Assassin's Creed Exec Accuses Game Journalists of "Subtle Racism"

[Sarah LeBoeuf]

Assassin's Creed Exec Accuses Game Journalists of "Subtle Racism"

The creative director of Assassin's Creed III thinks Japanese games are favored despite "gibberish" stories.

While some gaming franchises release yearly installments without major complaints from the industry, the Assassin's Creed series hasn't been so lucky. Assassin's Creed III Creative Director Alex Hutchinson feels that some people unfairly questioned the series' ability to maintain quality in yearly releases, stating in a recent interview, "We were reading reviews about Revelations and a few people were asking whether this was the end of the franchise." When asked why Nintendo could get away with yearly installments while Revelations was criticized, Hutchinson stated, "I think there's a subtle racism in the business, especially on the journalists' side, where Japanese developers are forgiven for doing what they do."

Hutchinson accused game journalists of praising Japanese games for stories that are "literally gibberish," adding, "then Gears of War comes out and apparently it's the worst written narrative in a game ever. I'll take Gears of War over Bayonetta any time."

Hutchinson wants games to be based on whether or not their narratives are "any good," but that's entirely subjective--what's "gibberish" to one person could be fantastic to another. And of course, Japanese games aren't exempt from criticism [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/9479-In-Defense-of-Final-Fantasy-XIII], either. While Revelations was generally reviewed less favorably than Assassin's Creed II or Brotherhood, it still has a Metacritic review average of 80, so it appears that gamers and reviewers are still enjoying the series despite yearly game releases.

Source: Eurogamer [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/363428/assassins-creed-iii-interview-alex-hutchinson/?page=1#top_banner]

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[Fappy]

Someone sounds butt-hurt. And actually Japanese developers do get criticized for their yearly installment releases. Look at Capcom's fighting games. Is this guy really pulling the race card? Apparently Ubisoft forgot it's PR department in it's other pants pocket.

 

[Metalrocks]

every year is fast but so far i enjoyed every AC. even revelation. and im looking forward to part 3.
to topic; well, ubisoft can maybe think about how to do things better. but at least they are not as bad as ?A.

 

[Absolutionis]

Ubisoft is doing it wrong. They're supposed to hire some group to criticize some insignificant part of the game and then you accuse THEM of racism.

THAT is how you fabricate false controversy and keep your disgusting face in the headlines.

Dammit Ubisoft, you really are incompetent.

 

[GiglameshSoulEater]

I... what?

But look at all the complaints about the last final fantasy! How people complain about the repeats of Mario and Legend of Zelda! He's talking out of his arse, that's what he's doing.

No one likes yearly instalments. People buy them anyway, but that's because gaming culture generally has poor self control.

[small][small](Arse is not in my dictionary, according to google. Damn you, Americanism!)[/small][/small]

 

[WarpPhoenix]

I think the main point to this is, assuming Hutchinson is correct, that if there is any favouritism in the game journalism business, it is done so because of culture difference. I am glad that games from other cultures are given the benefit of the doubt on their stories, and not panned as "gibberish" just because they don't make sense to an individual. He appears to not really understand exaggeration for effect either. Anyone who has played enough games to be credible as a game journalist (More than 10 at least) knows that Gears of War is not the most terrible story of all time, but we can all agree that it isn't a classic to be etched in stone for civilisations in the future. The story is quite dull to most journalists and the overarching themes have been used before, it pretty much has Avatar syndrome.

Games need to be judged differently in different areas depending on what the point of the game is, or what part of the game was clearly showcased the most. Would I judge Limbo for its graphical prowess or voice acting? No. But would I then judge Gears of War for those things? Yes. I do not judge Gears of War so harshly for its story, because I can clearly see that there was not much put into it, whereas I will judge the story of Limbo under a microscope. Both games come off looking pretty good in their respective fields (maybe not Gears voice acting). But I'm sure you get the point.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Someone sounds butt-hurt. And actually Japanese developers do get criticized for their yearly installment releases. Look at Capcom's fighting games. Is this guy really pulling the race card? Apparently Ubisoft forgot it's PR department in it's other pants pocket.

Their PR is terrible too.
OP: And should we bring up score inflation for triple A companies? If we are being fair about double standards.

 

[Fappy]

Someone sounds butt-hurt. And actually Japanese developers do get criticized for their yearly installment releases. Look at Capcom's fighting games. Is this guy really pulling the race card? Apparently Ubisoft forgot it's PR department in it's other pants pocket.

Their PR is terrible too.
OP: And should we bring up score inflation for triple A companies? If we are being fair about double standards.

Why does that not surprise me. Maybe EA can lone them some of their guys. They can spin anything!

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

Okay... is there any Nintendo franchise that releases yearly installments? Certainly not Mario. Not Zelda either. Metroid? No sir. Star Fox? Haven't had one of those in years.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Someone sounds butt-hurt. And actually Japanese developers do get criticized for their yearly installment releases. Look at Capcom's fighting games. Is this guy really pulling the race card? Apparently Ubisoft forgot it's PR department in it's other pants pocket.

