Opinion News GI.BIZ: Half of US and UK players want more diverse characters in games

[makemehappyagain]

Who are Newzoo and who are their audience?

 

[M1chl]

Could probably toss this in the garbage.



So 45% of players "identify as women" yet every main gaming genre is 70%+ male: https://quanticfoundry.com/2017/01/19/female-gamers-by-genre/

What kind of cripple contest it was when you have 30% of disabled people? What is this?

 

[Puncheur]

From the study: What’s more, a significant share of respondents (around 45%) said they didn’t play certain games because they felt like they weren’t made for them.

Why do people think that everything should cater to them?? I don't feel games like Pokemon or TLOUS2 are made for me. Do I bitch and whine that they're not inclusive of my views or representative of my demographic? Of course not, I know that different people like different things and its impossible to cater to everyone's tastes. I just want developers to make games with TNA and attractive females and stop catering to looney blue haired feminists who get offended by beautiful women eg Watchdogs Legion and that upcoming game from Sony where you play an Ellen DeGeneres lookalike. Great.

This is a junk study. There's no detail of the methodology on the website.

 

[Schrödinger's cat]

OP's images aren't working for me =/

I've rehosted them. Hopefully that sorts it.

 

[RokkanStoned]

From the study: What’s more, a significant share of respondents (around 45%) said they didn’t play certain games because they felt like they weren’t made for them.

A question far too open for interpretation. "Made for them" is too vague. Is it genre? Are people (not gender or ethnicity, just across the board) feeling that only certain genres appeal towards them? Meaning that for a lot of people, big hyped up game, might be in the wrong genre. Like Tetris 99 was big, but perhaps they don't feel like puzzle games are made for them? Or is gender and defined by aesthetics of the game and genre? It's kind of hard to get any conclusive or interesting answer from the question posed.
Again, various problems with the overall study. However, these data companies often have dubious research, as the point is selling interesting data, trying different methodological approaches to seem like they have the answer to finding out what a market population are interested in.

 

[Sparhavoc]

They just want to force this woke crap in so they'll fake the statistics if they have to. Any company falling for this deserves to crumble like they will when they lack the sales.

I'll also tell you that if you create diverse characters no one would have an issue with it. The issue lies in the pigeonholing of your ideology and how cookie cutter you are with politics. If you developed the character and used your creativity to make it congruent we wouldn't have this shit stick out like a sore thumb.

Western game companies truly live in a bubble it's poisoned the well and they've lost that drive to create amazing games. My independent research suggests that when companies pander to politics and include it in their games it turns them off and effectively tarnishes their brand. I'm not an absolutist but I can guarantee we have a problem here when we place creativity and talent at the back and 'diversity' hire at the forefront.

And just because you call your radical political ideology 'diversity' doesn't make it so. Again, create real characters with a backstory that's congruent not something that acts like a billboard to display your virtue signalling.

 

[Explosive Zombie]

I don't get these surveys because who plays a game to be themselves?

 

[SupremeHoodie]

Save it with these surveys and polls. Especially after the damn election where apparently 93% of Americans were supposed to be voting blue.

Are you sure it was 93%?

 

[Abriael_GN]

Translation of the headline.

"Half of (4,000 Cherry Picked) US and UK players want more diverse characters in games (Also we'll Exclude The Other 95% of the World Because it'd go Against our Narrative)"

Translation of the subheading: "We agree with this heavily political narrative so we'll pretend this is actually relevant, but we won't link to it so that you have to make an effort and research it to find out that it is not."

I don't need a partisan study by somebody named "Newzoo" to find out that the vast majority of gamers everywhere want good and fun games, with a cast that works with the story, regardless of the RGB scale of their skin and various kinds of orientation.

Gamesindustry (more like Gamepolitics) continues its uncontrolled downward spiral into full-fledged irrelevance.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I run into soooo many women playing Fortnite, Overwatch, Siege etc...

Oh wait, no I don't.

 

[AJUMP23]

I bet people would answer that question about diversity that way. There is no issue really with diversity of characters, but the bigger issue is forcing diversity. If you want to ask me do I want diverse characters in games, I would answer yes. Because it matters very little to me about what the character looks like, but what the story is.

Also the only real diversity is diversity of thought, not skin color or sexual preference.

 

[Fake]

Imagine making or changing a game based on a survey.

In a not far future we're gonna play surveys instead of games.

 

[Abriael_GN]

I bet people would answer that question about diversity that way. There is no issue really with diversity of characters, but the bigger issue is forcing diversity. If you want to ask me do I want diverse characters in games, I would answer yes. Because it matters very little to me about what the character looks like, but what the story is.

Also the only real diversity is diversity of thought, not skin color or sexual preference.

The funny part is that the "diversity at all costs!" crowd usually hates cultural diversity. As soon as a game expresses a cultural standpoint different from theirs, they rage. Just look at how they rile at games that are fruit of Japanese culture.

Anyway, I don't want "more" diversity. I want as much diversity as the game developers, character designers, and storytellers want. If that's more, great. People should write and design the characters they want with no restrictions or bullet points to check, no matter what the identity of such characters is.

