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Konami Cuts and Runs From Iraq War Game
Less than a month after the announcement of Six Days in Fallujah , a video game based upon a real-life battle between US Marines and Iraqi insurgents in 2004, Konami has decided that it is too controversial, and abandoned plans to publish the game. The developer, Atomic Games, has not commented on Konami's decision other than to say an announcement will be made soon. Konami told a Japanese newspaper, "After seeing the reaction to the video game in the United States and hearing opinions sent through phone calls and e-mail, we decided several days ago not to sell it." While the game did receive a great deal of criticism, others were optimistic, including several outspoken veterans of the Iraq war. One of the major complaints was that in researching the battle, Atomic Games reportedly interviewed several insurgents. This prompted speculation that the insurgents were compensated for their help, though Atomic later denied that was the case. Konami's decision also may have been influenced by the fact that they seemed to represent it as entertainment, whereas Atomic's president, Peter Tamte, was more hesitant to describe it as "fun." He said, "The words I would use to describe the game — first of all, it's compelling. And another word I use — insight."
We got *this* close to at last having a war game that was even vaguely anything like war. A chance we've avoided that, the crude reality of war should only be depicted in movies, TV shows and documentary, as God intended!
You just got troll'd!
They'll make any number of "Demonic hordes of Hell storm earth bloodly" games but won't publish something that really happened?
Strange.
Why not just change the name and the story and release it?
Maybe because they were counting on the realism? And, dare I say it, the controversial attention was its biggest guarantee to sell?
I haven't read any of the articles linked above but I submitted it this morning and found a quote from a developer making it sound like information had been gathered for the game from all parties involved in the conflict.
Also, Dan Rosenthal, a blogger and veteran of the Iraq War, gave this insightful analysis of Konami's situation:
In order to make the game fun... it simply has to sacrifice some amount of realism for fun factor. When you do that with a war game based on a real war, with real people, you run the risk of dishonoring their memories and sacrifices, and I think that this game has a dangerous potential to do that.
My work here is dung.
The question has to be asked: does medium matter? ie, why can the History channel portray these things but not game developers.
In most cases, the answer is no. Books vs. TV is really not that huge of a difference if you've got an author good at descriptive writing. However, in a video game, you are an active participant. You are doing things. And worse, when you finish doing that stuff, you just get up and go eat dinner/go to school/whatever.
I am of the opinion that games like this actually function to divorce us from taking any real action to prevent the events they portray. One of those things where you are trained again and again to look at an atrocity, recognize it is evil, and then go on with your life.
I am NOT saying that war is always evil (although I think most would agree it is -- even if it is a necessary evil), but rather that this specific medium used in this specific (real world) context trains us to divorce the substance of what is being viewed with the process of reaction.
Some of the comments so far have been total dissapointment that they are not going live. Being a Veteran and understanding how the culture is I could understanding that if they were to set aside a certain amount of the profit to help the families then maybe. There is a big difference in Warcraft, WOW, DOOM III and any of the other gore and blood offerings than using the unfortunate and sad situation these young kids had to endure and the families have to live with this the rest of their lives. This is one that should never have been thought of.
The Navy Motto "IF it ain't broke Fix It" "A day is wasted if you don't learn something new"
If Iraq bombed and invaded America, then Americans who fought back would be terrorists and insurgents.
Because it's set in Africa, and there's black zombies! I saw one attack a white woman, so clearly the zombie was a racist! Honestly, I played through the whole game, and I didn't see anything that seemed racist to me. But I thought it's worth mentioning because it's another recent case of video games that bother some tiny minority of overly sensitive people. They make a big fuss and somehow it gets picked up by the press, which apparently scares away retailers, publishers, parents, and whatever else. I guess my point is that I don't really believe this game could be that bad or offensive. Maybe not quite what Konami is comfortable publishing, but I'll still check it out when it gets published. Or at least wait for a review of the actual game, not just listen to statements from people that are offended by war or that battle or whatever.