Their PR is terrible too.
OP: And should we bring up score inflation for triple A companies? If we are being fair about double standards.

Why does that not surprise me. Maybe EA can lone them some of their guys. They can spin anything!

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114367-Ubisoft-Kills-Ghost-Recon-Future-Soldier-on-PC
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111951-Ubisoft-Says-Always-On-DRM-A-Success
I highly doubt that. These guys live with their foot in their mouth.

 

[Irridium]

So... what would that make Ubisoft for publishing Call of Juarez: The Cartel?

 

[Fappy]

Someone sounds butt-hurt. And actually Japanese developers do get criticized for their yearly installment releases. Look at Capcom's fighting games. Is this guy really pulling the race card? Apparently Ubisoft forgot it's PR department in it's other pants pocket.

Their PR is terrible too.
OP: And should we bring up score inflation for triple A companies? If we are being fair about double standards.

Why does that not surprise me. Maybe EA can lone them some of their guys. They can spin anything!

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114367-Ubisoft-Kills-Ghost-Recon-Future-Soldier-on-PC
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111951-Ubisoft-Says-Always-On-DRM-A-Success
I highly doubt that. These guys live with their foot in their mouth.

Yeah, but EA's PR department gave us wonders like this gem:

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

I don't think a single word he just said made sense.

I've read his statements about five times over now, trying to get to the bottom of his feelings, and I just don't understand it.

'Japanese developers are forgiven for doing what they do.'

And what do they do? What is it exactly that Japanese Developers are doing? Because I have to say I don't think I'd ever put Square-Enix and Capcom and Konami all in the same basket and say they are all the same.

And aren't sweeping generalisations about what races do something like not-subtle racism? And where exactly is this bias in the journalistic world? Mass Effect has been hailed as one of the best series ever (ending notwithstanding let's not start fights) Valve of course, as well as Bungie, Bethesda and even Activision (regardless of what you think about them, the journalists are usually pretty complimentary of Call of Duty)

So maybe if journalists are nice to everyone unless they put out a bad game, and they aren't being nice to Ubisoft, then maybe the falt doesn't lie with the journalists if you catch my drift.

 

[Sparrow]

Whilst I agree with him on some levels (about the yearly instalments and and crappy storylines thing, not the racism bit) the way he phrased his argument is just childish. There are far more adult ways to go about getting your opinion out there.

 

[McMullen]

This guy is an ass. The last time I tried playing Revelations, Ezio killed himself twice in two minutes by jumping in directions that were as much as 90° off of where I told him to jump, and did it a couple more times without killing himself right after that. Game disc became a frisbee after the fourth time, where somehow he jumped in the opposite direction of where I told him to. It's still sitting where it landed; don't much care whether it gets damaged or not, because playing it more consistently creates frustration than fun.

If you make a game where a player's input is so inconsistently interpreted, you're simply bad at your job. Revelations may as well be a movie for all the influence I feel I have on the character at times.

If he wants to not have the quality of his games questioned, then all he needs to do is produce quality work.

 

[bafrali]

I agree with the guy except for the Bayonetta part but he wasn't supposed to say it out loud.

 

[Sparrow]

Hutchinson wants games to be based on whether or not their narratives are "any good," but that's entirely subjective--what's "gibberish" to one person could be fantastic to another.

Fallacious nonsense. Whether a person appreciates a narrative is subjective, but the written form has a structure and narratives CAN be judged objectively on that basis, just as art can be judged objectively on technical quality, and music can be judged by form and harmonious complexity.

I like Pulp military sci-fi, Warhammer 40K novels in particular, but I would be a cretinous moron if I tried to equate them with actual capital-L Literature. I like some cheesy Eurodance music, but arguing that such music is "good" would be nonsense.

The same applies here: you can enjoy a convoluted, nonsensical, poorly-constructed mess of a story like many JRPGs, but that does not make it good, because it remains a convoluted, nonsensical, poorly-constructed mess despite your personal subjective level of appreciation.

I'm inclined to agree with you here. It's a tired example, but Twilight is provably bad if you examine it's structure and wording. Some lines in the series are just downright awkward and poorly constructed. By all means, enjoy it but... you can't call it a "good" novel when it has too many glaring technical problems.

This guy is an ass. The last time I tried playing Revelations, Ezio killed himself twice in two minutes by jumping in directions that were as much as 90° off of where I told him to jump, and did it a couple more times without killing himself right after that. Game disc became a frisbee after the fourth time, where somehow he jumped in the opposite direction of where I told him to. It's still sitting where it landed; don't much care whether it gets damaged or not, because playing it more consistently creates frustration than fun.

If you make a game where a player's input is so inconsistently interpreted, you're simply bad at your job. Revelations may as well be a movie for all the influence I feel I have on the character at times.

If he wants to not have the quality of his games questioned, then all he needs to do is produce quality work.

Well, he's creative director isn't he? I don't think he'd have a say in gameplay aspects. I assume his job involves narrative aspects, hence why he's complaining about storylines in games and not gameplay.