According to this GamePolitics article, Capcom's racial insensitivity isn't focused solely on African villagers. Nay, the House of Mega Man is truly an equal opportunity offender (assuming you aren't caucazoid). Unlike the Resident Evil 5 issue though, the matter of Capcom vs the most controversial religious group in our modern world seems to have been settled.
Hit the jump for an explanation of what the hell I'm on about, and the most carefully worded post I have ever written.
On the surface, Capcom's upcoming Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure is an adorable adventure capitalizing on the company's long history of marketable characters and fun gameplay, but to the trained ears of some, it's an affront to the Muslim faith.
As you can (possibly) hear from the video embedded above, certain native villagers within the game utter the words "Allahu akbar", an Islamic phrase meaning "God is most great". Obviously, the use of such a phrase by fictional savages in a video game is horribly offensive to those of the Muslim faith, and according to a press release from the Council of American-Islamic Relations, Capcom has been browbeaten into removing the phrase from the title.
Normally there would be a joke here, but anything short of copying the ingredients list off of a can of Spaggheti-Os will probably offend some ethno-religious group somewhere, and even in writing that last line, I've probably already offended the National Institute for the Protection of Sensitive Italian Stereotypes.
I'm going to go check my bed for equine heads now. Those filthy Itals have a habit of horribly violent solutions to seemingly common problems (but damn if they can't make a fantastic ravioli).
Contest:
6:33 PM on 08.01.2007
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Goddamned Capcom and it's killing of white zombies in Resident Evil 0, 1, 2, and 3.
On the other hand, they use the exclamation to call some savage critters to drink soup from their cannibalistic skull-cups... Maybe not the best way to portray the West's "reaching out" and such :)
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
So Muslims can burn down a Dutch KFC? Hell no, man.
Think of the Dutch KFCs.
This though, seems a bit different. I couldn't find out the exact setting of the game (besides "Treasure Island"), but because it's got pirates galore and all that I'm assuming the Carribean. The percentage of Muslims in the Carribean is fairly small, somewhere between 5-15% of the population I believe, (and most of those are concentrated in Guyana, Tobago, and Trinidad), and Islam didn't really take hold in the area until the early 1900s. I absolutely detest censorship in video games and don't particularly agree with this (as I don't really agree with most censorship), but at the same time I have to wonder why they made the "savages" Muslim when, based on what I'm assuming the setting of the game to resemble, there is a very small Muslim population that really only popped up recently. I don't think the council is upset that people are saying the phrase "allah ackbar" persay, but rather that the people saying it are the "crazy backwards savages" in a setting that is predominately non-Muslim to begin with. It's kind of like how gamers get upset when they're portrayed in the media as super nerdy, awkward, and unattractive, when we all know that's not the case, at least with most of the Dtoid members.
Again, I'm not a fan of censorship at all and don't agree with the decision to pull it, but I also can see legitimate reasons as to why this group would be upset, way moreso than with the zombie debacle.
For once in my life I want to see a radio jock, a news person, a game company or any other media outlet who is accused of "insensitivity" to just tell these special interest groups to fuck off. Theres bodies rotting in the sunlight in Darfur and the best that this group can do is sit there and act like some little fink in first grade running to his/her teacher because some Japanese game company DARES to use a religious phrase in a totally appropriate context.
All I hear is "AAAAAUAAAA HWAGBAR". I don't know though, that might just be insulting the God Aua.
Humans, a bunch of delluded animals or a highly evolved species? You decide.
Although, because they're cute and animated, it's more likely that younger children who don't understand the concept of stereotypes and things like that will see it.
This is something that's adorable and animated, and most people now (I hope) would consider it to be fairly offensive.
Although, because they're cute and animated, it's more likely that younger children who don't understand the concept of stereotypes and things like that will see it.
This is something that's adorable and animated, and most people now (I hope) would consider it to be fairly offensive.
And let's get one thing straight. "Fundamentalism" is such a noob term. It does not and should not connote terrorism. The problem with terrorists is that they are not educated. Therefore they don't even know the proper teachings in the fundamental Islamic sources. (the Qur'an and Sunnah)
I hope that didn't come across as me trying to show you up, because that wasn't my intention at all. And I agree that insulting physical features are more easily conveyed, but I also think it's fairly clear when you have a guy drinking out of a skull yelling ALLAH AKBAR.
@Andrew5329
In an equal society, that would make perfect sense and be totally ideal. In a country like the US, where I think the most recent poll said something like almost 50% of Americans distrust or dislike Muslims (I don't have a source for this, and if someone can prove me wrong I'd happily concede), it's a bit more sensitive. Additionally, everyone gets a little pissy about stereotypes when it's something that applies to them. Think about how we all get worked up (or at least I do), when some politician decides to take someone like the Columbine kids and say "LOOK WHAT VIDEOGAMES DO". Also a stereotype, granted it's far more extreme, but I think it helps highlight the point that it's really easy to dismiss other people's concerns about stereotypes yet act differently when the stereotype is a little more personal.
Also, I totally want to see Coal Black and the Sebben Dwarfs now.
.....
I kind of do too.
That's a game that absolutely deserves to never see the light of day. I would say the same thing about any Israeli made game that did something similar.
I used to believe the net-pro free speech thing, but it seemed to me that people felt that way until it came to something that really meant something important to them, and then free speech was out the window. Again I point to the example of when people talk about video games causing violence; it's massively incorrect, and most of the game community gets (legitimately) upset by it. We care because it directly relates to us, and it's a slander on who we are and what we believe in. When it happens to another group of people we don't identify with, it's a lot harder to understand the rationale about why they're upset, and as such it's easy to dismiss their claims. Because most of the stuff like this that happens on the net in general isn't really directed towards the majority of net users, it seems like the net can really be pro-free speech when in actuality it may not be.
I used to believe the net-pro free speech thing, but it seemed to me that people felt that way until it came to something that really meant something important to them, and then free speech was out the window. Again I point to the example of when people talk about video games causing violence; it's massively incorrect, and most of the game community gets (legitimately) upset by it. We care because it directly relates to us, and it's a slander on who we are and what we believe in. When it happens to another group of people we don't identify with, it's a lot harder to understand the rationale about why they're upset, and as such it's easy to dismiss their claims. Because most of the stuff like this that happens on the net in general isn't really directed towards the majority of net users, it seems like the net can really be pro-free speech when in actuality it may not be.
What I don't like is those old cartoons being censored. Yes, racism is an ugly part of the history of the states, but erasing evidence of that history feels very Orwellian.
Now, this is kinda different. Except that it's not. If they are offended because a certain string of sounds appear in a video game, good for them. Go for it I say. I think they're just upset that when it happens in a video game, they're not blowing up REAL people, and we just can't have that.
They are not special, despite what their book written a thousand yars ago on the skin from a camel's ass says. We are all people and we all get equal rites. At least that's the myth.
If they don't like it they can go back under their rock where no one can offend them, but they can't ask our culture and heritage to be put on the back burner and have certain ideas blacklisted in the creative arts simply because their imaginary friend told them he doesn't like it.
T.T
p.s. I would have a huge problem with them trying to depict the Prophet (PBUH) in any fashion, great or evil, just because that's very different. Just because the western culture has capitalized from a fictitious image of the Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ) (PBUH) (which I also think is wrong) doesn't make it ok.
If everyone else can handle people making fun of their fairy tale beliefs then so can they.
What does it mean "PBUH"?
As you said, everybody has the right to buy or refuse to buy a game that could offend his/her beliefs.
For another example of Japanese religious zaniness, read about Jesus: Dreadful Bio-Monster