Dear Nintendo... (racial issues...)

Dear Nintendo,

I have been a fan of your products for a few years, my first system of yours being a gamecube, and i have followed you loyaly ever since. Lately, however, I cant help but notice some racism going on within your business, whether it be within your games or during a conference. I hope that you will consider my opinion next time you are doing something that could be construed as some sort of racism. Lets start with racism inside games.

Several games that i have noticed with racial/sexist messages/innuendos, are The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Yes, even Super Mario Brothers. Let me elaborate:

In The Legend of Zelda, you play as a blond-haired, blue eyed, or arian, hero, who has to overcome impossible obstacles, despite his young age, and ultimately defeat the black-skinned, red-haired pig man. I don't believe that much explanation is needed here to say why this would be construed as offensive. Red hair is the clear mark of an irishmen, with the features and complexion of a black man, one of the ONLY black men in any of your series, and he plays the ultimate evil. The message that i recieve from this is, is that Black people are evil, ad irish people are evil, but combined they create an incredible evil. i would appreciate it if changes were made to this character to avoid offense anymore.

Second up, is the Metroid series. Now some of you may think, "Why would anything in Metroid be considered offensive? Samus is a girl!" but this is what i have to say to that: Who knew? the only female hero you have only has power because of a very MASCULINE suit of futuristic armor. The game was clearly suited towards men, and alot of men had to be specifically informed that the hero of metroid was a girl. I would reccomend not hiding Samus ( which is a pretty manish name) behind her armor all of the time, to not offend the women.

Lastly (in games), but not-in-any case least, is your infamous Mario, who has single handedly been pumping racism and sex into childrens minds since you have started your little business. Lets start with the basics of the game. Your ultimate goal in every game is to get Peach, a blonde-haired, blue eyed (arian) beauty, whos name coincidentally happens to be a slang term for a private part of female anatomy, subconciously telling every little boy who plays this game that his ultimate goal, much like Mario's, is to get Peach. Mario, for second, is a very steriotypical Italian plumber. He is quite often pointed out in his games for his mustache, as Italians are stereotypically hairy beings, you could see how this could be offensive. Yoshi is a mockery of dinosaurs everywhere. No dinosaur would allow itself to be ridiculed by being ridden by a man, being punched in the back of the head to the point where its tongue would fly out of its mouth, without retaliation. Wario is clearly portraited as your sterotypical American, being lazy and cheap and crude, and i would like to inform you that as a caucasion U.S. male, I find this quite offensive, and would greatly appreciate it if you would change the characters characteristics in these games.

During your GDC event, you showed a picture of an asian man, dressed up in a ten-gallon hat and other cowboy apparel, looking ridiculous. I would like for you to personally apologize for this image, as it is making a mockery of a race of true pioneers that worked their keesters off to provide the U.S. with a better tomorrow. Without them and thier trailbblazing ways, we might not have had such a liveable america, and i for one, am gratedul that the cowboys existed, and i am quite appaled at the lack of respect you showed towards them.

I truly hope you consider my points, altough i have no power to take any actions, i would hope you just care enough for the consumer to peruse his words. thank you.

Last time i read a topic that started with Dead Nintendo. It didnt end to well.

OH NOES!!! MA GAMEZ IS RACIST!!!! must never buy another Nintendo product again.... COMON, REALLY??? why must everything be about race and colour and sex, ITS A FREAKING GAME. No matter what theirs always gonna be someone who says something as ridiculous as this...

OH NOES!!! MA GAMEZ IS RACIST!!!! must never buy another Nintendo product again.... COMON, REALLY??? why must everything be about race and colour and sex, ITS A FREAKING GAME. No matter what theirs always gonna be someone who says something as ridiculous as this...

lil_speedy_rvd

I really hope this is tongue-in-cheek because honestly, it's pretty rediculous.

I really hope this is tongue-in-cheek because honestly, it's pretty rediculous.

Lonnie2Hottie

Indeed. And if it isn't a joke, this guy has way too much time on his hands to actually find "subliminal" crap like that.

