Pemalite said:
JC317 said: Regarding Asians, because no one in western media ever cared about Asians unless the purpose of their inclusion is pandering to the Asian market. |
Asians aren't under-represented though. There is an entire genre of video games that are almost exclusively about them. (JRPG's.) Sony and Nintendo are gaming powerhouses from an... You guessed it. Asian country.
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Notice how I said western media? Of course Eastern media have Asians in them, in fact the opposite holds true as well. Would the Western audience have gone see The Great Wall if it did not star Matt Damon? (Even when it did include a western star, the movie did not perform well overseas while it was a massive hit in China, but that might be besides the point)
Edit: I realize my above point may not be as appropriate given we are talking about videogames, but you get my point, right?
Also, JRPGs aren't the best option to prove your point about Asians in video games. Sure, they may be developed by Japanese, but that hardly means it stars Asian characters. Let's look at JRPGs in 2016 according to Kotaku:
Mario & Luigi Paper Jam - definitely no Asians here, I mean there are two Italians though
Adventures of Mana - while some of the names seem Asian (Fuji, Sumo), their designs are definitely more Western than Asian
Bravely Second End Layer - western characters in a western setting
Dragon Quest VII - other than the hero, whose design can be argued to be an Asian character, all other playable characters are distinctly western
I am Setsuna - other than Setsuna who has a Japanese name, not really
Fire Emblem Fates - half and half mixture of Japanese and Western characters, but it really should be noted that the Fire Emblem francgise has traditionally been set in Medieval times, a western time period. And no, Martha only speaking Japanese does not make him Japanese
Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness - it takes place in the distant future and characters have western names
Shin Megami Tensei IV - yes, it takes place in Japan with Japanese characters
The Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel II - quick look on Wikipedia seems to show that it's a western setting, but I'm not familiar with the series so feel free to correct me on this. I also don't know the history of the franchise, so I wouldn't know if past entries feature heavy Asian inspirations
All Final Fantasy Releases in 2016 - Probably some Asian characters somewhere in the mix, but I'm really tired with this long list. But I would venture to say Final Fantasy is not known for its Asian characters
Dragon Quest Builders - I guess since it is Dragon Quest Minecraft, you can make it Asian setting and characters if you try
Tokyo Mirage Sessions - yes, set in a Japanese high school with some Fire Emblem characters sprinkled in
So looking at the list, no, JRPGs do not necessarily feature Asian characters. JRPGs refer to a genre of games with a distinct playstyle different from regular RPGs.
Finally, I never said Asians are underrepresented, I am saying the most likely reason for the inclusion of Asian characters in Western media is to pander to the Asian market and sell more in those regions.
PS I would really appreciate it if you give me a thought-out response, this is probably my longest post on VGchartz