In a follow up to a recent story I did on gay characters in gaming , it would appear that some in the industry don’t feel the world is ready to put an openly-out character in a leading role of a blockbuster title (as it all comes down to the almighty dollars and cents).
Lucien Soulban, a lead writer at Ubisoft in Montreal, reveals a sad truth about gaming today. In a recent interview, he states, “When are we going to see that gay protagonist in a AAA game? Not for a while, I suspect, because of fears that it’ll impact sales.”
While other industries aren’t as shy about featuring a homosexual character as the headliner, Soulban feels that the only way it’s going to happen in our industry any time soon is to either trick the audience or have a major studio throw their weight behind the idea. “…either we’ll see a bait-and-switch like the original Metroid with Samus Aran where we’ll find out damn near after the fact” says Soulban “…or it’ll come out of left field with Rockstar, Valve, Naughty Dog or Telltale, perhaps.”
Ultimately, as games stop making a big deal out of gay characters (in just allowing them to be out without focusing on it), Souldban feels you’ll begin to see more and more of it.