The 10 Most Racist Video Games

Complex: We're not just talking about the 13 year old bigots who spew slurs over Xbox Live but actual video games that have crossed the line. Here are 10 video games that have jaw-dropping racist overtones.

[Relientk77]

Wow at numbers 3, 2, and 1 lol

[Blackdeath_663]

suprised that call of duty isnt up there

[HammadTheBeast]

Why? Other than the "Save the Congo" thing in MW3 it's not overly racist.

P.s. I do not play or associate myself with this C.o.D. thing. I have played it at a friends house though.

[blumatt]

I think people are entirely too quick to the draw to cry "Racist!!" at movies and video-games alike.

It's funny how even certain words nowadays are bleeped out on television, like faggot, retard, and, for fear of being flagged for language, the "N" word.

One huge example is the book Huckleberry Finn. The N word's use in that book incited all kinds of anger. It's just ridiculous. The author wanted that word in there to greater reflect people's diction in that time period.

Political Correctness has gotten way overblown.

[Gaming101]

1, 2 and 3 are all racist - the rest is some overly sensitive boy waving his politically correct wand, complaining over what noone actually thought was racist other than him and other P.C. lunatics.
The problem with racism are the people who cry wolf over it - you never take them seriously at the point, so when racism actually happens you don't listen when they cry about it. That's the real problem.

[Blacklash93]

"It's funny how even certain words nowadays are bleeped out on television, like faggot, retard, and, for fear of being flagged for language, the "N" word."

That's because many find them personally offensive and don't want to hear them. Them not being used or allowed often in television isn't much of a sacrifice to people who don't find them offensive. Abstract and debatable values and of aristic freedom and anti-censorship don't take precendence over the feelings of a relatively or potentially large portion of an audience. You seeing them as harmless and inoffensive and drawing the conclusion that's how everyone should feel is pretty egocentric.

In the case of HF keep it was published in the late 1800's where such words commonplace so the intention was clearly not for setting flavor but a reflection of the author's time and very likely his actual views on the word, which were that it was okay to use (which was commonplace at the time). The fact that Finn and the book had some anti-racist messages isn't relevant as those words are widely inappropriate and offensive unlike when they were common slang. I'm not taking a position in this instance, for the record. Just stating the facts.

I'm not saying the best course of action to address such issues is entirely clear but rather that the pro-censorship side of it has an understandable point.

On topic, this feature is bogus. The only actual racist things I see are the last three.

[SilentNegotiator]

If you're talking about the multiplayer, you could put just about any MP game ever in its place.

[pixelsword]

With expression comes consequence, especially if you depend upon customers.

[TruthbeTold]

@blumatt regarding Huck Finn

I hear you, but try being the only black kid in the class when reading a book like that aloud. It's one thing to explain to people how things were. It's another entirely to have to temporarily have to live it psychologically as you try to immerse yourself into a story, and kids of other races chuckle and whisper, and some stare at you uncomfortably because they don't know how to handle it.

A good teacher can get across to students such a concept easily without having to have students read a book like Huck Finn. Not a bad book at all, but it's time we moved on to some different and arguably better selections imo.

[guitarded77]

I'll give 'em 3, 2 and 1, but the rest of the list is fluff. Too many people are overly sensitive to what they deem as racism. Traits become stereotypes because they are prevalent among a group of people or they really happened. Like the Vice City example... Cubans and Haitians were pissed, but the game was set in early-mid 80's Vice City (MIAMI). The Cubans and Haitians killed the s#!t out of each other in Miami at that time. It was the murder capital of America because of Cubans and Haitians killing each other over Colombian snow. It's called history and GTA just played off it like Scarface. Stereotypes can be fun too... like Mario. Would Mario be the most identifiable video game character on earth if he wasn't the Italian plumber? Plus many of these were Japanese created characters, and they don't have the same social lines that overly sensitive westerners have. You want to see some funny Japanese hating, check out a Yakuza game. If you're not the strong good looking character, you get made fun of in the game. It's like America was back in the 80's before everybody got a trophy for participation.

[Wenis]

Agreed

[Laxman]

How is Clusters Revenge racist? Sure, he's a creep and a rapist, but that has nothing to do with being racist.

If something bad happens to a minority, does it instantly become racist?

[guitarded77]

@ Laxman

Hmm... how is "Custer's Revenge" racist. First, let's define race.

race - Each of the major divisions of humankind, having distinct physical characteristics.

ethnic group - people of the same race or nationality who share a distinctive culture.

