360°

Star Wars Battlefront 2's Janina Gavankar on Diversity, the Voice Actor Strike

USGamer: "There aren't many of us Indians around the gaming industry, much less so in leading roles in blockbuster, triple-A games. So when I sat down to talk with Janina Gavankar recently, I was intrigued as to how her heritage had impacted her gaming in childhood, as it did mine, as well as how she landed the role of Commander Iden Versio in Star Wars Battlefront 2. "

EatCrow2752d ago

There would be if thats what people cared about.
We dont care about diversity. Just good games. You want a lead indian chick thats fine but make it a good game first and foremost. Nobody identifies with these characters...they can perhaps identify with the story surrounding the character but not with the physical appearance of the character.

Same with movies. You dont watch them because you identify with the lead roles. You watch it for the story.

And im not sure you want to compare hollywood to gaming. A bunch of pedophiles in that industry so i wouldnt take it as a good thing if this actress thinks gaming is ahead of hollywood...definitely ahead with all the bullshit though.

tactfool282752d ago

Interesting theory. But you are wrong about character development. Where do you think a story comes from? Without a character, their would be no story. The "hero's journey" is what most games are about.

I agree that diversity is a non issue in games, and only matters to minorities looking for jobs... But your lack of basic plot structure tells me you are unsure of what you say.

The_Kills2752d ago (Edited 2752d ago )

"diversity is a non issue in games, and only matters to minorities looking for jobs"

This proves better than any of my words that you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

fsydow12752d ago

You would be called a minority in india too...But your lack of basic knowledge tells me your an idiot.

bluefox7552752d ago (Edited 2752d ago )

Yet, Indian-Americans, the group the article is written about, are the highest paid ethnic group in the US. So, despite their minority status, I think they're doing okay in the jobs department.

Soulst0rmer2751d ago

She should play Chloe Fraser's sister in an Uncharted game

EatCrow2751d ago (Edited 2751d ago )

Actually I never talked about character development in my comment. So I cant be wrong about something i didnt get into in my comment. I talked about the story surrounding the character which includes development as characters do not develop on their own....events trigger development.

Skull5212751d ago

Game is set in the Star Wars galaxy so the character isn’t Indian at all. Disney is ruining Star Wars with its pc and diversity bullshit. I have no problem with diversity except when it is forced and not natural. I mean Disney’s first major 3 Star Wars projects all feature a female lead? Give me a break... (VII, Rogue One, BF2)

battlegrog2751d ago

Yes but with video games he's right. Character development is a much more rare thing. He's right it's more about the story. Not nearly as many games that get you behind the characters like in last of us. But even with that game it's still more about the story.

With movies it's the actors ability to embody the character that will drive a good story or not. A good story can be terrible if the characters are bad in a movie but people don't but notice that nearly as much in games because it's harder to emotionally connect

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 2751d ago
d3nworth12751d ago

We have games half demon, demi gods, robots, foxes, aliens etc. Diversity in games is not an issue.

Kratos_Kart20072751d ago

because those are real right??

subtenko2751d ago

I hope you are an Asian commenter, we need more of those on N4G. Btw I didnt read your comment, I just think its something we need....

^see what I did there...

just-joe2751d ago

"You dont watch them because you identify with the lead roles"

Well yes and no. You can want to watch a movie because a character appeals or even identifies with your personality wise. I do believe that very little identify with a character solely because of their gender, race, or even creed.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2751d ago
Retard2752d ago

Good for you. *slow clap*

2751d ago
Diffraction_Fos2751d ago

Agreed.

I read the title and thought - "Oh good. A 'diversity' headline yet again. We definitely definitely need more of those...... /s".

Funny because, as an Asian gamer, my enjoyment of games do not depend on how many digital Asian faces or Asian-looking faces they put in front of me. This inability of some people to separate video games and identity politics is annoying to the extreme. Unlike those people, I don't jump up and exclaim, "An Asian character. YESS. Victory!" or some such retarded nonsense. I couldn't care less if a game has or hasn't got characters of oriental origins. That is not why I play games.

