Trivia Browser
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According to a Q&A with producer Masaya Matsuura included in the game's European press kit, Vibri's voice was generated with a Speech Synthesizer developed by NTT Communications, and was used because it was capable of not only vocalizing speech, but also singing. He went on to explain the process:
"When a person speaks, the sound waves are transformed continuously. With NTT's system, each sound is picked up from the Database of tiny waves which [are] connected in order to vocalize. Therefore, the part that analyzes a sentence and puts the sounds together and the Database itself are all very complicated in structure. This system is a standard format in terms of sound synthesizing technology, but Vib-Ribbon successfully integrated this system into the game."
Vib-Ribbon European Press Kit:
https://archive.org/details/vib_ribbon_press_kit
Q&A on its own:
https://archive.org/details/masaya-matsuura-playstation-europe-interview_202210/mode/1up
https://archive.org/details/vib_ribbon_press_kit
Q&A on its own:
https://archive.org/details/masaya-matsuura-playstation-europe-interview_202210/mode/1up
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In 2020, to celebrate the launch of Shining Nikki in South Korea, Paper Games released a series of in-game wardrobe items based on the hanbok, a traditional Korean dress. This led to complaints from Chinese players, who objected to the hanbok being treated as a traditional Korean item and claimed that it was actually rooted in Chinese culture. On November 4, Paper Games released a statement supporting the argument that the hanbok was not Korean, and that "as a Chinese company, we want to reiterate that our stance is always consistent with our country China." They also announced that any accounts spreading misinformation about China or trying to insult the country would be blocked, implying that arguing that the hanbok was Korean counted as an offense. The hanbok items were ultimately removed from the game a day later.
This caused backlash from Korean players, who retaliated by deleting the game and applying for refunds for in-app purchases. On November 6, the game was delisted from Korean stores, resulting in demands that Paper Games be investigated for stealing Korea's cultural heritage and closing the service without offering compensation. This got to the point where Lee Sang-heon, a Democratic Party lawmaker from South Korea's National Assembly, called out Paper Games for siding with false claims from Chinese netizens and directing criticism towards Korean users. He also warned that their actions had violated South Korea's fair trade rules as they did not offer refunds and compensations prior to pulling the game from the country.
This caused backlash from Korean players, who retaliated by deleting the game and applying for refunds for in-app purchases. On November 6, the game was delisted from Korean stores, resulting in demands that Paper Games be investigated for stealing Korea's cultural heritage and closing the service without offering compensation. This got to the point where Lee Sang-heon, a Democratic Party lawmaker from South Korea's National Assembly, called out Paper Games for siding with false claims from Chinese netizens and directing criticism towards Korean users. He also warned that their actions had violated South Korea's fair trade rules as they did not offer refunds and compensations prior to pulling the game from the country.
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Yasuke is the series' first main protagonist to be based on a real historical figure, but his real-life identity and status serving under Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga has been the subject of a contentious debate among historians. There are few scholarly/historical resources available describing him and his life, and no known resources from when he was alive that refer to him as a samurai, with the most common belief being his title was a retainer.
His reveal as a lead in the game on May 15, 2024 caused polarizing reactions worldwide on social media. Fans critical of the decision claimed Ubisoft were going against the series' penchant for accurate historical backgrounds and misrepresented Japan, which the series had never covered in-depth, by inflating Yasuke's role in history and not having both protagonists be Japanese (the other protagonist, Naoe, is Japanese), claiming he was not actually a samurai. Fans in support of his role claiming he was actually a samurai called these objections racist and based on narrow-minded arguments and inferences, with some claiming that Asian samurai protagonists in media were oversaturated and that complaints would be the same if the game was set in Africa and starred an African protagonist. This intense fighting led to an edit war on Yasuke's English Wikipedia article, with administrators publicly calling its Talk page "a complete dumpster fire". As of October 8, the consensus that the Talk page reached appears to be that the available historical resources are inconclusive as to if he was or was not a samurai, but that scholars consistently describe Yasuke as a samurai without any sources found where scholars do not describe him as one.