 

[ReBurn]

So I'm in the minority where I want my games to be a complete fantasy and have characters that fit the story instead of my preferences. Ok.

 

[AJUMP23]

Imagine making or changing a game based on a survey.

In a not far future we're gonna play surveys instead of games.

They have done that for a while with playtesting. Executives will force things in games based upon data they get. It is just part of the development process.

 

[supernova8]

Post on resetera.

Or complain to Ubisoft about fictional burn victims.

 

[LeftThumbstick]

I honestly don't care about the religion, colour or anything inbetween, just make an interesting character and a story that makes sense. If it's a game solely designed around batting you over the head with socital issues then nah, not for me. I don't buy games to be taught common sense or "how not to be racist" ect, i buy games to have fun and get sucked into a really good story.

For a start, i'm not racist or ignorant about other cultures to begin with, so when a game does something like this i feel as if i'm being pre-judged because my skin is white. I know i know, boo hoo white person problems but we aren't all evil sadists who get a kick out of hating someone because they were born in another part of the world or have a different religion with different cultural norms.

That word "culture" really grates on me though especially when i get told to "respect everyones culture". It's like, no? My culture has been to grow up to question everything and stick to my guns when something clashes with mine on a personal level. For example, a culture which bans women from driving or forced marriages ect? No, i will not respect or tolerate that, that goes against everything i grew up with.

Politics too, get it to fuck out of my games or i won't buy them. I suppose culture and politics go hand in hand but i always though gaming was a culture of it's own that transcended all that bullshit. We're here to have fun and play games with each other, and that is all.

So, make any character you like, be it black, white, purple or whatever, i don't care as long as the story makes sense and doesn't try to preach some bullshit to me. Theres a time and a place for that, and it's not while trying to unwind and enjoy a game or a $500 console i bought. I get it, i'm in a majority race and there are legitimate issues that minorities have to deal with that i probably have never had to deal with, but there are other ways to go about that and wrecking havoc on someone elses hobby or form of entertainment will not change that, only making the divisions worse.

The end.

 

[GymWolf]

I run into soooo many women playing Fortnite, Overwatch, Siege etc...

Oh wait, no I don't.

They are there but they probably sound like merkel in south park

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

I don't get this new obsession with seeing youself in a game.

I grew up playing games with animal characters, mythical creatures and robots. I never saw myself in anything

Yeah, and of course:
- black person plays game with white protagonist, complains “I don’t feel represented!”: it’s problematic.
- white person plays game with black protagonist, complains “I don’t feel represented!”: he’s racist.

Always remember, people like these made a fuss about Mario Kart 8, of all games, not having people of color in its roster.
Fucking.
Mario.
Kart.
They really feel better being represented by a blatant token character thrown in just to make them stop their hissy fit, than nothing at all.

Diversity is OK. Always has been. I mean, Goodbye Volcano High is probably not for me, but I don’t have a problem with it existing. You won’t hear me screaming for “inclusion” of a human white male character in there that “represents” me.
Forced diversity for the sake of it, though... will never not feel forced.

 

[Golgo 13]

Don’t believe this study, it’s all virtue signaling nonsense.

There’s a famous experiment where all these “single family homes” were surveyed about wanting more diversity in their predominantly white neighborhoods; they overwhelmingly said “yes”. That same neighborhood, years later when the populations were more “diverse” and “mixed”, had all the white people move out. . When surveyed as to why they’d all moved out, almost none responded.

TL;DR - Virtue signaling is cheap and easy moral brownie points but in real world scenarios, people act quite differently.

 

[Romulus]

That's fine if that happens, but most game developers are white. And videogames are considered art. Why no go to Mexico, Nigeria, etc and tell those artists to get on with diversity too? Even when 99% of their characters look exactly like the artists themselves. People are okay with that, they only have a problem when its white people doing it. Just like how Christians are "bad for anti-gay beliefs" but Muslims are viciously protected by the left despite their legendary hatred for gays. It's all hypocrisy.

 

[nkarafo]

So people should be fine with games having non white characters. It's no big deal

Of course its fine. Unless its token forced diversity characters or race swapped characters. These cheapen the experience.

 

[diffusionx]

What kind of cripple contest it was when you have 30% of disabled people? What is this?

It’s called self-diagnosed mental problem twitter, used to be all tumblr, but they metastasized.

 

[itsnotme]

I don't get it, some people are saying it doesn't matter what race the characters are (which I agree to) so how comes this is causing such a stir up here? We've had multiple threads in the last couple of days of people complaining but I'm meant to believe that you guys don't care? People were literally pissed that they made a Spiderman game about miles who's half black and half Latino. I do agree it can get annoying when it's all about race and gender but for people who are saying it doesn't matter it clearly does deeply affect some people for some weird reason when a main character of a game is of a different race / gender.
"It doesn't matter what skin colour or race a protagonist is as long as the character is good" > new game announced with a character of different skin colour/gender> "wtf #@!? Blah blah blah" can you guys not see the hypocrisy in this?

 

[Orta]

I was just playing Ori and the Will of the Wisps and thinking "there's not nearly enough diversity in this game."

