Earlier today, Microsoft sent out a promotional email for Dead Rising 4. The pitch was some zombies singing Christmas Carols, and the email had the subject line “NNNNGGGHHHAAAA”.
The intent was obviously to put into text the kind of noise a zombie makes, but when you arrange those letters together and say them out loud, you get something… else.
Nobody is saying Microsoft did this intentionally. It’s just a dumb/unfortunate combination of letters, something company PR man Larry Hryb acknowledged on Twitter:
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 / + 1m (@majornelson) November 22, 2016
I do not recommend reading the replies to that Tweet.
Going forwards, Xbox email team, may I propose the following zombie sound effects that do not share pronunciation with a racially-charged term:
UUUUUUNNNNNHHHHHHHH
NNNMMMMMRRRRRRHHHHHHH
EEEEEHHHHHHHHHRRRRGGGGGGGGG
[ZOMBIE NOISES]
[GURGLING NOISES]
MEDIA ALERT
PRESS RELEASE
LAST CHRISTMAS I GAVE YOU MY HEART AND ON THE VERY NEXT DAY YOU GAVE IT AWAY FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN ONE OF THREE XBOX ONE S BUNDLES EXCLUSIVELY AT EB GAMES
Thanks Jonathan!
Comments
27 responses to “Microsoft Apologises For Perceived Racial Slur In Xbox Email”
Ok that’s the best laugh I’ve had today.
I was laughing but then looked at my keyboard and noticed that the N G R keys are in a diagonal row on my keyboard….
My keyboard is racist.
My keyboards black, white and made in Asia… yet still has N, G, I and R on it.
Oh my GOD.
Do you see what this means??????
It’s so obvious!!! Rearrange it slightly!!!!
Oh dear LORD!!!!
IT HATES GINGERS!!!!!
Well I stopped hyperventilating when I realised that my keyboard is black with white lettering….
More black than white *phew* #killallwhitemen
But still #boycottlogitech #everydayracism
You shit… I almost spat my milo! lol
MILO!?
Milo Yiannopoulos?!? OH GOD MY KEYBOARDS REPUBLICAN!!!!!
Its so funny how much people reveal about themselves when they get offended by things, isn’t it?
People are just reading it wrong, you don’t sound the N and G separately but together like at the end of any -ing word. So the whole word should just sound like a big yawn 😛
Reading through it there doesn’t seem to be anyone who was actually offended. Mostly just a bunch of people who are really pissed off at the idea that people could be offended by it. I get the impression someone brought it to Microsoft’s attention and they had Larry say sorry to cover their butts.
When I am bored I will sometimes complain to companies about stupid stuff. I wrote a massive screed to Big W about how they mispelt Wookiee in one of their catalogues. I included a heap of references and all sorts. They apologised.
If it exists, someone will be offended by it. It surprises me that MS didn’t see it coming, but goddamn people need to just chill and stop looking for things to upset them.
What racial slur?
“NNNNGGGHHHAAAA”
Okay…
ngah, nhag, nagh, nahg, gnha, ghan, ghna, hgan hang, hnag, angh, anhg, agnh, aghn…
I read it as a growling moan of excitement.
Or when you’re trying to coach a soccer team and the ball hits you in the head mid-sentence.
Lmao.
Nougat
Everyone knows the only zombie groan that should be written is “GRRRRRR ARRRRRRRG”. And if you don’t know what that references, I can’t help you :p
I miss Angel 🙁
Wesley still cuts deep……..
You meant, CCCCCCOOORRRRAAAALLLLLL … right?
Do you want President Trump? Because that’s how you get President Trump…
Seriously, the perpetually offended really grind my gears. It was clearly, 100%, in no way a racial slur, and yet people still go looking for things to get offended over. Madness.
Was going to say the same thing. This is why Trump was elected. A lot of people are sick of this crap!
Whoops, double post
Don’t apologize if you’ve done nothing wrong. Never apologize if you’ve done nothing wrong. People have just looked at this with the intention of getting offended. Also, how can you “do better next time” if you never did anything bad in the first place.
They shouldn’t, don’t feed the over-reactionary crowd.
Fucking hell, internet….
Stop making issues about non-issues! It’s just so fucking boring and tedious now!
Wassup my NNNNGGGHHHAAAA!