Racist Gamers are Pissed Off with Watch Dogs 2’s Black Protagonist

A few days ago Ubisoft released the reveal trailer for their upcoming game Watch Dogs 2. Watch Dogs 2 is an open world, action-adventure game set in San Francisco.

[gtxgamer2]

It's the 21st century people.. get with the program. It's sad to see racism is STILL a huge problem with the world.

[NotEvenMyFinalForm]

racism will always exist even if it's the 30th century. Nobody will ever be able to make billions of people all be under the same mindset and have the same values.

[Kingthrash360]

Yes, Humans are dumb that way....
Also... racists and gamers don't mix.
Most Gamers care about the game and not the color of pixels chosen.
Nobody got pissed at kratos for being black, why this?
Lastly let them be pissed....so what racists are always pissed...they are a miserable bunch that's shallow minded that the simple color of someone skin...or pixels (smdh) gets them all emotional n shit. Let them be Lil crybaby idiots, they are nothing but jealous people who wish the world was ran by color for some reason.

[Zorkaz]

Unfortunately this is the truth, but what we can do is do our best to make people like that feel alienated, uncomfortable, and outcast. Racists will always exist, but we can make sure they get no support and keep it to themselves.

P.S. The reason nobody complained about Kratos being black, was because he wasn't. He was very tanned, but he was't black. And then he turned white and red.

[Twinblade]

kingthrash, I don't think kratos was black.

[Herpofderpopol]

Racism will be extremely uncommon eventually, and all it takes is a few generations raised with new or different info to change the social climate vastly. Compare many nations to how they were 60 years ago for example.

[AnubisG]

Humans are not dumb. Racism comes from tribal mentality. It is in our DNA. It's basically us against them. It's what we know is right and what they know is wrong. That is how humans lived for tens of thousands of years and only in the past few hundred years we started to travel all over the globe reaching people and places we could not have done before. This is all new to us relatively. So yes, we need time to form a "global us" but that will take thousands of years or a global crisis that impacts everyone the same way so don't expect racism to go away soon. In fact it will get worst and worst. It is expected and normal. Is it ok? No it's not ok but we are hardwired this way. Study some psychology and evolution and you will understand. Tribalism will not be soon destroyed. It's rooted very deeply in us. We can try do deny it but it's there. But instead of addressing this problem, everyone is like "shhhhh, shhhh" and whoever brings it up is a racist and a bigot.

[Kingthrash360]

Ok let's say 66% black...Black voice actor, dark skin...Greek background....2 to 1 lol
"Very tanned skinned" lmao guess I'm very tanned too....trust me if the cops pulled him over he'd be called a "black male" tanned skin tho lol that made me laugh ...how do you know he's tanned...lol where it say that? Or when did to see him pre - tanned lol .
No disrespect tho I'm laughing because it made me laugh not in a sarcastic way.... not saying you are wrong or even care if I'm wrong but is kratos white then? With a tan...?

Lol below...cod players are gamers now?? News to me! Lol
Not everyone are gamers bro...people play games for the love of games...The cod players that say the N word whenever they hear a black dude are super common....but then again cod is more of a casual shooter that non real time gamers can play and be good at...that and Lil kids that feel safe at home.
Cod player are where you will find more casual players than hardcore. It's a beginners game....I play it myself...but I find battlefield is where the real time gamers play...ya know..less camping more teamwork and bigger battles...bullets that don't dissappear when you die and that have drop distance and real recoil. ...no disrespect to cod players but truth is truth.

[Blaze929]

"Also... racists and gamers don't mix. "

@Kingthrash360 lmao....man, you must have never played Call of Duty on Xbox LIVE. Or hell, ANY game online with a HINT of something pointing toward you being black.

"Nobody got pissed at kratos for being black, why this? "

Cuz he was painted white lmfao. C'mon son. The same people racist outside are the same ones racist in the virtual world. As an African American man i just have to wonder why people hate us so much lol. It's truly interesting.

[XisThatKid]

Strangely enough I don't give a BLAM about that I just wasn't to change the characters pants....

[PistolsAtDawn]

@Anubis I'm glad you said that, I agree 100%. At some "level" every one of us is "racist" but it's on a slider scale, it's not (pardon the expression) black or white. It's not even necessarily rooted in a hatred of another race, often it's just rooted in self-preservation. How much race plays a roll in your life is directly affected by your experience with other races and the "shit hitting the fan scale". The more time you spend around other groups of people, the more you realize we are all generally the same, and each race has their good people and bad people (people that make the rest of that race go "WTF!!! Stop making us look bad you idiot"). The more time you spend around other people the more you realize it's better to judge them by their character, not their color. The way I see it, it's all about a Team mentality...if you're here, motivated, and you have the same goals as me...I could care less about your race, creed, gender, sexual preference, etc. However, back to that "shit hit the fan scale"...on a great day, someone who isn't a single ounce racist....may turn out to use racism as a self preservation tool on a bad day...which is technically racist. If you're standing in the middle of the street and on either side is a mob with weapons yelling at each other with weapons...one side is your race and the other is a different race....do you walk up to the other race and try to reason with them? Or do you seek protection with the race you are part of? OBVIOUSLY that is an EXTREME example. Just saying that how "racist" someone is depends on the stresses placed on them. Those that take little to no stress to be racist are the assholes.

[Monster_Tard]

@Blaze929

Many make racist comment to attempt to offend someone, it doesn't prove that they're truly racist.

[AnubisG]

@PistolsAtDawn glad to see there are intelligent people here like you who use their brains instead of the "feelz". Yep, pretty much what you said. Gave good examples. People today don't want to hear that because they are overly sensitive to everything and have their safe places and trigger warning and such.

[freshslicepizza]

i'm confused by the headline, racists gamers are pissed? should it not say gamers are pissed that the game is being racist?

either way is this really how far we have come over the years that now we can't have a black person in san francisco in a fictional game world?

[Kombatologist]

"Unfortunately this is the truth, but what we can do is do our best to make people like that feel alienated, uncomfortable, and outcast. Racists will always exist, but we can make sure they get no support and keep it to themselves."

This is what irks me about today's society. Sweeping racists under the rug is NOT the answer. Publicly shaming them, taking their jobs away, etc., isn't going to make them any less of a racist. All it does is make them someone else's problem. I don't think there's any one solution to the issue, but I do think communication, education, and tolerance are key. People will always fear what they don't understand.

"Racism will be extremely uncommon eventually, and all it takes is a few generations raised with new or different info to change the social climate vastly. Compare many nations to how they were 60 years ago for example."

I'm not so sure about that. There's always going to be someone with a different opinion, and there's no shortage of people who are willing to take their opinion too far. The gaming community is a testament to that.

[Deadpooled]

Racism is prevalent because society teaches it.

[Sunny_D]

@twinblade

I think Kingthrash meant that the voice actor for Kratos was black. Kratos in the game is Greek. A Spartan specifically.

[iceman06]

@Pistols...when you say "everybody is a little racist" that's not true. Everybody is prejudiced. We constantly make snap judgments and place people in mental categories based on our experiences and perceptions of people. However, racism is much stronger than just that. It's the buy-in and belief that another person is inferior (for whatever reason) and thus is not afforded the same treatment as you. True racism is almost doctrine (though there's no 'Bible' of sorts). A racist is on a quest to prove that his beliefs are 'right' to the point of organizing and recruiting with no fear of retribution or remorse. They see the hated race as subhuman and justify their belief system using that as a motive. Shy of complete buy-in, and worse than the average prejudices that we ALL have, is just the bigot...of which there are many. Bigots take the prejudice to the extreme of believing them strongly and often irrationally. They don't claim superiority as much as they dislike for whatever reason.

That being said, you are absolutely correct about the exposure factor. Meeting, talking to, working with, and being actual friends with other races is exactly what humanizes people and brings into balance those prejudices that are often reflexive. (it doesn't hurt to be somewhat intelligent and logical! Lol) It can often help to refute bigotry. However, it's very unlikely (though it can happen) to change racism simply because it is much like religion in that it is carefully indoctrinated, deeply engrained (by family and peer groups) and the person often has to admit to being so wrong for so long in order to rid themselves of it. It's strange but it's easy to find isolated bigots. It's often much more difficult, at least in real life, to find isolated racists. They NEED the constant reinforcement of other racists and KNOW that what they believe is NOT the accepted norm.

[shmowboyfebop]

Kratos was black?!? And god?!?! Ef this

[rainslacker]

I find many people can give me reason to dislike them that has nothing to do with their skin color. I'd rather dislike or like someone based on who they are, and how they act or treat others, and if I make judgement calls on a first impression without knowing them, it is probably based on experience with others who did it before, and often times, those types of personality traits are consistent within subcultures of specific races. Making that judgement call isn't an indication of being racist IMO, because I am basing my thoughts on another person based on my own experience, and I personally don't consider the race when making those judgement calls, because nowadays, so many people try to behave like they belong to a different race than they are, despite those character traits not actually being racially motivated, but rather culturally motivated.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that while many people may judge others on race at times, it doesn't really indicate racism, because racism is the act which may be executed through that judgement because of their race. But if someone makes that call based on their experience of someone because of their race, it is racist, however, if their experience happens to match up with that person's race, it's not really racist....just affirming one's belief.

[starchild]

Racism is an expression of the primitive tribalism inherent in all human beings to some degree. Extreme sports rivalries and videogame fanboyism are also examples of this sort of primitive tribalism.

Some people can rationally rise above it to a great degree, but many can't. Those that rightly decry racism but turn around and act like fanboys should realize it's coming from the same place. Obviously racism is more damaging and serious, but fanboyism also has negative consequences in our community. Just something to think about.

[Errorist76]

While this might be true to some extend if you knew enough of people of different races, ethnicities and traveled the world enough you would know we essentially DO all share the same mindset! It's sad and uninformed to think otherwise. Respect and understanding for other cultures is all that matters.

[Errorist76]

@kingtrash

Kratos is a Greek god goddamnit. Greeks are not black! Although essentially we all are black because we all originate from Africa.

[DarkHeroZX]

To everyone saying Kratos wasn't black its partially true. First of all what we all must keep in mind is that black folks come in many different shades and hues. And the fact we call them black instead of brown is beyond me. Secondly Kratos' voice actor for the first two games was Terrence Carson. So its not really hard to believe Kratos to have a mixes background. i mean come on we still got folks who refuse to believe Dwyane Johnson is half black. I wouldn't say Kratos is black black but his character just seems to be a representation of all men.

[TWB]

Excuse me @Zorkaz, but I think thats absolutely the opposite of how we should treat racism and racist people. When they feel like they are not a part of society, and nobody hears them, they go underground, start stewing more extremist thoughts and in the worse case scenario may act on those thoughts.

We should allow those racists to speak out, but let their word hold no power over us. As long as its not directed hate speech (as in, speaking about a very specific set of people, or small groups and inciting harm on them),...

And even more important, is to see if we can keep the racists out of positions of power to the best of our possibilities (but ofcourse, while following the law).

[Scatpants]

Kratos was Puerto Rican.

[wsoutlaw87]

@anubis. You are talking about some sort of genetic mentality that is passed down, but thats not real. Humans dont think with some singular mind and it doesn't take time for "humans" as a whole to not be racist. Most aren't. Society and the way kids are raised change racism. Some people just have a problem with people who are different. Putting others down was always the simplest way of making your self feel better. Plus people keep perpetuating the idea that there are human races, which is absolutely not true.

