way it should always be.
@SKC_Diamond
Don't even have to do that. Just point them to the articles of 'SJWs' complaining about violence, particularly violence against women. TLoU 2 isn't even on the market yet and it's already annoyed people on all ends of the political spectrum... Doesn't matter because it will still sell well.
@FullbringIchigo
Makes total sense to me. I don't care about the character's gender or color until somebody starts talking stuff like Jane Bond for the next 007. Then I immediately tune out.
@get2sammyb i think that's one thing games have over movies and TV in that regard
another word i see thrown around about this subject is "trendy" take when the new Doctor Who was cast i saw a lot of people saying they just did it to be trendy because it was something everyone else was doing, not sure if that was true though because it felt like they had been building up to it for a while
@AhmadSumadi
It's true most gaming sites are so toxic these days.
I am stoked for Tlou 2 and the E3 trailer only made me that much more excited
@Gamer83 to be fair you could do it for 007 as long as they don't pretend like it was the same 007, all they have to do is have the current one retire and pass on the name Bond and 007 number onto a new agent
@FullbringIchigo See I get this. I understand being upset about changing established characters. But even when new characters are created there’s a fuss. People were pissed that Delsin took over in Infamous. People didn’t like that they made a girl the lead in Horizon: Zero Dawn. And people didn’t like Nadine in Uncharted. It seems that whenever there’s a female lead or a black character added to a cast people gripe no matter what. Even though many of those same people say they’re OK if they’re all “new” characters.
Okay....pretty sure everyone is already doing this.
@Gamer83 Even the actor who they suggested thought it was a bad idea.
@BraveBiT I think people here are cheering for the notion itself. Not because it’s Sony saying it. I’m sure everyone here who’s OK with this wouldn’t be pissed if MS or Nintendo said it.
@AhmadSumadi i thought Nadine was pretty good character, although Chloe was a better one and they were both pretty good in Lost Legacy
as for me i don't really care about who and what a character is because after all the character isn't meant to be me or represent me, they are supposed to be them but i feel that a lot of people forget this when they complain
as i said to someone i know if you can't look past a character because they don't look like you, they don't act like you, they ain't the same gender as you, the same sexuality as you or the same race as you then your being raciest and sexist regardless of what your race or sex is
It's no secret Sony has some of the strongest protagonists from the last ten years or so. And a big reason for it, is that they're not afraid to change things up and experiment. That's what Sony is doing and I applaud them for that.
And I don't have to explain anyone that Horizon has a better story than Ghostbusters-but-now-with-females. The latter is lazy and rather safe, while the first one is a bold choice. Go Sony.
I think Sony could serve as an example for the whole of the entertainment industry, to be honest, about how you can make inclusive games, without risking your artistic sincerity or pushing a political agenda.
@LaNooch1978 But this will always be people’s take on it. They do feel they wanna go broader to get more money. That’s how it works. But it’s also a risk because the people who don’t want minority/female characters almost always gripe.
You can never make all people happy. Make all characters white male and everyone else is pissed about it. Make characters that are anything else and white males are pissed about it.
@FullbringIchigo Here here! That’s the same thing I say. I never need the hero to look like me. Hell, most of the time when I create a character in games I make them look like my kids (mixed race) or black female (because there’s almost none in games). I’ve never gravitated toward a character simply because he’s a black male.
Sounds good to me.
@AhmadSumadi
Nadine is an interesting character. I couldn't stand her in Uncharted 4 but they did a great job with her in The Lost Legacy and it's something I'll admit I was concerned about. But rather than just continue to make her the most OP character in the history of the franchise they actually humanized her, gave her a good backstory. In fairness, she was introduced in a small role in 4 and with TLL they actually had a chance to go deeper into the characterization. It seemed a lot of people had a much different outlook on Nadine after that game. I certainly would welcome another game with her playing a big role.
@AhmadSumadi if i play a game with character creation unless it's like Mass Effect where it has a "canon" character i will just keep hitting random until i see a face i like
and i will make one of every gender and race in the game, that way i get to replay the game in new ways
@LaNooch1978 I also went back and watched all the clsssic Ghostbusters films and rank them as 1 and 3. 2 is an awful film with a garbage premise.