This speculation and debate allows popular media to take creative liberties in adapting him, often depicting him as a high-ranking samurai, and Ubisoft seemed to take a similar direction from the outset. A press release at the game's announcement stated:
Despite the header used, the quote is carefully worded to stop short of directly calling Yasuke a samurai, with more advertising describing him as a "samurai of historical legend". Game director Charles Benoit later acknowledged his life "is surrounded by mysteries" and that "[Yasuke] told us to tell" his story seen in the game, which was also described by associate narrative director Brooke Davies as historical fiction.
Creative director Jonathan Dumont stated in a Famitsu interview on May 15 that they chose Yasuke to fit with the story of a foreigner who fights off oppressing forces like the Portuguese slave trade, while exploring a country unknown to him alongside the player, stating that they were "first looking for "our samurai," someone who could be our non-Japanese eyes". The following day, the interviews were edited to remove this quote, and to change quotes either directly or contextually referring to Yasuke as an "outsider" to being a "foreign-born samurai". After further mounting controversy, Ubisoft posted a statement to Twitter in English and Japanese on July 23 apologizing for elements in their promotional materials that "caused concern within the Japanese community", reiterating that the game's story was intended to be historical fiction and not an accurate recreation of events, and that Yasuke's real-life status was "a matter of debate and discussion". The Japanese statement received Community Notes pointing out their stance contradicted several quotes from both Famitsu and an Xbox Wire interview that emphasized confirming historical accuracy, but was removed from the statement hours later.
His reveal as a lead in the game on May 15, 2024 caused polarizing reactions worldwide on social media. Fans critical of the decision claimed Ubisoft were going against the series' penchant for accurate historical backgrounds and misrepresented Japan, which the series had never covered in-depth, by inflating Yasuke's role in history and not having both protagonists be Japanese (the other protagonist, Naoe, is Japanese), claiming he was not actually a samurai. Fans in support of his role claiming he was actually a samurai called these objections racist and based on narrow-minded arguments and inferences, with some claiming that Asian samurai protagonists in media were oversaturated and that complaints would be the same if the game was set in Africa and starred an African protagonist. This intense fighting led to an edit war on Yasuke's English Wikipedia article, with administrators publicly calling its Talk page "a complete dumpster fire". As of October 8, the consensus that the Talk page reached appears to be that the available historical resources are inconclusive as to if he was or was not a samurai, but that scholars consistently describe Yasuke as a samurai without any sources found where scholars do not describe him as one.
This speculation and debate allows popular media to take creative liberties in adapting him, often depicting him as a high-ranking samurai, and Ubisoft seemed to take a similar direction from the outset. A press release at the game's announcement stated:
"Yasuke: A Real-Life Samurai:
Ubisoft Quebec wanted to include a Samurai, and Yasuke's story was open-ended enough to allow for creativity; there are still plenty of questions and speculation surrounding him. The fascinating facts, though, were undisputable: of African origin, he arrived in Japan enslaved by the Portuguese; he impressed with size, strength, and wits; he served under the Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga. There must have been something exceptional about Yasuke to succeed in the service of a personality like Nobunaga's, [...] and the goal has been to expound on this in [the game] through his curiosity, openness, respect for values and tradition, valor, warmth, and charisma."
Ubisoft Quebec wanted to include a Samurai, and Yasuke's story was open-ended enough to allow for creativity; there are still plenty of questions and speculation surrounding him. The fascinating facts, though, were undisputable: of African origin, he arrived in Japan enslaved by the Portuguese; he impressed with size, strength, and wits; he served under the Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga. There must have been something exceptional about Yasuke to succeed in the service of a personality like Nobunaga's, [...] and the goal has been to expound on this in [the game] through his curiosity, openness, respect for values and tradition, valor, warmth, and charisma."
Despite the header used, the quote is carefully worded to stop short of directly calling Yasuke a samurai, with more advertising describing him as a "samurai of historical legend". Game director Charles Benoit later acknowledged his life "is surrounded by mysteries" and that "[Yasuke] told us to tell" his story seen in the game, which was also described by associate narrative director Brooke Davies as historical fiction.
