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[MUnited83]

At least the statement makes a lot more sense said by Nintendo.

David Cage making a game about literal robot slavery, revolution and uprising and telling us it isn't political is much, much, much more jarring.

 

[Nepenthe]

Saying all art is political isnt true.

I could just throw a bucket of color over a canvas because i feel like it.

Such a political statement.

Your intended message there is that art can be apolitical...

Which is a political statement.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

But thats what is discussed in those classes, the author intent.

They discuss more than just intent, otherwise it wouldn't be a discussion.

 

[Bronetta]

Yeah that's a horrible answer.

OK then give us an example of a good answer keeping in mind you're an executive of a family focused company.

 

[KingSnake]

..which is their prerogative? Why is that a problem?

Because "making people smile" and "making political statements" are not opposing actions, like he implies. Because it diminishes the political statements to "something that gets in the way of my happiness".

 

[Oersted]

If that means more inclusion, and no reliance on sexist, racist stereotypes, with other words making everyone smile, than I will let this bullshit of an answer slip trough.


Still bullshit than, but I will let slip it trough. So fucking deliver.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

Being non-political is being political maybe?

Depends on the topic. Not having an opinion or feeling any type of way about a topic doesn't imply you are political about the topic. This is the silliest type of generalization.

 

[Rncewind]

why would they ask nintendo about a game that doesnt even appear on nintendo consoles.

if you want a game with a political statement from nintendo play fire emblem path of radiance and radiant dawn or xenoblade

sry which games? This games dont exist if you go by reggie


also several people here are claiming this are non pure fun games

never getting mother 3, feels bad man

 

[Philippo]

"Mario we have to keep those Rabbids out of our kingdom!"

 

[veloxStrix]

Okay, they can cancel English Literature classes all over the world now because the only thing that matters is author intent.

Analysis done and dusted!

You might be on to something. We can barely manage to interpret a single sentence correctly, apparently.

 

[PSqueak]

Take for example "The Chronicles of Narnia" or "The Golden Compass". The authors of both series very clearly set out to make allegories of Christian themes and that was apparent in their work.

Fun fact: Golden Compass guy started writing the series just to antagonize the Narnia series.

 

[DeanBDean]

As to your examples, i mean they're not particularly hard. Using your hat as a tool can be a statement about fashion and giving old icons a new strength by using them for unforeseen ends. Using that hat to gain control of other agents of free will, like that T Rex, is frankly even more easily political because it puts you in a position where you can gain control of unwilling subjects, a sharp stick to poke at our fears of losing control over our own bodies or our ability to be free of other's control.

This sort of analysis tends to drive people away from the "everything is political" camp. Because you could make up any number of things involving throwing and object and taking over something else. For example...

The T Rex represents the old, that which should have gone extinct a long time ago. Mario taking over the dinosaur repurposes that which is old into a fresh existence, so that the fear mongering creature now becomes a tool of advancement. The cycle of the old being used by the new is reflected in the boomerang nature of the hat, which alway returns to Mario after it is thrown.

Loose relationships like this barely supported by the text just kinda stretch believability in the argument that everything is political, rather than enforcing it.

 

[Bronetta]

Because "making people smile" and "making political statements" are not opposing actions, like he implies. Because it diminishes the political statements to "something that gets in the way of my happiness".

He never implied they're mutually exclusive, you are.

 

[Cipher Peon]

Why do people have problems with this? If they don't want to include political topics in their games they don't have to. Don't tell me you'd like to play Zelda with racism or Mario with a fascist Bowser.

(Also don't get mad at me for that example, I might not have understood what you all mean by politics well)

I would LOVE to play those games. In fact, I'd be much more interested in those games than what Nintendo is doing now!

 

[chadtwo]

Because "making people smile" and "making political statements" are not opposing actions, like he implies. Because it diminishes the political statements to "something that gets in the way of my happiness".

If it's a political statement you disagree with, it sure could. What he's saying is that by avoiding politics everyone can be happy, whereas taking any particular viewpoint is bound to alienate some people.

 

[John Kowalski]

On the other hand, look at "Neon Genesis Evangelion".

Despite the name, despite the numerous references to Angels, and Christian iconography, the creator literally included all that because he thought it looked and sounded cool.

Not just because it sounded cool. Do this yourself, go through media that uses religious mythos from other cultures to make it appear more legitimate than a mythos your audience is well versed in. Christian words and concepts in Eva do sound cool and give it a lot of rich imagery and metatextual nuance, but most importantly they are a easy and more than serviceable way to make it appear like there is something akin to alien divinity being played with by the characters, like they are reaching for some world where they do not belong.

This sort of analysis tends to drive people away from the "everything is political" camp. Because you could make up any number of things involving throwing and object and taking over something else. For example...

