Africa and Haiti are the two most blighted, diseased places on the planet. This makes it totally plausible that any new 'super virus' might originate, or at least thrive in these areas. I don't care what race they are, the diseased among us need to be cured, quarantined, or destroyed. If a game comes out that supports that message, fantastic.

Posted by: AriesXX at September 24, 2007 1:48 PM

why didn't you do a story about the white guy leon kennedy shooting latino/spanish zombies....that was dumb of you to even make that connection...say another resident evil game set in tokyo ...i wonder what ethnicity those zombies will be ....

Posted by: biohaz at September 24, 2007 4:20 PM

The game's set in Africa. That's why there are so many black people in it.

Considering Chris Redfield will inevitably team-up with locals in the game, it's not racist at all.

The first few games were pretty much white-only. The last one was European. This ones African.

Posted by: Dillan at September 24, 2007 5:28 PM

So you have a problem with this but you never had a problem with the original games that killed zombies that were mostly white. Also Resident Evil 4 had hispanic people getting killed in it but you don't mention this in your article. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. By the way the game supposedly takes place in Africa so what did you expect? Grow up and realize the whole world is not out to get black people. I have nothing against black people but I am sick of hearing this all this bull crap in the media that everyone hates blacks. I can guarantee you Hispanics and Asians get the same amount of disrespect,if not more, as African-Americans do. I should know, I happen to be a mix of both.

Posted by: John at September 24, 2007 6:10 PM

grand another poor pitiful me rant. its an efing game, like john posted, theres absolutley no problem when its white or hispanic or asians being "de-zombified" but as soon as it turns to african americans its racist, look at 50 cent bullet proof a black arms dealer (and potentially more than that, i dont know i didnt get interested in that game) shooting and killing numerous white people, yet i didnt see people pitch a fit over that, get over your skin color, if you actually see it as a racisit movement that tells me that you looked beyond the point of the game (to kill zombies and stop umbrella euro) and saw skin color, i myself never realized the zombies were white in the first series or hispanic in 4, and i didnt care that they were black in this one, jeeze is this what the worlds coming too? its just a COLOR. Everyone is equal, skin color does not make you better than another, its a game i will play it and i will look beyond the grounds of racism. People are using this to further their own agendas, its like the saying of, its cause im black, no, its really not this time. may god let this game get released so i can punish me some ZOMBIES. notice that zombies does not mean black white hispanic or asian, it means the UNDEAD.

Posted by: Joeytain at September 25, 2007 9:09 AM

Why is everyone flipping out about black zombies? THERE WAS ONE BLACK ZOMBIE BEFORE, resident evil directors cut, play it, there is a black zombie in it *the ps one version not the remake for gamecube*. Its a freaking game people, get over the race, who cares if your white or black and your shooting white or black zombies, not me. THEIR ZOMBIES OK, THEY ARE DEAD! This is set in africa what did you expect it to be white black people? Get over the black zombies and just enjoy the damn game. If it bothers you, DON'T PLAY IT. i personally am going to buy it and kill some zombies.

Posted by: Comma Cory at September 25, 2007 1:06 PM

It aint rasist when you shot white people and spanish guys but when it is black people some idiots say it is rasist they dont know a shit abaut what resident evil is abaut and the only rasist are themselves who dontlok at humans as humans nomatter what skin callor they have

Posted by: Nicklas gudmundsson at September 25, 2007 1:46 PM

what the hell why are you making a big deal about this whole racial topic its not, you keep saying that chris is white and he shoots black people its a game for crying out loud its not directed towards black people. Think about it in mostly all of RE games your in america killing literally mostly white people especially in RE2, but no one complains so what let capcom expand the story line to a differnt place it dont matter about color or even gender its just a game.

Posted by: neo x at September 25, 2007 2:44 PM

Interesting discussion. Despite the fact that you bring up some interesting points, this discussion seems to have more to do with gamers fed up with having to defend the games they play. That's why some ppl say "Its just a game." because to them it doesn't really matter. Maybe its like asking whether porn is sexist. The medium itself is a place where people play out fantasies. The fantasy here is what if a zombie plague took over an African villiage - anything other than that is missing the point. So maybe it is just a game and thats all.

Posted by: apple_lipsis at September 25, 2007 2:48 PM

if it helps i shoot only black people when i play grand theft auto.