Okay. Now that we know what race is, let's look at the two races portrayed in the game. We have General Custer (the white rapist)... I'll attach a pic, you may understand that better.

http://upload.wikimedia.org...

... and we have Native American women (the people of a different ethnic population being raped). Here's another picture so you can keep up.

http://www.shannonthunderbi...

Now that you understand that there are two different ethnic groups portrayed in the game, it's also important to understand that one of the worst genocides in human history was committed by the Westerners against the Native American people for centuries. This involved white settlers in North America stealing land from the Native Americans and killing and raping their women. There's many books on the subject... some with pictures too.

For a game to portray the raping of women of one ethnic group by a man of an ethnic group that committed one of the worst genocides against said ethnic group is racist. Hence the title of #1 on the list "Ethnic Cleansing". Imagine if there was a game called "Jew Raping Nazi"... that's kinda what "Custer's Revenge" is like. You see, Custer was killed in battle against the Native Americans, but he's getting his revenge by raping all the Native American women.

[Gorilla_Killa_X]

Clusters Revenge is racist against white men. It depicts white men as rapist.

Seriously though #1 is the only racist game on this list. The rest are based on stereotypes. And stereotypes are there for a reason.

[Thatguy-310]

lol http://www.lolbrary.com/con...

[Oh_Yeah]

The only one thats bad is #1...I mean usually a big group of a race does fit the stereotypes given, thats why they are known. Stereotypes are funny, I think they give games a sense of personality and humor. We need more in video games to make them less serious. What we dont need is over the top racism though, just subtle. Racism or stereotyping is not something taken that serious nowadays atleast where im from, black people call white people the N word and vice versa...just another word for dude, mexicans dont get offended if you tell them they are awsome grass cutters or an asian guy, askin him if he put my cat inside this eggroll etc...its all laughs and jokes now...its a part of our past, present and future.

[Rowland]

you're not wrong !

[Jio]

As a Mexican, I find "Spanish for Everyone" hilarious.

[Ken22]

Lol same here xD.

[Guwapo77]

And Mexico got some sexy as women too. Just look at the news. Geezus.

- There was this rediculous weather lady...I'd drink her bath water.

[Mr_Kuwabara]

Only sexy Latina weather girl I could think of is Jackie Guerrido. And shes Puerto Rican.

[Guwapo77]

@Mr_Kuwabara - yes my friend, she IS the one! Excuse my ignorance - I remembered it was Univision and I instantly thought she was Mexican. I love her...

[danimitsu]

me too!! lol

[LOGICWINS]

"But the fact that the game doesn't have "White Power-ups," in some extremely conflicting way, makes us think that they missed an opportunity."

LMAO.

[TopDudeMan]

Really? There's a game called "ethnic cleansing"? That's just wrong!!

[LAWSON72]

Racism... lol

[SpinalRemains]

ethnic cleansing is the only one that's racist.

How is Great Tiger racist? Do indians not wear turbans

Do Italians not frequently plumb?

This list is awful. Having characters employ stereotypes is not racist. If that were the case then professional wrestling would be the most racist enetertainment in history.
Lighten up, guys.

[Shadowstar]

Hm. I'd say Border Patrol and Custer's Revenge are terrible, too.

[Reverent]

Custer's Revenge... My God. That game...

[ChocolateGiddyUp]

Yeah, you're right...who could find this offensive?

[arjman]

Only Sikhs are supposed to wear turbans by religion, most of the Indian population do not wear turbans

[telekineticmantis]

"The gamebegins with your Mexican friend stealing your Nintendo DS and fleeing south of the border. In order to get it back, you have to go to Mexico and find him."

The beginning of this article was hilarious by itself.

[BitByter]

This is the most pointless and dumb article I've seen on N4G bin a while. Out of all the games he/she showed, only one is actually racist and was made with racist intentions behind it. One example of non-racism in the article is Jynx from pokemon; It wasn't made with racist intentions behind it. And others, like Punch Out, are so out of no where it makes me laugh. Why? Because the writer of the article is saying all the racist and bigoted remarks.
He says and I quote (I'll put numbers next to the racist remarks for the slow one's out there) " Bald Bull, the hulkish and scary black man [1], Great Tiger the turban rocking Indian guy [2] who wears a Bengal tiger skin and Aran Ryan (which sounds a lot like Aryan), the angry Irishman. As if that wasn't enough, who could forget your trainer Doc with his bugged out eyes [3]."
Three remarks; This is a racist article in its own right and is one that I hope to forget soon.

[justpassinggas]

So that game about shooting Mexicans ISN'T racist?

