Gamers misinterpret Xbox One zombie email as racial slur (Yes, really)

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Published onNovember 21, 2016

published onNovember 21, 2016

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Microsoft’s Xboxdepartment ended up in a bit of a bind this morning when a promotional email sent out to gamers had its subject line misinterpreted by many as saying the N-word. The video game being promoted was the zombie action title, Dead Rising 4, and its subject text was some random garbled zombie roar, “NNNNGGGHHHAAA”.

It was obviously meant to be humorous with no racial undertones whatsoever and when read properly, if zombie speech can be read properly, it should sound something like ‘ng-ha’ (Imagine the ‘ng’ sound in ‘song’ or ‘ring’) and not the offensive racial slur that some thought it was. Unfortunately, enough readers decided to read the letters individually and assumed thatMicrosoftwas the sort of company which would actually send zombie-themed race hate to its consumers.

Xbox’s Larry Hyrbresponded to the complaints with a tweet later in the day that read, “Today we sent a DR4 email where a zombie roar was interpreted by many as a racial slur. We apologize and promise to do better next time.” Probably safe to say he didn’t think he’d be tweeting that today when he got out of bed this morning.

Today we sent a DR4 email where a zombie roar was interpreted by many as a racial slur. We apologize and promise to do better next time.

— Larry Hryb ????????☁ (@majornelson)November 22, 2016

Do you have any thoughts on this issue? Is it a legitimate complaint? Let us know in the comments below.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).

For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.

Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.

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Gamers misinterpret Xbox One zombie email as racial slur (Yes, really)