Well, this idiot strongly disagrees with the notion that war simulation games represent any form of art more significant than a Dwayne Johnson Film. Make a game that rivals this, then get back to me.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
Yes, I think that this game would be VERY fun. Why hide the damn fact? Yes, I think it would be VERY fun to act as a terrorist and kill U.S. forces, while afterward, it would be VERY fun to play on the U.S. side and kill the terrorists. Why fun? Why should I say its fun to play a video game character that kills Americans? Why the hell not? The strategy and tactics involved in both sides would be interesting, no matter what it's actually meant to depict. In fact, simulating a defeat of the Marines would be quite fun to do, since they obviously won and outgunned their enemies.
Aside from that, killing anything and everything is fun in video games, and that's just how it is. I'll shoot a baby with a rocket launcher, and then get off the PC and go about my peaceful day in real life. It's a fucking game. Hence the name.
Anyone heard of Counterstrike? That game is notorious for being VERY fun, despite the fact that one of the teams has to play the terrorists. Whoever is sensitive to this needs to not play, and stop trying to ruin the time of those who want to play.
This is more ridiculous than the people who protested against Resident Evil 5, a game set in Africa, where (surprise!) a majority of the zombies are black.
They gave in to the opinions of people who would have never bought the game anyway and killed it off. Why would they not let the opinions of the fans of the game dictate their next move instead of those of people who will never buy it, no matter what?
In order to make the game fun... it simply has to sacrifice some amount of realism for fun factor.
I'm not sure wargamers would agree.
When you do that with a war game based on a real war, with real people, you run the risk of dishonoring their memories and sacrifices, and I think that this game has a dangerous potential to do that.
As opposed to imaginary wars like World War 2 and Vietnam?
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Intending no offense, that strikes me as a sadly superficial analysis. I have been a member of the anti-war crowd since there was an anti-war crowd, and I would amazon preorder this... [do we really have to call it a] game. There are lots of reasons to. They range from taking part in what could well be the creation of a legitimate medium to simply learning about, for better or worse, a defining moment in our national history. Just because I am, and have been, staunchly opposed to this military action does not mean I would not love the opportunity to learn about the things these soldiers have gone through from their perspective.
That said, I would be horribly nervous. I'm imagining settling in for a quiet evening of serious introspection with my 360 until an achievement pops up for 30 headshots with a pistol (bonus for maximum damage with a fragmentation grenade!) The evening ends with my vomiting for half an hour before drinking alone, wondering when 4chan became my last bastion for finding some kind of ethical center for the human race.
Why not just change the name and the story and release it?
Or release it for free? I doubt there would have been much, if any controversy in that case. "Six Days in Fallujah" is not the first OIF based game.
http://www.insurgencymod.net/
"Insurgency will take you across the modern battlefield, engaging in intense firefights and battles as a member of either a highly organized and equipped conventional force (US Marines), or as an unconventional fighter that uses a combination of firepower and bravery to take on their sometimes overwhelming opponent (Insurgents).
Players will find themselves caught in explosive battles across Almaden, Baghdad, Haditha, Karkar and Ramadi, moving from the dusty, battered streets, to taking cover behind vehicles and inside store fronts. keep your eyes open for the enemy as you and your team seek out to accomplish the mission's objectives."
(The above text was taken from a 2008 snapshot of the website, courtesy of archive.org)
2007 Player's Choice Mod of the Year - ModDB
SteamFriends - Best Source Mod 2007
2008 - Now on Steam - Source MODs ... comprised of: Age of Chivalry, D.I.P.R.I.P., Insurgency, Synergy, and Zombie Panic
"Valve today announced the availability of five _leading_ Source MODs
Not only was it released, it won several awards and was handpicked by Valve to be one of the first non-commercial Source mods hosted through Steam. Without the media attention, this game would not have had any trouble reaching a release stage, although as stated, it wouldn't have had the sales potential either.
Invading armies waging illegal wars of choice don't get to then complain about "rules of war" when the civilian populace starts using guerrilla warfare to resist occupation.
Soldiers are in uniform, vehicles are marked, etc. Basically the soldiers aren't pretending to be part of the populace and launching attacks.
You mean like Minutemen during the Revolutionary War? Those damn terrorists, I mean patriots, I mean...
And then there's the fact that the U.S. has supported un-uniformed "illegal combatants" for decades, some of them quite nasty, as long as they were fighting socialists.