[BitByter]

Not necessarily racist in my opinion. Looks to me that the game was made for laughs; As a joke. For me I can mark it off because comedians make racist jokes all the time, people laugh, and no one should get offended. Same goes for that game; Just a joke so don't take it so seriously. The #1 spot on the other hand was not made for laughs and is completely racist in every way.

[thereapersson]

They should have called that game "Fast and Furious".

[c1oudy]

Most of these are just stereotypes that are handled tongue in cheek, I don't really see an issue with them, well, all except for ethnic cleansing.

Most of them are quite funny to be honest :)

[ambientFLIER]

I wish that people would learn the difference between Racism and Stereotyping BEFORE writing and/or submitting stupid ass articles.

[Zweihanders]

I'm nitpicking, but the article is dumb so whatever, but the Balrog (Boxer)character is not racist nor stereotypical. It's based off a real person.. Mike Tyson. Hence why in the Japanese version he's called M. Bison (close to M. Tyson isn't it?). They changed his name to Balrog in the US so they wouldn't be sued. In the Japanese game Balrog is actually Vega (Claw), and Vega is M. Bison (Dictator). A bit confusing but there you go. Now you know more than the author of this article (I'm sure this was the case before you read this post as well).

[Hicken]

Bubbles up for the info, good sir.... or swords.

[Gigglefist]

People get offended too easy. This article is just trying to bring negativity onto the gaming scene.

[ApolloTheBoss]

#2 and #1... That's just plain wrong lol.

[Reverent]

and #3 isn't? A game where your objective is to physically RAPE a Native American women isn't also wrong?

[chadachada123]

To be fair, that game is so pixelated and ugly that it's hard to get offended by it. It's more pathetic than wrong.

[ApolloTheBoss]

Did I say no?

[ApolloTheBoss]

Did I say no?

[Bonerboy]

What isn't racist? Perhaps I am offended when white people are killed in a game? Why is it that things are only racist when it is a race other than white being killed? Given that the world is breeding in so many mixed races in a rapid rate the "white man" is becoming the minority....which is fine by me, I couldn't care less about such things. Racist....the entire world is fucking racist but people are opportunist whiners when it comes to the majority of such issues. Get off your fucking soapbox way up there on judgement mountain because the majority cant or wont take a minute for self reflection to realize that they are also racist.

[Eyeco]

So a game where play as a KKK/ Neo- Nazi and go around killing blacks,and latinos that make chimp noises and final boss is Israels President ISN'T racist ?

Did you read the article or did you just read the title ?

[Ravenor]

@Bonerboy

Making an assumption, while assuming some more.

[BlaqMagiq24]

Street Fighter racist? Who thinks that game is racist? Because it has fighters all over the world? It's called the World Warrior Tournament for a reason. And only dumbasses thought Jynx's original skin color was racist. I mean really, I don't think a little kid is gonna look at her and start making racist comments. And this author doesn't know the difference between stereotyping and racism. Get this sh*t outta here.

[Arcanine]

wow is the answer to this

[Skateboard]

Jinx isn't racist, wtf ?

[310dodo]

Racism exist everywhere. duh. its the world/country we live in.

Tired of "gaming" journalist bringing racism and sexism into everything under the sun.

Most people have no problem playing as a white dude.
but dont want to play as a black.

is that "naughty"? I guess so
but its how the world works

[nukeitall]

I want to play as an Asian dude, but almost no game even offer the opportunity. Even in one of my favorite games, Gears of War, the only Asian character, Lt. Kim, was killed in the first game!

At least Gears got a Mexican like dude, called DOM!

[KrimsonKody]

A-ha!
So imagine how African Americans feel when they go to see a movie & the black guy, often portrayed as the strongest, gets killed first.
Or how Latino "Americans" always are put into particular roles & forced to speak in excessive accents just to over-express that they are of latin descent.

@Mayberry
Below

Yeah, Manhunt, along with a handful of games, kind of get an slight "Ok pass" for the ignorance they portray, because the game was intended to express the traits of the characters involved.
See, games like Border Patrol were designed & created completely around the act of racism/sexism/stereotypes, as where Manhunt is a game designed around crazy madmen locked up. So the things you hear & see can be a bit "fitting" in order to authenticate the atmosphere being delivered.

[nukeitall]

@KrimsonKody

lol!

Spoiler alert for Gears of War 3!!! You been warned.

Dom does die in GoW3. lol.

What pisses me off more, is many other countries worship caucasians. Case in point, Japanese anime almost always has a white protagonist (or at least look like one).

