Powerhouse Takahashi and No Games For Genocide

In case it wasn't already apparent, Powerhouse Takahashi is a racing game blog that exists firmly on the left in the political spectrum. It is unusual being that the genre and the act of racing the games replicate usually tries to exist in an apolitical space. However that brings forth the problem where they feign ignorance of the realities that they are created in and, in some cases, who they are created by. It's something I don't want to shy away from and instead bring light to topics and issues that affect people who would want to make or play the games that we all share a common interest in when the moment calls for it.

By being apolitical, like Overtake.gg is in their Terms and Rules, a political choice is still being made that leaves marginalized and at-risk people with less places they can feel welcomed and where fascist ideologies and talking points are treated equally to the people fascists are bigoted towards and wish harm to. When I was given notice that Overtake was scrubbing comments criticizing the past and present conduct of one of Project Motor Racing's now former development team members, it was disappointing, if unsurprising, to see a greater discussion on not accepting bigotry and fascists in the broader community was something they weren't willing to pursue.

But there are other issues that must be addressed, which brings us to this announcement.

Over the Summer I talked about how Forza Horizon 5 is included in the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction action against Microsoft for their continued support of the Apartheid state of Israel and their genocide of the Palestinian people in terms of unfettered access to their cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure. The Forza Horizon games are a massive cash-cow for Xbox, and will continue to be with Forza Horizon 6's expected release sometime next year. As I explained in that piece, the profits generated from these games will go to supporting the products Israel use in murdering Palestinians beyond the more typical stock buybacks or going into Microsoft's coffers. This is a renewed call to stop giving your time and money to Microsoft as much as you can, and to not buy Forza Horizon 6 when it is released until Microsoft stops being complicit in the genocide.

This comes as more than a week ago No Games for Genocide launched their pledge asking gamers and those who work in the industry to join the fight in boycott and divesting from Xbox and provided concrete actions that people can do.

It is with great honor to say that Powerhouse Takahashi has signed onto the No Games for Genocide pledge in my name. However small the impact I individually make, I feel it is incredibly important to take this pledge and hope others in the racing game space will follow suit.

Within the context of Powerhouse Takahashi, what does this mean?

• Any potential future pieces and coverage of Microsoft owned products and published games are cancelled until they are no longer complicit in the genocide.
• If Microsoft is to be mentioned tangentially from here on it will mention their continued complicity in the Palestinian Genocide, as well as their continued usage of large language models and generative ai with it's harmful effects to the global climate and to the livelihoods of those in the arts if appropriate.
• Any multi-platform, third party title that gets discussed here will not mention it's Xbox release.
• Any comments posted in support of Israel will be deleted and that member will be removed from the mailing list.

I try to explore the vast spectrum that racing games has to offer as much as I can here, which meant that there were future pieces where games published first party by Microsoft were going to be discussed. That is no longer the case: no Forza, no Project Gotham Racing, no RalliSport Challenge, et cetera. Everything else in the list follows the talking points that No Games for Genocide wants people to follow for writers in the industry, as well as a basic code of conduct for comments and I recommend giving those commitments a read before signing the pledge yourself.

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, but to get to that point we do need to educate ourselves, others, and organize over a common cause of being against the Palestinian Genocide and against Zionism. No Games for Genocide provides an excellent entry point for those in this hobby that can seem so far out of sight, and out of mind of the realities of the world; as much as gaming will continue to be used as passive propaganda for things such as the military-industrial complex and, in the context of Powerhouse Takahashi, car-dependency culture.

And the big thing we can do is vote with our wallets, our time, and our voices to help make sure a better world is possible for all and hold power to account for their actions, including Microsoft. Powerhouse Takahashi says No Games for Genocide and hopes you say the same.

Free Palestine.

If you wish to donate to charities supporting Palestinian civilians, here is a good place to start.

There isn't an exhaustive list, but the fundraisers signal boosted by Molly Shah all go directly to supporting people in Gaza and she has links and general information in her pinned skeet on Bluesky.

If you want to show solidarity at home, buy a keffiyeh from a reputable company and wear it loud and proud. I recommend being on the look out for restocks from Hirbawi and for what is available from Kuvrd. And additionally, join local protests showing support for Palestinians if you are able. Get out there, make a positive difference.