Nintendo and Pokémon fans alike are up in arms this week following news that the company will be heading in a more DEI-flavored direction.
The consumer backlash to forced diversity in games and the political messaging often associated with it has caused quite a stir in the industry over the last few weeks, causing both major gaming studios and gaming news outlets to panic and shift course.
On Thursday, it was revealed that The Pokémon Company, the Japanese company in charge of the massive multimedia franchise, will be hiring a “Director” of “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Social Responsibility.”
The X account known as “Colonel Otaku Gatekeeper” posted a listing for the job Thursday, which subsequently went viral. The post now has over 100,000 views.
If you thought Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were awful the next installment is going to be far worse.
The Pokémon company has just released a job hiring for an ESG Director which will oversee all creative output for the next Pokémon game 👇https://t.co/6rJa9loIJw pic.twitter.com/aWweB1lG5E
— 🇯🇵 Colonel Otaku Gatekeeper 🇯🇵 (@politicalawake) March 22, 2024
Per the listing, the director will be responsible for making sure Pokémon products fall in line with “DEI goals,” which include diversifying the workforce, creating “workforce equity” and introducing DEI into “employer branding initiatives,” among other equity-based initiatives.
The role’s salary range is “$178,000-$267,000.” It also comes with “100% employer-paid healthcare premiums,” “[g]enerous paid family leave,” “[e]mployer-paid life insurance” and many other perks.
Many opposed to “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” initiatives, and “equity” in general, argue that such measures unfairly judge, punish, and reward workers and potential employees based solely on immutable characteristics.
Are DEI departments unneccesary?
On the creative side, critics argue that forced DEI in storytelling creates unrealistic scenarios and focuses far more on pushing partisan political messaging than it does actually respecting diverse voices.
For example, in the recently released video game “Spider-Man 2,” the Spanish spoken by Spanish-speaking individuals was made to be gender-neutral, a move that is not supported or used by an overwhelming majority of Spanish speakers (the language is inherently gendered), and is a concept exclusively pushed by a sliver of left-leaning partisans.
Many fans took to social media to criticize the job listing and The Pokémon Company’s decision to seemingly embrace DEI.
Among those vocal online critics was Mark Hern, a former “World of Warcraft” developer who goes by the username “Grummz.”
In addition to the DEI job listing, Hern criticized a recent “Pokémon Go!” (the free-to-play mobile game) design change that appears to de-emphasize the game’s female characters’ feminine features.
Is Pokemon going woke?
Pokemon Go! changes female trainer to remove hips, man up jaw, remove lipstick.
Hiring for DEI, Niantic’s push for Diversity, BLM. Ex-Pokemon Lawyer “purging” gamers for years… https://t.co/iTScN8wHyx pic.twitter.com/H4e9lXxeJb
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 22, 2024
“Is Pokemon going woke?” Hern wrote. “Pokemon Go! changes female trainer to remove hips, man up jaw, remove lipstick.
“Hiring for DEI, Niantic’s push for Diversity, BLM. Ex-Pokemon Lawyer ‘purging’ gamers for years…”
It can’t be understated how big of a whale The Pokémon Company is for DEI enthusiasts. When combining the trading cards, television shows, movies and video games, Pokémon is generally accepted as the most profitable media franchise in the world.
That will be a very large platform for spewing DEI nonsense.
