Ubisoft has been at the heart of a controversy since the presentation of its next installment ofAssassin’s Creed. While many players were waiting for the publisher to finally look at feudal Japan in a part of its franchise, for others, more attached to respecting historical facts, the scenario is stuck…
The publisher has thus chosen to approach the period Azuchi-Momoyama with some historical figures like Ode to Nobunagathe great unifier of Japan, but also Nagato Fujibayashia ninja master of the Iga clan, and the highly controversial Yasuke, the first black samurai in history.
A petition launched in Japan has thus collected presque 100 000 signaturesThe petition’s initiators accuse Ubisoft of not respecting Japan’s history by extrapolating widely on the importance and impact of Yasuke at his time.
If the individual did indeed exist, there is not enough written evidence to confirm that he had a significant impact or even enjoyed true Samurai status.
The developers took the floor to explain that “since its beginnings, the series has taken creative licenses and incorporated fantastical elements to create attractive and immersive experiences. The representation of Yasuke in our game is the perfect illustration of this.”
The call to stop the game’s launch will therefore not succeed (and we suspected it), but Ubisoft is trying to smooth things over. The developers thus indicate that “Although Yasuke is represented as a samurai in our game, we are aware that this is a subject of debate and discussion”. It is also specified that “Our intention has never been to present our games as factual representations of history or historical figures”, but the developers nevertheless hope that their representation will “arouse curiosity” in players to encourage them to “learn more for themselves about historical contexts”.
Source: www.generation-nt.com
