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New Spider-Man PS4 Game Features LGBTQ+ Pride Flags In Virtual World - Becoming a Small Win in the Real World


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Even Spidey understands that #LoveIsLove!

The new Spider-Man video game that just came out last Friday exclusively for Play Station 4, Marvel's Spider-Man, had a lot of fans excited about because of it's great quality, story, and simply for the fact of getting a brand new installment in the Marvel video game series, but now the video game evidently is another good thing: it is inclusive.

Not long after Marvel's Spider-Man was released on Friday morning (developed by Insomniac Games and published by SIE), fans who played the game noticed LGBTQ+ pride flags hanging high and proudly throughout a few New York City buildings in the virtual New York City recreated in the game.

And in true modern fan fashion, many fans who played the video game shared how they felt about the pride flags present in the game on social media.


What makes the discovery of LGBTQ+ pride flags throughout the virtual New York City of Spider-Man's world even more special is the fact that New York City is one of the leading U.S. cities in LGBTQ+ pride parades, which made the presence of pride flags in the video game have a more real meaning as this seemingly small inclusion of pride flags made the virtual New York City be more reflective of the real New York City upon which it is based on.

Additionally, as multiple Twitter users who played Marvel's Spider-Man pointed out, the pride flags seen in the video game are likely to represent actual locations in NYC where there are actually pride flags, which adds yet another level of true representation of not just NYC but also real LGBTQ+ pride in the city.

While the presence of LGBTQ+ pride flags in Marvel's Spider-Man might not seem like a big deal, it actually is. American writer and poet Saladin Ahmed, who wrote Throne of the Crescent Moon, shared on Twitter, "as someone who came up 30 years ago playing Spider-Man video games with boys who constantly hurled homophobic insults at each other [in real life] this is...different."

Although Ahmed noted that the presence of pride flags in the video game is not "some radical move," any and every form of accurate representation and inclusivity (no matter its size) is an important step, especially as the American writer further expressed on Twitter that there will be likely a lot of "kids who will be playing this game and seeing [the game] in towns where it's not safe to put that flag up."

The fact that LGBTQ+ pride flags having a background presence on a video game is a big deal, that is being praised and celebrated by many in the LGBTQ+ community and allies rightfully so, goes to show just how much progress is needed, even in the virtual world of video games.

Representation is truly important, especially in popular and universal media platforms like video games. Senior Environment Artist at Insomniac Games, Ryan Benno, who worked on developing the Spider-Man video game voiced the same idea on his personal Twitter, saying, "Representation is so important. It's something we wanted to put in this game, even in a small way like this." A small but meaningful way and win for inclusivity that didn't go unnoticed! 

And for that, Spidey's newest video game adventure, Marvel's Spider-Man, which has acquired critical praise outside of its LGBTQ+ inclusivity for to its graphics, story, and gameplay, joins a growing list of LGBTQ+ inclusive video games. I always knew you were cool, Peter Parker (and the rad people responsible for creating and developing this awesome video game - you guys are pretty cool too!)

And just like that, the presence of pride flags in a modern setting within a modern video game becomes a small meaningful win for inclusivity of the LGBTQ+ community in the virtual world - talk about spidey cool! 

Sincerely, Dora Goto

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