Study: Minorities underrepresented among video game characters

[Wraith]

Video Game Minority Report: Lots Of Players, Few Characters (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090729140931.htm) (ScienceDaily)The first comprehensive survey of video game characters, encompassing the top 150 games in a year across nine platforms and all rating levels, and weighted by each title's popularity, shows that the video game industry does no better than television in representing American society.Some highlights from the report:


"Fewer than 3 percent of video game characters were recognizably Hispanic, and all of them were non-playable, background characters."
"Women, Native Americans, children and the elderly also were underrepresented."
"Only 10 percent of playable characters surveyed were female, though women now make up 40 percent of video game players."
"African-Americans appeared in proportion to their numbers in the real world, but mainly in sports games and in titles that reinforce stereotypes, such as 50 Cent Bulletproof."
"Males, whites and adults were overrepresented."
In their study, the authors discuss possible reasons for their findings. But Williams cautioned against jumping to conclusions. "The characters the developers put in the games do not match the real world," he said. "Our thoughts about why are all informed guesses."

He did have a word of advice for game developers.

"These are highly underserved groups. It's a missed sales opportunity."(Note: the study excludes non-human-looking and non-visible characters.)

So, a few questions for the thread:

Why do you think we see this difference?
Is it reasonable to expect race in video games to reflect real national or player base demographics?
What games do feature minority characters in main/prominent roles?


I think part of the difference is that many games sold/played in the U.S. aren't made in the U.S. I suspect that if a similar study was done in Japan, they'd also see whites overrepresented, compared to Japanese game characters.

Also, a lot of games are in fantasy settings where there is no "earth" as we know it. While you may see characters that look white or African American or Asian, there is no Africa, America, or Asia in the game world.

[TheKeck]

I wonder about some of these demographics. They say that women consitute 40 percent of video game players. But is that across all genres? Are 40 percent of the players of TF2 female?

(Interestingly, the first three games I thought of before TF2 were Far Cry 2 (where you can play as a man or woman) Fallout 3 (where you can play as man or woman) and Portal (where you can only play as a woman). :))

[Telefrog]

Also, a lot of games are in fantasy settings where there is no "earth" as we know it. While you may see characters that look white or African American or Asian, there is no Africa, America, or Asia in the game world.

That's a bit of a hollow excuse, isn't it? Technically, Lando Calrissian isn't African American, but we see him through the norms we deal with on a daily basis. It's why we have jokes like "The Lady Luck Brakes For Colt 45" and popular allusions to him "pimpin'" on Bespin.

He is identifiably an Amercian black person to most viewers regardless of the fact that he comes from a "galaxy far far away."

[ShivaX]

"Only 10 percent of playable characters surveyed were female, though women now make up 40 percent of video game players."


I find that number extremely suspect, but lets consider the real world for a second.

Professional Sports = no women in NFL, MJB, etc, etc so they're not going to be in the game

Military = Historically and still as a matter of fact women are not combat troops in real world militaries, therefore they aren't going to be in CoD4 or any war game founded in reality

In RPGs typically there are a TON of women characters and usually they're "playable" though how you define that matters a lot. Do the chicks in ME that join you count as playable? Does Shepard count as a man or woman? What about say FFX? Tidus is the "main" character, but theres a ton of female characters that are just as playable.

And as far as women being 40% of gamers... again I'm pretty suspect on that, though honestly I'm betting WoW counts for a large number of those. Even in WoW though my guild was maybe 15-20% female at most. People playing Wii Fit or Mario Party don't qualify as "gamers" to me.

[Telefrog]

Military = Historically and still as a matter of fact women are not combat troops in real world militaries, therefore they aren't going to be in CoD4 or any war game founded in reality

Hunh!? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_military)

Historically, plenty of women have served in combat roles and there are current military forces that do accept women in combat positions.

In RPGs typically there are a TON of women characters and usually they're "playable" though how you define that matters a lot. Do the chicks in ME that join you count as playable? Does Shepard count as a man or woman? What about say FFX? Tidus is the "main" character, but theres a ton of female characters that are just as playable.

