The controversy surrounding Ash Parrish, a reporter for The Verge, deepens with her comments on Japanese society in light of the backlash against Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Calling others racists can actually point the spotlight... on yourself.
Parrish, already listed on KotakuDetected as an untrustworthy reporter, accused Japanese society of being "violently racist," escalating the tension surrounding the game's depiction of historical events and cultural elements.
Parrish wants to paint the picture that just because a main character is black, that Japanese gamers are now racist for having any concerns whatsoever. The backlash from Japanese gamers, primarily, stems from concerns over historical inaccuracies and cultural insensitivity in Ubisoft's portrayal of the Sengoku era in Assassin's Creed Shadows. It has never had anything to do with how Yasuke was black.
It's the fact that Ubisoft decided it would be a good idea to use a black character as the main protagonist in a game set in Fuedal Japan... they described him as the "African samurai" - which many argue lacks historical context. Yes, he existed, but he was a servant to samurai. Changing history to fit a narrative is and always has been the core issue here... Not racism.
This has led to a petition, garnering nearly 100,000 signatures (no small amount), demanding Ubisoft to halt the game's launch and show more respect and accurate research regarding Japanese history.
Ubisoft attempted to address the criticisms by emphasizing their creative liberty in crafting an entertaining video game rather than an accurate historical simulation. They acknowledged the feedback from the Japanese community and expressed their intention to adjust the game content based on constructive criticism while emphasizing their long-standing desire to explore Feudal Japan in the Assassin's Creed series.
Parrish's statements have shown how she only looks at one side of a coin to fit her narrative regarding the intersection of race, history, and cultural representation in gaming. Her assertion that criticisms of historical accuracy are veiled racism explains where her mindset is at, challenging the gaming community and critics to examine the underlying motivations for their backlash.
Parrish's remarks lead me to believe that she does not want to entertain any dialogue about race, history, and nationalism within the context of global media and entertainment... Which is really too bad. It's approaches like this that cling to 'racism' for attention that unfortunately, ultimately hurts progress. ~Smash
I thought I would add my two cents in here and say that Miss. Ash Parriah should maybe watch the Pathetic shit that she spews from her Piehole because I don't think she really realizes that her Disgracefull words are not exactly going to go over very well with the japanese peoples and they could indeed call for her head on a platter
Why Japanese or Asian are angry? Maybe because of the real life Yasukes
https://youtu.be/8nxV5havVmc?si=GmebPIwvdHbqv5Hd
And insults by a black streamer recently in Japan
https://youtu.be/YtPHdx_BBLA?si=8uFQbnjylPRHjT7e
Calling others racist and in the same breath making an extremely racist comment is the perfect example of today's woke world. Print it and frame it.
Let's be honest, if she was hired to write about "marginalised" voices in the industry, she was always going to be an activist.
Black people, Asian people, mixed race people and people of all kinds of ethnicities, religions and skin tones have played and enjoyed games even before she was born. No one called them "marginalised", they were just regular folks who enjoyed the hobby.
Also how hard is it to grasp that AC Japan has been one of the most requested games since AC launched? We want to bask in Japanese culture and see how people acted, what their traditions were and does she seriously believe that a gigantic black man in Feudal Japan would just be as accepted…