So some racist gamers complained because being inflammatory on the internet gets them attention. Who cares? Why write about it? We know there are idiots.

[wsoutlaw87]

Hey look, rainslacker posting something stupid, im not surprised. Races aren't real and you can't act like a race or skin color. Nice job trying to rationalize prejudism though.

[Overload]

It's great have more diversity in the main characters of videogames. It's about time, to be honest. Gaming is now a worldwide mass market product, reflecting different cultures is nothing more than the natural evolution of that. I hope we start seeing more races and cultures being focused on in the future.

To the racist people this article is referring to, don't worry there will always been tons of white male leads like there always has been, and all the other nationalities have enjoyed exploring that realm for years.

[CarlosX360]

I thought the same thing when I saw the trailer. The protagonist is a great fit for Watch_Dogs 2. Screw these racist bigots.

UbiSoft wanted an edgy game like GTA, they got it with Watch_Dogs 2, they got it.

[dcbronco]

Actually there will not be nearly as many white people as some think. Or anything else. We are slowly, in the U.S. quickly, becoming a mix of all sorts of races. Which is a good thing. Just look at Halley Berry, Jessica Lucas or Paula Patton. I believe in the Carlin doctrine. Just keep boinkin till there's one race left.

I took some classes at a community college and one of my classmates organized a meeting on race relations. I asked her if it was really necessary at the school. She said of course. I asked her to point out a same race couple in the entire school. I knew a lot of people but knew of none. And she couldn't come up with one either. More professors came to the meeting than students. Nobody thought we needed it.

[AnubisG]

I think all races are represented in video games pretty nicely. Obviously racist won't see it that way because as long as we have white main characters it's racist huh?

[Testfire]

@ AnubisG, nope. The Latino population in the US is massive, yet we're barely represented on the big screen and even less in video games. And when there is Latinos in video games and movies more often than not they're gangsters and drug dealers.

[Brandnewfan610]

I can't wait to play as the first black transsexual who fights against police brutally and transphobia while wearing a rainbow colored jacket. /s

[yeahokwhatever]

@Testfire the reason for the lack of latinos in video games(if you completely ignore any game with soldiers, police, racing, sports, etc.) is that a disproportionate percentage of latinos not working in gaming. If you want to have some latinos in games, go to college, work hard, and change things yourself. I've been in tech as a professional for well over a decade including a lot of time in games. Know where I saw latinos? If I worked late enough for the cleaning staff to arrive. That's the truth. Make of it what you will.

[yeahokwhatever]

"UbiSoft wanted an edgy game like GTA, they got it with Watch_Dogs 2, they got it." So being black is edgy, but its the other people who are racist? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA

[Erik7357]

I think it's wrong to assume that everyone who hates this character is a racist and not just hating the character because it's dumb af.

looks like a hipster. His entire face was also covered up just making him look like a GTA 5 NPC.

Looked pretty bad and had nothing to do with his skin. I think in the 21st century people are quick to throw around the word racist and its hurting freedom of speech. And no I'm not a Donald Trump fan and I am a full blown liberal.

[ShadowKnight]

I'm not a Donald Trump or Hilary Clinton fan lol

[Summons75]

I think you are throwing the term hipster around like most people these days without knowing what that style is. Also how are you saying his facing being covered up is dumb when the protagonist of the first game had his face covered up as well, not to mention looked like the guy you see on the neighborhood watch signs. His design seems much better than a dirty old trench coat.

[Erik7357]

Okay if Marcus does not look like a hipster than no one is. and I'm fine with hipster being thrown around but racist is much more serious than being called a hipster.

oh and to the idiot that says I need to grow up and accept diversity , Im fine with any character and I don't care about the ethnicity I'm just tired of people assuming that when you like a character or don't like a character it apparently involves ethnicity and makes them a racist depending on if they disapprove...

fot example I am very hyped for mafia 3 and it's protagonist

[PistolsAtDawn]

You make a solid point. But you brought up a great chance to just point out that...while I'm not a huge Trump fan or anything...I do notice that the people calling him racist seem to be MUCH more racist than anything I've ever heard him say. Does he say dumb shit? yes. Does he shoot from the hip too much? yes. Does he say stuff that people can assume is racist? yes...do they HAVE to? no. I just hate the hypocrisy behind it all...I don't understand why Trump saying he doesn't want radical Muslims coming to America or Illegal Immigrants (and "Mexico isn't sending their best and brightest")...while yes, they are controversial things to say...I don't see why they are more racist than "all white people should die". In fact, Obama said something very similar to what Trump said about Mexico, not a peep about Obama being "racist".

This is what Obama said on July 1st, 2015 like a month after Trump was taking heat for saying his comment...essentially they were both saying the same thing, although Obama DID say it much more eloquently: "We should not be encouraging illegal immigration, what we should be doing is setting up a smart legal immigration system that doesn't separate families but does focus on making sure that people who are dangerous, people who are, you know, gang-bangers, who are criminals that we're deporting as quickly as possible." So both men said we shouldn't allow illegal immigration and criminals, but there should be a legal way of immigration...and we should deport the criminals...again, Obama said it much nicer than Trump...but I haven't heard a peep about Obama being racist.

@ziggurat...but that's just it. He didn't say all Mexicans are criminals..just that ones that come here illegally dont tend to be honest...and that according to his talks with border patrol agents there's a concern about illegal immigrant women getting raped....in that same statement he even said he knows its not ALL Mexicans. As far as Muslims...he did propose suspending letting them in until we could find a better way to vet them....controversial of course but Islam isn't a race...and he's also openly said he doesn't hate Islam just radical Muslims. In America there is a legitimate reason not to want to import radical Muslims. Blocking Muslims outright isn't a great idea, bit admittedly how do you read someone's heart? If you go back and read Trumps actual unedited quote...it's the exact same notion as Obama's just not phrased as well. Seems like people early on just assumed it was racist...and ran with it....and haven't gone back to see what he really said again....almost like those facts are inconvenient. Again...im not a cheerleader for Trump....just keep it fair is what I'm saying. If Trump was racist for saying it...then so is Obama.
Here's Trumps quote for reference: http://www.ijreview.com/201...

"what does that say about the country he leads?"

What is says about the whole world, not just the US, is that people put far too much faith in headlines and word of mouth rumors, and don't look up facts for themselves. It also shows that there is a large group of people that aren't REALLY concerned about racism, just when certain people say things that can be exaggerated to be racist...they WILL exaggerate and ignore the actual quote. Any time you can change the race of the person making the quote, and it changes if it's racist or not...then it's not the person making the quote that is racist...it's the recipient that is "offended".

[no_more_heroes]

@PistolAtDawn

That's just it. They're both saying the same thing, but Trump said it in a racist way. Trump doesn't speak or act in a manner befitting of a man who leads an entire country.

If he is, then what does that say about the country he leads?

[ziggurcat]

@fries1223:

"...looks like a hipster..."

you clearly don't know what a hipster is, if you think the main character in this game looks like one. trust me, i went through art school. twice. the protagonist in this game is far from what anyone would consider a "hipster."

[ziggurcat]

@pistols:

"... Obama said it much nicer than Trump...but I haven't heard a peep about Obama being racist."

uh... because he's talking about keeping actual criminals out of the country, not blocking people from entering the country or deporting people based on their ethnicity?

[iiorestesii]

@ShadowKnight Or a baby boomer fan for that matter

[iceman06]

I agree that the assumption is really silly. I also agree with the fact that people trow the word racism around (often without TRULY understanding what racism IS!) But, it's not hurting freedom of speech. You are free to say what you want and, as has always been the case, people are free to respond. However, the anonymity of the internet has emboldened extremists and marginalized the rationality of the middle ground. (see Fanboys) You don't often get internet attention by offering a rational, middle-ground opinion. For better or worse, it's the extremes that get all the attention. I just hope that, with an entire generation being raised on social media, this mentality doesn't seep into everyday life. (am I too late???)

[Rachel_Alucard]

It's exactly because it's seen as forced diversity rather then full racism. You also have the 2 other characters who just looking at their design looks like overdesigned cliche hipster hackers. When I saw that screen I couldn't tell if it was Watch dogs or Mark Eckos getting up.

[rainslacker]

@Pistols

While it's been a while since I heard the exact quote from trump, I think trump got more heat because he used a lot more hyperbole, and seemed to be trying to base his argument on a generalization. Obama was pretty specific about who he was talking about, and didn't actually attribute it to any one group of people, rather keeping it very precise and easier to comprehend. Trump on the other hand seemed more to make his statement to stir up emotion that are more often than not kept hidden from public view is someone feels that way...and I hate to say it, but I think quite a lot of people actually will openly think of groups of people in rather broad stereotypical fashion.

Then of course there's the fact he's the presidential candidate, and this current election coming up is one that has the media salivating over fanning the flames. The general media is really no different than the gaming media, and only looking for hits, and nothing stirs up hits like pointing out so called injustices.

[REDDURT]

Donald trump is not racist just prejudice. It's cleary because he is a Republican and for the most part in the corporate media paints them as that so the collective people of color won't vote for them.

[Animegamertai]

I would like you to Google Aiden from the first Watchdogs and Marcus from Watchdogs 2 the only difference in their appearance is that Marcus does not have a trench coat but a book bag and is black instead of a trenchcoat so that's a moot point. Both wear hats,both have scarves covering their face, pants, shirt, boots

[Errorist76]

A liberal and still pretty narrow minded. Someone is a hipster because he hides from authorities, works against the system....just because he wears glasses and has a unique style?! Care to check your definitions.

[wsoutlaw87]

@pistoles those 2 quotes aren't even close. No one in America supports illegal immigration, the problem is trumps said mexicans are "sending" (wtf) their rapists and murderers and some might be decent people. He also wants to deport people who have live here since they were 3. Obamas qoute was him stating that they are focusing on deporting known criminals and not the average hard working families. That is not the same. Idiots think illegal immigrants are all here to be crimals despite them having a lower crime rate than citizens. The idiot trump also thinks his stupid wall will make a difference. If he knew anything, he would know net immigration is 0 and the vast majority of illegal immigrants are people who overstayed their visas. Everything he says is about race or fear of people who are different. He didn't say he didn't want terrorist comming here, he said he didn't want muslim people coming here. You know, the largest religion in the world.

[Summons75]

It is very sad. It's even worse when you realize that one of the leading candidates for the US president is the poster boy of racism and heavily promotes it and that he has a strong chance of winning...

[PistolsAtDawn]

He says a lot of dumb shit, but he's not nearly as racist as he's made out to be. Seems more like the people calling him racist are more racist than he actually is. Saying the word "Muslim" or "immigrant" doesn't make you racist...esp if you lead with "extremist" and "illegal". There's racism everywhere no doubt...but he's nowhere near the poster-child Johnnie Cochraine had that on lock down until Al Sharpton took it.

[AdmGenAladeen]

Poster boy for racism lmao. He's not racist. Idiots cry racism cuz they don't have anything on him. What we do have now is a prez who connects with the African American community and instead of trying to heal relations when something goes bad he instead makes comments like "If I had a son he'd look like Trayvon." Wow. Just f'n wow. Talking about stirring the hornets nest and people call Trump racist cuz he wants to keep out illegals and Muslims (who whether you like it or not are committing horrible atrocities in the name of a pedophile prophet.) I have no party allegiance but I think I'd much rather have someone who chooses to put America first instead of someone who'll leave the border open and use American tax payer money to give Illegals health insurance for free (something we Americans have to pay outta the ass for.)