Creative director Jonathan Dumont stated in a Famitsu interview on May 15 that they chose Yasuke to fit with the story of a foreigner who fights off oppressing forces like the Portuguese slave trade, while exploring a country unknown to him alongside the player, stating that they were "first looking for "our samurai," someone who could be our non-Japanese eyes". The following day, the interviews were edited to remove this quote, and to change quotes either directly or contextually referring to Yasuke as an "outsider" to being a "foreign-born samurai". After further mounting controversy, Ubisoft posted a statement to Twitter in English and Japanese on July 23 apologizing for elements in their promotional materials that "caused concern within the Japanese community", reiterating that the game's story was intended to be historical fiction and not an accurate recreation of events, and that Yasuke's real-life status was "a matter of debate and discussion". The Japanese statement received Community Notes pointing out their stance contradicted several quotes from both Famitsu and an Xbox Wire interview that emphasized confirming historical accuracy, but was removed from the statement hours later.
Game website with "samurai of historical legend" quote:
https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/assassins-creed/shadows
Ubisoft press release:
https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/2LH4Ael4X1TlNJY3B3aYg5/assassins-creed-shadows-launches-november-15-features-dual-protagonists-in-feudal-japan
Ubisoft Forward - June 10, 2024:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPoJUPrCkkg#t=4602s
IGN Japan interview with Brooke Davies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqwitaREyd0
Ubisoft article with several videos explaining historical backgrounds behind previous Assassin's Creed games:
https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/6d4zQXyH0VF6z75Ab7jfss/discover-the-real-history-behind-every-assassins-creed
IGN articles:
https://www.ign.com/articles/when-and-where-is-assassins-creed-shadows-set
https://www.ign.com/articles/assassins-creed-shadows-yasuke-asian-protagonist
TheGamer article:
https://www.thegamer.com/african-assassins-creed-shadows-controversy/
Time article:
https://time.com/6978997/assassins-creed-shadow-yasuke-controversy/
Forbes article mentioning Wikipedia edit war and international reactions:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2024/05/15/japanese-fans-are-puzzled-that-yasuke-is-in-assassins-creed-shadows/
Yasuke English Wikipedia article (Note: while much of this controversy occurred on English language Wikipedia, bear in mind that Wikipedia articles by themselves are not reliable sources for historical research, and the English article is not a uniform representation of the information on Yasuke across the different language versions of Wikipedia that have this article. There are varying primary, secondary, historical and pop culture sources suggested for and used in all of these articles either backing up verified information about him, or making different claims that may not be accurate.):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Yasuke
Wikipedia administrator discussion:
https://web.archive.org/web/20240518220622/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents#Talk:Yasuke_is_a_complete_dumpster_fire
Earliest archive of original Famitsu interview (in Japanese; English machine translations for all archives of this article compared between Google Translate and DeepL prior to publishing this submission. Deleted quote in Japanese is "まず“私たちの侍”、つまり日本人ではない私たちの目になれる人物を探していましたが、これは") (May 15):
https://web.archive.org/web/20240515185159/https://www.famitsu.com/article/202405/5194
Archived edited interview (May 16):
https://web.archive.org/web/20240516194746/https://www.famitsu.com/article/202405/5194
Latest archived edit (May 18):
https://web.archive.org/web/20240518034336/https://www.famitsu.com/article/202405/5194
Ubisoft July statement (in English and Japanese; third link contains archived screenshots of the Japanese Community Notes):
https://x.com/assassinscreed/status/1815674592444187116