Of course, those women will be wearing chainmail bikinis, while the men wear full plate.

[ShivaX]

Hunh!? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_military)

Historically, plenty of women have served in combat roles and there are current military forces that do accept women in combat positions.
How many FPSs are set in WW2?
How many women in the US Army are grunts in infantry companies on the front line?

From your link:
So far the position closest to combat open to women in the U.S. Army are in the Military Police, where women man machine-guns on armoured Humvees, guarding truck convoys.
I'm sure theres lots of games where you play an MP driving in a convoy.



Of course, those women will be wearing chainmail bikinis, while the men wear full plate.

Not always. In fact I'd say most Japanese games almost go the other way. Now if you want to talk about WoW and how a piece of armor on a man is full plate and that same piece on a woman is a bikini, I'm not going to disagree there.

[pronounconnoun]

That's a bit of a hollow excuse, isn't it? Technically, Lando Calrissian isn't African American, but we see him through the norms we deal with on a daily basis. It's why we have jokes like "The Lady Luck Brakes For Colt 45" and popular allusions to him "pimpin'" on Bespin.

He is identifiably an Amercian black person to most viewers regardless of the fact that he comes from a "galaxy far far away."

I never thought of it that way. I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[digitalErich]

I don't dispute the overall findings of the study (kind of a 'duh' conclusion when you think about it) but how is 50 Cent appearing in a game about 50 Cent an example of stereotyping?

If you're game was Urban Crime Spree and it stars a black character, that would be stereotyping. The 50 Cent games were built around the character, not the other way around.

Edit: If they are saying that the 50 Cent games reinforce other stereotypes, then yes I agree, but that seems to be another topic and only serves to confuse their message.

[digitalErich]

I'm also not convinced about the idea of not having a racially identifiable character equaling a lost sale. I'm not sure the character's race or gender is ever the tipping point in forking over the cash or not.

[Kielaran]

I guess they don't take into account the stigma of using minorities as a major part of a game. Look at Left 4 Dead 2 and Resident Evil 5. In both of these games, race of the NPCs is accurately (at least for the most part) displayed and in both instances there have been a large amount of prople crying racism. I can't really blame devs who would avoid accurate depcitions of the world when doing so only brings them hassles that they can avoid by making a 'white male world.'

[pomeroy]

Who wants to be an old person in a videogame? Play such exciting mini games as "find your teeth" and "keep kids off your lawn."

[Telefrog]

How many FPSs are set in WW2?
How many women in the US Army are grunts in infantry companies on the front line?

Are these trick questions? Last time I checked, there were plenty of WWII games. For the second question, have you been in the US military within the last 15 years? Discounting the fact that the US is not the only military in the world, a lot of women in support units get put into harm's way during modern warfare.

You may not think that playing a game in which "you play an MP driving in a convoy" may not be exciting, but there's certainly no good reason why a game couldn't depict the convoy getting attacked. If you believed video games, all military patrols involve engagement with the enemy rather than the boring more common reality of going out and coming back with no contact.

[Kielaran]

Who wants to be an old person in a videogame? Play such exciting mini games as "find your teeth" and "keep kids off your lawn."

Don't forget about the 'what was I just doing' minigame that you have to play every 30 seconds.

[Wraith]

That's a bit of a hollow excuse, isn't it? Technically, Lando Calrissian isn't African American, but we see him through the norms we deal with on a daily basis. It's why we have jokes like "The Lady Luck Brakes For Colt 45" and popular allusions to him "pimpin'" on Bespin.

He is identifiably an Amercian black person to most viewers regardless of the fact that he comes from a "galaxy far far away."Not an excuse, no. It's just that in a game with a fantasy setting, I wouldn't really expect the characters to represent real-world demographics, even if some in-game races are, at least visually, the same as real-world races. If, for example, in a Final Fantasy game, 15% of the characters were notably Hispanic, that would seem really weird to me because I have no expectations that the population of this world is the same as the real world. I expect it to be different. But it wouldn't be strange at all in a "real world" based game, like Dead Rising or The Sims. Or a sci-fi title like Halo with a future "real world" setting (though one expects demographics to change over time).