Loose relationships like this barely supported by the text just kinda stretch believability in the argument that everything is political, rather than enforcing it.

Those were really simple and quick examples of possible theses to be expanded upon with further scrutiny, which would obviously require playing the game itself, which i haven't and probably won't.

That said, it's best to keep in mind that that scrutiny, while important, should not be taken to mean that people can't feel exactly as i wrote in that post. Because that may be how they personally feel about those things. Which can be just as important as what messages a given work is reflecting.

 

[HStallion]

Nintendogs was a commentary on animal abuse and cruelty.

 

[Bolivar687]

Because "making people smile" and "making political statements" are not opposing actions, like he implies.

Of course they are.

 

[jmizzal]

Since when did Reggie make games or greenlight games, how about asking people who are in charge of that stuff

 

[Salty Rice]

Your intended message there is that art can be apolitical...

Which is a political statement.

"I could just throw a bucket of color over a canvas because i feel like it."

No its not. I could do that without ever reading this thread or thinking about it.

There needs no political reason to create art.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

Because "making people smile" and "making political statements" are not opposing actions, like he implies. Because it diminishes the political statements to "something that gets in the way of my happiness".

There isn't even enough words in his statement to formulate an argument without needing to heavily imply a stance. That's why its a good pr answer.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Fun fact: Golden Compass guy started writing the series just to antagonize the Narnia series.

The point is, he made it with a purpose as opposed to just including elements at random because they looked and sounded cool. Someone who thinks Hideaki Anno intended to make a message about Christianity vs someone who realizes he knows nothing about it, would interpret Evangelion in VEEEERY different ways

 

[WonderzL]

I want Reggie to actually give an answer just one time. One time, Reggie.

But thats what is discussed in those classes, the author intent.

No no no no no no

 

[SciencePilot]

While it's true that most art is political to some degree, what really makes the biggest impact is if people treat it as political. If people discuss it in a political context and take positions over it.

I think what's clear is that Nintendo doesn't want their games to be treated in that way. They don't want people to discuss Mario in a political context. I think that's why Reggie gives this answer.

And I think that's fine. It's good to have political discussions over art in your life, but I don't think that necessarily has to be a part of everything, or else it gets tiresome. I think it's okay to have some entertainment where you just turn off your brain and don't think about the problems of the world for a while. Not for everything in your life, but for some.

 

[dugdug]

Obvious lies.

Breath of the Wild was clearly a statement on the mundanity of life and how boring it can be when you forget what made you fun in the first place.

 

[KingSnake]

If it's a political statement you disagree with, it sure could. What he's saying is that by avoiding politics everyone can be happy, whereas taking any particular viewpoint is bound to alienate some people.

Everybody can be happy except for those discriminated or oppressed, but I guess I shouldn't be bothered by that and just keep smiling and playing non-political video games if I'm not impacted by those, right?

 

[Adam_Vania]

Far Cry was never considered a political series when you were shooting at Africans, Indians, Islanders, Cavemen, amassing an armory of illegal weapons and leveling up through tribal tattoos. what political statements were they making then? lol exactly.

 

[Rumblebones]

Should someone tell Reggie that's a political statement?

 

[JayEH]

No problem with him saying that.

 

[KingSnake]

Of course they are.

No, they aren't. Xenoblade X was damn fun to play.

 

[chadtwo]

Everybody can be happy except for those discriminated or oppressed, but I guess I shouldn't be bothered by that and just keep smiling and playing non-political video games if I'm not impacted by those, right?

Everyone can be happy within the context of the video game is what I meant, not that everyone can be happy in the universal sense. If you seek for media and art to satisfy that metric then I don't really know how you can enjoy things, since nothing has ever lived up to that standard

 

[QuantumBro]

Fucking Nintendo, I was expecting a good critique of Gentrification in the new Mario game because of the setting.

 

[KidGalactus]

"I could just throw a bucket of color over a canvas because i feel like it."

No its not. I could do that without ever reading this thread or thinking about it.

There needs no political reason to create art.

Your belief that it is art is also a political statement.

 

[evil monkey]

Question was very obvious bait that a PR pro like Reggie flawlessly dodged.

 

[Astral/H3X]

Yall need to chill out.

Like for real.

It's fukken Mario. They don't make Mario because they are sitting there and going "Well hrm how are we going to make a point that facism is bad to 10 year olds who just want to run around and jump and shit"

*CAN* you pull some political meaning from some facet of Mario, sure, I guess, but you can't go up to Reggie and be like "HOW BOUT DEM POLITICS IN DAT DEM DERE GEAM U MAED", because Nintendo didn't make the game to make a political point.

 

[jonjonaug]

Of course they are.

Xenoblade and Xenoblade X are two of the most "progressive politics"-minded games I've ever played and they're both incredibly fun.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Your belief that it is art is also a political statement.