Apparently as a "discriminated minority"(the words of lib-tards), I'm supposed to be insulted if there happens to be a group of friends without a single Asian person. It seems we're expected to be omni-present according to these over-sensitive morons on the left.

Doomster19712752d ago

Bloody hell. She's bloody hot. Now I suppose I better read the story :)

andrewsquall2752d ago

Who would have thought it with that atrocious generic Frostbite 2.0 engine female character model they actually went with in the game.

xenz2751d ago

Frostbite is a great engine. Care to explain why you think its not?

bluefox7552752d ago (Edited 2752d ago )

"There aren't many of us Indians around the gaming industry, much less so in leading roles in blockbuster, triple-A games."
This might have something to do with Indians making up only 1% of the US population. Interestingly enough though, despite the relative shortage of forced diversity by progressives, Indian-Americans are still the highest income earning ethnic group in the US. With the average Indian household making $107,000 per year, compared to the average "white" household making about $60,000 a year.

MadLad2751d ago

It's why I am always "that guy" arguing the merit of so-called "white privilege" throughout the Americas and Europe. I always say, before you even try to justify that stance, you need to then address Asian/Indian-American "privilege".

bluefox7552751d ago

It's a fair point. If we're supposed to accept the idea that all non-whites are being "systemically oppressed" by a "white supremacist patriarchal society", then we should be able to explain why this oppression has failed to stop non whites from rising to the top echelons of society. It's not even limited to just Asians, even Nigerian-Americans make a bit more than white people do.

ZombieGamerMan2751d ago

bluefox755 That's because "diversity" just means anti-white. When people call for a more "diverse" gaming, movie, work place, schools etc what they are really is saying that there should be less white people. Look at what happened to Apple's vp of diversity, said white people are also diverse and got fired for it, and she was a black woman.

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40°

I Owe You An Apology, Hideo Kojima, I Wasn't Familiar With Your Game

Hideo Kojima and PlayStation go together like hobbits and breakfasts. That is to say, they're meant to be together, but they're also happy to serve up a PC port or afternoon tea if the time is right. Kojima's long-time collaboration with Sony means it always feels odd to see his name next to an Xbox logo, like Master Chief appearing on your PS5 or glimpsing your teacher in the big Tesco doing her weekly shop.

Read Full Story >>
thegamer.com
120°

Lighthouse Games on making a "disruptive" driving game to take on Forza Horizon

Lighthouse Games, the AAA Leamington Spa-based studio formed in 2022 by Playground Games co-founder and former studio head Gavin Raeburn, has revealed it's developing a "disruptive" driving game and secured additional investment from Tencent to make it happen.

Read Full Story >>
gamesindustry.biz
Obscure_Observer2d ago

I feel sorry for this guy and his newly formed studio.

He left XGS and Playground to pursue his multi platform dreams just to find out next that Xbox will be making games for every single platform. Smh.

Lightning771d 23h ago

I don't think it's any of that. Im sure hes heard of Xbox multiplat approach but wanted to do their own thing anyway. He has complete freedom and direction. This game could be a break out hit and join Larian Studios Baldurs Gate and Clair Obscure Expedition 33 a more independent studios.

Tacoboto18h ago

"I would say we're not building Horizon. If I wanted to build Horizon 6, 7 and 8, I would have stayed at Playground"

He didn't want to keep making Horizon. Try reading any article before giving a nod to Microsoft.

dveio11h agoShow
Lightning771d 23h ago (Edited 1d 23h ago )

I'm glad studios are breaking off from big pubs and doing their own thing.

Making games that are player lead and games that devs want to make and play themselves. This is how it was in the 90's 2000's even early 2010's. That's part of the reason why gaming was better back then. With more independency in the industry we'll have more creative games. Not this formulaic dopamine reward driven systems. But engaging, dynamic and most importantly organically fun to play. Not manufactured fake fun like how it is these days.