[QUOTE="lil_speedy_rvd"]

OH NOES!!! MA GAMEZ IS RACIST!!!! must never buy another Nintendo product again.... COMON, REALLY??? why must everything be about race and colour and sex, ITS A FREAKING GAME. No matter what theirs always gonna be someone who says something as ridiculous as this...

garrett_duffman

No you can have your own opinion, i just think that its very ridiculous, no matter what developpers will do all you see is racism, so your perfect game is a white guy with no hair, just little dots as eyes, not to tall not too short, who doesnt talk ( cause language is a big part of being different), with Bob as his name , killing other people who are exactly the same as him... saving a woman who doesnt have any hair, just little dots as eyes, not too tall not too short, who doesnt talk, whose name is Jane... cause anything different is implying racism.

Last time i read a topic that started with Dead Nintendo. It didnt end to well.

alexh_99

[QUOTE="garrett_duffman"][QUOTE="lil_speedy_rvd"]

OH NOES!!! MA GAMEZ IS RACIST!!!! must never buy another Nintendo product again.... COMON, REALLY??? why must everything be about race and colour and sex, ITS A FREAKING GAME. No matter what theirs always gonna be someone who says something as ridiculous as this...

lil_speedy_rvd

No you can have your own opinion, i just think that its very ridiculous, no matter what developpers will do all you see is racism, so your perfect game is a white guy with no hair, just little dots as eyes, not to tall not too short, who doesnt talk ( cause language is a big part of being different), with Bob as his name , killing other people who are exactly the same as him... saving a woman who doesnt have any hair, just little dots as eyes, not too tall not too short, who doesnt talk, whose name is Jane... cause anything different is implying racism.

Dear Nintendo,

I have been a fan of your products for a few years, my first system of yours being a gamecube, and i have followed you loyaly ever since. Lately, however, I cant help but notice some racism going on within your business, whether it be within your games or during a conference. I hope that you will consider my opinion next time you are doing something that could be construed as some sort of racism. Lets start with racism inside games.

Several games that i have noticed with racial/sexist messages/innuendos, are The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Yes, even Super Mario Brothers. Let me elaborate:

In The Legend of Zelda, you play as a blond-haired, blue eyed, or arian, hero, who has to overcome impossible obstacles, despite his young age, and ultimately defeat the black-skinned, red-haired pig man. I don't believe that much explanation is needed here to say why this would be construed as offensive. Red hair is the clear mark of an irishmen, with the features and complexion of a black man, one of the ONLY black men in any of your series, and he plays the ultimate evil. The message that i recieve from this is, is that Black people are evil, ad irish people are evil, but combined they create an incredible evil. i would appreciate it if changes were made to this character to avoid offense anymore.

Second up, is the Metroid series. Now some of you may think, "Why would anything in Metroid be considered offensive? Samus is a girl!" but this is what i have to say to that: Who knew? the only female hero you have only has power because of a very MASCULINE suit of futuristic armor. The game was clearly suited towards men, and alot of men had to be specifically informed that the hero of metroid was a girl. I would reccomend not hiding Samus ( which is a pretty manish name) behind her armor all of the time, to not offend the women.

Lastly (in games), but not-in-any case least, is your infamous Mario, who has single handedly been pumping racism and sex into childrens minds since you have started your little business. Lets start with the basics of the game. Your ultimate goal in every game is to get Peach, a blonde-haired, blue eyed (arian) beauty, whos name coincidentally happens to be a slang term for a private part of female anatomy, subconciously telling every little boy who plays this game that his ultimate goal, much like Mario's, is to get Peach. Mario, for second, is a very steriotypical Italian plumber. He is quite often pointed out in his games for his mustache, as Italians are stereotypically hairy beings, you could see how this could be offensive. Yoshi is a mockery of dinosaurs everywhere. No dinosaur would allow itself to be ridiculed by being ridden by a man, being punched in the back of the head to the point where its tongue would fly out of its mouth, without retaliation. Wario is clearly portraited as your sterotypical American, being lazy and cheap and crude, and i would like to inform you that as a caucasion U.S. male, I find this quite offensive, and would greatly appreciate it if you would change the characters characteristics in these games.