Luckily for you Moon Studios are releasing a patch next week. Blori and the Blill of the Blisps. Yo!

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

Well the new generation is all about diversity. In the future we again return to standards. Just the nature of time.

 

[BattleScar]

If the Player Character doesn't matter, it should be absolutely no problem for the player character to be more diverse.

After all who the fuck cares?

 

[-Arcadia-]

Yeah, the retarded half.

Make cool characters, and let the rest figure itself out. That’s how we’ve ended with some of the coolest (if we must do this) non-straight white male characters in games.

 

[zeorhymer]

So are these people who want diversity actually going to buy the games?

 

[Spukc]

-Do you play video games?
-No.
-Do you read comics?
-No.
-Do you watch hero movies?
-No! But that doesn't mean this is right! I want representation!!! NOW!

Also this from the new writer of Bloodlines 2:

Thanks! You just saved me some cash

 

[whitesugar]

agree fully. i will not stop fighting until at least 50% of game protagonists are attractive Japanese women. you know, for diversity

 

[M1chl]

It’s called self-diagnosed mental problem twitter, used to be all tumblr, but they metastasized.

Well it just shows the survey is bullshit.

 

[MrS]

It's gonna make me so happy when this game fucking bombs and she gets fired. People like this are a blight on the industry.

 

[brap]

I would agree. As a feminine woman I would like more women like me in games. Too many games have angry masculine ugly women in games. They don't look or act like me.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

I blame Sony and Xbox

All hail Nintendo, all hail Nippon

 

[The_Mike]

Fuck era desease spreads faster than corona and cancer together.

As someone else stated, yet people are creating a "white generic male" in most games lol.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

What a pile of shite.

 

[Bogey]

I mean, I kinda get it.

In most games characters serve as somewhat if a projection of yourself.

As in, the character should be an idealised projection of myself. If I picture "ideal-me", I don't mind Model like looks or a Schwarzenegger-like physique.

But I've never had the desire to be of another ethnicity, or gender, or sexual orientation. So for these factors, I prefer a protagonist who's pretty much just like me.
Not that I'd categorically reject games where that's not the case. But in terms of preferences - sure.

So for people of a different ethnicity, gender etc, I could totally understand how they'd prefer more protagonists that are more alike to themselves

 

[Joe T.]

100% of players want compelling, well-written, well-acted/directed characters with some depth to them whether they're white, black, human, alien or anything in between. Creativity is great when it's organic and pursued with passion, not so much when it's forced onto a studio for public relations reasons and half-assed - which opinion-shaping polls like this wind up doing.

 

[brap]

I blame Sony and Xbox

All hail Nintendo, all hail Nippon

Where's all Nintendo's POC's? That's what I thought.

 

[Elysion]

I agree with this study. We need more games that don’t feature American protagonists. Where are my Romanian, Lithuanian or Mongolian characters? Italian? Mexican?

But the lack of diversity among female characters is especially appalling. Almost all of them are stereotypical "strong independent women". Where are all the damsels in distress? Seems like Peach is the only one left. It’s time we moved beyond all those annoying stereotypes promulgated by western urbanites, which don’t conform to the lived reality experienced by most of the world’s population. #diversityisourstrength

 

[Faithless83]

Thanks! You just saved me some cash

I was really hyped for this game. Not only they fired the main reason for my hype, but they replaced them with "this".
Someone so petty that enjoy ruining the game for the fans.

 

[BlackM1st]

Gamers? Like "beat bloodborne" or like spend "10000 hours in Candy crush saga" gamers? There's a big difference...

 

[Fugitive Sex]

What a surprise the results are from the US and UK. If they had just thrown in Sweden it would have been complete.
I'm all for unique and interesting or simply fun characters like Yoshi or Ness or whatever, but I don't want some raging lesbian or pathetic unicorn male as a form of diversity or representation.

Oh, and if given the chance, I will always create a handsome white male as my character, as that's what I'm attracted to.

 

[Zghia]

Devs should know that diversity doesn’t mean black, there are also red, yellow people

 

[ZehDon]

... 54% of US players said that diversity is important in game characters, with 47% adding that they avoided playing a game in the past because they felt it wasn't made for them...

"This wasn't made for you" feels like an increasingly common statement in games, as well as for film and TV. So, if around half of gamers avoid playing games that they feel aren't made for them, I can see this becoming an issue for Developers in terms of selling their games. AAA games are expensive; if you cut out half of your player base to focus on a smaller demographic, your running the risk of your game just not making enough money. It'll be interesting to see how this is handled this generation.

 

[farmerboy]

I don't get this new obsession with seeing youself in a game.

I grew up playing games with animal characters, mythical creatures and robots. I never saw myself in anything

That explains the avatar and name then.

 

[Ten_Fold]

Why do people care about representation in a game? Just play the damn game. Race/gender in a game shouldn’t matter. If the game is good then it’s good, but we can’t go pandering just because.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

Half don't.

Go make your own industry.

 

[IfuckinghateReddit]

Would love to see them ask people other than on Twitter.