LTE o Bagong META? An Analysis of Filipino Representations in Japanese Video Games

Abstract

As the market for video games in the Philippines grows, developers put more importance in cultural diversity as an appeal towards their games. This manifests itself in the creation of video game characters that are supposedly representations of Filipinos and their culture. With the Filipino identity as fragile as it is and video game companies having a history of misrepresenting different identities, particularly that of minority groups, this leads the researcher of this study to analyze these Filipino representations with the goal of ensuring accuracy. This paper will specifically delve into Filipino characters created by larger Japanese companies, as Japanese developers have a history of misrepresenting identities and these are mostly seen in games made by larger Japanese companies. Seven (7) characters from four (4) franchises in total have been used for this study then analyzed via textual analysis. The results show that Filipinos and their culture have not been represented completely accurately, with some characters more well-done than others. One key feature that is present in all of the characters is the lack of a Filipino voiceover, with all of the characters speaking in the English language. A factor to this are the Japanese localization practices and the company structure of Japanese video game companies themselves. This implies wider issues on Filipino representation in regards to interculturalism and transnationalism, as Filipino consumers have no direct control on how Japanese developers portray them and their culture. By the end of this paper, recommendations by the researcher on how consumers and future researchers can proceed, from supporting locally made games and studying Filipino representations in games developed by other foreign countries, such as America.