When N’gai Croal criticized Capcom’s artistic decisions in Resident Evil 5, he boldly claimed that “nobody black worked on this game,” a suggestion I found to be a little presumptuous and just a little bit prejudiced in its own right — something I brought up when he and I argued the matter. My instinct was right, it seems, as Capcom has revealed that yes, black people did indeed work on Resident Evil 5.
“There are black members in the development team. We do have staff working on the game, who are aware of the historical background and we are constantly checking these kinds of things with them,” stated producer Jun Takeuchi. “We certainly didn’t anticipate the reaction. We were quite surprised. I think everyone understands that we never set out to with the intention to make anything that was racist – that was never our intention.”
Of course, most of RE5‘s critics have kept their heads down since Capcom blew their presumptions apart bit by bit, but it’s always nice to feel a little vindication. That said, I expect this “controversy” to get even more ridiculous once the mainstream press get their hands on it. If Capcom wasn’t prepared for the Internet’s backlash, I hope they at least prepare themselves for what the reactionary American and British public can unleash.