@AhmadSumadi the game was pretty good though
I'm always torn when I see articles like this. I'm overjoyed at the inclusive drive many are now making...
...but I'm crushed that we're still having to talk about it and make big announcements. Why can't everything just be normal? Why do we have to fight for female protagonists, or gay characters, or racial diversity? Why is everybody defined and categorised by stuff that simply doesn't matter? Why must we live in such a spiteful world, where the people that champion broader tolerance are attacked, and then the attackers are attacked back?
I get that some see a historical inbalance favouring straight, white, male protagonists, but that doesn't mean we should suddenly run to the other side of the spectrum. I'm gay, and I don't sit here wishing that Nathan Drake had been gay, or that Solid Snake had been gay. I just wanna be entertained and told a good story. If the writing, animation and voice acting is good enough, I can relate to anything.
Because I'm a freakin' human being, the same as the rest of you.
Sometimes I feel like I was born a decade, maybe fifteen years too early. This current push for inclusiveness is awesome, but I'd much rather live in the outcome; a world where a black lesbian protagonist in the next Triple-A action game doesn't even need a headline.
@RogerRoger That’s my take as well. I’d love for this to not be a topic of conversation and for it to not p*ss people off. But we’re a long way from that unfortunately.
@RogerRoger you know i'm reminded of a quote from Knuckles in Sonic Boom of all people
"someone calls attention to the breaking of gender roles" it "undermines the concept of gender equality", by implying an "exception", rather than a "status quo".
quite a heavy-hitting, progressive message for a comedy cartoon show
@LaNooch1978 I meant SIE of course! Not their movie division.
@AhmadSumadi Yeah. Like I said, I was born too early. Here's to the next generation.
Oh, I'll also agree with @Fullbringlchigo when he said that changing pre-established characters or content to shoehorn in some diversity is bad form. That's offensive to the entire audience, no matter what their background. I'm more angry at a game / film / story when it pulls that nonsense than I could ever be for them not including diversity in the first place.
If inclusivity is that important, put the work in to craft something new, original and awesome. Don't make a character defined by their difference; don't even call attention to it. To use my previous example, Nathan Drake isn't a straight white man who happens to seek adventure, he's an adventure-seeker who happens to fall for a woman along the way.
I love Sony for saying this today, don't get me wrong, but they need to look at what they've been doing thusfar and keep at it. Story comes first. Ellie being gay is awesome, but you already revealed that in some DLC ages ago; don't start forcing it on folks like it's new news. Your last massive success was Horizon, a game that made no fanfare whatsoever about having a strong female protagonist (who, let's be honest, rejected every bloke she came across and only seemed to return the attention of her fellow women); it made fanfare about being a super-cool, super-gorgeous game all about fighting massive robot dinosaurs, and THAT is what made me play it.
Great quote from Knuckles there, too. He's not wrong!
As a fallen Greek god with anger issues, I feel Sony is the only company that really represents me. Inclusivity and understanding are important qualities in the modern world, and I will rip the head off anyone who says otherwise.
@RogerRoger We'll get there. It's changing.
@RogerRoger you know i still haven't got round to getting Horizon yet
i really should at some point
@get2sammyb Thanks; I sure hope so.
@FullbringIchigo You won't be disappointed, and it's dirt-cheap on PSN at the moment (I think). It's deserving of every accolade and mention.
@RogerRoger there is a complete edition on amazon so i might get that after i finish God of War
it's about £30 and i would rather have a physical version if i can
"It is good to try to create protagonists that people of different backgrounds could associate with...and the occasional Kratos." Don't kill me I liked the game! I just didn't feel the main character(s) at all.
Its such a shame that some people will focus in on a characters gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation etc rather than whether the game is good or not. The world is full of diverse and interesting characters and so why shouldn't games?
The only time gender or sexual orientation should matter is in a sexual relationship. At any other point, it has NO significance at all. Ethnicity has no importance either and 'religious' background only matters if you are looking to expand your knowledge, understanding and being respectful of their beliefs, customs and/or culture.
