Pixelated Minstrel Shows

After the Manhunt debacle, where Sony and Rockstar North have been accused of influencing the murder of a UK school boy by another teenager, the International Herald Tribune has ran an article on the racist nature of many video games.

This is not another story about neo-nazi coded games like Concentration Game Commander, but games from reputable games publishers. Trapped in the journalists cross-hairs was Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - the latest installment in one of the most successful game franchises ever. San Andreas takes the stealing, shooting and driving to the 'hood, based on the 90's Compton style ganglands. One interviewee, a black executive described the game as a 'pixelated minstrel show'.