The Verge reporter Ash Parrish accused Japanese society of being “violently racist” in the wake of Ubisoft issuing an apology to Japanese gamers following intense backlash against their upcoming game Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
Japanese gamers have not been happy with Ubisoft and the way it’s been trying to market and sell Assassin’s Creed Shadows. A Change.org petition, which has over 97,000 signatures accuses Ubisoft of insulting Japanese culture and history. In fact, it even calls on the company “to immediately discontinue the launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and show sincere research and respect for Japanese history and culture.”
As for why Japanese gamers are not happy with the game, YouTuber Shohei Kondo detailed a number of reasons in a recent video. He said, “We are protesting marketing DEIs, historical distortion stemming from their disregard for Asians and their arrogance, and discriminatory responses to protest from Japan.”
Kondo specifically took issue with comments made by Game Director Charles Benoit in an interview with Xbox Wire where he claimed the game would allow players to learn about the Sengoku era of Japan despite much of the promotional material not being accurate to the time period.
One of the main issues is the description of Yasuke as a samurai despite the lack of historical evidence to prove that claim.
Screenshot of the Assassin’s Creed Shadows website describing Yasuke as an “African samurai of historical legend.”
Benoit was asked in the interview, “This is a familiar setting for gamers – how does this game differentiate its take on the setting?”
He responded, “We’re at the end of Sengoku era, in a turning point of Japan history. Assassin’s Creed is well known for its depiction of the history and accurate recreation of the world and it’s what players can expect with Assassin’s Creed Shadows. We’re showing real historical figures, such as Oda Nobunaga and a lot of events that happened during that time, so you’re not only playing in feudal Japan, but learning about this fantastic time period.”
“Also, we’re giving the opportunity to the players to live not just one, but the two best fantasies of Japan: the Samurai and Shinobi,” he concluded.
Key art for Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
READ: Ubisoft Releases Statement To Japanese Players Amidst Massive Backlash To ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’
Ubisoft attempted to address these complaints in posts to social media specifically addressed to Japanese gamers. The company wrote, “To our esteemed Japanese community — a message from the Assassin’s Creed Shadows development team. First, we want to express our heartfelt thanks for all your support for the Assassin’s Creed series which now has its own history spanning almost 20 years. Over this time, we have explored various settings, time periods, and characters, from an Assassin during the Third Crusade to a Viking in 9th century England, and countless more.”
It continued, “For many of our team, creating an Assassin’s Creed game set in Feudal Japan has been a long-cherished dream. Since the announcement of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, we have received many positive reactions, but also some criticism including from you, our Japanese players. We share your passion for history and deeply respect your care for the historical and cultural integrity of your rich heritage. We would like to address a few points to clarify our intentions and creative decisions:”
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The company then discussed its overall authenticity efforts, “We have put significant effort into ensuring an immersive and respectful representation of Feudal Japan. However, our intention has never been to present any of our Assassin’s Creed games, including Assassin’s Creed Shadows, as factual representations of history, or historical characters. Instead, we aim to spark curiosity and encourage players to explore and learn more about the historical settings we get inspired by.”
“Assassin’s Creed Shadows is first and foremost, designed to be an entertaining video game that tells a compelling, historical fiction set in Feudal Japan,” Ubisoft continued. “Our team extensively collaborated with external consultants, historians, researchers, and internal teams at Ubisoft Japan to inform our creative choices.”
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It then stated, “Despite these sustained efforts, we acknowledge that some elements in our promotional materials have caused concern within the Japanese community. For this, we sincerely apologize. All game footage presented so far is in development and the game will keep evolving until launch. Based on the constructive criticism we have received, we will continue our efforts until we put this game into your hands – and beyond.”
It then asked players to criticize Ubisoft rather than any consultants the company worked with claiming that the consultants “are in no way responsible for the decisions that are taken by the creative teams in the interests of gameplay and entertainment.”
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Ubisoft then detailed the creative liberties it was taking, “While we strive for authenticity in everything that we do, Assassin’s Creed games are works of fiction inspired by real historical events and figures. From its inception, the series has taken creative license and incorporated fantasy elements to craft engaging and immersive experiences.”
Next, it specifically addressed the idea that Yasuke was a samurai, “The representation of Yasuke in our game is an illustration of this. His unique and mysterious life made him an ideal candidate to tell an Assassin’s Creed story with the setting of Feudal Japan as a backdrop. While Yasuke is depicted as a samurai in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, we acknowledge that this is a matter of debate and discussion.”
“We have woven this carefully into our narrative and with our other lead character, the Japanese shinobi Naoe, who is equally important in the game, our dual protagonists provide players with different gameplay styles,” Ubisoft added.
The company concluded, “We greatly value your feedback and encourage you to continue sharing your thoughts, respectfully. While we understand that meeting everyone’s expectations is very difficult, we sincerely hope that when Assassin’s Creed Shadows launches on November 15, players in Japan and around the world will appreciate the dedication, effort, and passion we have poured into it.”
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READ: Ubisoft’s Stock Plummets 12% Despite Exceeding Sales Targets
Parrish reacted to this statement, writing on X, “Yall can quibble about if he was a samurai or who’s swords he was allowed to carry. He was there, everything else should be allowed to be artistic license. None of this is about historical accuracy, you just hate black people & use Japanese folks as a convenient shields”
Ash Parrish on X
In a subsequent post, Parrish then accused Japanese society of being “violently racist.”
She wrote, “let us also dispense with the pretense that Japanese society isn’t itself violently racist with its own form of ultra conservative right wing assholes that are more than happy to carry water for this cause.”
Ash Parrish on X
Parrish is obviously lying as Ubisoft has made it abundantly clear in their promotional materials as well as in interviews that their game was true to the historical record. This is simply not the case and in their statement to Japanese gamers they now admit that it is not proven that Yasuke was a samurai.
As far as Parrish’s attack on Japanese society at-large it appears to be 100% projection on her part and follows to a tee how Vox Day describes social justice warriors in his book SJWS Always Lie: Taking Down the Thought Police.
Day explains, “The accusations made by SJWs when they attack others usually reflect, on some level, something they know to be true about themselves. … In other words, an SJW’s accusations will usually tell you where you should start looking in order to expose the SJW’s lies.”
SJWs Always Lie: Taking Down the Thought Police (2015), Castalia House
Instead of admitting that Ubisoft was wrong and that the historical record does not show that Yasuke is a samurai, Parrish lied and claimed that any criticism of Ubisoft’s narrative was just racism. Within three minutes of accusing anyone of disputing Ubisoft’s narrative of being racist, she then doubled down and went after the entirety of Japanese society by claiming it is “violently racist.”
Given the third law of SJW’s is to always project, it seems abundantly clear that Parrish just might be telling on herself when she’s accusing others of racism.
In fact, she admitted it back in 2021 writing on X, “there are two white people who are talking about how much they don’t like cam newton in this phys therapy office and their only complaint is that he’s arrogant and they hate that he was upset after losing the superb owl and it’s giving me un petit racismo.”
Ash Parrish on X
What do you make of Ash Parrish’s comments?
