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Why has Nintendo not yet officially acknowledged their support for the black community and the BLM movement even once? (update: NoA makes statement)

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Dultimate

Dultimate

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Oct 27, 2017
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It may seem as a PR move by many, if not most of the people but it's still good to show that you stand on the right side of history. That you stand with the oppressed and not the oppressors. By staying silent they are taking a position either way and that is one of being complicit with the status quo.

The second reason why they should put out a message is because one of the only way to affect change in these modern times is if the politicians have the will of big businesses behind them. By helping to amplify the message it will help facilitate change. As someone else said, there's only 3 companies in that market.

They would do well the heed the message from MS regarding these times and matters. This is them amplifying the voice of one of it's employees

https://twitter.com/Microsoft/status/1267965473263673346/photo/1

I also believe in Sony's sincerity on the subject and don't believe they did it just for the PR.
 
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GuEiMiRrIRoW

GuEiMiRrIRoW

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Did they say somethiing on 9/11 or even #metoo?
I can't remember once they did any political comment. That's.... bad..... really bad.
 

Faboo

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People are being killed in the street and you want Nintendo to put out a tweet? Maybe you all should contribute to the cause instead of pointing at who isn't.
 
TheAndyMan

TheAndyMan

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I think of it like Arkane Studios. I don't expect the company itself to issue a statement, but it's nice and more meaningful when individuals who work there do it.
Ex: Harvey Smith, the director for Arkane Austin making a statement.
 
bionic77

bionic77

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Oct 25, 2017
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VanDoughnut said:
that last paragraph I understand. But I think people in the gaming community need to shine a light on this, because racists and bigots see gaming as their safe space.

Nintendo is hugely influential, and I'd appreciate if they'd leverage their audience and mindshare to prop up black people and reinforce the message that gaming not only includes them, but also denounces all the bigoted ignorance that gaming has become synonymous with.

Even if it's not going to dismantle all the racist institutions at work, we can start by normalizing BLM in places like gaming and go from there. This is a moment you can build from.
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I could be wrong on this but for me Nintendo is a foreign company that didn't do anything to get us where we are today in America so I am not going to expect them to have to work to get us out of this mess. I would of course welcome any help and anyone that does the right thing.

I just don't want to waste energy on the stuff that I think is not as important at the moment. Go hard at the US Government. Protest, donate, vote, etc. Go hard at Facebook and Twitter, which many people actively use to push racist agendas and they allow it because thats part of their business. Go hard at the NFL for actually pushing back against BLM 4 years ago when Kaepernick tried to do this in a peaceful and respectful manner.

Granted this is just my opinion but I really want this change to happen as soon as possible and to me I think our anger should be laser focused on the people, corporations and government entities that work to stop this from happening. Fight the oppressors not the bystanders. You can tell the bystanders to fuck off if you want, but don't waste too much energy on them.
 
Hero_Select

Hero_Select

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Kolx said:
I feel like people are using this as a way to justify Nintendo silence about any issue. This's not an excuse. Silence right now is almost as bad as being complicit.
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Activision Blizzard said the same thing Sony has said. The same company that won't show support for Hong Kong because they like that Chinese money. It's hypocritical and companies say things that will earn them brownie points.

What's the point? Companies aren't people and just because they say or don't say something shouldn't be taken at face value.
 
night814

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Astronut325 said:
I didn't know this. Got a link that states that?
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www.resetera.com

Nintendo is double-matching staff donations to the Black Lives Matter Movement, also has stayed silent all day #BlackoutTuesday

Artist at Nintendo confirms it, they have also not tweeted anything at all today, it very well could be because it is #BlackoutTuesday, they have not made a statement yet however. They do match donations a lot in various cases when something happens, it is still dishearting that they have not...
www.resetera.com www.resetera.com

An artist that works for Nintendo tweeted out that they "love working for a good company that doubles donations"(which was since taken down at her own discretion), they have a blanket policy of matching donations which is in this thread already but they are doubling them currently.
 
HaremKing

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Basically, what it boils down to is that Nintendo has decided that, as a public face to its business, it does not behoove those making decisions to acknowledge, support, opine, or otherwise involve itself in the ongoing struggle for racial equality.
 
