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Sony Advertising Has Shown a Noticeable Increase in Their Representation of People of Colour. I Admire That.
- Thread starter HebrewHammer
- Start date
I don't really like the whole "separate but equal" thing going on with Miles Morales. It bothers me that it's not just "Spider-Man 2". Unless they don't number any sequels in the series, I guess.
I noticed it from the first reveal it also seems its not just sony specific either from the gtav segway and way that trailer was edited, miles showcase, square enix showing project athia (hair lips was a dead giveaway, probably haven't worked the eyes yet etc) which is huge for them tbh, kena bridge of spirits with the two brother game devs so on and so forth its been pleasant too see going into this gen still a ways to go but its a start :)
Yeah good post. Expresses why I thought this was a weird thread
Question to the US people:
In your opinion, could the majority of the afro-americans play on Xbox ? And this would be a push to get them?
or are they already more on PS, and it is for keeping them?
Sometimes a minority can be more visible or attracted to one product for various reasons.
I agree with several posts here: seeing more POC protagonists would be better.
In your opinion, could the majority of the afro-americans play on Xbox ? And this would be a push to get them?
or are they already more on PS, and it is for keeping them?
Sometimes a minority can be more visible or attracted to one product for various reasons.
I agree with several posts here: seeing more POC protagonists would be better.
I hadn't seen this, that was great! Her reactions to RE8 were fun to watch. Thanks for sharing.
A video game box is "synonymous with people of color" because one of their games has a Black character? And some Black celebrities got early access?
This thread is a great example of white people learning the wrong lessons from the BLM movement and other consciousness raising efforts
This thread is a great example of white people learning the wrong lessons from the BLM movement and other consciousness raising efforts
This is a white people thing right?
"Cool black person" is helping to sell thing has never worked on me and I always feel like company is pandering when its done.
Ive seen it done right like Ice-T and Gears where effectively he used his clout and made noise to get himself in the game instead of the studio googling "most popular black person" seeing the results and paying whoever is willing to say something nice about their product.
<--- Is black, also curious if any non-white people actually thought about this as is framed in the OP.
P.S Yes I am a cynic
"Cool black person" is helping to sell thing has never worked on me and I always feel like company is pandering when its done.
Ive seen it done right like Ice-T and Gears where effectively he used his clout and made noise to get himself in the game instead of the studio googling "most popular black person" seeing the results and paying whoever is willing to say something nice about their product.
<--- Is black, also curious if any non-white people actually thought about this as is framed in the OP.
P.S Yes I am a cynic
White guilt + Overcompensation = Completely missing the point.
Yes that sums up what I was just thinking. Also the other common trend is for white people to express their "solidarity" through petty consumption that has no material impact on anyone. "I bought a hashtag blm T-Shirt at target so now I'm officially an ally now and don't need to do anything anymore."
Its actually somewhat disheartening to see and I find it funny that "mostly" nonwhite people are praising this and other panderous gestures.
The cool black person as a marketing tool isnt new, we been living this life a long time.
Seeing this and hearing people praise it.....to the extent of saying "PS5 is synonymous with People of Color. I admire that." is borderline insulting.
What the fuck.
Something about this thread was weird to me, and I think this pretty much said it, lol.
They are doing this to sell PS5s, same as Microsoft casting Daniel Kaluuya in their Xbox commercial, or sending a gimmick fridge to Snoop Dogg.
"Have you heard about [entertainment product]?"
"Oh, you mean the one that [ethnic group] people love, right?"
"Oh, you mean the one that [ethnic group] people love, right?"
I feel you, but this is still some cynical shit. I would tone down the op saying PS5 is synonymous with black ppl lol. But come on, corporations are products of century old customs and traditions, it's a nice thing to see even if it is just marketing. It's like when Sony tweeted out BLM and doubled down on it for the idiots who had a problem with it. It's still good to say good stuff about good stuff, regardless of the reasons behind them. And I believe miles does have some black writers IINM and Sony music has been diversifying as well.
@OP maybe "PS5 marketing has mostly featured black people, that's cool" something along those lines is less hyperbolic and more true IMO
Oh, I very much noticed it, and I love it.
It's just nice to see so much representation in entertainment media, and I hope this extends further, into the games themselves (not just a licensed game like Miles Morales, who has the massive Spider-Man lineage to support him). I'm hoping that we'll start to see more PoC and marginalized groups as lead characters in games, and given the same level of nuance and care that many white gaming protagonists receive.
It's just nice to see so much representation in entertainment media, and I hope this extends further, into the games themselves (not just a licensed game like Miles Morales, who has the massive Spider-Man lineage to support him). I'm hoping that we'll start to see more PoC and marginalized groups as lead characters in games, and given the same level of nuance and care that many white gaming protagonists receive.
In the U.K. using the term 'coloured' to describe a black person is considered pretty racist so it's always jarring to see it used so often from American folk. After all white people aren't described as 'people without colour'. That's another story anyway, just was like '?' when I saw the thread title.
Agree with the main point though. Fantastic to see more black lead characters in gaming.
Agree with the main point though. Fantastic to see more black lead characters in gaming.