[ziggurcat]

@adm:

"He's not racist..."

yeah, he kind of is...

"... Idiots cry racism cuz they don't have anything on him..."

he's on record, several times, making racist statements. for example, implying all mexicans are criminals is racist.

"... people call Trump racist cuz he wants to keep out illegals and Muslims..."

preventing a group of people from entering your country based on their ethnicity or religious background is racist. implying that everyone who follows the islamic faith are terrorists is racist.

"... I'd much rather have someone who chooses to put America first instead of someone who'll leave the border open and use American tax payer money to give Illegals health insurance for free..."

so you'd rather some xenophobic, totalitarian tyrant than someone who'd deal with these issues in a rational manner? and you honestly think people try to illegally enter the US for the healthcare system?

[jessionpc]

This is the 21st century gtxgamer.

Stop with the reaction culture. People are everything. Racisism is one of them, and that's never going to change. Education doesn't stop hatred, nobody will ever understand each other, we definitively don't live long enough to learn.

Ignore the people who don't want to be saved, protect yourself and ffs don't react to a rage trend, it just makes it more popular.

Clickwhore article from a progressive dudebro.

[roguedragon1]

Completely agree brother, finally someone with some sense of reality.

[Mighty Boom]

OMG it's the Current Year no way bro!

[LIGATURE]

Wot planet u live on,racism never went anywhere,has always been here and its not going anywhere anytime soon and its prob worse with video gamers

[Tsar4ever01]

Watch Dogs 2 protagonist is black? Didn't even know that until I saw the post. Maybe because he's a light skinned black person is why I never noticed. Not the least bit shocked about racist scum buckets being pissed.

[daBUSHwhaka]

Gtxgamer2,how can you get so many disagrees for speaking the truth.How can the human race still be so blinds sided...

[bouzebbal]

21st century or not.. This is unacceptable even before 1st century.

[xPaYDaYx]

I disagree, racism isn't a huge deal irl. Notice how I said "huge deal" because there is still some racism, it just isn't as big as your comment made it out to sound. That said, people are just little bitches online through anonymity so they will complain about anything because they're "safe".

[Rachel_Alucard]

"It's the current year!"

[yeahokwhatever]

Is it racist to think it's odd they'd choose a black guy to be a computer geek in SF? As a computer geek in SF for well over 10 years, I have yet to work with 1 black programmer. I've seen a couple of black HR people, a black CEO, 2 black customer support specialists, etc. but never a programmer. I've only interviewed 1 black person trying to get a job as a programmer and the only reason his resume made it past to the interview process is BECAUSE he was black. He was awful in the interview. Now, if the main character had a thick indian accent, or maybe some korean or filipino kid, I think you'd see a lot less confusion and backlash over the character choice. I'm not saying its impossible to be black and a programmer, I'm just saying, realistically, what are the odds? The truth is that they made him black because they're lazy story writers + the product team decided it would generate buzz about a sequel to a game that wasn't well received beyond default sales of a near-launch next gen game. Here we are, talking about watchdogs 2, when if the main character was white, nobody would even think about the game. The game is going to be mediocre again, don't let the color of the triangles throw you off.

[rainslacker]

I've known several, but I can say there is a rather disproportionate lack of black people who work in IT in general. Latino's in IT fields are even more scarce. I know a lot of people, especially nowadays say women are rare, but they are nowhere near as rare as black or latinos.

I think though that's not because of racism, just that the interest or opportunities to enter the field have been limited to many within these groups for so long due to cultural issues, and overall, I feel geekdom, nerddom and general interest in such things is not really seen as appealing to many within those groups, whereas it's become pretty normal for a white person to be into such things, and 99.99% of the time, anytime it's represented in media, it's usually white, indian, or Asian people....which is reflective of reality for the most part, but doesn't encourage others to feel included which doesn't peak their interest to pursue such interests.

[Joe913]

I'm black in the I.t field I know a shit load of other blacks in I.t and programming.

[rainslacker]

@joe

Yes, there are a lot, but I wouldn't consider the percentages to other minorities vs white to be proportionate to the general population.

If you were responding to me, and not the OP, then I never meant to suggest they didn't exist, and in fact said that they do, just they aren't as common to come across, and stated the reasons why I feel that way because I feel it's based on sub cultures which prevent more black people pursuing careers in the field(similar to the problem where females aren't equally represented), and the fact that people seem to think equality principles in the workplace have been around long enough for black people(or other minorities) to really make more headway into the on a big enough scale to be more noticeable....when I'd say that not enough time has passed, and people don't realize that despite laws it still takes time for things to change to such a degree. I also feel there is a cultural disparity in who is more attracted to technical jobs, where white, asian, and indian people seem to be more keen on pursuing such careers.

It's a lack of candidates preventing seeing more of them, not that they don't exist. Has to be looked at as a general whole, and not anecdotally.

[BoriboyShoGUN]

It's sad that you received 31 disagrees for such a statement!

[Okan-Ru]

"it's the 21st century people get with the program"

more "BUT ITS THE CURRENT YEAR!!!" nonsense. this is why this crap is a meme now because people always seem to resort to this as their basis for an argument to fight against "Racism" even when it barely has anything to do with racism. because i don't know it's a dang video game meant for entertainment not some Feel good Social "Justice" cause in order to make your miserable life feel better.

If you are actually concerned about racism, look at real causes, not bs like "Oh this employer didn't hire me, That's Racist" or "This protagonist or video game isn't diverse enough, that's racist" etc.

Good lord. leftists here and their bs causes for "Absolute Equality" here's the thing, "Absolute Egalitarianism" is a mythical utopian cause, it's impossible and completely incompatible with human nature itself. The only thing that we are all "Equal" is "Equality under the Law" that is the only "Equality" we have. But outside of that, it's a completely incompatible view to look at every human and say we are absolutely "Equal" same intelligence, same strength, same same same, etc. that is pretty much Left Wing Egalitarianism in a nutshell. it's not about Actual Equality in the Libertarian/Classical Liberal sense that we are all equal under the law, and that no single individual or group of people have the right to taken away. Or certain individuals and groups granted special "Privileges" or "Rights" and are "Above the law" no, it means we are all governed by the same laws and no one, is above it not the rich guy, not the poor guy, not the black guy, not the white guy, etc. leftists despise this, and wish to set out and achieve there "View of equality" which is completely incompatible with human nature which really isn't all that "Equal" too begin with. Enforcing Employment quotas. Forcing all businesses to serve everyone. Giving blacks and other minorities special "Rights" and "Privileges" since they are "systematically oppressed", confiscating wealth from certain people and giving it to others who are deemed oppressed, etc all you really have to do is flip the left and the right, and pretty much deduce that, The Right and the Left extremely similar. Both want special rights/privileges granted to their specific classes/groups of people, too be "Above the law"

and interestingly enough they claim to be "Two different philosophies that oppose each other" sure maybe when ti comes down to the "Groups" or "individuals" they are trying to "Help" but when it gets down to the core philosophical and ideological stances and policies its really not that much different. The only philosophy/ideology that is there opposition is Classical Liberalism/Libertarianism. that's the only philosophy/ideology that the Left and Right are both scared of. Because it dares speaks out against both.

[Fatal-Aim]

LoL!

Pathetic. You still have those stragglers still trying carry that flag in a poor attempt to keep hope alive.

[Whymii]

Imagine if the protagonist was a female as well. There'd be riots.

[Errorist76]

I can't even believe you got 40+ disagrees for stating that!

[SaveMeJebus]

This is not gaming news. It's more stirring of the pot, to piss people off. This site has become AIDS.

[Star51]

F*ck his race. Lets look @ those ugly pants or that stupid cue ball yoyo weapon, the parkour/capoeira fighting, that ubi infused a psuedo-controversial 3d gun element into it, and worst of all the inevitable graphics downgrade.

[ninsigma]

It's just a game people. Can't believe people would get so riled up about this. As long as he's a GOOD character, who fricken cares!?

[Omnislashver36]

^This. I see alot of black people who dress up this way too, so I don't think he's 'hipster', I think he's normal.

[Christopher]

I think the issue is that, so far, he doesn't look or feel like a "good" character. Though, I think that is due more to how Ubisoft has described and presented the story so far. Aiden was also a weak character, so seeing such a stark change from the first game with no real sign of a better story to go along with it... People are less likely to accept the changes.

[Ashlen]

I'm just curious what would a better story be exactly?

I mean, do you want a realistic story about hackers? Because that's just some person sitting in front of a computer for days/months/years at a time reading lines of code and testing vulnerabilities over and over on a test machine. I don't think anyone wants to play that.

And I have to say again, so little of the story has been revealed at this point I'm not sure how you can even judge what the story is. I watched every Watch Dogs 1 trailer for 2 years and when the game came out I had no idea the game would even involve a save/revenge the family story much less the over arching story.

[Christopher]

I'm not sure. But, I don't need to be able to write a good story in order to tell whether a story is good or bad. Same way I don't have to be a developer to determine if a game is good or bad.

I don't want realistic, but l do want it to embrace as much realism as possible. Guy has a phone that can hack stuff. Okay, Guy is now taking on gangs of people wearing "hipster" outfits, wielding a cue ball on a string, parkouring across the city, and wielding a diverse array of weapons without any military background. Maybe we should slow down a bit.

And, don't get me wrong, Aiden had similar flaws, but I think it helped he was less about looking cool and more about remaining unseen. YMMV.

***And I have to say again, so little of the story has been revealed at this point I'm not sure how you can even judge what the story is.***

I am judging it on what we know now just like everyone else. Are you reminding people who love what they see of this or just people who don't like what they see so far?

[Ashlen]

"I'm not sure. But, I don't need to be able to write a good story in order to tell whether a story is good or bad. Same way I don't have to be a developer to determine if a game is good or bad. "

But you should probably play it, or at least know more about it than watching a 5-10 min of gameplay.

"I don't want realistic, but l do want it to embrace as much realism as possible. Guy has a phone that can hack stuff. Okay, Guy is now taking on gangs of people wearing "hipster" outfits, wielding a cue ball on a string, parkouring across the city, and wielding a diverse array of weapons without any military background. Maybe we should slow down a bit."

It's a video game it's not supposed to be realistic. In Assassin's Creed you jump off towers into piles of hay, in every shooter ever made you get shot in the face thousands of times and still survive. And you can't tell me you have never played a video game where some shlub ends up saving the world. Yet I have never seen you complain about any of that.

"people wearing "hipster" outfits"

Lets be honest the whole argument really comes down to these four words... Who cares what they wear, is that how were going to judge games from now on by the clothes people wear? And what is a hipster anyways, do you treat people differently in real life because they wear a certain type of shoes?

From California to Alabama and everywhere in between we're all Americans, and regardless of clothing people can be good or nice or whatever, and that goes around the world. And even if you want to use this Hipster thing to relate more to personality are you not capable of engaging with someone from California or wherever "hipsters" are from? Because I have been all across this country and even outside of it and people are just people, no matter where in the world you are.

Any type of label is just the wrong way, if your using labels to judge people your on the wrong path. That's something I strongly believe and I will never change. And you can go though every message I have ever posted here and you will never find me saying fanboy or calling myself or anyone else a "gamer or not a gamer" I don't call people hipsters or any other slur. It's all the same, it's a cheap way to make an argument. And I don't think I am better than anyone because of it. I just think it's the right thing to do.

