Are We Really Going There?: Race and Video Games

Well, crap in a hat. A surprising study has come out this week, featured in Science Codex that claims studies show that minorities are notoriously underrepresented in video games. Holy cow - are you serious?? Are we really going there?

You know what, let me back up here. Yes, I agree; Latinos are not generally well-presented in video games, and there aren't a lot of African American lead characters. However, video games are not reality; they exaggerate stereotypes and play on history, much like films do. Were the Russians bitching when GTA4 came out and the lead character was a Russian gangster? No, because that shit is based on reality, albeit exaggerated for entertainment purposes. There was a big uproar when Res Evil 5 came out because all the zombies were black. First of all, they aren't really zombies - it's a rage virus. Second, the game took place in AFRICA. News flash: lots of people are black in Africa. Let it go! Did Spanish folks complain when Res Evil 4 took place in a Spanish village? No. And no one can bitch about Japanese RPG's because you can't even tell what gender half of those people are, never mind what race. Maybe transgendered individuals will start complaining about that. I mean, that's gotta be malicious, right? Game developers are evil, evil people.

On top of all this noise, the study neglected to mentioned that characters are fully customizable in a myriad of games right now. Mass Effect, Fallout; hell, look @ Miis! So if you're you're white and nerdy, you can be a ripped black guy if your heart so desires.

Here's the reality, folks - the world is (thankfully)full of diversity and different cultures. Each culture shares similarities among its individuals, which creates stereotypes. Game developers merely take some of these generalizations and populate their virtual worlds. They are not being malicious. That's why there are black people in Africa, and why Mario is a chubby Italian.

With regard to lead characters, I personally think it's difficult to discern their race sometimes. Sure, they have American accents, but that's just dubbing. What the hell race is the lead from Gears of War supposed to be? He kind of looks white, but who knows? He's always kind of dirty, and I can't see his hair. Holy crap - is he bald?? That's just cold. And he's insanely huge - is that discriminatory against skinny, small people? As a petite woman, I'm offended.

Look, I know race is still a serious issue, both in America and globally. But let's keep the issue to where it's truly relevant! A video game is not one of those places. Let's all just sit down together and have some fun, huh?