TITLE
Punch-Out!!’s Black Eye
AUTHOR
Sumantra Lahiri
PUBLICATION
The Escapist
YEAR
2009
ARTICLE TYPE
Article
FROM THE ARTICLE
Last spring, when Capcom released the first trailer for Resident Evil 5, message board posters erupted with the usual internet man-child commentary: “Resident Evil 5 FTW,” “I gotz to haves this game,” etc. That is, until Level Up’s N’Gai Croal posted some poignant thoughts discussing the racially charged imagery from Resident Evil 5 trailer and what it meant to him as a black gamer. His comments were both sharp and inspired, so like most thought-provoking commentary on the internet it was ridiculed mercilessly.Yet seeing the race issue of Resident Evil 5 unfold has shown that, given enough time, any group can become socially conscious – even gamers. This may come as a shock if you have ever braved the racially hostile waters of Xbox Live, but games in general have become more culturally sensitive in the last couple of years. That’s not to say stereotypes in gaming have been eradicated, but they’re not nearly as rampant.
Don’t believe me? Take a look at most videogames from the 1980s. Games from that era were riddled with stereotypes that internet protest groups would never stand for today. But one popular title stands head-and-shoulders above the rest in terms of the sheer number of ethnic and racial stereotypes it employed: Punch-Out!! for the NES.
GAMES MENTIONED
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
TOPICS MENTIONED
Race