[Christopher]

***But you should probably play it, or at least know more about it than watching a 5-10 min of gameplay. ***

No, that's not how this works. I can make any opinion I want based on information we have right now. My opinon may change, but I DO NOT need to play the game to have a valid opinion on the information we have now.

***It's a video game it's not supposed to be realistic.***

One, that's your opoinion. Two, I didn't say I wanted it to BE realistic, but to be more realistic. Grounded in reality in some way, rather than a completely fantasy. Why? Because it looks like a real world and isn't sold as a sci-fi game or a fantasy game.

***Yet I have never seen you complain about any of that. ***

I don't think you've read enough of what I say on games to make that statement.

***Lets be honest the whole argument really comes down to these four words... ***

Let's be honest, it's only a minor part of the issue that leads to a whole concept I don't care for, but you don't want to accept the other criticisms and instead want to turn this into an argument based on just clothing than anything else I said.

The reason the outfits don't make sense is because A) he doesn't blend in and B) skinny jeans and stylish shoes aren't what one would wear when going into combat, melee or ranged. I admit, Aiden's damn trench coat was annoying as well, but at least he blended in.

***And what is a hipster anyways, do you treat people differently in real life because they wear a certain type of shoes? Because I'd like to think more of you than that as one of the highest ranking moderators on the site. I've had some sort of respect for you based on that but this whole "hipster thing" is really putting me off I have to be honest and say. ***

Yeah, okay, see, now you're just creating a fantasy world where I said I judge people based solely on what they wear.

That's your creation, not mine. How about you read what I actually say and not just take a bit here to make your own arguments?

----

Hey, btw, you never did answer my question. Are you criticizing people for saying the opposite? Should every single one of us wait until we play the game to have any opinion at all? Or is this just a one-sided thing here?

Edit: the odd thing here is that I don't care if you have a different opinion. You like what you like, great. But, you have an issue with my opinion and are trying to simplify it down to some stupid argument that it's all about him dressing like a hipster. How about instead you just realize people have different opinions rather than trying to promote your own while twisting that of others?

Edit 2: And the whole "you're a mod, you should have the better opinion" thing? Really? I'm not allowed to have my own opinion, I have to have an opinion you agree with? Please, just stop arguing if that's what you're going to start throwing around. It's petty and essentially a way to say that my opinion is somehow a crime of some sort. It's just an opinion, it doesn't change your opinion, it doesn't affect anyone, it's just my own thoughts. And I'll have those how I feel necessary, I don't care if they disagree with yours or make you see me in a lesser light. I'm not here to please you with my opinions nor are my opinions reflective of my job as a moderator, they're relfective of what I want in a game and nothing else.

[rainslacker]

If he's a weak character, people should be more concerned about that than his race IMO. The only reason I would consider race is if it was done just to be inclusive with no actual reason. If he was designed from the ground up to be an African American, so be it. I don't really see what his race has to do with the character itself unless he's going around hacking race related things and even then, the race doesn't matter unless his reasons for doing so were based on his race.

There's a really strong disconnect in people nowadays who don't recognize the real problems with characters and their design or development, and when they focus on the superficial things like race, it's just easy to ignore the real problem, and make any criticism go away by playing the race victim card.

[Christopher]

***If he's a weak character, people should be more concerned about that than his race IMO.***

I don't care about his race, as long as that's not the 'point'. I'm just not at all caring for the personality and storyline concept so far. As I've mentioned multiple times, the whole 'hacktivist' thing does throw me off because it definitely promotes the attention-seeking concepts that are juvenile and lead them to claiming to be doing good things while really just doing it for attention. I don't want to pay an attention-seeking person.

[Ashlen]

Chris, Your right your free to make any opinion you want. But it's better to make an informed opinion.

"One, that's your opoinion. Two, I didn't say I wanted it to BE realistic, but to be more realistic. Grounded in reality in some way, rather than a completely fantasy. Why? Because it looks like a real world and isn't sold as a sci-fi game or a fantasy game."

I mean it's as grounded in reality as any video game. Of course again you can wish for any level of reality you want but for a video game it's as realistic as any game.

"The reason the outfits don't make sense is because A) he doesn't blend in and B) skinny jeans and stylish shoes aren't what one would wear when going into combat, melee or ranged. I admit, Aiden's damn trench coat was annoying as well, but at least he blended in."

Again it's just a game. You talk about blinding in but at the same time you don't want him to wear casual clothes. I mean running around wearing a full set of body armor wouldn't blend in either. You can't really have it both ways. And what blends in depends on where you are, a business suit blends in in an office but not a rap concert. So to say the tight jeans and stylish shoes don't blend in is context relevant. He's mostly just walking around on the streets on San Francisco where that totally blends in.

As for the hipster thing, you keep saying it and it's what everyone keeps saying, What am I supposed to think? It's not like I know you personally. If you don't say it I won't question it. I'd like to believe you don't judge people but it's hard when you keep using labels.

"Hey, btw, you never did answer my question. Are you criticizing people for saying the opposite? Should every single one of us wait until we play the game to have any opinion at all? Or is this just a one-sided thing here? "

I haven't really said anything about the game, I'm pretty much waiting to see how it turns out. I rarely make comments about games I haven't played. All I have really said is I don't understand why the looks of the character matter so much. I haven't commented on people who like the game because what is there for me to say? I guess it's an obtuse double standard but I can't realistically change. I didn't see you ask me that TBH did you edit that in? If not I apologize.

Edit: the odd thing here is that I don't care if you have a different opinion. You like what you like, great. But, you have an issue with my opinion and are trying to simplify it down to some stupid argument that it's all about him dressing like a hipster. How about instead you just realize people have different opinions rather than trying to promote your own while twisting that of others?

I'm not begrudging your opinion. Pretty much just the hipster thing.

Edit 2: And the whole "you're a mod, you should have the better opinion" thing? Really? I'm not allowed to have my own opinion, I have to have an opinion you agree with? Please, just stop arguing if that's what you're going to start throwing around. It's petty and essentially a way to say that my opinion is somehow a crime of some sort. It's just an opinion, it doesn't change your opinion, it doesn't affect anyone, it's just my own thoughts. And I'll have those how I feel necessary, I don't care if they disagree with yours or make you see me in a lesser light. I'm not here to please you with my opinions nor are my opinions reflective of my job as a moderator, they're relfective of what I want in a game and nothing else.

That's fair. It is unfair for me to hold you to a higher standard.

[The_Kills]

Better question. Watch Dogs... Who cares?

[crazychris4124]

I just hope Marcus is better than Aiden, could careless what he looks like. Aiden was the worst.

[Christopher]

I agree 100% with this sentiment. Watch_Dogs 2 needs a better character and story. Those were the biggest complaints from the first game other than the usual Ubisoft downgrade.

[Ashlen]

The most frustrating thing is the people say things like SJW agenda or other things to disguise the fact that they are in fact racist or bigots. And unfortunately the current political landscape really seems to be empowering this type of person.

If you're going to be a bigot or a racist just admit it, don't try to hide behind words.

[morganfell]

No, you are wrong. That may be the case sometimes but there are plenty of us that do not care for the character and it has nothing to do with race, sex, or gender identification. It has to do with Ubisoft and their attempted hipster engineering. It is the source for this article:

http://n4g.com/news/1916987...

[Paytaa]

Yeah but Ubisoft have the right to make whatever game they want. I have no interest in Watch Dogs so I simply don't buy it.

Even if it's Ubisoft trying to make a game more "hipster" or whatever that means, it's their game and their vision. I see no issue with that aside from questionable practices from Ubisoft in regards to paywalls/microtransactions.

[ion666]

They would rather play as a lombax than a black dude? That meth hits their brains hard. #priorities

[Hold_It]

@Ashlen

To be honest Ubisoft usually does it to pander to a SJW agenda or a PC one. I guess they're trying to undo their whole "We don't put women as the forefront of our games, because women take too long to design" comment. I just hope the game is a big enough of an improvement over the first one. I paid $3.50 for Watch_Dogs and still feel cheated. When Ubisoft does things like "being progressive" they seem to do it because they want a pat on the back for doing it, not because it feels right. I can understand where you're coming from though.

[Cy]

This, basically. SJW's have created a culture where diversity is something to be smug and smarmy about, instead of just a thing that happens. It's almost impossible to separate diverse characters from the SJW agenda, especially since it's never *just* a diverse character. It's a diverse character and shitty agenda pushing, and unnecessary attacks on groups SJW's don't like, and characters who are badly written because the devs are scared of making minority characters more flawed than white male characters, and a whole slew of other things that actually detract from the game itself. It's kind of impossible to judge a character on anything *but* the color of their skin or their gender anymore, because SJW's have spent years making sure those are the only things that matter.

[morganfell]

SJWs are all about free speech...as long as you are saying something with which they agree. If not, they will promote peace and fairness even if they have to attack you in order to do so.

[Ashlen]

As far as I can remember this is the first time Ubisoft has used a minority or a *female* as a lead in any of there main games. So I'm curious how you come to the conclusion that "Ubisoft usually does it to pander to a SJW agenda or a PC one" when this is the first time?

Edit: Ok I forgot the last assassins creed had a female character, I guess it was brother and sister duo, I didn't play it. I said as far as I can remember, but I still stand by my statement.

And either way judging people by how they dress is not better. Just understand that people are different. If people would get out of there tiny circles they would see people dress differently all over the world. Clothing is not a valid reason for hate.

Everyone is different, get over it and move on.

[Christopher]

@Ashen: Their last game had a female protagonist... Having said that, there's no proof, one way or the other, on how Ubisoft came to having the current protagonist. But, I think a lot of it isn't his race so much as the hipster elements combined with the, so far, superficial story elements. People are just erroneously attaching their dislike of what they've seen to his race. Just look at the difference between this game and Mafia Ill,

[morganfell]

@Ashlen,

Are you saying there are more Italians in the world than black people? Ezio Auditore da Firenze would like to have a talk with you. I know white people may look alike to most people but some Italians I know would take exception.

Clothing isn't a valid reason for hate though it can be a justified reason for dislike. But it isn't just about the clothing. That is one aspect of everything many people find objectionable about the design and for the vast majority of us that do not like what we have seen, none of those objections are tied to race or sex.

The people that scream "This is about race" when replying to the comments in this thread by persons that do not care about race are seemingly made by people that carry a real racial chip on their shoulder. Many of us do not like the character for other reasons that have nothing to do with genetics, but if we voice out opinions, many of which are tied to Ubisoft's demonstrated inability to deliver good features promised at reveal, then we must be a bunch of southern racists ready to reinstate slavery and secede from the Union.

[ThunderPulse]

I want Aiden back because he was cool and not some stupid looking hipster hobo with a yo-yo and a smart phone. It's just Ubisoft trying to be trendy when they're just reskinning a game with an SJW loser feel to it.

[silvacrest]

That's interesting, most people complain that aiden is as boring as dry sh!t, and your comment is the first i have heard calling for his return

[Next_gen_2015]

@ThunderPulse

Aiden was a cool character to play as but he had a very boring/forgettable personality. Ubisoft needed a new protagonist to get people hyped. Maybe Aiden will return in WD3 but for now im good with Marcus.

[Liqu1d]

Aiden is the most boring character I've ever played as. The guy was pretty much a Batman wannabe.

