The incident underscored for me the degree to which video games lag behind in reflecting the real and complicated diversity of the world in which we live. Video games have come a long way since Pong — game franchises like Bioshock, Assassin’s Creed and Gears of War tell epic stories with rich, fully realized characters, taking risks with narrative and form that would be impossible in less interactive modes of expression. And yet the primary characters in each, and in the vast bulk of other PC and console games, are white men of a certain age while women and people of color are relegated to the virtual sidelines.
In fact, despite the questionable taste and authenticity of its visuals, Street Fighter II was actually a revolutionary step for video game inclusion. It was, after all, one of the first games in which players had the option of taking on a female persona (one who’s still among the few video game women with a character design built on an athlete’s body type, rather than a stripper’s). And it was also the first game to feature a wide range of playable characters, each with distinct nationalities, ethnicities and backstories.