If games can help break down 'barriers' of prejudism, educate others on cultures etc, even if they can make those with prejudiced behaviour experience that from the other side, I will commend games but I don't agree with putting characters in to tick boxes or creating them as 'stereotypes' either and thus perpetuating the issues.
@BAMozzy Bang on. The only way to normalise something is to treat it like normal.
And yet they refuse to do cross play.
FOR THE PLAYER!
I for one am worried about the lack of representation for white heterosexual beefcakes in my games.
"Sony: We Need to Cater to All People, Regardless of Age, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Ethnicity, or Belief"
As long as they don't game on a Switch or an Xbox, those people are evil trolls and we need to defend our good fans against those evil mongrels by not letting them play with ours.
@RogerRoger @BAMozzy precisely instead of shouting from the rooftops that your doing something, just do it instead
sometimes i think that making such a huge fuss is actually part of the problem because instead of portraying it as something normal you drawing attention to it and making it different
The issue is that many people foolishly believe that disapproval automatically translates into discrimination, I still like the character (Ellie) just as I would a real human being, I don't have to agree with everyone (support and encourage) but I do have to treat everyone like I would anyone else, with LOVE (Forgiveness & Kindness).
Approval translates into Support & Encouragement; Disapproval translates into the absence of Support & Encouragement.
Discrimination is born directly out of hate not directly out of Disapproval. Unfair treatment comes from hatred! Opinions don't change facts.
When we're all dead we will fully understand how little / trivial opinions are. Creativity / Inspiration comes from many places. Not worth arguing about.
@FullbringIchigo Prejudice is fear. You can't blame people for being uneasy around something that they don't understand.
A huge part of why people are reacting against the promotion diversity is because it's often being presented in a "get on board or you're wrong" kinda way. Early attempts to redress the imbalance were misfires, or handled by people that didn't understand the issue at hand. That upsets me greatly.
We should be listening to the concerns of those who are frightened and doing our best to reassure and educate them, not shouting back twice as loud.
If we don't get anywhere, at least we've tried.
@LaNooch1978 Those would be the X1 owners I'm guessing. I kid.
That is a really good point though. But nowadays they have it easy, they can shorten "racist,sexist basement dwellers who grunt along to the national anthem" to "Trump supporters", it's a better optic.
@RogerRoger oh i understand where it comes from, it's an ingrained learned behaviour from our tribal roots, where we would gather in groups for protection and survival and where anything that was different was a potential threat
but the thing is it IS learnt behaviour and thus as a species we CAN also learn to change it, well hopefully we can anyway
I never played Detroit: become human as the poster child for the game was a person who made a tonne of racist comments about white people. I'm for diversity. I'm not for the double standards of the diversity brigade.
@torne What they're criticising Sony and Naughty Dog now for making her gay? That's just weird because they did that over 4 years ago in the DLC, not to mention it was one of the best pieces of DLC I've ever played
@Kafkaesque Eh?
@RogerRoger @FullbringIchigo I don't think it is the developers/publishers that are making the fuss, drawing attention to it - its the idiots on the internet who make the fuss, who criticise devs for making a 'female' lead, portraying a character as 'lesbian', including female characters in war games etc. If those 'idiots' didn't make a fuss, then devs wouldn't have to try and justify their reasons.
A good example is 'Ellie' in the Last of Us. If anyone played Left Behind, her sexual orientation would have been known but because that was a 'DLC' and it seems 'few' played it, the fuss arose because this was the first time they found out. This proves that ND didn't do it for sensationalism, didn't shout or make a fuss about it but are now having to address it because those idiots are now making a fuss about it.
EA are having to address the idiots complaining about 'female' characters in their upcoming BF5 - they didn't make a fuss about it or try and justify it before these 'idiots' started to make a fuss.
The fact that Sony feel the need to come out and make a statement that they are making games with diverse characters, from different backgrounds, different genders, different sexuality, different beliefs etc is ridiculous in this day in age. It should be the norm, should be expected and more importantly should be accepted too.