[sjaakiejj]

@nukeitall

There's also many places in the world that hate Caucasians. Case in point, there are towns in China where white people are not allowed, with actual border patrol checking your car to ensure that you're not "smuggling in" any white people.

Hope that makes you feel better.

[mayberry]

I thought the game "manhunt" was racist when the southern, aryan gang, "The Skinz" kept calling me a "half-breed", or "mud man".

[fossilfern]

Italian & Brazilian ? Last time I checked Nationality isn't a race

[Tony-A]

I agree, but "racism" typically entails more than just race. In America, racism is used to describe overall discrimination, whether it be against African Americans, Hispanics, Germans, Jews, Homosexuals, etc.

I feel like the term is thrown around way too much.

[jjdoyle]

obvious is obvious

[silvacrest]

i'll give them ethnic cleansing and boarder patrol but thats it, the rest is meh

[Elvis]

This article is stupid.

[ps3rulz]

where's postal 2??
That game is well f***ed up

[Mr_Kuwabara]

The only truly offensive ones were the top two, the rest were just stereotypically hilarious.

[fpshooter2]

best games list, worse games list, racist games list. whats next I ask you? WHATS NEXT!!!

[Y_5150]

Stupid games list?

[Elite_737]

DAT BE RAYSIS YO

[FinaLXiii]

Then i guess you could say LA Noire and Red Dead Redemption are racist because both have racist talk and text on it.

This is clearly a bogus article since the top 3 games on that list are the only ones that deserve being labeled as racist.

[solid_si]

I played the most racist game without even knowing..its called throw the jew down the well.

[acemonkey]

remember the fuss about Resident evil 5 being in Africa lol

[MadMen]

Yea, we had been shooting white scientist for yrs, yet nothing was said, as soon as its africa it was a big issue, its funny how people only care when it suits them

[ArtificiallyYours]

That barefoot and pregnant lady.....

Seriously what haha.

[mike1up]

How awful...

I always thought that the character Devdan (Danved) from Fire Emblem was offensive. As a black man, he just always bothered me. He bothered me so much that I wished he was not even in the game. Not even beautiful Fiona from Radiant Dawn could make me feel any better.

...that's why I quit playing.

[ZeV]

This article is clearly a joke !

[MadMen]

First off its not racism, its culture within those races that is the issue, and it goes for all races

and this article is lame

[Fatty]

Bald Bull is Turkish, not black.

[Tokyo_reject]

Pokemon is an Anime ported to a game......and they Made Jynx to look like a person....so no...it doesnt work

[mechlord]

Now am lost. Would someone please define
Racism and Stereotypism for me?

**clue, in case people dont get: lot of ppl here including the original article are mixing the two concepts.

[AO1JMM]

I dont see it!

[Kluv]

Half of these aren't even racist. Street fighter really? That's not being racist. It's basing a character off of the cultures, appearances and lifestyles of one race. For one, it's not even doing them in a negative way. And two, it's not racist if it's simply based on a race. In that sense, Civilization could be called racist. 'Tis stupid.

[psiom]

not many people seem to understand the definition of "racist".

The actual definition of racist is rather dark and serious:
"a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that a certain human race is superior to any or all others."

Saying that Mario (the game) is RACIST because he displays a few perceived stereotypes belonging to a particlar country actually does a disservice to the problem of genuine racism, which nobody should confuse this kind of nonsense with.

Stereotypes are not racism. They are just stereotypes. You can still argue that stereotypes are insensitive, offensive, or any other problem you have with them, but that's it.

A stereotype of course can be made with racist motivations, but seriously, is the purpose of Mario to beat down on Italian people?

[Quisp]

First of all, there is a difference between Racism and Prejudice.
Racism is the inherent belief that one race is superior to that of another. You can prejudge a person based on their race, but, not feel that persons entire race is inferior to that of yours. We all prejudge in some for or another.
Obviously believing in racism in its purist sense, is just uneducated.
That said, the writer gets a bit to PC for me. Waste of my read.

[Rifkens]

Why isn't the flash game where you kill Osama Bin Laden in this list... is it because *Puts on Lois Griffin accent* 9/11 is bad

[DanielRCampbell]

I honestly didn't bother to go past the second game. I really dislike sites that put one paragraph on every page to drive traffic. It's a pretty shady practice.

[VTKC]

I am suprised Redsident Evil 5 didnt make the list. There was no end of calling Capcom racist.

[Over726]

What would the world be like if we did not have it. if you start removing all the good stuff, there would be no games to play. soon you wont be able to play with yourself. but yeah 3 and 2 are F$#@ed up. lol