[jmc8888]

No actually the problem is people go after SJW nonsense and forget the REAL problems. Then when they 'win' they forget about the REAL PROBLEMS because they are all full with their victory.

You see SJW victories aren't going to make Wall Street give your money back, or your jobs, or pass Glass-Steagall, or stop spying on you, or drone bombing you, or demilitarize the police, or stop invading countries, or starting a new fake cold war with Russia and China risking nuclear war, and the list goes on and on.

I'm a lifelong Democrat who wonders how in the hell did idiot, corrupt, warmongering Neo-Con Hillary get our party's nomination... then I know why.

Because my party is full of people who want a woman president and think SJW stuff is more important then anything. Doesn't matter if she sends off your brothers and sisters to die in unjust wars, or causes all of our vaporization in a global thermonuclear war, or ramps up spying even more, or passes more free trade deals, or pretends to regulate Wall Street as the biggest bubble EVER blown by Obama under his watch implodes.

Yes Obama is like Bush, but many of my fellow idiot Dems have convinced themselves otherwise. They don't see it in Clinton, because all you have to be is a Social Justice Warrior and all REAL PROBLEMS disappear.

That's the problem with SJW, you are focusing on the nothing while forgetting everything that is real. What's real sad is many of these people so vocal for SJW don't realize the reason they have so much time to go all warrior on nothing is because Wall Street through Bill Clinton's NAFTA and repeal of Glass-Steagall outsourced/offshored the productive jobs they should have.

Here's a taste of the reality of our situation. There's much, much more. Read it and weep.

http://www.zerohedge.com/ne...

I care if WD2 is better than 1, I could care less what the character looks like, and most of us don't either. I don't care what a character is as long as it fits and the game is good. People can have differing opinions and not be 'racist'.

[Mighty Boom]

Make America Great Again!

[Cy]

Actually the most frustrating thing is having people call you a racist for disagreeing with SJW's. Especially when SJW's are saying *actual* racist and sexist things about white people and men.

[rainslacker]

It's more the question of if the design is to pander to a specific crowd. In this case SJW or whatever. If so, then I feel it's pretty shallow, and often times, those shallow attempts get critical praise despite not deserving it from an objective viewpoint.

I've seen times where just because a character is homosexual or black or a woman, their lack of character development gets praise, despite the characters themselves being pretty shallow, and the story meaningless....and to me, that's a bigger problem, because it means people are putting their critical objective outlook on the quality of a story in order to either not look like a bigot, or because they are blinded by the fact that the game is somehow progressive. And I think that should be resolved before we start staying that closet bigots need to just step forward and admit what they are....although I can concede that they can be susceptible to doing the same as I talk about above, only in reverse.

I don't think that characters should be homogenized, nor should we judge a character that's built to represent a certain group, so long as that design is borne from the interest of the developer, and not the interest of a focus group or marketing ideas of the publishing firm who doesn't understand what's actually important to character design or development in terms of actually making it interesting.

In this case, I can't say why he's black. I couldn't care less really. I don't really feel that him being black has anything to do with his character or the story itself based on what I know of the IP. There's no reason for him to be black, but it doesn't upset me because it's probably the least important trait of his character for a narrative driven game.

I won't even make an accusation that it's done to pander to a certain group in this case, because there is no indication that that is the case. The only possible logical assumptions that can be made in this case though is that it's either just because the dev wanted it that way, or it's done to pander to a particular group. Two rather simple concepts, which none of use know the answer to.

[Ashlen]

Are you saying there are more Italians in the world than black people? Ezio Auditore da Firenze would like to have a talk with you. I know white people may look alike to most people but some Italians I know would take exception.

I'm going to assume your European. In Europe people tend to judge people less by skin color (though that is changing with prejudice against middle eastern/Muslim people who actually have darker skin) and more by language. In America if your German Italian Swiss British Belgian any Caucasian you are white. Everyone speaks the same language. It's not my personal judgment, it's just how it is. The global numbers have nothing to do with it. I'll give you an example there are more Chinese people in the world than there are Americans but in America a Chinese person is seen as a minority.

Clothing isn't a valid reason for hate though it can be a justified reason for dislike.

I just disagree with this statement flat out. And saying dislike is pretty much the same as saying hate, they are synonyms.

[DivineAssault]

Wow, thats pathetic.

[mastershredder]

So you just labled anyone who does not like the new protaganist as racist?...... I'm not seeing all this racist outrage (a page of comments!?, have you seen youtube?) This should really be taken down.

[Goldby]

No there is a difference between not liking a character because of their behavior or image (hipster hacker) and not liking a character because hes black. Im the former.

[mastershredder]

? wtf are you talking about talking about? Serriously don't make assumptions on people's though processes. Read and think about what I said . Geez

This is flamebait

[Kaneki-Ken]

I don't care if the character is black because people who play San Andreas know that we play Cj, African American. There two things that I am bother with the sequel is that Marcus in opinion will feel to hipster and a wanna be gangster and the second thing that bother me is that Aiden is no longer involved rather he was dub, they could have fix his character and story for the sequel but I guess, they couldn't handle developing his character more.

[donwel]

Exactly, this is the plan. Any criticism of this game will be labeled as racism because the MC is black. It's been done before and it's something we'll see more of, this industry is utterly disgusting.

[Kerppamaister]

This has got to be fake. Or made up. GTA had a black player character like, what, 10 years ago.

[pyroado]

Idk why its a problem all the sudden franklin and lamar from gta V are black

[letsgopal]

Maybe because the character in WD2 just looks fucking lame.

[iceman06]

Maybe it has to do with who the character is. CJ, while great entertainment, was a nod to the stereotypical portrayal of blacks at the time...gangsters and thugs. Which, while a bit disturbing to think about, actually works for the racist mentality. However Marcus is educated with tech skills, which is a bit more threatening to the racist agenda and the idea that black people are not capable of such achievements.
More than likely it's some dumbasses that are looking for attention by stroking their e-penises to then reactions of racists remarks. This is the internet after all.

[Kerppamaister]

Could be. Fair points all. I just thought its fake like Fox News fake. Ask around long enough until you get one controversial response and make a headline out of it.

[Antifan]

Back then, the Internet didn't give people a platform to complain. Today, 1 or 2 people complain and it's top news for the week. These 'racist' are a vocal minority. It's proof how far gaming journalism has fallen.

[joab777]

I have no issue with the race. I just hope it isn't a wasted opportunity and he ends up playing just like a white lead. Being in San Fran, it would be cool like Mafia 3 if we were able to feel the possible racism as we made our way through the city.

That said, we should be able to have conversations concerning social justice and how often it is shoe horned.

I would love to play as leads from different races and genders b/c video games are a great medium to be able to experience a slice of life you aren't able to in reality. If it's wasted, though, and the protagonist's race or gender has nothing to do with story or gameplay, then we should be able to have a debate without people screaming racist etc.

[Sweendog007]

people just look for a reason to moan about anything now. It's a game , racism is now out dated and stupid in today's societ and to bring it up about a game.

[iceman06]

I might be past it's prime. But, it's still ever-present. It shouldn't be a surprise because it has always been more than just a social issue. It is systemic and, though it is not as overt as the lynchings and church bombings, it's still live and well...and that's unfortunate. The good news? Younger people seem to be less racist. (if you believe studies) So, there's hope for the future. They are the future cops, teachers, businessmen, lawyers, and law makers. Hopefully that will bring changes to the still remaining systemic aspects.

[Sweendog007]

Difference is the same people who are complaing about this game are not complaining about grand theft auto or miffia 3 ... Why because it's a bigger franchises with a bigger fan base , it's still an issue rascim however you can not pick and choice what games/movies you think are racist because you either don't like the game or movie or don't think it's a big game. If watch dogs had the same popularity as grand theft auto then this would not be an issue

In my view this argument is not based on rascim it's based on people not limping watch dogs or the way Ubisoft are trying something new in watchs dogs 2

[MatrixxGT]

Some people just need to go outside every once in a while.

[Jburr94]

Let's be real, how controversial is this? Most people do not care about his race

[rainslacker]

It's not. It's just some forum posters who said some stupid things for whatever reason. As we all know though, one person equals one billion, so if some forum full of stupid people says something, it now becomes some sort of huge scandal that tries to generalize a huge and diverse community.

[jer1122]

. It's funny because all the social justice warriors are like the character is so much better than last one. First you haven't even played it so basically your just saying the character better because he's black. That's racist in itself. I love how it's okay to be racist against white people nowadays. Like you can so whatever you want about white poeple but if it's the other way around people go nuts. I'm not sure if you guys are aware but that's called being a massive hypocrite .Honestly most people have problems with his character because he's a hipster looks dumb. Mafia 3 looks much better . I can guarantee you this doesn't sell half as much as the first one mainly because it looks like a hipster take on mr. Robot

[spicelicka]

I don't think people are saying he's better because he's black, they're just saying he's not any different because he's black. It's not okay to be racist against anyone, black, white, or any other race.

[Ashlen]

Well said.

[Mirdus]

Haven't you heard there is no such thing as racism towards whites, this according to the Social Justice Warriors and the culture of Political Correctness. The cancers of our societies and threats to our freedoms.

[SonyWarrior]

yea the main character is a big deal in a game they really missed the ball with this guy i am no longer excited about it at all and will pass on it

[iceman06]

Or....and this is just a thought...he looks like a better character. (not just because of his skin color) Aiden was a pretty bland and unassuming character. His most defining design element was a trench coat. This character looks a bit more like what you would expect from a young hactivist. (skinny jeans aren't just a hipster thing, they're a fad for young people) The curveball is the race. Also, the parkour and melee combat aspects could be what elevates him above Aiden for some. There's also the backstory (what we know thus far) which could be more appealing to some. (the Anonymous, Mr. Robot vibe which has made its way into pop culture)

What I'm saying is, that while race is part of what they gave us to judge, it's not the ONLY thing that could potentially make Marcus a more attractive character than Aiden. It doesn't always have to be some agenda for people to like or dislike something.

Also, it's not racist to like a character better because he's black. Prejudice? Maybe. Slightly bigoted? Perhaps. Extremely narrow-minded? Absolutely. Racist would be assuming that EVERY character would be better if they were black and/or refusing to support any game or company because the characters aren't. There's a lot more to racism than preferring that a character be a certain color. Oh...and it's not 'okay to be racist' to anybody regardless of race. But this is the price of free speech. We often get speech that we might not agree on. (whether it bigoted and hateful, misogynistic or feminist, or anywhere in between) I'd gladly pay that price over restricted speech and silent dissension any day.

As for Mafia 3, there were people upset about that choice as well. While I find it interesting that they are moving from the traditional, Cosa Nostra mafia to the less known 'Black' mafia, there were some that didn't. There were some that DID go to extremes and wrote the game completely off because of it. I can't assume that it was JUST a race thing. It's more than likely a preference motivated by factors that could have included race.

[silvacrest]

Apparently one of their accusations was that its almost implausible to have a tech savvy black guy in San Fran, I dont no much about San Francisco but marcus being tech savvy is realistic, dont let outdated tropes and racial stereotypes fool you

[rainslacker]

Yeah, it's not implausible, it's just not common in relation to some other races. There are plenty of people in every race that are tech savvy, some of them even in San Francisco, but they certainly aren't the majority or as apparent. Kind of true in IT, nerd-dom, or geekdom in general. They exist, and if you are into that stuff, you can certainly come across them, but it's unlikely it will be typical.