Rant over it'll be probably be awhile till we see their game but here's hoping it's good.

210°

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Discusses Nintendo Switch 2’s Custom Processor

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang reveals how the Nintendo Switch 2 custom processor was built for power, portability, and real-time AI enhancements.

Read Full Story >>
clouddosage.com
ZycoFox1d 2h ago

"Most advanced graphics ever in a mobile device" well.. probably not all that true. Maybe because of DLSS.

I have a feeling Nintendo has put themselves in an awkward spot though, I think Deck 2 could well be out by the end of next year and it will likely be a big upgrade. Nintendo has released late, very late. It reminds me of the Wii U in some sense.

Nintendo have the position of having first party games, but they need to bring them.. without long droughts, I can't see it but they should have some quality games anyway. Third party stuff I think they'll be eclipsed quickly hardware wise, especially when next gen consoles release and another new gen of GPUs.

ABizzel11d 2h ago

The deck and none of the other handheld PCs are a threat to Nintendo due to their abysmal market share. Combined the 3 major handheld PCs have sold less than 10 million units. From a performance standpoint the Z2 Extreme devices are more powerful than the switch offering up to 2x the performance in games, but that’s not enough to make the Switch 2 irrelevant. It’s just the difference between 30fps Switch 2 vs 60fps Z2 Extreme, but that doesn’t matter to Nintendo gamers.

Nintendo has a monopoly and more importantly Pokémon. Nintendo could not release any games the entire generation, except a mainline Pokémon and the hardware would still sell 30m units, lol.

1nsomniac22h ago

I really believe I live in some parallel universe. I’ve been gaming since the 80’s, I’ve lived through the invention of Pokémon. I’ve got a kid of my own, I’ve got nieces and nephews, Yet I’ve never met a single person even slightly interested in Pokémon. Cartoon or game… I genuinely have no idea how it appears to be so popular or why people find it interesting.

…I mean I lived through the “POG” generation and yes I collected them and they were great… but there’s only so much interest it can peak in you surely.

FinalFantasyFanatic2h ago

@1nsomniac,
That's been the opposite situation for me, Pokemon is popular with quite a few woman I've met, one ex-coworker, and one of my co-workers and his girlfriend are big Pokemon fans, I also know of another Co-worker who is also a Pokemon fan.

The more I think about it, I've actually come across quite a few of them, I lost interest at Gen 2, I've played Pokemon Violet, and that was enjoyable enough for me (even if I don't know half of the Pokemon anymore).

Michiel19891h ago

Not sure that you understand what a monopoly is. What has nintendo monopolized exactly? Being successful and having a monopoly isn't the same thing. The thing is that their competition chooses a different market for their product and nintendo focuses mostly on a younger demographic. you're literally only comparing the power of devices. Does Ford also have a monopoly because Lamborghini doesn't sell as many cars even though they're better and faster? if you're a fan of sony games and you can get a console that plays games at 200 fps but doesn't have the games you want to play, sony 1st party games for this example, would you buy it? When you think of a nintendo fan, what do you think they care more about, having the highest end devices or playing their favorite franchises? You have absolutely 0 idea about nintendo's strengths and why they're successful because you're only talking about the raw power of a device.

Seem you rather play a game you likes less in 120 fps than a game you enjoy more in 60 fps, weird shit.

crazyCoconuts22h ago

Agree with @Abizzel. Somehow Nintendo transcends power via great exclusives and name recogniton. They'll do just fine again I think

Espangerish22h ago

Deck 1 had no noticeable impact on switch 1s sales, can’t see any reason why deck 2 would have any significant impact on switch 2.

