BBFC : Resident Evil 5 Racist ? Wat ?

[Mr. Kennedy]

But lets face it, white women are so hot, even plagas infected black people can't resist. Who can blame them?

[News Bot]

In all seriousness, though, I wouldn't be surprised if they did change it. I mean, we all know they added more white enemies after the controversy started, despite them swearing up and down that nothing changed from the first trailer. I don't see how this would be any different.

There were white and hispanic enemies in the first trailer, though. Quite a few, actually.

[Mr. Kennedy]

Ya, I don't believe in the whole notion that Capcom added white people because of the racism accusations. What are you people basing this on?

[Vector]

Maybe there were white and hispanic enemies, but, to be honest, I think Sheva Alomar is Capcom's answer to racism. I truly believe, no matter how many times Capcom says RE5 was co-op to begin with, that Sheva was added in pretty far into development, and one of the reasons she was added in was to answer the racism calls. The idea is, it's okay to shoot black people if another black person is shooting them with you.

[Mr. Kennedy]

But the racism accusations didn't start until 2007 when that E3 trailer came out, which was well into production. You really think Sheva was added that fast? Making games takes a long time, and I find it hard to believe they reformated the game in only a year.

[Mr_Zombie]

The entire game is build upon being co-op, with secondary character (controlled by human or AI) being there all the time - you don't add something like that when the game is well into the production because it would require redesigning all levels and rebalancing the entire game.

[Vector]

Well, Capcom had the co-op formula with RE0, and they had the online aspect with Outbreak, so isn't it plausible that they could combine the two in that year between the E3 trailer and the trailer where Sheva was unveiled? Why was it never mentioned that RE5 was co-op before last spring?

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52819

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2008/05/resident-evil-5-to-feature-online-co-op.ars

Check the dates on those articles. May of 2008. That's when it was first revealed Chris would have a partner. At that point, Sheva was an 'unnamed female' partner. The E3 trailer debuted July 10th, 2007. Sheva's trailer debuted in June of 2008.

I'm not stating this as fact, but it's very freakin' possible. Am I the only one who thinks this?

[Archelon]

There were white and hispanic enemies in the first trailer, though. Quite a few, actually.

There were quite a few Hispanic enemies, yes. Even some Middle Eastern-looking ones. But there were, like, maybe two white people.

[Mr. Kennedy]

It's possible. I don't know if they did or not.

Regardless, I'm glad they did. When I found out RE5 would be co-op, I squealed like a little girl. It was like they answered my prayers.

If racism brought this about, than hurray for racism.

[The Dude]

Or Capcom changed it.

The scene and the entire build would probably have to be resubmitted to the BBFC for certificate re-evaluation if that had happened, as the BBFC declares ratings on its site, we would have known if there was any re-classifications.

Although crudely put by Mr. Kennedy, I think he has a point in regards to the RE5 is Racist debate.
I didn't see many hispanics complaining over RE4, or whites complaining over RE1-3 and CVx.
It wasn't until Africa, or a Black villain in a RE trailer was shown the entire Racist debate kicked off which I think is completely wrong and to be honest a real double standard of racial values where we as a society must pussy foot around one race and disregard the sensitivities of others.

Im beginning to wish we as a people would get off the Political Correctness bandwagon we've all gotten on and just let the content speak for itself in the final product.

[Corrin]

I think that it's quite obvious Capcom went and changed a lot when people began perceiving certain aspects of the game as "racist".

I doubt, however they just threw in Sheva to counter this. The whole game is built around co-op. Yet, as a caveat, perhaps your partner was intended to be another person from the get-go and a black partner was added to try and quell the racism accusations.

[Bianca]

Well, Capcom had the co-op formula with RE0, and they had the online aspect with Outbreak, so isn't it plausible that they could combine the two in that year between the E3 trailer and the trailer where Sheva was unveiled? Why was it never mentioned that RE5 was co-op before last spring?

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52819

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2008/05/resident-evil-5-to-feature-online-co-op.ars

Check the dates on those articles. May of 2008. That's when it was first revealed Chris would have a partner. At that point, Sheva was an 'unnamed female' partner. The E3 trailer debuted July 10th, 2007. Sheva's trailer debuted in June of 2008.

I'm not stating this as fact, but it's very freakin' possible. Am I the only one who thinks this?

In all honesty, I actually suspect the same thing as you, for the all the reasons you stated. I have nothing against Sheva, and I'm already really fond of her, because I love playing as her, and I find her to have a very interesting personality, but it does make me wonder what could've possible been had they never added Sheva.

[Cheeb]

Well, Capcom had the co-op formula with RE0, and they had the online aspect with Outbreak, so isn't it plausible that they could combine the two in that year between the E3 trailer and the trailer where Sheva was unveiled? Why was it never mentioned that RE5 was co-op before last spring?

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52819

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2008/05/resident-evil-5-to-feature-online-co-op.ars

Check the dates on those articles. May of 2008. That's when it was first revealed Chris would have a partner. At that point, Sheva was an 'unnamed female' partner. The E3 trailer debuted July 10th, 2007. Sheva's trailer debuted in June of 2008.

I'm not stating this as fact, but it's very freakin' possible. Am I the only one who thinks this?

That's quite an interesting thought. I figured maybe they were just holding out and releasing tid bits of game info with each update. But that is a big date gap you mentioned between that first trailer and Sheva's not to mention the co-op feature. Does makes you think.

I do like her edition in the game though.

[Vector]

Yeah, let me be clear...I like Sheva, a lot. I really do. I have a small crush on her...I think her voice makes her adorable. I love when she says "I owe you one!" and "Thanks, paht-nah!" Very cute. I've played the demo almost 100 times, mostly as Chris, so I've had a lot of time to admire Sheva as she is. I've also played as her, and I enjoy doing so every once in a while. I have high hopes for her in RE5, and I hope she's an interesting character rather than a hollow or transparent one.

That being said, it still doesn't change how I feel her inclusion in the game came about.

[Cheeb]

Yeah, I hope she is an interesting character, too. Looking forward to seeing her in action.

Didn't get to play the demo myself, but oh well, not much longer now!