There are some fantasy setting games that create their own racial minorities/racial issues - Valkyria Chronicles being a recent example. And there are games that specifically feature races somewhat analogous to the real world, like Oblivion/Morrowind. Then there are games set in a real world place/time where demographics are/were quite different than the U.S./today (Shenmue).

[Johan]

The first comprehensive survey of video game characters, encompassing the top 150 games in a year across nine platforms and all rating levels, and weighted by each title's popularity, shows that the video game industry does no better than television in representing American society.

Limited to the top 150 games, by popularity?

That doesn't necessarily reveal how the video game industry is doing in representing American society within games. It does, however, reflect American society in its purchasing decisions regarding games.

I don't see how their "sample" supports their theory at all. If they want to criticize the industry, or just get facts about the industry as a whole, they need to randomize their sample to find facts about the entire industry. What they've effectively done in this study is to sample the top selling games, and that doesn't represent, or reflect upon, the industry. Actually, it reflects upon the purchasers/consumers.

They could also do a study on which titles receive the most marketing muscle (dollars/euros) behind them, and how those deal with race/gender. That would also be interesting in terms of the actual industry, and not consumers.

Edit: I'm certainly not going to survey the top 15 rap albums and come to conclusions about black culture. Nor would I do the same with country and white culture.

RANDOMIZE, PEOPLE! :)

[OUX]

The researchers don't really seem fair here. The say that minorities are under represented but when there is an example of a game it promotes stereotypes? Should Dragon Age's main character be Poco the burrito loving knight errant? Or do they mean that there should just be a name and a skin tone difference but the character should act like vanilla white people so they don't push stereotypes?

[ShivaX]

Are these trick questions? Last time I checked, there were plenty of WWII games. For the second question, have you been in the US military within the last 15 years? Discounting the fact that the US is not the only military in the world, a lot of women in support units get put into harm's way during modern warfare.
Thats my point. A WW2 game wont have ANY women in it. In the modern military there are plenty of women in support units, but games are invariably about some special forces unit or front combat unit deep behind enemy lines, etc, etc. In none of those scenarios are you going to have female characters.

You may not think that playing a game in which "you play an MP driving in a convoy" may not be exciting, but there's certainly no good reason why a game couldn't depict the convoy getting attacked. If you believed video games, all military patrols involve engagement with the enemy rather than the boring more common reality of going out and coming back with no contact.
But then they'll complain the females aren't "playable" and that makes it sexist or something.

I'm just saying the reality of every sports and military game out there is that women aren't going to be the main characters of the piece and odds are they wont even be in the narrative. Given that those two genres alone account for a massive chunk of games it makes the whole discussion moot when you look at them.

[pronounconnoun]

Don't forget about the 'what was I just doing' minigame that you have to play every 30 seconds.

There would also have to be a minigame with rapidly pushing a button to simulate holding in your pee while slowly getting to the bathroom. At least until you're able to get the catheter upgrade and equip it in your items menu. Right next to false teeth for eating and large sunglasses for driving. But you can only equip two at a time which sucks.

[Wraith]

There would also have to be a minigame with rapidly pushing a button to simulate holding in your pee while slowly getting to the bathroom. At least until you're able to get the catheter upgrade and equip it in your items menu. Right next to false teeth for eating and large sunglasses for driving. But you can only equip two at a time which sucks.So is there a cane > walker > wheelchair > electric wheelchair > hoveround upgrade path?

[Ultima Thulian]

What a bullshit study. And even if it were accurate (which it's not), who cares? Oh noez, native americans are underrepresented duhh derrr!!!11!1one. No one cares.

Sides, the "native americans" have Prey and T. Hawk. So there.

[Telefrog]

Thats my point. A WW2 game wont have ANY women in it. In the modern military there are plenty of women in support units, but games are invariably about some special forces unit or front combat unit deep behind enemy lines, etc, etc. In none of those scenarios are you going to have female characters.

A WWII game won't have women in it? Why not? There's a very popular WW2 game out on the market right now (I'll let you figure out which one) that features the German occupation of Russia, a series of battles that was notable for the high casualty rate of women combatants - not civilians - actual soldiers. Women partisans featured heavily in the French resistance.