[Sm00thNinja]

They mist not play GTA games then.

[BlindMango]

So an article was made by cherry-picking an unbelievably tiny fraction of some comments on YouTube? Lol I'm surprised Polygon or Kotaku didn't produce something like this to be honest. People will always have issue with a main character, every time a new character is white I always see "Ugh! Another straight white male!" but I don't write up an article about it, lol

[RosweeSon]

I'm pissed off with Racism

[Dixiedevil]

News flash!: People on the internet said mean things. Thankfully there were other people on the Internet to say that they're mean and stupid. Unfortunately the other people were then called {expletive} so they fought back by calling the aforementioned people {expletive}. Stay tuned for updates.

[Sweendog007]

It's a video game who cares , honestly people who bring racism up and all this stuff need to grow up and look around the world has changed so change with it

[JsonHenry]

Who is complaining? I haven't read anything about there being some great outcry. You're always going to have a few idiots/trolls. Why is this news? It is like saying the sky is blue.

[Austin48]

Idk see the big deal with him being black it's just a game people.

[exkalibur97]

#clickbait

[PistolsAtDawn]

He's black? I didn't even notice really, most of him was covered and I watched the gameplay on my phone. I was just noticing that I loved the new enhancements to the game and I love the character animations/movement. I was one of the few people that actually liked the first one a lot and this one looks to be a step up in every single area.....after seeing the gameplay video I'm really anticipating this game.

Admittedly I didn't even click on this article, so I don't know what is making them think it's racists...although I've been around gamers and gaming journalism long enough to know that the people that hate a character...isn't usually because of their sex or race...whatever...but people get ACCUSED of hating them for those reasons a TON. There is a ton of immaturity in this community unfortunately, and usually when people can't win an argument with reason or facts, they resort to name calling...and some favorites are "racist" or "sexist"....and unfortunately even gaming "journalism" isn't above that a lot of the time. I also know that a lot of people like to just say dumb shit behind the safety of the net...and some people will just say racist stuff to get under people's skin because they love to watch the world burn. So I don't put much stock in it...I wish others wouldn't either...the game looks fantastic whatever color the protagonist is, I can't wait to play it.

[Big_Game_Hunters]

Wait so are people mostly mad about not being able to play aiden or the black character? the article isn't clear.
It says "hundreds" of racist comments but doesn't actually show them.

[Vigor]

Taking a page out of EA. A game just can't stand on its own merits nowadays? just to show how they gave no confidence in there games.just Re-skin or gender-swap characters so they can deflect any legitimate criticism toward "racism", "sexism" and "homophobic" because they were caught bullshitting the first time. Yes there are blithering idiots out there but they are of the extreme exception or else this industry wouldn't be big as it is now.

[tapmybuttons]

What a load of bull, long as the character is fully fleshed out, the narrative is interesting and most importantly the game is fun, the race of the protagonist shouldn't dismay fans from playing this sequel. Grow up or go home.

[Servbot41]

To be fair, you should just be able to customize your character completely. In the end no one gave a shit about Aiden and I guarantee no one will give a shit about this new guy. Ubisoft hasn't made a likable lead since Assassins Creed's Ezio, whom they milked has hard as possible, and had lead character issues even prior to Ezio.

[NovusTerminus]

I'm more upset at the Hipster look, and horrible music, I don't care what race he is, he's got a good design minus the hipster glasses...

[cfc83]

I'd say ubi are not great at making characters. I don't know what social justice warriors have to do with anything. Many people complained that aiden pearse sucked, which i don't totally agree with. Now the character maybe be african-american, people are almost implying that social justic warriors are to blame, as if you're ruining the party if the lead character isn't white, which is silly at best. We need a good character. Race isn't the issue. It's ubisoft having huge budgets, but still can't do a decent lead character. Give me free games, a few t-shirts and some alcohol, and i'll tell you how to make a good character.

[Sketchy_Galore]

In other news: Homophobic gamers not happy with gay characters in games. Flat Earther gamers pissed off about depictions of the Earth as a sphere in gaming. Gamers who hate the word Doom extremely pissed off about the game, Doom.

[SOUTHNECK]

Make a color slider for the skin as a micro transaction. "Caucasian Safe DLC" for 2 cents.

[assdan]

Is this news? Any time anything involving a black person happens, some racists will be pissed.

[Silly gameAr]

"Black people are no smart enough to be hero. Stop all SJW's! They must be behind this REEEEEEEEEE"..

That's what I think runs through the mind of every person that usually has a problem with things like this.

[BigGamersSmallTalk]

Everything is racists these days.... Say you wish you could be Aiden from the first game and that's racist....Seriously, the wheels have fallen off society.

[Silly gameAr]

Yeah, everyone whines, even the people who don't realize that they are whining about whiners. Some people may have wanted to be Aiden, but the examples given in the article are from people who didn't want the protagonist to be black. Lets just ignore that though, and just shrug it off as people complaining about racism. That seems to be the go argument to make these days.

[jznrpg]

As long as the game is good I dont care what the race is. Actually, there needs to be more diversity in games because playing a white guy all the time is boring.

[Mighty Boom]

#Gamergate

My word the groupthink in this thread is amazing, not to mention the platitudes and virtue signaling.

Smh

[CoDsuperstar]

its not racism. its prejudice.

[Themba76]

finally we have someone who is educated and knows the difference

[Mighty Boom]

Take my country, take my wife, take my video games away ... just don't call me a racist!!

[xtheblackparade]

Ahw man..some gamers can be so picky. It's just brown pixels not even a real guy ffs.

[1nsomniac]

No they're not. This is just stupid kids being thoughtless kids & the media trying to stir up hate.

[LuckyChamCham]

Probably crapgamer 😂

[Whirlwind_Fanfare_08]

LMAO

[ChickenOfTheCaveMan]

Not sure that's racism to say that the protagonist being black in San Fran is statistically improbable. That's stupid though because that 6% alone makes it probable.

[Perjoss]

Someones always pissed off about something.

[InTheZoneAC]

is the n word going to be loosely used or will it be a racist word? or this black character not of low standards and flawed characteristics?

btw I have no problems with a black character as long as he's not Lamar from GTA

[Gh05t]

YES! I couldnt stand playing GTA5, The game mechanics were fun but I HATED all three characters. I liked the story of Franklin the most but couldn't get over the use of that word over and over again. I hated Trevor so much because he epitomized all the trailer park trash I grew up with but to the extreme and it just wasnt my cup of tea and I dont remember the family man guy but I couldnt stand him either as a pushover father with no discipline kids or respect. I forced myself to finish that game and after I was done I sold it.

I have zero problem with the protagonist being black, I am more worried about the story of him being black and how its going to paint others. If I am playing a game thats shaming me all day long while playing a black guy I am not going to enjoy it.

I believe in diversity through character not through color. I want to like this but I really dont think it will be good, based on what little information they have released.

[GamePeace]

@Zorkaz

"Unfortunately this is the truth, but what we can do is do our best to make people like that feel alienated, uncomfortable, and outcast."

That's exactly what racist people or groups do to others that don't fit their scheme.

[dillhole]

Why even listen to what racists have to say? Their very nature is that they are fundamentally wrong about the world. They should be ignored.

[N8]

Well if they change the character I won't buy it. So they can just be racists and complain

[JamesBroski]

I don't mind that the main character is african american, quite the opposite in fact - really glad that it's not another the classic hollywood caucasian -, what I mind is that they had to set him in a "gangsta" setting. Like they came out with the setting idea and they thought "alright, well the main character needs to be black".

[GTgamer]

They need to take they racist axx to a corner before they get smacked who gives a crap I don't mad that Nathan drake is white or Joel or dante the list goes and those are my favorite gaming characters, racism is for small minded idiots end of story, our ancestors were slaves and we still hold no grudges so what they hell are they mad about -_-

[Chaos-Dad]

Why = racist? (political correctness?)

[ZombieGamerMan]

personally I hate his look more than his skin color, seriously it's some cringe worthy style

[Elda]

Didn't realize the protagonist was black,oh well...racist folks will buy the game & get over it or they don't have to buy the game at all.Next.

[Dyldog69]

There is no such thing as racism.

[Whirlwind_Fanfare_08]

What planet R U from?

[Soldierone]

I honestly think people just make this stuff up now. They make fake accounts or whatever, pretend to throw a fit, then go pretend it's a huge deal. I saw the reveal, saw thousands of people get excited, not once did anyone get upset about it. At all.

And if people did, it's a finite problem with a select few slow thinking nitwits. Why go make it a bigger deal?

[RoaringTiger4543]

TBH ,Its just sad to see people now a days talking about race but I don't get why people are getting so pissed its just fictional character in a game.

[hiredhelp]

We supposed to be gamers all are one no matter if your black white or mixed,own a sony platform or xbox or nintendo or PC.
WE ARE GAMERS WE ARE THE SAME skin makes no differnce..

[GamePeace]

"skin makes no difference", my favourite group of words from your comment.

No one should be discriminated for their outer look, skin color or other things like nationality,

Don't give hate a chance !

[Whirlwind_Fanfare_08]

So ridiculous!

[Chaosdreams]

Racism is pathetic.

[StormLegend]

Game looks aweosme and him being black makes it looks way more interesting! White/Asian people aren't the only ones that are good at hacking. I like this change!

[Deltaguy]

it's ok that black/asian/latino people have to play a white (male) character 90% of the time (uncharted,quantum break,tomb raider, bioshock..etc) but god forbid a white person plays as someone of color..i think having characters of different backgrounds is refreshing..racist gotta get over it

[SonyWarrior]

its called the mass demographic which is white males and they want to play as a character that are like themselfs... why cater to 10% or less of your target audience....these decisions to put minorities as mains do infact hurt sales i've lost interest in this game now i thought adian was going to be the main not some ghetto hoodlum hipster theme bullshit ima def pass on this at least i wont buy it new thats for sure i wont support these selfish PC acts

[silvacrest]

Man, i was waiting for a comment like this, out of over 150 posts you win, you fell into the stereotype/trope trap, "ghetto hoodlum" right....because that is what ubisoft showed, because that is the only identity a black american could ever have right?

"the mass demographic which is white males and they want to play as a character that are like themselfs"
Sure, i get that, but everyone else has to play as a white male, most don't complain, certainly not enough to get an article on N4G.

your views and attitude is pathetic.

I'm not one for pushing PC issues into games but if it marginalises people like you maybe i should change my stance

[Deltaguy]

the mass demographic? last i checked blacks buy games just as much as whites ..and if having someone of color as a lead in game hurt sells you're proving that a vast majority of gamers are racist..you racist are something else...

[SonyWarrior]

@deltaguy last time i checked blacks were 12% of the population So please explain to me how 12% of the population match white population sales numbers.. because you sound ignorant as fuck.... i wont even push the poverty numbers into this equation of the people who can actually afford and do buy games just to keep it simple for you to comprehended. and you are racist for calling me racist hypocrite i guess to peanut brain piss ants like yourself factual statistics are racist thus making the factual statistic that blacks are only 12% of the population is racist..... lmao...

[silvacrest]

the black american population is not 1:1 the same as the black american gaming population

[Inzo]

What a load of BS, if you read the posts you will see that many of the gamers arent pissed off because he is black, they are pissed off because Ubisoft is using racism to drive the story and as an African who lives in a country where this is a constant struggle I can tell you now that this concept is sickening and does not belong in a game.