VanDoughnut

VanDoughnut

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cnorwood said:
I get that making racists mad is great and funny but in the end of the day racism is systemic. How are they combating the system? Especially when they have such a huge part in the system as they are multi billion dollar companies. Are they going to stop having tax havens and reinvest that money into disadvantaged communities? If it's nothing huge then throwing what would be peanuts to them means nothing to me, especially since more people will probably buy playstation stuff for this.
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Definitely. No one thinks these systemic issues will be abolished overnight and to expect a corporation to be a huge factor, is foolish.

What they can do is make sure talking about systemic oppression, and use their platform as a way to highlight it and put in into the public conscious. So many don't think systemic oppression is a thing. You can normalize BLM and the ongoing conversations surrounding oppression. We need to start normalizing these conversations, and we need to push back on the bigotry that festers in gaming communities.

And a lot of that festering is because people are more comfortable staying silent, and avoid tough discussions altogether. We've normalized a privileged indifference to systemic issues in gaming in attempt not to offend. We need to start normalizing ongoing discussions and discourage it as a safe place where we can conveniently ignore them. Nintendo's silence seems to reinforce gaming as an insular safe place where we can ignore our problems, in times like this that's more detrimental than ever.
 

Deleted member 64609

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Aside from NOA being conservative in general (and no, creative localization in a few games doesn't change that), you won't see many black people in policy positions there either.

If they're actually putting money down then that's great.
 
shadow2810

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Dultimate said:
It may seem as a PR move by many, if not most of the people but it's still good to show that you stand on the right side of history. That you stand with the oppressed and not the oppressors. By staying silent they are taking a position either way and that is one of being complicit with the status quo.
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So Activision Blizzard is good now?

PR tweet is meaningless.
 
TortadeJamon

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J.T. said:
they can start by acknowledging BLM and raising awareness like the other companies are. Is that so hard?
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No, but I see no reason for them to do so. Sony and Microsoft are both based out of the US these days, so it makes sense for them to weigh in on events.
 
Skittzo

Skittzo

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Labor said:
Aside from NOA being conservative in general (and no, creative localization in a few games doesn't change that), you won't see many black people in policy positions there either.

If they're actually putting money down then that's great.
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Reggie was the President of NOA for how many years...?
 
Iron Eddie

Iron Eddie

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shadow2810 said:
So Activision Blizzard is good now?

PR tweet is meaningless.
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I don't get it, that tweet was from Microsoft, not Activision/Blizzard?

See, this is the problem when talking politics and religion. You can never please everyone and there most certianly will be conflict involved if you say too much either way which probably explains Nintendo's acknowledgement so far.
 
Skittzo

Skittzo

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Labor said:
Was. And that's one.
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He retired happily. It's not like he was forced out.

Nintendo is actually one of the most diverse Japanese companies there is, let alone Japanese gaming companies. I can't tell you how many black people are in policy decisions there but I can assure you the majority are likely Japanese, because most of their policy is decided in Japan.

The fact that the head of their biggest branch for 13 years was a black man should speak to how much they value diversity and equality, no?
 

Dekim

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Why are so many people in here peddling the argument "Well, this is how Nintendo always operate" as if that is some sort of golden pass for being cowardly silent on the issue of racial justice?
 
Bigjig

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So did you folk get all riled up when American companies stayed silent on Hong Kong for that lucrative China money or nah?
 

Deleted member 64609

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skittzo0413 said:
He retired happily. It's not like he was forced out.

Nintendo is actually one of the most diverse Japanese companies there is, let alone Japanese gaming companies. I can't tell you how many black people are in policy decisions there but I can assure you the majority are likely Japanese, because most of their policy is decided in Japan.

The fact that the head of their biggest branch for 13 years was a black man should speak to how much they value diversity and equality, no?
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Look, I don't really want to get into a thing, I just wish people knew more about how the industry worked sometimes...
 
Skittzo

Skittzo

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Dekim said:
Why are so many people in here peddling the argument "Well, this is how Nintendo always operate" as if that is some sort of golden pass for being cowardly silent on the issue of racial justice?
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"This is how they always operate" is being given as a reason for their behavior, not as an excuse.
 