UltimateOwnage11h ago

And despite that, some of us will still be primarily using the Deck from here on out and primarily buying digital games on Steam. I have a massive Switch physical library, but I personally don’t see Switch 2 even coming close to what made Switch 1 a commodity item for the average gamer especially now that devices like Deck exist, and also now that $80 Nintendo games are here and game-key card are becoming the norm. A lot has changed this time. No doubt games sell hardware, but I don’t for a minute think Switch 2 will come anywhere near Switch 1 in sales. Having said that I Love Nintendo and obviously can’t wait for Thursday to get my hands on MK World…

Neonridr4h ago

@UltimateOwnage - here you are complaining about game-key cards, but propping up a Steam Deck which is entirely digital.

how cute.

TheColbertinator21h ago

Nintendo has enough 1st party support to outlast the toughest generations. If the situation worsens, they can just buy another 3rd party studio

ThePacemaker21h ago(Edited 21h ago)

Haha, why would a successor to a device that merely sold 4 million units be a threat to a successor of 150+ million units?

Nintendo consoles are all about quality & fine gaming. SW1 sold that much despite being equivalent to PS3/360 in terms of raw power.

repsahj16h ago

And Switch 2 sales will immediately surpass the Steam deck lifetime sales upon its launch.

UltimateOwnage11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

You think Valve cares? Steam eclipses Nintendo in raw game sales and number of devices where it is the primary sales platform. Deck is one of many handhelds Steam exists on, and SteamOS is only going to broaden the market for them. Some gamers are still stuck thinking in terms of console wars. Microsoft figured this out with XBox a while ago and now we’re seeing the fruits of that same realization on every platform.

FinalFantasyFanatic2h ago

Nah, I can't see Steam pushing out another Steam Deck for a few years, I don't feel like the hardware has advanced enough yet, definitely not enough to be a huge upgrade over the Switch 2. maybe in another APU generation or two, but I think it will be longer, plus battery life is an issue as it is, the APUs need to get more efficient or batteries need to get better (or maybe Valve will find a way to shove a bigger battery in that form factor).

I strongly suspect that the Steam Deck will stick around a lot longer than people expect before we get a successor.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 1h ago
spoonard15h ago

Who cares what this money-grubbing jackass has to say. He sucks harder than anyone else I can think of right now. What he's doing to the PC market is disgusting.

jznrpg13h ago

He’s not the worst person in the world but he definitely sucks for PC gaming prices.

UltimateOwnage11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

Gamers want double performance at any cost every few years, and he delivers. I’m not sure how that makes him the bad guy. AMD exists for budget gamers who don’t mind waiting for the future. Nvidia has no problem charging you to have it now.

Ashunderfire8610h ago(Edited 10h ago)

Yea every few year he total the darn price of his newest graphics card from $1500 for the 4000 series to $2000 for the 5000 series! It’s going to be $2500 for 6000 series no thanks!

FinalFantasyFanatic2h ago(Edited 2h ago)

I can't wait for the AI bubble to burst and see prices come down to something more sensible, I don't think this euphoria will last, and in the end, only a few worthwhile AI companies or products will be left standing. I wonder if we'll eventually see an Intel-lite situation for Nvidia in the future, where AMD finally wallops them, while Nvidia briefly stagnates.

batiti937h ago

this guy is a fucking liar... rtx 5070 better than 4090 for 1/3 the price. He thinks people are foolish. Switch is way less powerful than Z1 extreme

Fonsecap33m ago

I don't know about 1st party games because Nintendo usually squeeze every bit of performance out of their consoles with their games, but more demanding 3rd party games,.like cyberpunk for example, will have to rely much on dlss and Frame generation tech to perform ok visually and Frame time wise.

mastershredder28m ago(Edited 27m ago)

lol I knew he would not get far without spewing ai buzzword nonsense. Get wrecked Nvidia and take your embarrassing AI shill Huang with you.

AI to beneficial gaming processes is a thing but in the wrong hands and mouth, it’s pure snake oil.

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