I get why there are no WW2 games with women as the main protaganists. Game makers are trying to appeal to the demographic that buys those games. But there really is no historical reason why a woman protaganist could not be featured in a WW2 game beyond the dollars and cents.

Not an excuse, no. It's just that in a game with a fantasy setting, I wouldn't really expect the characters to represent real-world demographics, even if some in-game races are, at least visually, the same as real-world races. If, for example, in a Final Fantasy game, 15% of the characters were notably Hispanic, that would seem really weird to me because I have no expectations that the population of this world is the same as the real world. I expect it to be different. But it wouldn't be strange at all in a "real world" based game, like Dead Rising or The Sims. Or a sci-fi title like Halo with a future "real world" setting (though one expects demographics to change over time).

Let's take Gears of War as an example. Is Dominic Santiago Hispanic or not? The game takes place on Sera rather than Earth. Technically, no one in the game is a "human" but I'd wager that most Gears players feel that Dom is Hispanic. If Dom wore a sombrero and took siestas all the time, I wouldn't be too surprised when people complained about the stereotype against earthly Hispanics. Hiding behind the "he's not really Hispanic" excuse is a cop-out.

You'll note that Epic didn't try that appraoch when people complained about Augustus "Cole Train" Cole's antics. They just said he represented the overly hyper macho sports player stereotype.

[Kelegacy]

I'm not concerned about this at all. Especially the overrepresentation of males and adults part. Duh, that's the biggest demographic of gamers.

As for minorities and ethnicities, I think we're making progress. The main characters in the last 2 console GTA games were black and eastern european respectively. The guy in Chinatown Wars is black too, correct? I wonder if the overabundance of white male characters also comes from the large number of white male developers. I don't think any of my main characters in my stories have been black, because I'm white. That doesn't make me racist, though. I don't know what the ratios are for developers, but I'm going to assume a large number of them are white men, so they produce white male characters. It's not a racial thing, it's just how we relate to the world in our creative outlets.

Or so I assume.

[OUX]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/58/Medal_of_Honor_-_Underground_Coverart.png
Word.

[Wraith]

Let's take Gears of War as an example. Is Dominic Santiago Hispanic or not? The game takes place on Sera rather than Earth. Technically, no one in the game is a "human" but I'd wager that most Gears players feel that Dom is Hispanic. If Dom wore a sombrero and took siestas all the time, I wouldn't be too surprised when people complained about the stereotype against earthly Hispanics. Hiding behind the "he's not really Hispanic" excuse is a cop-out.

You'll note that Epic didn't try that appraoch when people complained about Augustus "Cole Train" Cole's antics. They just said he represented the overly hyper macho sports player stereotype.I'm not trying to say "they're technically not the same, so they don't count." That character is essentially Hispanic. (I haven't played Gears, so just going by your description.) I don't disagree with you on that, either in this game or others.

I just saying that there's no reason that a fantasy setting should reflect real-world demographics (because it's not the same world), apart from the developer wanting to make characters relatable to players (whether they're of the same race/gender or not).

[Khrymsyn]

What I want to know is...

in those 150 "most popular" games, how many allowed you to make your own character and the people doing the "study" created white males?

[ShivaX]

A WWII game won't have women in it? Why not? There's a very popular WW2 game out on the market right now (I'll let you figure out which one) that features the German occupation of Russia, a series of battles that was notable for the high casualty rate of women combatants - not civilians - actual soldiers. Women partisans featured heavily in the French resistance.


Again, thats the exception rather than the rule.

Militaries throughout history have been almost exclusively male and continue to be that way, especially in regards to front-line combat troops. So the characters in those games are going to be primarily males. Hell in a lot of cases white males for the most part.

My point still stands, I think. Then theres sports games, which if we're looking at a "Top 150" is going to have a large presence. In all those games its going to be all males and since I'm sure a lot of them are going to be things like football and basketball, theres likely to be a higher concentration of white and black players compared to say Hispanic ones.

