35,000 sign petition over Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ ‘cultural respect’
The controversy surrounding Assassin's Creed Shadows continues, and just when Ubisoft thought it had died down a bit, we're dragged back in. Now, a legion of angry gamers are calling for the series' long-awaited jaunt to Japan to be cancelled.
Issues reared their head over the inclusion of Yasuke as a black samurai in Shadows. Although the character is based on historical accounts of an actual samurai, the game has been called out as historically inaccurate and is now accused of lacking "cultural respect."
36,000 players sign petition against Assassin's Creed Shadows
While we're not quite at the level of a million angry viewers signing a petition to reshoot Game of Thrones Season 8, it's clear there's dissent in the ranks. At the time of writing, over 36,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for Assassin's Creed Shadows to be cancelled.
The petition (roughly translated) says, "A serious issue of historical accuracy and lack of cultural respect has been raised about game developer Ubisoft's upcoming release, Assassin's Creed Shadows." A group of Japanese gamers reportedly started the petition and are calling for the game's axe.
Saying that Shadows ignores that Japanese samurai are of a higher class, the petition adds, "Throughout this history, Ubisoft continues to misunderstand the nature and role of the Samurai." It concludes, "We demand that Ubisoft immediately stop the release of 'Assassin's Creed Shadows' and show serious investigation and respect for Japanese history and culture."
The petition mentions problems with "Asian racism," which is sure to be an allegation that Ubisoft will want to avoid. There have been complaints that there isn't enough Asian representation in Shadows, although it's true that Naoe is just as prominent as Yasuke as the game's female protagonist.
Even if Ubisoft considers these critiques valid, we can't see a world where Shadows is pulled from release. At most, you might expect Ubisoft to add a disclaimer to the start of the game or its credits. Still, as the petition continues to gather steam, it will be interesting to see if the publisher makes a statement.
As the dislikes continue to flow on every Assassin's Creed Shadows trailer, Ubisoft is forced to ride a wave of controversy. It still seems unlikely that this will affect the game's sales, and at the end of the day, Assassin's Creed has always been one of the publisher's big hitters. With Shadows' November 15 release looming, we're left wondering whether Ubisoft will bury its head or face things head-on.