@carlos82 for her being gay, for her being a woman, the fact that 2 women kissed in the e3 trailer... you name it they are complaining...
@BAMozzy Your last paragraph there is basically my first comment on this story, so we're in complete agreement. Fuss is being made by all, for many reasons, and I wish it wasn't being made by anybody.
You're absolutely right about Ellie, too. I've never even played The Last of Us, and I knew about the DLC. I'm amazed so many didn't know (or chose to forget).
@BAMozzy yeah there are a lot of idiots around now a days it seems
@Radbot42 The majority of Sony gamers don’t care and don’t want that. Let’s not start this discussion here.
The day what gender, sexuality, whatever, matters to a game is the day writing goes a tad too far.
Its just another aspect of life. Everyone is equal and ita not exactly note worthy. You shouldnt be felt of as different.
Unfortunately thats not the case which is exactly why I hold up the pretense of being a "straight male" on this site.
Because the alternative isnt fun.
This is also why they made The Doctor female. Not because they had to, or for pandefing, but because it can happen. And having seen leaked parts of her opening story, she asks if it suits her and then gets on with her life. No big deal.
Just the way it should be.
@Gamer83 Agree with this. I don't like nadine in uncharted 4 because she's too strong, how can she defeat both nate and sam in one of the fight, it's not like nate and sam is new adventurer, it feels like the writer itself that say "because I want her to win", that's bad writing.
However I like nadine in lost legacy because in this game, there's character arc for nadine, from uncaring and not trusting her partner, to finally trusting her friends and want to do the right thing. Now I want a new uncharted 5 staring chloe, nadine, sam and sully.
Also sam as a punching bag in that game is funny lol
In a perfect world people would look beyond the looks, gender and sexual orientation of a character; in terms of identifying with said character, but also from a developer's perspective, no reason to go by a check list when all and everyone is truly viewed as equal.
We've still got a long way to go unfortunately.
Well, I don't have much to say here. @RogerRoger and @FullbringIchigo said everything I would have if I woke up earlier.
I'll just add that as far as I'm concerned, if you touch a controller, you're one of us. I don't care about what you are, I care about who you are.
There are two ways to do this thing. Let's call them the "Skyrim" way and the "Mass Effect" way. I'm sure it's clear enough what I mean. I like the "Skyrim" way, but I don't like the "Mass Effect" way
@LaNooch1978 I believe that the gender doesnt matter. If an actor or actress is right for the written part then so be it.
@Knuckles-Fajita you don't have to have a pretence on here, i'm pretty sure everyone will accept you regardless
@FullbringIchigo @LaNooch1978 Given this site shares staff and accounts with NL, and the reaction NL garnered when I offhand mentioned it, no, I wont be doing that here.
Plus with the way people here HAVE acted in the past on various subjects, I would honestly rather not.
My jaw is on the floor with this comments section...you guys are all 5-star human beings! Idk, I'm used to sites where the comment sections are literally 99% against gender/race inclusion...it's like scary how bitter people are about it, LMAO.
@Knuckles-Fajita well i don't use NLife anymore but it's a shame you can't feel comfortable enough on here to share that
everyone should be able to be proud of who and what they are no matter where they go
i just want to assure you as a white male we are not all like that and i will fight anyone who says you can't be you here
Too many game "critics" and their followers expect developers to follow their ideology, be it left or right. It's highly narcissistic, and even fascist in some cases, the way these people act. They also read politics into everything, and let politics dominate their conversation and thinking about a game.
@Knuckles-Fajita Hey, I just accept you for you. However you wanna present yourself is fine by me, and I'd like to think that the regulars hold the same view.
@LaNooch1978 @Fullbringlchigo and @Shepherd_Tallon are awesome folk to leave you such supportive replies, but I understand where you're coming from, perhaps more than you know. I wouldn't have started posting on Push Square if I didn't find it a safe, welcoming corner of the internet, but it's still a corner of the internet regardless. I get it.
Don't do anything that makes you uncomfortable; just be who you wanna be.