The point I was trying to make I guess was that their study was pretty biased in what they looked at. Theres a ton of games with the option to be either gender and any ethnicity. If anything thats pretty much the norm for all western RPGs. Japanese RPGs tend to have a high percentage of women as well, though other etnicities might be off most of them are hard to indentify anyways. What nationality is Wakka, Tidus or Yuna? Damned if I know, sometimes they look white, other times Asian and if you told me Tidus was Hispanic I wouldn't really think it was bizarre.

[Shieldmaiden]

The study seems to have horribly US-centric expectations. The only possible reason to conduct this kind of study is to point out some type of gross inequality, however it's applying US demographics to an international videogames market. Even if you just took American and European games, the demographics are going to be completely different. Why, to pick an extreme example, would a European game, set anywhere other than America, be likely to feature a Native American character?

[ShivaX]

The study seems to have horribly US-centric expectations. The only possible reason to conduct this kind of study is to point out some type of gross inequality, however it's applying US demographics to an international videogames market. Even if you just took American and European games, the demographics are going to be completely different. Why, to pick an extreme example, would a European game, set anywhere other than America, be likely to feature a Native American character?

I haven't seen a fucking Eskimo or Austrialian Aboriginee in any games recently. Fucking racists.

[Johan]

I haven't seen a fucking Eskimo or Austrialian Aboriginee in any games recently. Fucking racists.

Eskimos and Australian Aboriginees are racists?

;) Literacy!

[ShivaX]

Eskimos and Australian Aboriginees are racists?

;) Literacy!

Probably. Those fuckers with their whale meat and didgeridoos.

[OUX]

Probably. Those fuckers with their whale meat and didgeridoos.

Well you can't blame them for being skittish, what with dingos and seals eating their babies.

[Doogie2K]

You may not think that playing a game in which "you play an MP driving in a convoy" may not be exciting, but there's certainly no good reason why a game couldn't depict the convoy getting attacked. If you believed video games, all military patrols involve engagement with the enemy rather than the boring more common reality of going out and coming back with no contact.

Well, yes. I mean, games are entertainment, not simulation, for the most part. A convoy going out and not getting attacked is perfectly believable but not at all interesting.

[DoctorFinger]

It also doesn't seem to take into account all of those games in which you can choose the race/ethnicity of your character(s).

[Shrinn]

I don't know what they're talking about.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v68/Zargriel/resident-evil-5-20070726113937477.jpg

I will read through the thread

[Superman's Dead]

Adults being over-represented in silly. One of the constants in video games is murder, and so obviously shouldn't star children.

The study may be flawed for all of the many reasons brought up, but it still brings up an interesting question. If a character's ethnicity has literally no effect on the game world around him...why not mix it up? I mean, the obvious retort is "Why?", but that kind of kills the conversation a little too early.

[Ox]

If you're a white male programmer and you write a game featuring a protagonist who isn't white and male, you have less creative freedom.

Let's say I'm writing a game and want some NPC to make a comment about how the PC is stupid, lazy, a habitual drunkard, slatternly, etc. That's touchy stuff if the PC is a member of certain groups. A character's ethnicity might have no effect in-game, but it will certainly affect perceptions of the programmer's intent in the real world.

And let's face it, the stereotype of game designers being socially awkward geeks has a certain amount of truth to it, even today. They aren't necessarily going to be great at picking their way through the delicate realm of racial and sexual politics, and what's more, their knowledge of their own limitations in this area probably exerts a chilling effect on them.

[Ancalagon]

@Ox

True, game programmers are like that, but thats why they dont make design decisions. Writers write the story, designers design the artwork and graphics, the programmers write the tools (map editors etc), the engine and the general game itself. So at least the writers and designers neednt be socially awkward.

Meh, I'm a stutterer, and I've never seen a stutterer in games. They are underrepresenting my disability (I'm not even sure if it is classed as a disability). Boo hoo.

(although to be quite honest I hate hearing other people stutter, ESPECIALLY if its faked)

[Deadend]

Ox was just using programmers as a general thing.

Go look at at some of those dev team photos, where everyone gets together and snaps a photo. A huge majority are white males.

Would it be better for the games themselves to have more diversity? Yes it would. Would it be better if it was forced and awkward? no.