During your GDC event, you showed a picture of an asian man, dressed up in a ten-gallon hat and other cowboy apparel, looking ridiculous. I would like for you to personally apologize for this image, as it is making a mockery of a race of true pioneers that worked their keesters off to provide the U.S. with a better tomorrow. Without them and thier trailbblazing ways, we might not have had such a liveable america, and i for one, am gratedul that the cowboys existed, and i am quite appaled at the lack of respect you showed towards them.

I truly hope you consider my points, altough i have no power to take any actions, i would hope you just care enough for the consumer to peruse his words. thank you.

garrett_duffman

[QUOTE="TechGuru89"]Let me guess...You were one of those people who petitioned for the ban of RE5 right? C'mon give it a rest. I could say sony is racist, because all of their consoles are black....see where I'm going with this? garrett_duffman

Yoshi is a mockery of dinosaurs everywhere. No dinosaur would allow itself to be ridiculed by being ridden by a man, being punched in the back of the head to the point where its tongue would fly out of its mouth, without retaliation. garrett_duffman

Heehee! That was great! Good read. People are too serious.

But in all honesty, I think Ganon is more symptomatic of Ninty's racism against Arabs. Cmon, brown skin, lives in a desert, rides horses and wields swords, trying to conquer the world through war? And to add insult to injury, turns into a PIG?

And that's not the first time that Ninty has stereotyped Arabs as cruel tyrants. Mother 3 anyone?

Oh, and his henchmen were pigs.

Apparently sarcasm and humour, is something gamers can't grasp >

Wow. I think you're reading WAY too much into their games. Do you think it really crossed their minds that people might consider red hair to be offensive? I doubt it did, because most people wouldn't make that sort of absurd connection.

Samus being a woman was intended to be a surprise at the end of the game. It's not sexist. If anything, it's empowering to show a woman with such power.

Again, you are reading far too much into things that aren't supposed to have such a deep meaning. But if it really offends you that much, you might want to just stop playing games.

Apparently sarcasm and humour, is something gamers can't grasp >

DaftPunkAlive

well, most of the games in question started back on eight bit consoles, and most of the backgrounds were quite dark. So it would make a bit of sense to make the character in the foreground white IMO. It is also a true (at least in the U.S.) that people subconciously judge people because they may be African-American. And people act on those subconcious feelings/thoughts. So it also follows that it is in Nintendo's best interest sales-wise to keep creating a majority of white/asian characters. It's a sad truth.

Plus Punch Out!!! had quite an array of different races. Mike Tyson / Mr. Dream was the ultimate boss because he was a kick-butt boxer, so in a way they were giving him a compliment.

Samus being a woman was intended to be a surprise at the end of the game.BuryMe

[QUOTE="lil_speedy_rvd"]

[QUOTE="garrett_duffman"] arent you worried about subliminal messaging? it sounds to me like you have a tolerance problem with accepting the way people are when their opinions differ with yours, and that could be derived from subliminal messaging in video gamesgarrett_duffman

No you can have your own opinion, i just think that its very ridiculous, no matter what developpers will do all you see is racism, so your perfect game is a white guy with no hair, just little dots as eyes, not to tall not too short, who doesnt talk ( cause language is a big part of being different), with Bob as his name , killing other people who are exactly the same as him... saving a woman who doesnt have any hair, just little dots as eyes, not too tall not too short, who doesnt talk, whose name is Jane... cause anything different is implying racism.

Right, so if some developper uses The Second World War as a backdrop to one of their games, they can't use the germans as enemies cause that's being racist... if its the Korean War then they can't use Koreans as enemies... if they use the Vietnam war they can't use Vietnamese people as enemies... if its the First gulf War then they can't use Irakis as enemies... if it's a fictional war they can't use any nationality cause its considered "racist".

Using features that may be prelavent in one culture is not racism.... The Holocaust, the genocide in Armenia, the Rwandan Genocide, The East-Timor Genocide... Those are examples of racism, if everyone just did not care what other think/say about them then those tragedies would have never happened.