@RogerRoger To the knowledge that someone wants to accept me for me is horrifying. XD Thanks anxiety
I don't think 90% of people really care if a character is gay/female/trans/etc. as long as the developers aren't being obnoxious about it. There's a loud minority of alt-right types online that scream about stuff on forums, but, in my experience, most people, even those who ostensibly "disagree with my choices," don't seem to care about the ways in which I digress from the straight cis majority as long as I'm not confrontational about it.
But then, I also don't like it when communities that claim to 'represent' me use my differences as a sort of political cudgel to attack the "straight white protestant male" boogeyman.
Long story short: if you want to make a game about a crippled non-binary black furry, that's cool, but don't make that intersection of 'identities' the point of the story. Diversity is cool when it reminds us that everyone is human, and everyone is worthy of some basic level of respect AS humans.
@Knuckles-Fajita It's okay; my own anxiety wrote that one.
@Ralizah Can I ask what the heck "cis" means? I keep seeing it all over the place in context of gender identity discussions but, as a Star Wars fan, all I know it to mean is "Confederacy of Independent Systems" and then I get scared that everybody's a Battle Droid.
@Knuckles-Fajita oh i know that feeling, anxiety is is horrible to live with especially when you get an attack
it's why i like sites like this because it gives me a friendly place to go and talk
EDIT: i also find drawing helps, i like to draw
@RogerRoger
@FullbringIchigo
@RogerRoger Cis is the inverse of trans. A cis male, for example, is born into a male body and possesses a male identity. Their gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
@Ralizah Ah, gotcha. Thanks! That's my new thing for today.
@RogerRoger @Ralizah is it wrong that when i saw the letters cis my first thought was "you missed the N off that"
Not true, you need to cater to what your customers want, that can be circumvented entirely if you just make beautiful maters pieces though. Ignoring your demographic though is the same reason star wars just plunged and why loyal fans hate hate episode 8 and solo.
We need to cater to all people unless you’re playing on a switch and then screw you, no cross play for you heh
@FullbringIchigo That's even less geeky than Battle Droids!
@coolaggro as others have said earlier this isn't about cross play so can we not derail the comments with it please
i believe there is a thread in the forum section where that can be discussed if you wish to
@RogerRoger
I'm not of the belief that everyone needs to agree with everybody on everything or else they're a disgusting and hateful bigot, but as long as games spread a message of love and respect for all people, I support that 100%. It's only when they tell me what I'm supposed to think about an issue that I start getting annoyed. I simply can't agree with the idea that you have to agree with and support everything about a person. Just because I might not agree with someone's beliefs on a certain topic doesn't mean I can't love and respect that person and treat them as my equal, which they are.
We're all human, and we're fully capable of loving one another while simultaneously having differences in our moral beliefs and whatnot. We don't all have to agree on everything.
@KirbyTheVampire " I simply can't agree with the idea that you have to agree with and support everything about a person."
Even more important imo, the fact that one does not support something does not necessarily mean one is actively against it. I mean often people these days think and talk like if you don't care about something is the same thing as if you were against it. This is absolutely not true and this is really annoying in my opinion. People should be free to care about their own business and that does not mean they are bad towards others. Being bad/disrespectful means that someone actively does something bad.
@LaNooch1978 But the gaming branch is totally
on its own.
@LuckyLand That's true. For example, I don't agree with the ideology of veganism. Does that mean I hate vegans? Of course not. I just don't agree with some of their moral arguments (some of them I do though, such as the meat industry being cruel), and I don't see what's so bad about that. They can disagree with me all they want, but I'm not automatically gonna assume that they hate me or wouldn't treat me with respect.
Love and respect I can get behind, but not this idea that so many people are pushing where you HAVE to agree with certain things or else you're a bigot. It's not so black and white.
@Nesstark88 Definitely. Disagreeing about these matters doesn't mean we need to disrespect each other, but sometimes I feel like if you want to respectfully disagree then you'll get jumped or something. If someone has a different idea of progress, but believes in loving everyone still, they should be treated okay. I disagree with a lot of things people do, and I mean a lot, but I don't see why I should treat them differently.