Yeah that's a whole other discussion about othering but then juxtaposed with reclamation, hence why BAME is used in UK.
What's cynical about it? Is this not a common thing in marketing that has happened for decades? This isn't like Sony's going out to communities of people of color and bringing them into the spotlight and giving them opportunities. Giving people without a name or fame a chance to shine and pushing things that matter other than fucking PS5's. This is paying a person or people who have a massive fanbase to play their product and show their fanbase to help sell consoles.
Now about that Black Lives Matter. Where was all that Black Lives Matter when Botham Shem Jean got murdered in his apartment. Where was it when Eric Garner couldn't breathe either? The killing of Philando Castile who tried so hard just to comply and be responsible but still got murdered. It's really cool to say things when shit gets hot, but to me it's just words until I see real change in how things are ran and not just putting people of color up to have a tick in the check box. I don't think any company deserves a high five for that lol.
I don't think it's a bad thing to have representation of course, but the premise of this thread is worrying at best and insulting at worse. So if being cynical is noticing when a company uses people of color to market but doesn't make them meaningful leaders in a visible way then sure you can call me cynical. I'd rather call myself realistic and unfortunately experienced.
This is where I'm at. I agree with the points about having more people of color actually working in the industry (especially in leadership or supervisory positions) but for me, actually seeing black characters star in a game is what excites me. The hardcore gamers would know about the black developers, but the avg consumers, and the young folks playing their games won't. And if they're just making games with the same White protagonists, I'm not sure about what impact that would have for the community. This of course isn't me saying that we dont need more people of color actually working in the community.
When they announced Miles, I was excited just because it was a new Insomniac Spider-Man game. But as I thought about it, I couldn't remember any AAA game I've played where the main character was a black person. I'm sure there are a few, but as I sit here now really thinking about it, nothing comes to mind. I'm not including crime based games for obvious reasons.
Non people of color really don't know how exciting it is to see black leads. What it means to our children, and even to us grown folks. So while seeing black folks take a lead in the PS marketing is definitely nice, it wouldn't exactly make me think how the OP is feeling. Give me a full blown Naughty Dog game starting a POC, have the next brand new AAA IP from PS studios star a Hispanic or black woman. Do that, and then I'll say that Playstation is synonymous with people of color.
Remember when Sony did this? WTF now this was back in 06 and as a company they have made strides to make their marketing more inclusive, but I dont care about window dressing, open up the doors, seek talent in all the places, and remove the barriers to entry then we can talk.
BTW this isn't a slam on Sony, this is my point for corporations everywhere, I personally sit on an inclusion and Diversity board within a publicly traded enterprise, every day i fight to make sure that we are drawing from the biggest pool possible. We arent perfect, but we are getting there.
OP
OP
Anecdotal, but African Americans lean heavily PlayStation in my experience. I blame all of the Xbox live racism personally.
Black woman here. I only game on PC now, but when I was younger me and my friends always saw it as PS>Xbox because Playstation has always been more friendly to Black gamers than Xbox has (which seemed to prioritize their white dudebro image until extremely recently). To attest to this, my sisters barely play video games, but when they do they use the PS4.
Glad to see more people checking out Ace Vane. That video he did with Leslie Jones was hilarious.
This needs to be quoted as much as needed. Took the words out of my mouth.
It is neat to see that they have such talented POC representing. I only hope they are also applying that to the teams within and actively seeking to address a lot of the imbalance that happens in businesses of this size (and especially in the games industry) for diversity from junior all the way up to director level positions. It is great to see some additional representation in games too and I hope Athia from SE also keeps the protagonist we saw in the teaser, along with character like Miles and I would say Nadine but it is very unfortunate that is not an example of black talent that it should have been. Representation at all levels is important so I hope they continue to bang this drum throughout business! I have seen businesses where they claim BAME or women in games or tech departments and have that silo'd with no real evidence of growth in this area.
I never noticed it, but I like it because it tells me Sony is putting thier money where there mouth is when they showed support for Black Lives Matter. thus Shows it wasn't cheap talk for people to buy thier shit And that's a win in my book!
Synonymous is probably the cringiest thing I've read. Like, what? It's a corporation's marketing machine, maybe lets see Sony actually give more POC actual leadership positions.
OP
OP
I don't disagree with that at all. But I felt like their commitment to hiring POC in their marketing was a noble effort - and certainly not one they should stop at.
User Banned (2 Weeks): Console wars; prior ban for similar behavior; inappropriate juxtaposition
This has been the trend for many years. Most of social circle(POC and LGBT) have gravitated toward PS and Nintendo hardware. We usually refer to Xbox as "MAGAbox" given the type games and crowd it attracts :/
What 'MAGA' games am I supposed to find on the Xbox? Sometimes I can't even comprehend some of the takes I see on here.
It should be completely obvious to anyone that Sony's strategy is the same as any other company - putting on the face of representation by hiring prominent people of color in sports and music to sell more to consumers. Marketing and HR departments are shoving D&I training down the throats of employees in every company and nearly all advertising selects people based on stringent diversity criteria. Yet they still won't employ people of color in prominent roles.
Can't believe people fall for it to be honest.
Can't believe people fall for it to be honest.