Political correctness does not sell. Any cursory examination of the available metrics will reveal it results in either a sharp decrease in sales, a slight decrease in sales, or stagnation in growth depending on the model and methods undertaken. Beyond economics, a growing backlash against political correctness has taken root across the United States from all cultures, walks of life, classes, and races. From people who hail from the right, those who dedicate themselves to centrality, and moderates on the left end of the spectrum have over the last half-decade come out against political correctness.
Motivations have not always been the same, but looking beyond motivations to the message it is clear political correctness as a fad has hit its decline. Undertaking a policy of mandatory political correctness at this juncture would be economic suicide at worse and woefully ignorant of the prevailing market direction at best. Yet according to information that has come out from the recent Ransomware leak, Capcom is dedicating itself to the path of political correctness.
Contained within the leak are some common-sense measures such as depicting Nazism as being a bad idea. Surprisingly depictions of Communism which carried out the same atrocities by a magnitude of three, are not referenced as being taboo. Giving players more diverse options across all available models is another positive revelation coming from this leak.
Other common-sense measures include the fair representation of characters, increased player options, representation of various ethnicities, albeit not in a manner that would make sense for the area or culture, but equally not in a way that grants uneven depiction and favorability along racial lines.
That is where the positive aspects end. As you can see religious depictions are heavily stigmatized. You cannot say Merry Christmas, Happy Honokaa, or Merry Kwanzaa as that could potentially offend someone somewhere. Many rightfully would guess Twitter, but it is equally probable that it is to appease China as the company has dedicated several slides to the topic. China for those that are unaware of its internal politics is heavily anti-religious and has earned several human rights complaints against its systematic discrimination against Christians, Muslims, and practitioners of Falun Gong. Additionally, the nation has strong regulations against the depictions of religion and matters considered paranormal in media.
As can be seen, Capcom has a vested interest in pleasing the Chinese market. Going so far as to adjust naming and design practices to accommodate that particular market. Some of which are sensical such as don’t mention or use numbers that have a negative history to them, but others go far beyond sensical into outright pandering territory.
Sexiness in future games is outright banned. For Capcom considers it, even for a second, to be “nonsensical.” Never mind sex sells or that some people have a healthy appreciation and desire for the concept, it is not acceptable by their company practices.
Capcom’s solution to community building to rectify some of these decisions is not to engage in a meaningful dialog and interaction with its customers. Owe no, that might challenge what their internal trust and safety teams are telling them. Instead, Capcom will pay streamers and content creators to manipulate you into purchasing their games.
All things considered, Capcom probably should have paid to keep this from the public eye. It doesn’t look good for them.