Can't see there being a major issue, we play as humans, creatures, robots and even boxes in games. I'm not interested in a character's sexuality, gender, race etc. in a game, I'm interested in if the character is entertaining, funny, witty, interesting etc.
When something is forced it's usually crap and I can't see developers doing that with games and if they do you don't have to buy them, like with crappy loot boxes.
I don't think there's a problem representing groups, games are art and art reflects life in a lot of ways.
@RogerRoger
I couldn't agree more... at 34 years old I dont NEED any character to be a certain way as long as it fits the story that is being told. I dont need a character to be gay just because I am, i am fully capable of relating to the situations said character finds themselves in.
Developers need to be allowed to have freedom when creating. They should not be held to a specific demographic and I love the direction games are going these days.
I have always been a fan of Lara Croft... both new and old versions of her... the hate that was shown with her redesign was ridiculous and it all centered on the fact that her breast size was shrunken.
When assassins creed odyssey comes out I will most likely play as Kassandra just because I have been playing as Male assassins for the last decade and it's about time I have the option to choose who/how I want to play.
To be honest, at this point I'm thoroughly sick of hearing people moan about things "being forced down their throat" etc etc. Whilst most people are accepting, unfortunately we do still have a problem with racism and xenophobia in this country. From the institutional racism highlighted by the Windrush scandal, to the far-right protests and rallies in central London, right down to everyday ignorance and casual racism.
Bigotry is ignorance and I agree fully with @RogerRoger that there needs to be education, perhaps starting with better education at school. Many people hold these unsavoury cultural values primarily because it is easier to blame minority groups for what is wrong in their lives than the true culprits. More often than not, certain political parties exploit these fears rather than tackling the root causes because it is beneficial for them to do so. This not only perpetuates them further, it legitimises them. Sadly, some people cannot be educated or change their viewpoint because they are too deeply ingrained. I don't think homophobia, racism or any other kind of bigotry should be tolerated, and rather than just biting our lips, maybe it should be called out for what it is.
Kudos to Sony for their stance. I can pretty much enjoy playing as any character whatever their gender, race or sexual orientation. I also appreciate it when a character in a game or other work of fiction feels natural and organic to the story and like they matter. Diverse characters can often make the stories more interesting.
Last of us is boring and horrible, ellie being straight wouldn't have made it any less of a brutal crawl through.
Eh I see people comment mostly about Ellie and her being gay does it even matter though dude here in the comments said it perfectly don't make her sexuality biggest priority in the game or second most important thing.
Imo when you create a character who is gay the way I see it for what they should do is make it like it's most normal thing Whenever I see in a game that devs big point in the game story is that a character is gay or black or is a minority or tries to pander to certain demographic in some way that's just red flag for me And I rarely support those kind of games.
Don't try to lure me to buy a game because a character is a certain demographic or color lure me in with the world and the story.
That being said character being gay or lesbian or black or Indian or Chinese makes no difference if your gameplay sucks.
I’m fairly new to commenting here but have followed the site for a while and just want to say that this is a great gaming community - So refreshing to read this thread and there be so much positivity and support. 👍🏻
As long as Sony continues to support Devs that make good characters and good story, I couldn't care what race, ethnicity, gender, whatever, they are.
If they don't pull a Marvel comics and start shoehorning in 'diversity' and making bad stories in the process, then it's all good! That would be very unlikely though, as people of all stripes and walks of life won't appreciate pandering and sometimes blatantly racist and ignorant stories that have gotten told in comics nowadays to appear in video games. It would definitely affect sales.
Good on em!
@Hapuc I totally agree, that's what I meant when I said that I like the "Skyrim way" and dislike the "Mass Effect way"
@LaNooch1978 2 different companies though, one of which is run really well and the other is Sony Pictures.
Don't know if it's a loud minority or not. All I know is that every single facebook post that shows some support for LGBT people gets a whole lot of hate. Same with the comment section of most websites.