https://x.com/UBISOFT_JAPAN/status/1815674629643719061
https://x.com/DLibryum/status/1816342689127772542
Xbox interview:
https://news.xbox.com/ja-jp/2024/05/16/assassins-creed-shadows-interview/
https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/assassins-creed/shadows
Ubisoft press release:
https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/2LH4Ael4X1TlNJY3B3aYg5/assassins-creed-shadows-launches-november-15-features-dual-protagonists-in-feudal-japan
Ubisoft Forward - June 10, 2024:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPoJUPrCkkg#t=4602s
IGN Japan interview with Brooke Davies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqwitaREyd0
Ubisoft article with several videos explaining historical backgrounds behind previous Assassin's Creed games:
https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/6d4zQXyH0VF6z75Ab7jfss/discover-the-real-history-behind-every-assassins-creed
IGN articles:
https://www.ign.com/articles/when-and-where-is-assassins-creed-shadows-set
https://www.ign.com/articles/assassins-creed-shadows-yasuke-asian-protagonist
TheGamer article:
https://www.thegamer.com/african-assassins-creed-shadows-controversy/
Time article:
https://time.com/6978997/assassins-creed-shadow-yasuke-controversy/
Forbes article mentioning Wikipedia edit war and international reactions:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2024/05/15/japanese-fans-are-puzzled-that-yasuke-is-in-assassins-creed-shadows/
Yasuke English Wikipedia article (Note: while much of this controversy occurred on English language Wikipedia, bear in mind that Wikipedia articles by themselves are not reliable sources for historical research, and the English article is not a uniform representation of the information on Yasuke across the different language versions of Wikipedia that have this article. There are varying primary, secondary, historical and pop culture sources suggested for and used in all of these articles either backing up verified information about him, or making different claims that may not be accurate.):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Yasuke
Wikipedia administrator discussion:
https://web.archive.org/web/20240518220622/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents#Talk:Yasuke_is_a_complete_dumpster_fire
Earliest archive of original Famitsu interview (in Japanese; English machine translations for all archives of this article compared between Google Translate and DeepL prior to publishing this submission. Deleted quote in Japanese is "まず“私たちの侍”、つまり日本人ではない私たちの目になれる人物を探していましたが、これは") (May 15):
https://web.archive.org/web/20240515185159/https://www.famitsu.com/article/202405/5194
Archived edited interview (May 16):
https://web.archive.org/web/20240516194746/https://www.famitsu.com/article/202405/5194
Latest archived edit (May 18):
https://web.archive.org/web/20240518034336/https://www.famitsu.com/article/202405/5194
Ubisoft July statement (in English and Japanese; third link contains archived screenshots of the Japanese Community Notes):
https://x.com/assassinscreed/status/1815674592444187116
https://x.com/UBISOFT_JAPAN/status/1815674629643719061
https://x.com/DLibryum/status/1816342689127772542
Xbox interview:
https://news.xbox.com/ja-jp/2024/05/16/assassins-creed-shadows-interview/
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Despite being an online-oriented game, Toontown Online was briefly distributed as a CD-ROM title in 2005, with Sony subsidiary Platform Publishing handling the physical release. The CD-ROM version allowed players to run the game without needing to install it onto their computers and came with a free two-month subscription and an in-game kart that players could drive on Goofy Speedway. Home console ports of Toontown Online were also announced concurrently with the CD-ROM edition, but these never materialized.According to a 2004 Game Developer article by developer Mike Goslin, the decision to give the game a physical release was due to anxieties from consumers about not being able to physically hold a game that they were spending money on, as online distribution had not yet been fully established as a mainstream distribution model for video games.