[FreeSpeech69]

I don't care, Nobody cared about GTA San Andreas or GTA V. I don't believe there are many people who actually care, this is just journalists making a mountain over a molehill.

[2cents]

New Age Trump-ites

I'm not racist, its just that... "insert racist comment here".

This is tragically sad.

[SheikAshii]

Lol I watched the trailer and saw the ad in front of other videos on YouTube like 3 times and I didn't even notice he was black XD. I'm not being that guy who's like "I don't see colour" and all that nonsense. He's so covered up I couldn't tell. WELP.

Thought I do feel like nobody should care either way, I can definitely understand how it can be annoying to be reminded of the Progressive Olympics that are going on nowadays. Forcing colour or gender onto things for the sake of progressive points is how you get medals in the PO but it doesn't seem like that is the case here IMO

[medman]

The tiny penis, tiny life brigade is upset? Are they ever not? Hence their massive frustration and miniscule education.

[subtenko]

I doubt people are really complaining...if they are its like 100 vs 2,000,000 gamers and its not a big surprise or anything either. Am I supposed to get really mad and start yelling at all 100 of them over the internet? No, Im not gonna put that much effort into it

Racist gamers pissed off? umm...ok, we all know discrimination sucks, nothing new there....

[Gaming_Since_The_80s]

I say you do a "Create-a-Character" and then everyone can identify with the character they are playing. However, forcing a player to play a character that's outside of their race could prove to be an effective way to communicate the difficulties of said race to someone who might never know otherwise.

[Lord_Sloth]

I would rather have somebody who doesn't look like a hipster. He needs to change his outfit.

[SonyWarrior]

if you dont like it dont buy it and torrent it if you must or buy it used. im not buying it just because its racist that the PROTAGONIST is black is it not? plus i think the whole ghetto street gang thing is way over played and corny gta sa was the last game id buy that had that type of story going on. i couldnt stand the gta5 ghetto charactor i wanted to kill him off but what did you know at the end you can only kill mike or trever cant kill the black guy......

[silvacrest]

What if ubisoft thought playing a generic and boring white guy was played out? no one wanted aiden, full stop

[SonyWarrior]

aiden wasnt boring he was mysterious..... wd2 is doing the whole ghetto thing where this character rebels against the ghetto if that isnt played out then i dont know what is......

[Themba76]

this is ok but not that ecstatic about it what would make me real happy if i their next ac game that it takes place in ancient Egypt (or should i say Kemet) and the main protaganist is black that would make me happy.

[CPTN MITCHELL]

The white guy from the last game was hated by everyone and now the get someone else and people are still not happy...

[HeroPsychoDreamer]

That article looks a lot like this one http://fusion.net/story/311...

[Gwiz]

Watch dawgz.word

[Kallisti]

I'm a white cis male and I'm fine with the new protagonist but almost anybody would be better than that borefest Aiden Pearce

[Mighty Boom]

You are so virtuous, an example before all plebeians.

[domford1981]

Really??

[Ashunderfire86]

Dear Racist why is this still a thing? https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[Mighty Boom]

OMG how virtuous of you thank you so much : )

[Ashunderfire86]

Your welcome sir I just had to spread the truth, because we all want to know why is this still a thing?

[HeroPsychoDreamer]

Are only white people racist?

[Ashunderfire86]

No not all white people are racist, but other people can be racist too. But white people have always been the main focus of attention in entertainment, so don't deny that fact you know it's true.

[2cents]

Every race will have racism directed towards it and dish it out in equal measures.

The potency of the sting is stronger from a privileged perspective. So due to the 'west' being majority white, majority privileged and majority publicized, racism coming from 1st world enabled and entitled white people can sting harder to those less enabled.

[HeroPsychoDreamer]

Then some could call the NBA racist. 3/4 of the players are black. Is that ok?

[sensor21]

I feel bad for rascist. They dont get the chance to socialize and have fun with different cultures. Truly missing out on life.

[Christopher]

Reading the comments, l wouldn't necessarily call most of them any more racist than I would call people complaining about Nadine in Uncharted 4 being a forced "strong woman" sexist. People hate being pandered to and having stories change to make sure some management checkboxes are checked rather than a focus on a coherent story.

I'm going to reserve my judgment until we see the story play out, but I have zero issue with a character's race, gender, sexual preference or the like as long as that isn't the point but just an element of the character. This really depends on how well Ubisoft handles telling the story.

[Mighty Boom]

The "Strong Woman" archetype is a cliché of a cliché of a cliché at this point. They're ubiquitous in every medium. It's anti-nature. IRL these archetypes are outliers in society.

[Mighty Boom]

I generally don't like playing with black characters, and it has nothing to do with the melanin content of their pixels. As a straight white male I just don't identify with the black experience. I don't see Tyler Perry films or listen to most rap music for the same reason.

That's not to say I won't play the game in question, it's just the experience of the game won't be as rich from my perspective.

If anyone thinks this makes me a rayciss then I can only conclude you're anti-white because you'll grant this freedom of choice that I describe to anyone with a brown skin but deny my preference because I wear a white one.

[qwerty676]

what a clickbaity title

[njulo]

GTA San Andreas was awesome, hope Watch Dog 2 will makes the cut of surpassing WD1

[SynestheticRoar]

Wow . Discriminatory prejudice is a serious lacking of intelligence. Their is one race, the human race. Do you think God the omnipotent, omniscient, and ruler of all. Will line us up on judgement day according to are the color of are hair, eyes, or skin. Man in ignorance and his excessive desire to hate divides and separates to strips and destroys to his own end.

[X-23]

Ridiculous. I'm black and I don't see a problem with this and if you're any other ethnicity you shouldn't either. It's really that simple honestly. The amount of overly sensitive people who surround themselves in internet related problems are a joke, they have immature views most of the time I have also noticed.

Injustice happens all the time out in the real world, how about you worry about that instead of how its 'racist' to have an african american hacker guy who was born in a dev teams rendition of San Fran beating people over the head with a pool ball stuffed in a sock. I get so damn tired of people who don't even fit a specific mold trying to dictate what should be considered offensive or "Racist" to someone else.

Gaming journalism has become such a cesspool over the years that you can't even celebrate what you enjoy in games without some circle jerking cookie cutter sheep trying to find something wrong with it.

[iTechHeads]

Just because someone doesn't like the main character, that doesn't make them a racist.
I'm not a fan of the new protagonist either and I am not racist. I know real life friends who aren't happy with the character either rand they are actually black themselves....

[Kiwi66]

Why can't people just enjoy the game for what it is and have fun with it instead , guess they also didn't like gta5 because of Franklin being one of the 3 main characters as that didn't make the game any less fun to play instead i think it made it more fun seeing things from a different perspective

[iliimaster]

to me its not a big deal to slap a name on it like oh your racist get over yourself finger pointer

[PaleMoonDeath]

White people have white pride, Black people have black pride, Smurfs have smurf pride, it's nature. But complaining about a character.. yes character, is a little cheap.

[gigoran]

Ubisoft have designed thia game to market to a specific audience. Their character design was intentional from the very beginning. And those people the game was designed for will buy the game and enjoy it because it was made for them. a lot of people won't buy it. Yes some may be racist, but just like in every modern country, the racist are a small minority. most are not going to buy it because they are not a part of the crowd it was made for.

and yet... here comes the mountains of idiots criticizing my comment and labeling me a racist. but go ahead. it only reinforces my opinion.

[ITPython]

The color of a characters skin makes absolutely no difference to me in games. Although if a character is made as one race or another to make a political statement, that is not acceptable. Not saying I believe this is the case with WD2, but from the article it sounds like that is more why people are upset. Not because he is black, but more about why they chose a black character when it may not make the most sense based on the demographics of the area. And that perhaps this black character was chosen based on his race alone, vs what might make the most sense for the story or area the game is played in.

Ironic thing is, most people screaming about racism these days are often the most racist. They are the least colorblind of us all.

[Angerfist]

They are pushing the Diversity Agenda down the white man's throat and then he gets upset. Totally normal - especially since he is the loser in this agenda. If it was a white character they probably made him gay. I didn't have the game on my radar and still don't , WD1 was simply not good enough to lure me in to a sequel.

[blakstarz]

Tough shit.....get over it or just don't buy it....SMH!!!

[3-4-5]

* I'm white, and I'd prefer to use a white male character as the character I play.

That being said....if they game has a black guy or a women as the character I have to play, then well.....that is the character I play as.

If that is enough to turn you off from a game then maybe that game isn't for you.

[Hugodastrevas]

Came in here to see how many people were virtue signalling, wasn't disappointed!

[just-joe]

Maybe you should put racist "gamer" as it seem to be just one person complaining while most if none of the other people on the thread are having any of it.

[_LarZen_]

I thought racists were to mentally challenged to play games.

[Anthotis]

A thread where the majority of responders aren't opposed to the new black lead for the next crappy watch dogs game is used to create an sjw article in order to condemn gamers as being white racists(which is bad because white people aren't allowed to be as racist as non-whites).

What a non issue, and it's a shame the sjws behind the article couldn't find any proper incidents of white gamers being as racist as non whites.

[Tsar4ever01]

I have a Question for you, Why whenever someone, anyone bring up an issue about RACE, most of you cannon race bigots always assume its a SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIOR agenda, cracking down & trying to put caps on your white pride, preference, or freedom of speech?

That's All I ever see from ya'll always bringing up SJW-A whenever somebody exposes racial issues so blatantly obvious.

[MagicBeanz]

"but it’s exactly the sort of story that most large-name game houses should be focusing more on."

No its not, its fine to do it but it shouldn't be the focus.

On a similar note I found out the other day Lord Saladin from Destiny is black, I was like DAMN!

[JohnathanACE]

I didn't really like any of the characters I saw in the trailer. They were all way too hipster. I still have it pre-ordered and hope the characters aren't as hipster as they seem.

[r3f1cul]

is he gay and transgender? does he sexually identify as a recon plane? my delicate sensibilities need to know these things? but i mean the most important thing, android or i phone? i could give a dump less about any of this, just hope its not the giant POS the first game was ...

[jer1122]

So why dont u write articles when its a white male protagonist and bunch of people go oh no another white male protagonist and they have races comments but no it only goes one way with you sjw

[jer1122]

Must be racist just because I think the game looks stupid and hipster. Swear to God man I get so tired of this crap

[S-Word]

Wasted my time actually reading the article only to find out that nothing said was racist. Looks just like any other typical SJW blog.

[Okan-Ru]

how much did ubisoft pay the person or site to write this article in order to draw attention to there game?

i sure haven't heard any talk of Watch Dog's 2 protagonist being black. not on twitter, not on n4g, not on youtube, etc. so where are these people? How far are you going to search for these people? If you seriously have to look deep into it too find people complaining about Watch Dogs 2, then i guess not really anyone is complaining about it.

Heck i don't even see the alt-right complaining about this, and they were complaining about the Star Wars VII movie for promoting "White Genocide" or whatever.

i'm pretty sure no one cares about Watch Dogs 2 protagonist.

[JohnathanACE]

Maybe Ubisoft wanted to drum up controversy so nobody notices when they downgrade the game.

[jmac53]

It's the same when people refuse to believe that Jesus had dark skin. They want to picture him as a white male with golden brown hair, which is clearly not the case since he was a Jew in the middle east. The light skinned Israelis you see now are from Europe. I just chalk it up to people being too dumb to read a book.