Posted by: Tina at September 25, 2007 7:07 PM

Since the game is causing so much controversy, I think the company should rewrite the script so no one will feel offended. Video games are supposed to send you to a dream world, or give you a high feeling. They're not supposed to relate you back to the stresses of the world. Thats why we play video games and watch movies! To avoid STRESS day by day! Not to go off topic, but Halo 3 is by far the most diversed video game out so far! Instead of having humans kill other humans, how about have humans who defend themselves against foul creatures or something? Break away from the everyday pains, stress, or misery of life! Well that was just my opinion. I hope you understand my point of view. Hey by the way MORTAL KOMBAT 3 in coming out in 2009!!!!!

Posted by: The Future of Sega at September 25, 2007 11:39 PM

black white brown red blue green yellow purple pink, it dosn't matter what your skin color is, if you only see the fact of white guy vs black zombies then you must be pretty racisit yourself, come on, look at the other games out there that had black guy vs white guy, black guy vs hispanic and asian guys, hispanic vs asian and white and black guys, the only race that i've ever seen or herd throw a fit is african americans when its a different color skin vs them, then its racisit but for them to kill or maim any other color, its perfectly fine. Why is it racist to them when its w vs b and not b vs w? in the end its just another thing for the races to fight over, just be equal already eh? i have never seen any other race flair up when their being "done in" in a video game. It is a fantasy world its a way to do things for fun that you might possible never be able to do in real life. I myself love to indulge in a misreality world and have some fun, true crime, true crime 2, all the gta series were awsome and re series is just kick ass i mean i love kicking zome rotten ass, no matter what the race is. im just disapointed that most people out there are looking at skin color. Color doesn't make a man as many of these posters must see. I wish more saw it too.

Posted by: Zombie Hotdog at September 26, 2007 9:03 AM

ARE YOU FUCKIN SERIOUS.

are you kidding me. people be smart than that. its a fuckin game. yah dumbasses always think about the negative. white vs black black vs white shit is old who gives a fuck.

so i guess BLADE the movie is racist to right theres a nigguh killing white people.

and resident evil extinction, cracker zombies killing nigguhs.

just STFU. if it says die nigger or cracker than say somthing about it. other than that if theres no racist comments on the game. just let it go. im racist

i hate blacks, whites, asians. towel heads the most.lol peace

Posted by: im racist at September 26, 2007 1:06 PM

re5 will be game of the year oh and enough of this racist crap

Posted by: insanemike28 at September 26, 2007 1:07 PM

...Hello to my fellow blacks, to my white brothren, and to my asian, russian, and latino, cousins...IS THIS FOR REAL???...the answer to that one is YES...sadly to say...but only in america...lol...only in america can what should be a dead issue stay UNDEAD...imma buy RE:5, play it to completion, and share the same nightmares with all of you all the while...but it is sad to say that the majority of my american-born Af.Am. brothers and sisters are so slow to act and quick to react...let it go and just plain do better......be better!

Posted by: damnitalltohell at September 26, 2007 2:29 PM

Does it really matter if Chris was black or white. The gameplay wouldn't change and the story line would remain the same regardless of his race. I am sure there is a reason why the zombies are black, and not some racist subliminal message. Personally I do not believe the Resident Evil series would become racist now since they could have years ago. Moving on, the development of the game was created by a japanese company, which has nothing to do with Western anxieties. I apologize but this article is a lot of useless information.

Posted by: shawn at September 28, 2007 12:27 PM

Someone said why dont you do a story on a white man shooting latino zombies in resident evil 4 ? I ask you why didnt you ? so know when it comes to black people you suddenly react like ur saying who gives a damn about latinos look , im a latino and i adorreddd re4. Now , if the game doesnt come out beacause of some fkn asshole people thinking the game is racist that would be the biggest shitload of fuck il will have ever heard

Posted by: Gad5ta at September 30, 2007 11:38 AM

By people accusing the game of being racist it puts racism back in the spot light if you want racism gone then dont talk about it and just forget it. It seems to me more and more rasicism isn't a race discriminating against another race its non black people discriminating against black people as the guy said above re4 has latino zombies and a white guy killing them and i never heard any latino people complaining. Another thing is i guarantee if they had only kept white people in the game so no other races alot of people would of complained the game is being racist for only having white people in it so the second they try and be abit more multicultural they get slapped with the "rasism" tag, its becoming a joke

Posted by: Jesta at October 1, 2007 3:30 PM

People around the world weren't thinking about racism when they saw this game until you suddenly came out of nowhere and started giving points to other people. A person like you should stop trying to ruin a highly anticipated game just because you think it is or is slightly racist. Resident Evil 4 had spaniards and nobody talked about racism against latin people. Games are starting to become more and more like real life so we, and you, should accept that. The future will have hard times and video games like RE5 just let us escape the world of our troubles for a while and make us a person that can only be thought of in the mind.