The games industry needs more diversity.. in the upper reaches of the company to make a difference in perception

[Narradisall]

I honestly think this was rather worthless for a study.

I have NEVER played a game where I thought about the main characters race etc was an issue. I'm usually more concerned about the stats a lootz!

Also I play a lot of games where you create your character. Most the time I make a white male, because, I am a white male and I lack creativity!

I don't really see a need for any particular groups to request greater representaion in the gaming medium. I would like to think if their are real issues of equality that they would be looking at them first.

[Doogie2K]

Also I play a lot of games where you create your character. Most the time I make a white male, because, I am a white male and I lack creativity!

I've started making more female characters. One former guildmate summed it up with, "if you're going to have a bum in your face for hundreds of hours, might as well be a lady bum."

[Narradisall]

I've started making more female characters. One former guildmate summed it up with, "if you're going to have a bum in your face for hundreds of hours, might as well be a lady bum."

Yeah, a friend said a similar thing to me when he rolled a female WoW character.

But then I knew a lot of weird people that /flirt for gifts!

Maybe its just me, but I think of of gamers as unisex and non racial, same for characters. There's only allies and enemies. :D

[Jason]

I've started making more female characters. One former guildmate summed it up with, "if you're going to have a bum in your face for hundreds of hours, might as well be a lady bum."

The guys at Core said the same thing when they created Tomb Raider. And I agree.

And does this study have midgets in it too? If not, shame on them.

Honestly, does it really matter if the character is white, black, red, pink, green, or yellow?

[Hawkzombie]

Wonder why it didn't say anything about Asians.

[Lance Uppercut]

Wonder why it didn't say anything about Asians.

Hello, Japan?

[Narradisall]

The guys at Core said the same thing when they created Tomb Raider. And I agree.

And does this study have midgets in it too? If not, shame on them.

Honestly, does it really matter if the character is white, black, red, pink, green, or yellow?

You kidding? Gnomes and Dwarfs are in almost ever fantasy game I play! :)

[Hawkzombie]

Hello, Japan?

Exactly, but it makes it seem like white people are the main characters and that it's the fault of the consumer or something. At least that was sort of the tone I got from the 'study'...

[Doogie2K]

Yeah, a friend said a similar thing to me when he rolled a female WoW character.

But then I knew a lot of weird people that /flirt for gifts!

Maybe its just me, but I think of of gamers as unisex and non racial, same for characters. There's only allies and enemies. :D

Clearly I was doing something wrong, because I spent a number of nights fishing "naked" in Teldrassil (that was the NE home city, right? It's been a bit.) and I never got jack.

[Tel Prydain]

The study seems to have horribly US-centric expectations. The only possible reason to conduct this kind of study is to point out some type of gross inequality, however it's applying US demographics to an international videogames market.
I was going to post the same thing... only less eloquently. This may shock you, but Hispanics aren't big over here. In thirty years of life, I've met one. Actually, we don't have many blacks here either (we have to settle for a light brown). And in Japan you'd be lucky to see anyone NOT asian. Hyperbole prehaps, but I'm sure you get the picture...
Europe, The UK, Australia, Japan, Canada… we all have different ethnic make-ups, and to trying impose one country’s idea of ‘diversity’ on the rest is ignorant and, frankly, rude.

More to the point, I can’t imagine this study as being accurate at all. Most RPGs let you choose a character, as do many others (Farcry, Saints Row, etc). Not to mention every game that supports Miis and Avatars.
And are what are we counting all those jRPG characters as? Are we assuming that they are ‘white’, just because they are pale?

And why are we just looking at ‘white’ vs ‘black’? Why aren’t we breaking down American, Irish, English, Australians, Jewish, Swiss, Kiwi, Walsh, Scottish, French, German, etc al. May shock some of those PC plonkers who delight in playing the race card, but just because we share a skin colour doesn’t mean that are cultures are remotely the same.

And lastly, many games take characters from their settings. For example, Dragon Age is a typical western fantasy setting, based loosely on European medieval history. If there are hundreds of Hispanics running about it’s going to look off.