The examples that you used are simply ridiculous.

/thread

i cant believe the ignorance being spewed amongst this thread. you people are basically saying that ya, you know its there, you just dont care. this is just...terrible! i never though of ganon being arabic, though, his skin is pretty BLACKgarrett_duffman

There was nothing racist in an of the games you mentioned.

Nationality isn't a race but its still a good point. Poster_11

No i know that, all im saying is that no matter who is in a game someone somewhere will find it racist.

Wow. I think you're reading WAY too much into their games. Do you think it really crossed their minds that people might consider red hair to be offensive? I doubt it did, because most people wouldn't make that sort of absurd connection.

Samus being a woman was intended to be a surprise at the end of the game. It's not sexist. If anything, it's empowering to show a woman with such power.

Again, you are reading far too much into things that aren't supposed to have such a deep meaning. But if it really offends you that much, you might want to just stop playing games.

BuryMe

[QUOTE="lil_speedy_rvd"]

[QUOTE="Poster_11"]Nationality isn't a race but its still a good point. Poster_11

No i know that, all im saying is that no matter who is in a game someone somewhere will find it racist.

Awsome, finally someone who sees the light.:P

[QUOTE="TechGuru89"]Let me guess...You were one of those people who petitioned for the ban of RE5 right? C'mon give it a rest. I could say sony is racist, because all of their consoles are black....see where I'm going with this? garrett_duffman

[QUOTE="garrett_duffman"][QUOTE="lil_speedy_rvd"]

No you can have your own opinion, i just think that its very ridiculous, no matter what developpers will do all you see is racism, so your perfect game is a white guy with no hair, just little dots as eyes, not to tall not too short, who doesnt talk ( cause language is a big part of being different), with Bob as his name , killing other people who are exactly the same as him... saving a woman who doesnt have any hair, just little dots as eyes, not too tall not too short, who doesnt talk, whose name is Jane... cause anything different is implying racism.

lil_speedy_rvd

Right, so if some developper uses The Second World War as a backdrop to one of their games, they can't use the germans as enemies cause that's being racist... if its the Korean War then they can't use Koreans as enemies... if they use the Vietnam war they can't use Vietnamese people as enemies... if its the First gulf War then they can't use Irakis as enemies... if it's a fictional war they can't use any nationality cause its considered "racist".

Using features that may be prelavent in one culture is not racism.... The Holocaust, the genocide in Armenia, the Rwandan Genocide, The East-Timor Genocide... Those are examples of racism, if everyone just did not care what other think/say about them then those tragedies would have never happened.

The examples that you used are simply ridiculous.

/thread

[QUOTE="lil_speedy_rvd"]

[QUOTE="garrett_duffman"] ... you are taking something that is actually possibly serious and you are making a mockery of it. i can only assume that you have been playing these games for wuite a while and are not familiar with culture as a whole... for that i sincerely apologizegarrett_duffman

Right, so if some developper uses The Second World War as a backdrop to one of their games, they can't use the germans as enemies cause that's being racist... if its the Korean War then they can't use Koreans as enemies... if they use the Vietnam war they can't use Vietnamese people as enemies... if its the First gulf War then they can't use Irakis as enemies... if it's a fictional war they can't use any nationality cause its considered "racist".

Using features that may be prelavent in one culture is not racism.... The Holocaust, the genocide in Armenia, the Rwandan Genocide, The East-Timor Genocide... Those are examples of racism, if everyone just did not care what other think/say about them then those tragedies would have never happened.

The examples that you used are simply ridiculous.

/thread

[QUOTE="lil_speedy_rvd"]

[QUOTE="garrett_duffman"] ... you are taking something that is actually possibly serious and you are making a mockery of it. i can only assume that you have been playing these games for wuite a while and are not familiar with culture as a whole... for that i sincerely apologizegarrett_duffman

Right, so if some developper uses The Second World War as a backdrop to one of their games, they can't use the germans as enemies cause that's being racist... if its the Korean War then they can't use Koreans as enemies... if they use the Vietnam war they can't use Vietnamese people as enemies... if its the First gulf War then they can't use Irakis as enemies... if it's a fictional war they can't use any nationality cause its considered "racist".