Posted by: Danko at October 1, 2007 11:10 PM

I am black and I am from africa. Im looking forward to playing RE5. This whole discussion on the "racism" was probably started by a white guy not a black guy. In crackdown and gta san andreas the lead chararcter was a black guy shooting and killing whites and hispanics... even some asians. No one said anything.

Posted by: deedza at October 5, 2007 3:18 AM

"One reader noted that the swarms of angry commenters who responded to the post was a lot like an undead mob. At least we’re getting the authentic zombie experience!"

Bonnie, you talk alot of s**t that's why your getting lots of responses. Please tell me villagevoice.com aren't paying you to write this drivel?

Posted by: SpiralTrance at October 7, 2007 7:29 AM

AriesXX is 100% right. If you are an evil corporation wanting to do some unlawful experiments, where will you go?

Instead of talking about racism, RE5 can be seen under a positive light. The is denouncing the exploitation of African and Caribbean countries by greedy and corrupt people: starting by their own governments, but also corporations and foreign (not only western) states.

Besides, everything you are saying about impurity, infection, mindless mobs and racism has already been said about Romero's Zombie films (just consider the spanish and black survivors and zombies in these films). These films are still great and quite more deep than many people think.

Racism is an easy argument to attract attention and generate baseless discusions.

Posted by: barhah at October 7, 2007 4:26 PM

while i don't think the game is intentionally racist, I do think that it will reinforce the racial line in many young white gamer's minds.

In a perfect world, games like this wouldn't cause a second thought, but we're not living in a perfect world, so this kind of game setting will unfortunately contribute to the various images out there that contribute to subconscious racism (intentionally or not).

Barhah, i agree with all your points except that racism is a baseless discussion. Any topic can be used as a red-herring, but that doesn't dismiss it as a valid topic.

Posted by: jlacivita at October 8, 2007 5:50 PM

i think its stupid. i'm part like everything including black and i think i want to buy this game. all i want to do is kill zombies. i wouldnt even mind that theyre black

Posted by: bob at October 8, 2007 8:29 PM

... WTF, why is this a big deal? why cant black people become zombies? there is black people in africa, if the game is in africa then the zombies will be black. Saying black people cant be zombies because they have black skin is like saying black people arnt equal to white people because they have diffrent skin, which to me sounds like a racist comment.

Posted by: Darryl at October 12, 2007 4:56 AM

This game is not racist. They have chose the setting Africa, probably because it fits in with the storyline they've written, and you dont have hundreds of white people in Africa. I think everyone can admit that you would mostly think that villages in Africa have African peopple in them, which , if my eyes dont decieve me, are black. In Resident Evil 4, hundreds of Spaniards are shot and killed because there infected. Are you saying thats racism? The only reason racism exists is because black people make things a big deal saying its racist, this game has no intention of being racist, but because YOU, yes YOU Bonnie Ruberg made it an issue, people are creating more of a racism issue. The villagers dont look like zombies before there infected, as in one seen you can see many black africans angry and human like. And last time i checked there was issues in Africa about food and malnutrition isnt there? Thats why theres charities for Africa, so surely not all of them are going to be big strong men running marathons, they might look for instance, weak and exhausted. In the end its part of the game, it wasnt made racist, YOU MADE IT RACIST YOURSELF BONNIE.

Posted by: Adam at October 16, 2007 6:10 AM

I think most people are missing the point. The issues isn't that black people are depicted as zombies.
The issues is they have a WHITE guy going around shooting/exterminating BLACK zombies in AFRICA. If the argument is going to be 'the zombies are black because the game is set in Africa' then one has to wonder why isn't our 'hero' black as well?

Given Africa's history, its safe to say this game is treading in different waters (i.e., not comparable to previous RE games). I dont think you can equate this with the RE4 setting because it lacks the HISTORICAL CONTEXT. Depicting black people as zombies/animals perpetuates racist ideas that, unfortunately, are still pervasive in many parts (including Japan) of the world.

Given how detailed the game is, and how the game is going for a sense of 'realism' I am pretty sure its going to irk alot of people. Maybe the game isn't going to teach people to be racist, but it is a little insensitive and probably a marketing ploy thats going to backfire bigtime. Cant wait to see what the mainstream press does with this...

Posted by: observing at October 17, 2007 1:58 AM

OMG. This shouldn't even be a discussion. I feel bad for you, the way that you're programmed to try and point out racism in everything. I hope the rest of the media has more common sense and this topic doesn't go any further than your stupid ramblings. The setting is africa from what I understand. Get over it.

