Assassin's Creed exec: Japan devs' stories criticised less because of journalists' "subtle racism"
"I'll take Gears of War over Bayonetta any time."
"Subtle racism" within the games industry means Japanese developers aren't criticised as much for storytelling in video games as their Western competitors are.
"It's condescending to do this," according to Alex Hutchinson, creative director of the Assassin's Creed series.
He said some Japanese games' stories were "literally gibberish", but that journalists forgave and even praised them. But then a Western game like Gears of War comes out, and its story is picked apart by the same bunch.
"The way we see Assassin's Creed 3 now is as a franchise, like Mario or Resident Evil, that will have its ups and downs," Hutchinson told CVG, while discussing criticism of last year's 7/10 Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
"There's a subtle racism in the business, especially on the journalists' side, where Japanese developers are forgiven for doing what they do. It's condescending to do this.
"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.
"I just think the simple question should be; is the story any good?" Hutchinson concluded.