Using features that may be prelavent in one culture is not racism.... The Holocaust, the genocide in Armenia, the Rwandan Genocide, The East-Timor Genocide... Those are examples of racism, if everyone just did not care what other think/say about them then those tragedies would have never happened.

The examples that you used are simply ridiculous.

/thread

Well if your so concerned about the "subliminal messaging" in games, dont play them, but your just splitting hairs with your examples... But simply because a developper chooses to have whatever features on a bad guy doesnt mean its racism.

Dear Nintendo,

I have been a fan of your products for a few years, my first system of yours being a gamecube, and i have followed you loyaly ever since. Lately, however, I cant help but notice some racism going on within your business, whether it be within your games or during a conference. I hope that you will consider my opinion next time you are doing something that could be construed as some sort of racism. Lets start with racism inside games.

Several games that i have noticed with racial/sexist messages/innuendos, are The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Yes, even Super Mario Brothers. Let me elaborate:

In The Legend of Zelda, you play as a blond-haired, blue eyed, or arian, hero, who has to overcome impossible obstacles, despite his young age, and ultimately defeat the black-skinned, red-haired pig man. I don't believe that much explanation is needed here to say why this would be construed as offensive. Red hair is the clear mark of an irishmen, with the features and complexion of a black man, one of the ONLY black men in any of your series, and he plays the ultimate evil. The message that i recieve from this is, is that Black people are evil, ad irish people are evil, but combined they create an incredible evil. i would appreciate it if changes were made to this character to avoid offense anymore.

Second up, is the Metroid series. Now some of you may think, "Why would anything in Metroid be considered offensive? Samus is a girl!" but this is what i have to say to that: Who knew? the only female hero you have only has power because of a very MASCULINE suit of futuristic armor. The game was clearly suited towards men, and alot of men had to be specifically informed that the hero of metroid was a girl. I would reccomend not hiding Samus ( which is a pretty manish name) behind her armor all of the time, to not offend the women.

Lastly (in games), but not-in-any case least, is your infamous Mario, who has single handedly been pumping racism and sex into childrens minds since you have started your little business. Lets start with the basics of the game. Your ultimate goal in every game is to get Peach, a blonde-haired, blue eyed (arian) beauty, whos name coincidentally happens to be a slang term for a private part of female anatomy, subconciously telling every little boy who plays this game that his ultimate goal, much like Mario's, is to get Peach. Mario, for second, is a very steriotypical Italian plumber. He is quite often pointed out in his games for his mustache, as Italians are stereotypically hairy beings, you could see how this could be offensive. Yoshi is a mockery of dinosaurs everywhere. No dinosaur would allow itself to be ridiculed by being ridden by a man, being punched in the back of the head to the point where its tongue would fly out of its mouth, without retaliation. Wario is clearly portraited as your sterotypical American, being lazy and cheap and crude, and i would like to inform you that as a caucasion U.S. male, I find this quite offensive, and would greatly appreciate it if you would change the characters characteristics in these games.

During your GDC event, you showed a picture of an asian man, dressed up in a ten-gallon hat and other cowboy apparel, looking ridiculous. I would like for you to personally apologize for this image, as it is making a mockery of a race of true pioneers that worked their keesters off to provide the U.S. with a better tomorrow. Without them and thier trailbblazing ways, we might not have had such a liveable america, and i for one, am gratedul that the cowboys existed, and i am quite appaled at the lack of respect you showed towards them.

I truly hope you consider my points, altough i have no power to take any actions, i would hope you just care enough for the consumer to peruse his words. thank you.

garrett_duffman

*phone rings*

Answerer: Hello?

Caller: Yes, this is Al Sharpton. Has there been a discrimination against someone? Even if its mostly nonsense, please tell me more.

Answerer: Yes, I feel that Nintendo may have discriminated againsta few people. Maybe even virtual characters.

Caller: CLICK....................................................

