video games
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Alfonso Ribeiro Sues Fortnite and NBA 2K for ‘Unfairly Profiting’ From His Carlton Dance
It’s not unusual for Fortnite to be taken to task for swiping everyone’s popular dances without remittance. This time, it’s the infamous Carlton dance from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Alfonso Ribeiro’s portrayal of the Banks’ son’s Tom Jones-enthused dance quickly gained popularity and etched itself into pop culture forever—including into popular video games. According…
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Did the NFL Collude With EA Sports to Make Kaepernick's Name a Curse Word?
In order to understand why EA Sports would delete Colin Kaepernick’s name from one of its most successful games, Madden NFL 19, you have to understand a fundamental truth: EA Sports is the NFL’s bitch. It started in 2004 when EA Sports was heavily challenged by the new kid on the block: ESPN 2K5. Not…
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Rapper Lil B Calls for a ‘Black Panther Moment’ in Video Game Culture
Lil B is a lot of things: rapper, Based God, goth-girl lover and outspoken gaming nerd. In an interview with English electronic-music publication Fact magazine from February (it just landed on my radar! Sorry!), B (real name Brandon McCartney) discusses a lack of diversity in gaming culture, suggesting that video games need their own “Black…
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Watch: You Have a Black Man to Thank for Your Video Games
All right, listen up, gamers. Gerald Lawson is the pioneer of games you almost never hear about. In the mid-’70s, he perfected the game cartridge, making it possible to play multiple video games at home. As a teenager, the electronics genius operated a radio station from a housing project in the Jamaica neighborhood of New…
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#28DaysOfBlackCosplay: Too Black for the White Geeks
I was 6 years old when my mama educated me in the ways of saving princesses by touching flowers and shooting fireballs at turtles. Four years later, a kid in my class revealed a juicy bit of gossip: There were adult cartoons that aired way past our bedtimes. I stayed up and discovered “Japan-imation” (or…
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The Profound Quandary of Blackness in the Video Game ‘Detroit: Become Human’
You might not have noticed, but over the past week, the internet has been losing its collective damn mind over E3, a video game conference showcasing all of next year’s flagship games, which just wrapped up several days of pomp and circumstance. Every E3 has had some controversy, but this year, rather than another sexual…
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Mafia III Is Probably The Blackest Video Game Ever Made
If you’re rocking pearls, the disclaimer at the very beginning of Mafia III (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, MacOS) might make you clutch ‘em tightly. “Mafia III takes place in a fictionalized version of the American South in 1968. We sought to create an authentic and immersive experience that captures this very turbulent time and…