You Must Only Pretend To Be Who We Say You Can Pretend To Be
EA won't let gamers play Taliban in new video game
"Electronic Arts Inc. will no longer allow gamers to play the newest edition of its military-themed video game "Medal of Honor" as Taliban fighters "shooting" U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, the video game publisher said Friday.
In a posting on the company's "Medal of Honor" blog, EA said that it is renaming the "Taliban" team "Opposing Force" in the wake of concerns voiced by friends and families of soldiers who have died.
The option to play as the Taliban was to be included in the multiplayer mode of "Medal of Honor" that is coming out Oct. 12.
The game is set in modern Afghanistan, where some 140,000 U.S. and NATO troops are fighting the Taliban. The story is told through a small group of characters known as "Tier 1" operators, elite fighters who take their orders directly from the president and defense secretary.
Redwood City, Calif.-based EA said the switch won't change how the game is played.
The change was made "for the men and women serving in the military and for the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice -- this franchise will never willfully disrespect, intentionally or otherwise, your memory and service," EA wrote.
Past versions of the 11-year old "Medal of Honor" game have been set in World War II, allowing players to act as either members of the Allied force or the Nazi regime.
Military bases across the U.S. had already banned the sale of the game, while gamers scoffed at the decision, saying that advanced technology has made it commonplace in the gaming world to let players switch sides and play the bad guy."
"Electronic Arts Inc. will no longer allow gamers to play the newest edition of its military-themed video game "Medal of Honor" as Taliban fighters "shooting" U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, the video game publisher said Friday.
In a posting on the company's "Medal of Honor" blog, EA said that it is renaming the "Taliban" team "Opposing Force" in the wake of concerns voiced by friends and families of soldiers who have died.
The option to play as the Taliban was to be included in the multiplayer mode of "Medal of Honor" that is coming out Oct. 12.
The game is set in modern Afghanistan, where some 140,000 U.S. and NATO troops are fighting the Taliban. The story is told through a small group of characters known as "Tier 1" operators, elite fighters who take their orders directly from the president and defense secretary.
Redwood City, Calif.-based EA said the switch won't change how the game is played.
The change was made "for the men and women serving in the military and for the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice -- this franchise will never willfully disrespect, intentionally or otherwise, your memory and service," EA wrote.
Past versions of the 11-year old "Medal of Honor" game have been set in World War II, allowing players to act as either members of the Allied force or the Nazi regime.
Military bases across the U.S. had already banned the sale of the game, while gamers scoffed at the decision, saying that advanced technology has made it commonplace in the gaming world to let players switch sides and play the bad guy."
posted by nolocontendere at 4:23 PM
3 Comments:
I noticed the whole internet makes a big deal out of it; these guys are no artists or journalists or what, they just want to make some money with their project, no wander they changed it after a slight pressure...
There are no fkn Al Ciada left, and now you can't play Taliban - I guess Tier 1 will have to go up against the shoe bomber and the underwear dude.
Haha, I thought about this after I saw it Michael, and I realized just like in games we've been fighting imaginary enemies for a long time. It's utter BS about dissing families of servicepeople. It's about reinforcing the Taliban's enemy status in people's minds.
That's interesting there's an internet splash about it Bear Joe. I happened to see a headline concerning it and it immediately struck me that there was some sort of pressure to be as stupid as this, like you say the gaming people couldn't have cared less. There've been nazis and japs and union and confederate and and cowboys and indians and you name it for generations. This is propaganda, pure and simple.
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