Whenever somebody refers to the “R” word – racism – in an interview, people sit up straight and pay attention. Even if it’s an off-the-record remark, it suddenly becomes the main focus of the interview, and everything that people talk about when commenting on Internet blogs and forums. That’s what happened to Assassin’s Creed III creative director Alex Hutchinson after he obliged CVG with a quick interview earlier today on Ubisoft’s next big multi-platform title.
Yes, the interview was supposed to be all about Assassin’s Creed III. There were references to the three-year release cycle in between AC titles, the possibility of AC3 being playable on next-gen consoles, the costs involved in the making of the game, pretty much anything and everything Assassin’s Creed III. Hutchinson described the status of Assassin’s Creed as a franchised opposed to being a trilogy, and there were also quite a few mentions of Nintendo’s Super Mario series. Then came the question – Why does Nintendo get it right? CVG wanted Hutchinson’s opinion on why the Japanese company has received critical acclaim despite its strategy of launching new titles each year, a pretty quick time frame in between releases. And that’s when Hutchinson had his “John Lennon calling the Beatles bigger than Jesus” moment.
“Yeah. Just think about how many Japanese games are released where their stories are literally gibberish. Literally gibberish. There’s no way you could write it with a straight face, and the journalists say ‘oh it is brilliant’. Then Gears of War comes out and apparently it’s the worst written narrative in a game ever. I’ll take Gears of War over Bayonetta any time.”
That’s Hutchinson’s reply in full, and damned if journalists and gamers didn’t waste a second reacting to the off-the-record comment. CVG member WHERESMYMONKEY had the best reply, despite the spelling and punctuation problems – “You can’t fight perseeved racisim by being just as bigeoted you just look like a (expletive).” And Destructoid immediately published a scathing diatribe refuting the controversial comment. CVG, on the other hand, quickly redirected the conversation back to AC3, but the damage had been done.
As for us here in Modern Fictum, we wholeheartedly agree with the above comments. A well-written game is a well-written game, regardless of where it was written and who wrote it. And if that’s being patronizing, then you can call us patronizing any day of the week.