So there definitely is a problem and hopefully gamers will mature like people here have to the point that we will get good characters (irrespective of their gender or sexual orientation) without much complaining from bigots. Hasn't happened with music or movies, but tv series have made the most progress.
As for whether something is shoehorned or not, it's hard to determine.
Well done, Sony! I think having such diverse protagonists and characters in these games is fantastic. Keep up the good work.
Also, it's great to see such positivity and support for inclusion in the comments above. Let's choose love over hate. Cheers all.
I happen to be female and I have been gaming my entire life. Not once have I felt odd about playing as a white male protagonist. I also don't have to be saved from some imaginary oppression by Sony.
@AhmadSumadi The SJW movement uses that stuff just to be hatefull and intollerant mostly anyway.
I really have enough of that subject.
Make good movies/games/books and I don't care a rat's ass what gender or skincolour my toon is.
Otherwise you see what happens to Ghostbusters, Ocean's 8 and Star Wars. I don't like them. Not because I hate females. But because they are sub-par movies and I hate getting a political agenda shoved down my hypothalamus.
What! I can’t believe Sony aren’t just catering to the vocal minority or keyboard warriors up in arms about the latest internet outrage.
@get2sammyb Well, here we are, almost 24 hours later and with over a hundred comments made on the story... and not a single one (save a few sarcastic nudges towards Sony's multiplayer policies) was anything except constructive, reasonable and / or supportive.
We're gamers. According to our historical stereotypical definitions, we're not supposed to be like this. Many have reacted with surprise at how polite the debate has been, and how decent the folk are around here, but I haven't; it's exactly this kind of atmosphere which makes Push Square my favourite gaming site on the internet. In large part, that's because of you, the staff and the tone you collectively set.
I know that a certain penalty shoot-out might've been the highlight of many people's day yesterday, but this comment section was mine.
A big, proper thank you, sir. Be proud.
@LieutenantFatman Let the voice of love take you higher
@RogerRoger We truly have an amazing community here!
@mantralux
"I also don't have to be saved from some imaginary oppression by Sony."
Woah, who's imagination is being oppressed now, when did this happen?
@LaNooch1978 Not that I know of.
@RogerRoger it was a good penalty shoot out though, got a bit tense there at the end
@FullbringIchigo Could've sworn that I've seen you make disparaging comments about football before... but you're right, it was one heck of a thing.
@RogerRoger i like football just not the so called "high level game" like the premier league because they don't play football, they just fall about whenever someone breaths next to them and they get paid FAR too much money for what they are and what they do
no person is worth paying millions a week just to kick a ball round a field for 90 minutes
short of it is i like football just not the over payed, pretentious prats at the top
@FullbringIchigo Solid.
In fact, I'm convinced that the reason England are doing so well in the World Cup is because we've got a young squad less concerned with product endorsement deals and Land Rovers with tinted windows, and more concerned with enjoying their participation in the sport itself.
But now we're wildly off-topic and so, since we're in agreement, I suggest we leave it there!
@RogerRoger agreed
sorry to everyone else for throwing the comments off
@Scollurio The portrayal of men in that Ghostbusters movie was probably the worst part for me. People that build women up while simultaneously putting men down are the worst kind of hypocrites. Men are just as awesome as women.
@KirbyTheVampire I haven't seen that movie (I liked a lot the cartoon on tv but never liked the movies, not even the older ones) but I agree with you even if I can't know what is it that you are referring to exactly.
@LuckyLand This guy gives a bit more detail on that while staying spoiler-free. The part where he talks about it starts at about 5:22.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9_lhRqhkBw
@KirbyTheVampire I usually don't mind about spoilers not even for things I actually want to see/play, and everytime I have read spoilers in advance they have never ruined the experience for me anyway
@KirbyTheVampire Well all of that ultra-left agenda is awkward. Being fair to everyone is fair, favoring women over men is just sexism the other way round. People... sigh Also: We were at a point, at least in media, at least in my perception where skincolor was a non-issue, until the liberal left made it one again, stating to do so to make it a non-issue. Well...
That's wht they're blocking games on their systems, like Omega Labyrinth Z?
Please cater me who loves anime tatas
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