No it's not. Art is, in simplest terms, an expression of creativity.

 

[KingSnake]

Everyone can be happy within the context of the video game is what I meant, not that everyone can be happy in the universal sense. If you seek for media and art to satisfy that metric then I don't really know how you can enjoy things, since nothing has ever lived up to that standard

I don't even know what this have to do with my initial points.

 

[John Kowalski]

Far Cry was never considered a political series when you were shooting at Africans, Indians, Islanders, Cavemen, amassing an armory of illegal weapons and leveling up through tribal tattoos. what political statements were they making then? lol exactly.

Far Cry 2 had some (of dubious worth) dabbles with post colonialism. And Far Cry 3 kind of felt like it was going for a kind of Apocalypse Now thing.

 

[DieNgamers]

I'm OK with this.

 

[Gorillaz]

Most of the gaming industry if not all of it couldn't pull it off to save there lives anyway

They want to pretend to be deep with certain talking points. Farcry 5 is the embodiment of it. Have your cake and eat it too type of mentality.

 

[TheGraykid]

Not all games have to have a political agenda. It's not a "keep politics out of my videogames" it's just simply the fact that politics doesn't apply to absolutely everything. You can have a narratively simple, well designed game that doesn't go anywhere near politics. If that's what a company likes to make, what's wrong with that?

Every piece of art that replicates aspects of our world is making either an implicit or explicit commentary on our world, and as such is political.

Comments like Reggie's are frustrating because they play into what I believe most gamers view on games to be. Games are not political while obeying/portraying societal norms.

For example: An implied Mario and Princess Peach romantic relationship is completely fine and non-political, however implying a Mario and another main character romantic relationship would be seen as being political by a lot of people.

This is frustrating because it means that if you're a person of colour or a gay person or a transexual person, then the chances of a meaningful portrayal in a meaningful Nintendo game are slim to none, simply because people view your mere presence as political, when the presence of Mario or Princess peach is just as political.

Nintendo don't and shouldn't make "political" games, right?

This doesn't just extend to inclusion of people, it also goes all the way into behaviour. When any behaviour outside of hetronormative terms is seen as being outside of the norm and so "political" it greatly restricts the type of things that can be seen in games.

Princess Peach wears a big fluffy pink dress, Mario wears a pair of overalls. The last sentence is a piece of commentary on the world even if you don't believe it to be so. It's politics by portrayal.

Nintendo can make whatever games they want, they owe no one anything, but saying that there's nothing political in their games is disingenuous. What they should really say is that they don't want to use their games to challenge mainstream culture and ideas. Which again is fine.

I just don't like Nintendo contributing to a video game culture that compares the portrayal of anything out of the norm to being preached to, or having politics shoved down their throat.

A lot of so called "non-political" games are political, you just don't see it as that because it upholds and supports parts of your world that you view to be normal.

 

[ZeroGravity]

Man, there are so many legitimate things to give Nintendo flack for. This ain't one of them. I think people just want everything to be political to have something to argue about.

 

[Nepenthe]

"I could just throw a bucket of color over a canvas because i feel like it."

No its not. I could do that without ever reading this thread or thinking about it.

There needs no political reason to create art.

You feeling like doing something is effectively equivalent to being apolitical.

 

[mattysmatts]

Xenoblade and Xenoblade X are two of the most "progressive politics"-minded games I've ever played and they're both incredibly fun.

You're sort of proving the point here. If you were a conservative would you be happy playing Xenoblade?

 

[Rncewind]

Yall need to chill out.

Like for real.

It's fukken Mario. They don't make Mario because they are sitting there and going "Well hrm how are we going to make a point that facism is bad to 10 year olds who just want to run around and jump and shit"

*CAN* you pull some political meaning from some facet of Mario, sure, I guess, but you can't go up to Reggie and be like "HOW BOUT DEM POLITICS IN DAT DEM DERE GEAM U MAED", because Nintendo didn't make the game to make a political point.

you need to google nintendo studios before claiming stupid shit like nintendo making only mario games

 

[WonderzL]

btw that answer is pr dodging etc

but some of the answers to this thread are the mindset that let tomodachi life's no homosexual option to be a thing.

You know, politics ARE in Nintendo games. Just your (non-)politics.

 

[Slayven]

It's not for everyone, nor should it. Nintendo is one of the least equip to handle political issue

 

[Rover99]

This thread seems to be full of University/College students currently taking political science.

At least that's what it reminds me of.

.

 

[PSqueak]

The point is, he made it with a purpose as opposed to just including elements at random because they looked and sounded cool. Someone who thinks Hideaki Anno intended to make a message about Christianity vs someone who realizes he knows nothing about it, would interpret Evangelion in VEEEERY different ways

oh, no, i understand that, it was not meant to be a counter to your post, but literally something that always amused me, hahaha.