Posted by: Brian Alston at October 19, 2007 4:21 PM

If these games were strictly for adults, I wouldn't seen an issue with RE5. Any adult can understand that if there's a zombie outbreak in Africa, quite a few of the zombies will be black. However, most of the articles I've read about this game being somewhat racist tend to be more worried about the mentality of the gamer. If you spend anytime on forums like the ones on Gamespot, you'll see a lot of minors who are quite prejudice. One person mentioned how RE5 was racist, one of his responses was "who cares about the n*ggers, they're dirty monkeys anyways". These kinds of posts make some people nervous and they don't want to see games that cater to that mentality. I'm sure if Resident Evil 6 was about an outbreak in West Hollywood, you'd have the gays claiming the game was homophobic. But you can't blame people for having a thin skin in regards to racism or homophobia. I mean we have a president that has an issue with gay marriage, which is slightly homophobic and you have his mother who made a racist comment or two post Katrina. These are the people who run the country and they're showing signs of racism and homophobia. So can you really blame people for not wanting a game that at first sight looks racist. I mean most of those who will rip into Resident Evil 5 never played a Resident evil game. They have no idea how the story works or what Umbrella is up to. They just see a white character in camoflage gunning down black people in Africa. And I imagine race will play into the next presidential election quite a bit towards the end.

Posted by: Dev at October 21, 2007 8:32 AM

Resident evil 5 is not racist and here is proof!
White zombies in Resident evil 5!
Proof that the zombies in resident evil 5 are not all black!
Proof that resident evil 5 is not racist!
Resident evil 5 is racist? Yeah right!

Watch this:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WPDOTAawT5c

Posted by: RAY at October 24, 2007 1:52 PM

I'm so sick of people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson who blow things way out of proportion, the original "resident evil 4" were killing spaniards but no spanish people complained because they know that no one is targeting them. If KKK were in the game than maybe it is okay to get pissed, but seriously get over it, japanese people made this game, and slavery ended hundreds of years ago and oh yeah 100% of black people living today didn't go through it.

Posted by: Emmanuel at October 24, 2007 5:36 PM

hmm let's see, japanese made this game, slavery is over, white trash are mostly rascist, when issues like this come up people are sympathetic they're really just annoyed, and we think that the people who support this are dumb asses, and oh yeah this isn't anything like the incident in georgia or where ever it is, you see I don't care I'm just annoyed.

Posted by: Emmanuel at October 24, 2007 6:00 PM

hello. I have always had issue in previous installments of the game, when the protaganists killed posessed animals or insects. I am calling PETA. This is all wrong. I thought Bonnie would have written an article about this already actually, considering she supports such poignant journalism.

Posted by: tom at October 28, 2007 10:42 PM

If people like you wouldnt write stupid stories like this, racism would have been forgotten!

Posted by: Per Aaro at November 4, 2007 2:10 PM

WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!

Black or latino.. who the fuck cares???

Meanwhile me and my brethren have to face the TRUE discrimiation represented by these games. It's so damned hard for us in the US. We can't vote, we have no rights, and we can't even legally hold down jobs, yet people like you keep us from our REAL plight from being heard. Do you know what it's like when people are afraid to hire you?? when people start pulling guns on you and shooting you for sport???

OF COURSE NOT!!!
fuck racism, throughout all the RE games, us undead, or "zombies" if you will, have had to put up with this demonizing of our peoples!

Quit the hatin'! Down with Resident Evil!

One day you might find yourself a zombie too...

Posted by: The Postindustrialist at November 11, 2007 12:53 AM

I think that the fact ppl are even talking about racism in a game is silly and childish. I mean what about the other games when you are killing hordes of WHITE ZOMBIES you dnt hear noone complaining then do you. I dnt think that the other games are racist because white zombies get killed so why do black ppl find it so hard to just see it as a game and not a racial attack

Posted by: SeanTheBest949 at November 14, 2007 5:14 AM

Oh please it is time to forget the mistakes of the past and look forward. RE series are based on survival horror movies (like romero's) it does not matter if your black or white or latino if i turn unto a zombie and there is no chance to cure myself please shoot me in the head, I am a latino actually I live in south america so i kinda understand poverty problems and stuff like that, racism is not contained in video games (check GTA series) please teach your children not to be racist and follow the rating advices RE are for mature playersso if you let your kids to play at least explain them what racism is and stop talking about this topic on the web.

Posted by: Sergius_Black at November 14, 2007 12:09 PM

The people who say that the people in Resident Evil 4 are "latino" or "hispanic" are full of it (or uninformed). They are WHITE SPANIARDS. "Latino" and "Hispanic" are words that came about to describe people of mixed Native American and Spaniard Lineage. So Leon was not shooting a racial minority. He was shooting other white people.

Posted by: jshade at November 14, 2007 4:19 PM