@karkarov: We'll then sir (I presume) have fun living in your own anecdotal bubble where centuries of bias doesn't apparently exist. You are clearly one of the lucky ones.
@karkarov: First, I don't think we'll ever change each other's viewpoints, so let's start with admitting that.
Second, merit-based arguments don't mean anything to me. There have been enough studies/research in many industries which show that candidates who otherwise have the same qualifications will be hired disproportionately based on their gender and/or ethnicity (ie white male candidates are more likely to get the job). This is true often because of a subconscious bias not outward bigotry.
If you want me to dig out the research again like last time I'll go searching for it. Just don't complain that it's too long like the last guy.
@karkarov: "Also what the heck is this Giantbomb needs to hire a woman nonsense? Why would the site be better just because a woman worked for it? Did any women even apply the last time they were hiring? If they did were they actually more qualified and a better fit than whoever got the job? Seriously guys get over your delusions about social justice. Simply being inclusive for the sake of being inclusive doesn't lead to better content, or a better company, or a better website, or a better video game for that matter. I have no reason to believe the Giantbomb staff (much less their owners CBSi) are a bunch of sexist bigots so I can only assume there is a good reason there are no female employees."
All I have to say is, how do you know? How do you know that content wouldn't improve if Giant Bomb hired a woman? All we know of is the status quo, which is that everyone in GB is a guy. It's this kind of logic ("Why change it if it isn't broken?") that leads to women being driven out from games media.
Similar to what Austin wrote: “No, I don’t think Giant Bomb is sexist; Yes, I still wish there were some women in the staff. Yes, I still like Giant Bomb a lot. No, those three statements do not contradict each other.”
@corvidus: I think instead a lot of people misinterpreted MLK's message. We do not yet live in a nation nor a world where people can be judged solely by the content of their character because centuries of prejudice and systemic oppression for underrepresented groups hasn't been dealt with.
You can't just point a his dream and say "See, you the real racist!" if we haven't done the actual legwork to fulfill his dream.
The Witcher 3 can have coloured characters when Mario have one. The Mario franchise over all these years have exponentially much influence on the gamers both young and old than the Witcher ever had, and not one bi-racial or minority character surfaced all this time, and no, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Bowser don't count.
You know, that is a rather interesting point. For all of the criticism I see over how certain games portray women or diversity, I don't think I have ever seen an article criticizing Nintendo for not being more socially progressive. Throughout the years the stories have routinely involved the white male protagonists on a quest to save the vulnerable princess who has once again found herself in need of rescue.
Maybe it's only been in recent times, but Nintendo has been criticized for their portrayals of underrepresented groups. And just because you are not currently criticizing one thing (the Mario series) doesn't preclude you from criticizing another (Witcher 3).
The big publishers/devs have all the data and see what the market actually wants. They see that even after all the long articles and arguing about sexism and wanting more female protagonists, Bayonetta 2 still came out and sold like complete garbage, even with great reviews.
Isn't that a confirmation bias? If ever in a blue moon we get a game featuring a female protagonist and it doesn't sell according to "market-research"/over-inflated projected sales figures, and the publishers/devs chalk that up to solely or largely based on the gender of the main character, then of course male leads (the abundance of most games) will be perceived as the "better" choice.
Remember: we live in a world were Tomb Raider selling 8.5 million copies was a "disappointment."
Thanks for writing this Austin. If there is another follow up, can you talk about the ideas of "tokenism" and the developer not having the license to deviate from the original work (i.e. the books)? These seem like the remaining arguments that people keep throwing out in defense of the lack of PoC.
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