[acemonkey]

and tomorrow black people are going to be pissed that a black person is committing crimes

[cyphertech]

I think any character that isn't white is a SJW product now.

[Gh05t]

Thats the problem with movements like theirs. It calls into question the authenticity. Personally I am less worried about the color, and more worried about the portrayal of culture.

[opinionated]

I didn't see anything racist in that article. The generation that cried "ism". I bet more gamers don't like the design because he's a hipster.

[Jon61586]

Not like we haven't been here before. I mean GTA San andreas ring a bell? That went on to be the highest selling GTA and probably the last good singplayer experience.

[formanbradley]

THIS ISN'T NEWS!

[Flewid638]

lol. Why wouldnt they be? They're racists. That's like saying dogs like food...of course they do.

Breaking News: Racists are Racists.

Next.

[CJQNSNYC]

In other news, rain is expected to fall on cloudy days....

[donwel]

Of course it's racists. Of course it's not the shit gameplay that we got from the first game, not that at all....

[chadwarden]

of course the skin color of the MC impacts the gameplay

[SilverClock]

Can't get much more shallow than not liking someone because of the color of their skin. Ever since I was five years old racism never made any sense to me. There are black people that commit crimes but hey *news flash* so do white people and mexicans. Applying a broad generalization to an entire race of people who are all individuals and unique is beyond the highest level of stupidity. Stupidity over 9000.

[josephayal]

Meh!

[Kiwi66]

Would people also be upset if the lead character was female or a circus clown or a lawyer

[Jerry Seinfeld]

First time back to this site in over 6 months. E3 and all... Now after seeing the number one article is this *expletive deleted*, I can honestly say; I'm glad to have "missed" all the "quality" "articles" here.

[vork77]

this new character dont seem black

[ion666]

Yo for real these racist people have never even met a minority. If they did they automatically get scared because they're afraid minorities are way better people than they will ever be. The sickness is spreading .There will come atime when they will absolutely need us.By that time minoroties wont need you racist fucks. I can't wait.

[Gh05t]

"If they did they automatically get scared because they're afraid minorities are way better people than they will ever be. " Yo for real it sounds like you have never met a true racist, actually it sounds more like you are a true racist and you think youre better than the others of a different race.

[ChronoJoe]

Well they would be, they are racist.

[Drakul]

There is NO place for racism in gaming community!

[S-Word]

Yes there is. You should be more tolerant of other people's opinions on race.

[Drakul]

Racism is not an opinion, it is an inhuman Neanderthaloid instinct.

[Xavior_Reigns]

The Mooch disease is spreading then.

[xMoac]

if I am able to chose a white character to play as , I do. Nothing racist with that, everyone has a preference.
I just cant relate as much to a black character - that's all, but it is the developers choice what race he chose for their lead characters.

[loganbdh]

its San Andreas all over again

[Artemidorus]

Total waste of time reading that article. Author sounded alnost racist highlighting skin colour and differences.

If people want to play as the original character then it's understandable but changing the story gives Ubicon a chance to reboot the Watch Dog franchise.

Anyway you guys will have to expect downgrades, sub 1080p and screen tearing. It's Ubicon

[Tzuno]

In 2016 some people are still retarded.

[iR_phantasm]

HAHAHA, ive been off N4G and come back to this? Who approved this sh*t?

[Mighty Boom]

For those of you crying "it's just a game" no it's not. It is a unit of culture. Whether the protagonist is a black guy or a transgender non binary gender fluid queer trans-racial otherkin then this unit of culture communicates meaning.

In our current SJWized culture this can be understood as a memetic warfare.

These misfits have a specific idea of what they want the world to look like. It's a world of radical racial and gender quota systems where white people are the eternal antagonists.

It's sick.

#Gamergate
#MAGA
#Trump2016

[Apex13]

In gaming we have played with white male characters for years so it's been conditioned. In this day and age I think it's not hard to program a game so we can pick the sex and race of the character to represent ourselves. However, I'm glad UBI soft done this as we black gamers are very much under represented and I hope you have to use this character till the end of the game so you get over your stupid and immature mindsets.

It's funny because gamers love to play a black character when it's a stereotyped role like GTA 3.

This isn't the first time a lead character has been black so let's not forget the main character of the Walking Dead season 1 was black, Crack Down 3, Kratoes (voiced by a black actor) people are just sad.

[zerocarnage]

I would of liked to of seen a female as lead to be honest. But I don't understand why race ever has to be a problem in anything, it's just a colour. Most people who throw out racial slurs will wear something of that colour, support something of that colour, own something of that colour yet they never realise they're closer to that colour than they think.

It boils down to being simple minded, if you can not get on with someone from a different country's who looks different then you really don't deserve to be on this planet. Some people still think Hitler is alive the way they go off and its not just one colour which is racist , it comes from all walks of life along with sexism.

It should be dead all this now but as long as there is the one idea, one mind set thinking with people it won't never go away.

People should of learnt from the past but I often wonder how us human bein have actually escaped our own death with how evil and thoughtless we can actually be.

[mugcostanza]

Only thing i don't like is he dresses like an idiot. but im also 30, so im too old for this shit.

[JasonKCK]

Articles like this just give the racist a platform.

[SugarSoSweet]

It's a game >_< is it REALLY that much of an issue??

[sander9702]

As with Mafia 3 as with every other game with a black protagonist it's best just to ignore them it won't affect sales or anything.

Love thy neighbour, people!

[Kakashi Hatake]

Mafia 3s protagonist is actually Bi racial. Black AND White.

[teo72]

To me, the colour of a persons skin is like the colour of a car. It's beauty might only be skin deep. A pretty colour on a shitty car is still a shitty car. A pretty colour on a mean person is still a mean person. It's what's in someones mind that's important.

[Dirtnapstor]

Well said!
If you don't mind, I'd love to use your analogy elsewhere!

[marioJP87]

First, it was the feminists with Overwatch. Now it's the racists with Watch Dogs 2.

[Animegamertai]

I find it funny how people keep saying Marcus looks like a hipster but if you do a side-by-side comparison between Aiden from watchdogs and Marcus from Watchdogs 2 the only difference in their outfit is that trench coat and a book bag other than that same hat and scarf so that seriously makes no sense to me if you want a legitimate reason to not like a game play it first then say it sucks

[Psychotica]

I don't have a problem with it but I prefer to play games as a white male because that's what I am. It just makes the game better if I can identify with the protagonist. It's the same as playing a game like Mirror's Edge, I wish it was a white male instead. I have heard developers say they want to give gamers the ability to play any way they want, well they should have had a way for gamers to choose, the race, body style, gender, clothing etc, just like games such as Dark Souls.

[Kakashi Hatake]

I'm Black and don't care if I play as a White person or an Asian. Hell, my favorite characters in gaming are White. Sucks that you can't see past skin color my friend. Now if you said you can't identify with Black culture, that's fine. I myself am not a fan of Black Thug culture today and feel it should change. However, you can't tell if someone is a part of that culture just by their skin color. Marcus could act like Wayne Brady for all you know.

[Psychotica]

Sorry that you can't understand what I am really saying. I just want the game to be as immersive as it can by having a character that reflects who I am in real life. It's not a racist attitude.

[MaxCompiler]

Clickbait title, not so bad article.

[zb1ftw777]

I honestly dont care.

Sick of hearing about any 'ism' in gaming tbph.

[senorfartcushion]

Erm....yeah. I don't like LA hipster-douchebags and this gane seems to have a comitee-made young person in the protagonist.

But like those who picketed Obama for his policies, there are always lunatics picketing for superficial reasons.

[Says you]

Americans are so close minded idiots well the ones that
are. an many of them are in here. the whole world and what
I mean by that is Eurasia, North Africa, Canada Latin America
Australia, New Zealand doesn't give a crap about blacks considering
they know how they behave naturally just take a good look at Haiti
and Sub Saharan Africa can anybody name me one nation that has
been governed by blacks successfully without any intervention
by other races an ethnicity's

lets not forget they drive property values down anyone that say's
other wise is just kidding themselves and being delusional. of course another thing
is when ever gamer's and people don't like this particular race the media an social
media, gaming media just jumps on them like a shark or piranha and I love it that
people are forcing other race's an ethnicity's to like and love a race if or they
don't want to be with there kind also by shaming them on media.

[Dirtnapstor]

I think the title of this article is exaggerated.
"In Steam, almost every single conversation about Watch_Dogs 2 was about Marcus’ race...."
Sure, the first two pages. Then it turned into an eye poking fest among Steam users. So not every post was about racist remarks against WD2's new anti-hero. So is this author attempting to stir the pot?!
I find it funny that if you simply talk about the idea of race or racism, you get tagged for being a racist when you don't "fall in line" with the leading question.
WD2 looks good, I hope Ubi pulls it off this time around!

[Maddens Raiders]

Phuck the World, live for the Universe.

[game4funz]

The devs are free to make whatever characters they wish. But I can understand their criticism. Some people are tired of the whole Political correctness in games... They're rightly worried that perhaps this black character is a result of that....and hey some people do prefer Aiden Pierce.

This doesn't require any news focus.. Racism is everywhere

[WheatBread]

Racists are retarded.

[zb1ftw777]

Race card abusers are equally retarded.

[Npugz7]

This is why games should all just have character creation! It would eliminate this issue!

[TheTwelve]

I'm a black man who lives in the Bay Area whoooo

[OOOUUU]

Klu klux klan behind this shit...

[Scatpants]

People are just going to have to come to grips with the fact that for the next few years the bulk of main characters are going to be either black or a woman. That's how fads work.

[Deltaguy]

if you're angry at all about the main protagonist being black in watchdogs 2 you are RACIST..point blank..and you are a stain on the gaming community

[Dirtnapstor]

I don't think people are angry about WD2's anti-hero, Everyone's tired of those that try to create unwarranted controversy. It gets individuals fired up over something that really isn't valid.

This new protagonist will appear Black & Asian mixed, whose grandparents are White & Jamacian! There, covered all three "oids".

[OneAboveAll]

I could care less, i'm not buying it for different reasons. Like, it has the name Ubisoft attached to the game...

[Pongwater]

I couldn't care less about the protagonist's race, but I do care that this trailer doesn't make me want to play the game. Given Ubi's history with early trailers vs final game, I'm not sure it matters what anyone thinks about the game at this point.

[Gman32]

Whats else new Mafia 3 got alot of hate as well for the same reason racism is here to stay sadly

[LastcenuryRob]

I will say something that many will just write off and scream racism at, but it is not. Let's face some facts, if there were more positive black role models in the real world instead of far too many raising thugs on a pedestal no one or very few would care when a black person is played as the hero/protagonist. As it stands there are many problems in real world black communities that spill over to other demographics where non issues such as this turn venomous and even racist. Maybe there will come a time in the future where this won't come up again, but there are reasons why many are not happy about the choice of the protagonist. I am not one to be honest. I just see some of the reasons why.

[Majister-Ludi]

I don't care that he's black I care that he is a hipster douche and the game will be boring like the firs .

[Angeljuice]

Lol@ Comments below.

Yes you are all correct, racism is terrible..... It's homophobia and misogyny we celebrate on this site!
Just imagine the uproar that these pages would be generating if the protagonist were a lesbian, or the meltdown that would occur if they were trans-gender!

All hate and predudice are equally wrong and infantile.