Ubisoft: We Respect Japanese Culture, but „Creative Choices Are Made on Our Side”
The Art Director of Assassin's Creed: Shadows is another developer who addressed the confusion over historical fidelity in Ubisoft's new game.
Another developer of Assassin's Creed Shadows has elaborated on Ubisoft's approach to historical and cultural accuracy in the series's latest installment. Thierry Dansereau, the Art Director of the new Assassin, commented on this in a statement to Eurogamer.
During gamescom 2024, the French publisher didn't allow journalists to check out the demo of the Japanese installment of the AC series for themselves. Nevertheless, the developers discussed this title in detail, including the capabilities of the new graphics engine.
Of course, the journalists also had questions for the developers, not necessarily related to the strictly technical aspect of the visuals. Eurogamer's Tom Phillips raised the issue of "media pressures," i.e. the confusion surrounding elements that some gamers (and others) criticized as historically inaccurate, especially the portrayal of Yasuke as a full-fledged samurai.
Respect and creative decisions
Dansereau emphasized that AC: Shadows is a video game first and foremost, and the developers "make creative decisions" to "provide players with the best possible experience." However, he reiterated what his colleagues had said, that Ubisoft collaborated with numerous experts and the publisher's Japanese branches in the production of the game, to accurately depict the realities of ancient Japan "with respect."
We've worked with Osaka and Tokyo studios [who've acted] as consultants, and one of their art directors is involved and doing research in the field. We went there, we did a field trip as well, and we have Japanese experts living in Japan. We use them a lot to look at our assets, they play the game and provide feedback.
Both of these arguments already appeared in the publisher's statement of July 23. As a reminder, discussions about the "historical accuracy" of Assassin's Creed: Shadows became so heated that Ubisoft issued an apology for the "errors." However, the company emphasized at the time that AC is first and foremost a video game series and a work of fiction, not a faithful representation of history.