[QUOTE="garrett_duffman"][QUOTE="lil_speedy_rvd"]

Right, so if some developper uses The Second World War as a backdrop to one of their games, they can't use the germans as enemies cause that's being racist... if its the Korean War then they can't use Koreans as enemies... if they use the Vietnam war they can't use Vietnamese people as enemies... if its the First gulf War then they can't use Irakis as enemies... if it's a fictional war they can't use any nationality cause its considered "racist".

Using features that may be prelavent in one culture is not racism.... The Holocaust, the genocide in Armenia, the Rwandan Genocide, The East-Timor Genocide... Those are examples of racism, if everyone just did not care what other think/say about them then those tragedies would have never happened.

The examples that you used are simply ridiculous.

/thread

Poster_11

If everyone is being over the top, I may aswell join...

Looks like you SIR, are descriminating. "oh Ganon is the only black guy" - What about Mr Game & Watch? He's black. Obviously you descriminated against 2D characters by ignoring him.

Let me guess...You were one of those people who petitioned for the ban of RE5 right? C'mon give it a rest. I could say sony is racist, because all of their consoles are black....see where I'm going with this? TechGuru89

[QUOTE="black_ice23"]your just reading to much into things but really metroid was just a sales tactic, cuz young boys at the time and society at the time didnt wanna buy a game with a strong female leade, so not revealing her gender til the end was a way to trick boys to be like "HOLY CRAP, meh. shes still cool" Link? really u are really reading into things and i hardly think Gannon could be considered black, and this coming from a black man Mario dude of all things you could have picked you chose that? i figured you would go after the Shrooms drug connection, but even those are not intentional, Now Square Enix on the other hand,....garrett_duffman

Now its Cooking MAMA???????? wow now you lost all credibility ( well the little you had)

If everyone is being over the top, I may aswell join...

Looks like you SIR, are descriminating. "oh Ganon is the only black guy" - What about Mr Game & Watch? He's black. Obviously you descriminated against 2D characters by ignoring him.

trugs26

hey TC, if this is your idea of a joke, lemme tell you its going pretty well.

COME ON!! you cant be serious about this. Im black and never in my life hadI thought about ganonndorfbeing the mixture of an irish guy + a black guy ( i was literaly ROFLing when i read that).About mario, i cant believe you brought that up, LAME. peach is merely her name you pervert, mario isnt trying to get any femalegenitals the guy lives of of jumping and collecting little cute stars. BTW bowser has red hair and gets constantly beat up by an italian. does this mean italiansare good and irish are evil. well yeah,

TC youre the man!!!

If everyone is being over the top, I may aswell join...

Looks like you SIR, are descriminating. "oh Ganon is the only black guy" - What about Mr Game & Watch? He's black. Obviously you descriminated against 2D characters by ignoring him.

trugs26

[QUOTE="garrett_duffman"][QUOTE="black_ice23"]your just reading to much into things but really metroid was just a sales tactic, cuz young boys at the time and society at the time didnt wanna buy a game with a strong female leade, so not revealing her gender til the end was a way to trick boys to be like "HOLY CRAP, meh. shes still cool" Link? really u are really reading into things and i hardly think Gannon could be considered black, and this coming from a black man Mario dude of all things you could have picked you chose that? i figured you would go after the Shrooms drug connection, but even those are not intentional, Now Square Enix on the other hand,....lil_speedy_rvd

Now its Cooking MAMA???????? wow now you lost all credibility ( well the little you had)

hey TC, if this is your idea of a joke, lemme tell you its going pretty well.

COME ON!! you cant be serious about this. Im black and never in my life hadI thought about ganonndorfbeing the mixture of an irish guy + a black guy ( i was literaly ROFLing when i read that).About mario, i cant believe you brought that up, LAME. peach is merely her name you pervert, mario isnt trying to get any femalegenitals the guy lives of of jumping and collecting little cute stars. BTW bowser has red hair and gets constantly beat up by an italian. does this mean italiansare good and irish are evil. well yeah,

TC youre the man!!!

Rafandrews