Hikari

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They are not obligated to make a statement. I mean it is awesome that Sony and Microsoft have and some other developers but not every giant corporation is going to make a statement. It sucks but there's nothing we can do about it.

and the "it's Nintendo" replies.... what exactly does that mean?
 
Skittzo

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Labor said:
Look, I don't really want to get into a thing, I just wish people knew more about how the industry worked sometimes...
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I'm not sure what you're referring to. Again Nintendo is one of the more diverse gaming companies out there, they have pretty impressive statistics when it comes to that. I'm aware that it's very tough in the gaming industry as a whole for black people but I'm not sure calling Nintendo out in that is directing your anger at the right place.

Of course I feel compelled to mention that I still think they should make a statement, that was just a little tangent.
 

Deleted member 48828

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God damn people. We want Nintendo to make a statement and direct people to actual ways to help the issue. Not doing it is fucking lame. PERIOD. You can take your shitty anti-capitalist nonsense takes elsewhere.

These are entities with huge amount of influence in the world. OF COURSE THEY SHOULD BE USING IT TO HELP BLM. Fuck....
 
thediamondage

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Since when did corporations and companies become part of the messaging of radical movements that want to overhaul systemic issues in politics, law enforcement, and society? It seems fucking weird as hell to me, an older person, to expect Taco Bell or Coke or Nintendo to join up with ANY sort of social movement.

"Coca Cola, proud sponsers of The Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther Kings 12pm speech" ???

You know you are doing the right thing when corporations RESIST you, when they want you to "slow down", when they are extremely uncomfortable with what you are saying. If corporations are falling over themselves to join up with your cause, seems fishy as hell to me.
 
@dedmunk

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It would be great if these rich companies could do something more than post up an image on twitter to help the black community.
 
thisismadness

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My feeling is that everyone should show their support.. i cn't think of a single good reason not to.

"Companies aren't our friends" -- no shit, we know that. I'm not your friend either. Most of the people you see and interact with are likely not your friends. But we are all still responsible for supporting one another and shaping the culture as a collective. So I commend any individual or entity who makes a statement -- every voice counts.
 

Deleted member 48828

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thediamondage said:
Since when did corporations and companies become part of the messaging of radical movements that want to overhaul systemic issues in politics, law enforcement, and society? It seems fucking weird as hell to me, an older person, to expect Taco Bell or Coke or Nintendo to join up with ANY sort of social movement.

"Coca Cola, proud sponsers of The Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther Kings 12pm speech" ???

You know you are doing the right thing when corporations RESIST you, when they want you to "slow down", when they are extremely uncomfortable with what you are saying. If corporations are falling over themselves to join up with your cause, seems fishy as hell to me.
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Call me crazy, but I think BLM gets that enough from the literal goverment and police state murdering them as we speak. Not wanting corporations to contribute valuable resources and awareness when they are capable is nihilistic nonsense from people more interested in being "anti-corporation" than actual societal change.
 
PIkkonX

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Oct 27, 2017
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IMO, them making a statement is useless and means nothing in the long term. What would matter, is if Nintendo created more black characters in general.

They have a somewhat popular game out there with 75+ characters in it and not one is black.
 
JershJopstin

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MGPanda said:
Yeah, I'm highly disappointed in them, to be completely honest. It costs nothing to just post a small message saying how they support the black community. It obviously means shit, but at least it's a "nice" gesture. Doing nothing just feels like they legitimately don't even care enough as to do that.
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Just yesterday we had a thread on how Pokemon's gesture was out of touch and worse than not saying anything. Agree with that or not, it's pretty clear why Nintendo's doing business as usual here.

I'm not saying you shouldn't be disappointed by that, but it's the answer to the question in the title.
 
MisterSnrub

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Labor said:
Aside from NOA being conservative in general (and no, creative localization in a few games doesn't change that), you won't see many black people in policy positions there either.

If they're actually putting money down then that's great.
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They have a history donating to republican politicians iirc, someone feel free to correct me but I am confident this is true. They just want low taxes and a sanitised, apolitical image. It's a bummer but I expected nothing from Nintendo anyway
 
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