User blog comment:Alexander C. Miles/Numerous Controversies/@comment-3046679-20140618190706/@comment-1888015-20140620224547

"But I don't see where you're coming from believing Ubisoft can excuse themselves on creating another female playable character just because of Aveline: on the contrary, the ACIII team made it clear they wanted to avoid the game feeling as male dominated as the American Revolution actually was."

If Ubisoft didn't want to use Aveline as an excuse, and if they truly did want the French Revolution to be a bit more courteous to the female sex as opposed to AC3's highly male driven plot, then why didn't they pull out all the stops to at least have the option to see a female character alongside your co-op group. Animators and character designers alike have contested that the phrase of "too much time and strain on resources" to be a silly little lie constructed to excuse the lack of effort on Ubisoft's part.

And also, if someone else is controlling the other co-op characters and there may not be the excitement of physically playing a persona more closely aligned to your sex (or in other cases, personal preference in protagonist), then seeing a female Assassin along with burly dudes kicking Jacobite/other factions' ass shows that each sex is equally capable and respected within the Assassin Order.

But let me not stray from the original point: Ubisoft, for if they were truly diverse, would not have to present the PR excuse of "Well, we created Aveline, didn't we?" If they could put their hands up and say "Well, yes, we have been making a lot of male Assassin protagonists, but we are considering a more balanced approach to gender in games for the future." and not even try to point a finger at a singular character they created in comparison to a whole wave of others supporting the cliche stereotype that is typical to the game industry, they'd have earned much more respect. However, they did so, and by putting a spotlight on Aveline as being "Omfg look, it's a female, guize!" they exposed how much of a token protagonist she is: the hodge-podge of being black, female, mixed-race and a freed slave, as if Ubisoft threw what they could into the minority pot and dipped in until they could find something they could use.