Disney Online Newsroom article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20051202171511/http://corporate.disney.go.com/wdig/online_releases/2005/2005_0825_disney.html
Sony Online Entertainment article:
https://www.sony.com/en_us/SCA/company-news/press-releases/sony-online-entertainment/2005/platform-publishing-lets-the-toons-out-with-disneys-toontown-online.html
Game Developer article:
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/postmortem-disney-online-s-toontown
https://web.archive.org/web/20051202171511/http://corporate.disney.go.com/wdig/online_releases/2005/2005_0825_disney.html
Sony Online Entertainment article:
https://www.sony.com/en_us/SCA/company-news/press-releases/sony-online-entertainment/2005/platform-publishing-lets-the-toons-out-with-disneys-toontown-online.html
Game Developer article:
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/postmortem-disney-online-s-toontown
subdirectory_arrow_right Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals (Game), Ayano's Lovesick Labyrinth (Game), Yandere Simulator (Game), Project QT (Game), YandereDev (Company)
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Grooming allegations:
https://www.thegamer.com/yandere-simulator-grooming-allegations-16-year-old-voice-actors-quit/
Glowstick Entertainment response:
https://twitter.com/GlowstickEntmt/status/1706822314262954313?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Sad Panda Studio response:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/459820/view/7552037660256000009?l=english
Project QT Yandere Simulator guest characters advertisement:
https://www.facebook.com/nutakugames/videos/whats-this-yandere-simulator-characters-in-project-qt-oh-happy-day-head-on-over-/681959535676800/
Project QT replacement characters discovery:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ProjectQT/comments/19cvb20/something_happened_with_yandere_simulator/
https://www.thegamer.com/yandere-simulator-grooming-allegations-16-year-old-voice-actors-quit/
Glowstick Entertainment response:
https://twitter.com/GlowstickEntmt/status/1706822314262954313?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Sad Panda Studio response:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/459820/view/7552037660256000009?l=english
Project QT Yandere Simulator guest characters advertisement:
https://www.facebook.com/nutakugames/videos/whats-this-yandere-simulator-characters-in-project-qt-oh-happy-day-head-on-over-/681959535676800/
Project QT replacement characters discovery:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ProjectQT/comments/19cvb20/something_happened_with_yandere_simulator/
Company: Atari SA
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In 2001, Infogrames Entertainment SA produced a corporate anthem entitled "Infogrames Rocks My World", which was used at industry events starting with E3 2001 as part of a heavy marketing push to promote their slate of IPs after a series of acquisitions throughout the 1990s. According to YouTuber Larry Bundy Jr. during a video researching the development and release controversies surrounding the game Driv3r, Infogrames' public relations division reportedly spent $50,000 creating the song, but due to the song being relentlessly mocked following its reveal, everyone involved with its production was reportedly fired. While Bundy also claimed that the song was first leaked to the Internet by a disgruntled Driv3r developer in 2004, the song was actually distributed by Infogrames to other gaming news outlets as part of digital press kits. The earliest known upload of the song appears to be by software developer Phil Bak to his personal website during or immediately after E3 2001 in May, and the earliest known surviving upload is through a 2001 IGN article covering Infogrames' Gamers' Day press event in August. The song was later uploaded to ZDNET in 2002 on a special article ranking it at #9 on a list of their Top 20 Corporate IT Anthems.
Infogrames Entertainment SA's PR department - "Infogrames Rocks My World":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEQOv2g0JA#t=1041
Larry Bundy Jr. video on Driv3r development and release controversies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEQOv2g0JA
3000 AD forum post of the Phil Bak link to the song days after E3 2001:
https://www.3000ad.com/forum/topic/7001147-infogrames-e3-theme-song/
2001 IGN article and embedded link to the song:
https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/08/08/infogrames-state-of-the-union-at-gamers-day
https://pcmedia.ign.com/media/news/sound/infogrames.mp3
2002 ZDNET Top 20 IT Anthems archived article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20021004141104/http://www.zdnet.co.uk/specials/2002/it-anthems/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEQOv2g0JA#t=1041
Larry Bundy Jr. video on Driv3r development and release controversies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEQOv2g0JA
3000 AD forum post of the Phil Bak link to the song days after E3 2001:
https://www.3000ad.com/forum/topic/7001147-infogrames-e3-theme-song/
2001 IGN article and embedded link to the song:
https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/08/08/infogrames-state-of-the-union-at-gamers-day
https://pcmedia.ign.com/media/news/sound/infogrames.mp3
2002 ZDNET Top 20 IT Anthems archived article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20021004141104/http://www.zdnet.co.uk/specials/2002/it-anthems/
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The protagonist of Drill Dozer, Jill, is a heroic burglar who breaks into museums and fights against police officers. This detail is not mentioned in any of the game's US promotional materials, with a press release for the game simply calling Jill "not a bad girl" and claiming she destroys so many things because "she just has some issues", likely to avoid controversy.
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