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GameStop Pulls Medal of Honor From Military Bases
donniebaseball23 writes "EA's Medal of Honor reboot doesn't ship until October 12, but it's already seen a fair amount of controversy thanks to the publisher's decision to allow people to play as Taliban in multiplayer. The controversy just got escalated another notch, reports IndustryGamers, as the world's biggest games retailer GameStop has decided it won't sell the title at its stores located on US military bases. The new Medal of Honor won't be advertised at these stores either. GameStop noted that they came to this decision 'out of respect for our past and present men and women in uniform.'"
"Gimmie that!" *yoink*
"But...!"
"Because I respect you!"
I can still play as Germans in WW2 games, though? Phew. For a second there I was worried.
Out of respect or out of fear of vociferous soccer moms? They have certainly never found issues with war games in the past, even when the opposing sides were concurrent.
Do we not trust our servicemen and women to stay loyal to the US Government/Military when they play this game? Are we afraid they will decide the Taliban are a more noble cause? Are we afraid they are sitting on the fence and this game will push them to cross to the other side?
Or is the pendulum of Political Correctness just swinging even farther into the ridiculous zone?
If they really were doing this out of "respect", they'd pull the game altogether. Not that I think it should be pulled, but pulling it only from military locations makes no sense. This is just saying "If you're in the military, you can't have this game. Not yours."
Respect would be acknowledging that our men and women in uniform are adults and can decide for themselves how they want to spend their leisure time.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Aren't military games pretty popular among soldiers? I would wager that many are going to play this game anyway, and will just be annoyed that they can't get it on the base. I guess I am also a little surprised they even have video game stores on military bases...
We trust those men and women with automatic rifles, artillery, tanks, fighter jets, and battleships. We trust them to shoot and kill people to (in theory anyway) protect our way of life. We trust them to literally take a bullet so that people back home don't have to (again in theory at least). I think that we should give them the respect they deserve and trust them to make their own decisions about what games to buy and play. Pulling the advertisements I can agree with, maybe even putting the game behind the counter out of sight, but how can you justify making the game completely unavailable to them? But that's just my opinion.
I can see why they would do this. Being a prior Air Force member, not everybody who gets deployed, comes back the same. I do agree though, if it was truly respect they would pull the game all together. I know it is easy for non-military people to say that we should let the solders decided, but in all honestly, it could end up being very traumatic to some. PTSD doesn't show up right off the bat. I know you can play as German's in some of the WW2 games, and you can be "terrorists" in CS, but with the level of realism that games are coming to, it really could push some people over the edge.
GENERATION 25: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social exper
From the summary they mention the reason for their decision to be "out of respect for our past and present men and women in uniform."
If they really want to respect them they should be giving them the choice to choose on their own. Not forcing their own decision upon them.
Enough with the spoonfeeding mentality...
So even if they wanted to buy it they won't be allowed?
They are allowed to die in battle but not to chose what to play?
Imagine the game was very realistic - It would give them big advantage to see their own weakness through the eyes of the enemy.
How is that any different than any WW2 game?
Pulling the advertisements I can agree with, maybe even putting the game behind the counter out of sight, but how can you justify making the game completely unavailable to them?
It's not a matter of "trust," it's a matter of respect. Maybe someone who just lost a friend to the Taliban might not really be in the mood for seeing a game where they can re-enact killing their friend.
My point from my original post which you seem to have missed:
I think that we should give them the respect they deserve and trust them to make their own decisions about what games to buy and play.
Telling people who are risking their lives for us that they aren't emotionally stable enough to handle this game is insulting. Maybe some of them can't, but that should be their decision, not yours or mine.
But that's just my opinion, since I believe there is a special circle of Hell reserved for Electronic Arts.
No no. Electronic Arts is a special circle of hell. At least according to some who have worked there.
There is no dark side of the moon really, matter of fact it's all dark
What about some guy who lost his Afghan/Iraqi/Pakistan friend when US soldiers shot them? Maybe he even wasn't an soldier, but a civilian. There have been countless news about those shootings. What makes it more right to be an US soldier shooting them than being the "enemy" and shooting US soldiers? Hypocrisy at its best.
You know, they are people just like you. They have families, childhood, friends, loved ones, dreams. Don't forget that on your high horse.
Telling people who are risking their lives for us that they aren't emotionally stable enough to handle this game is insulting. Maybe some of them can't, but that should be their decision, not yours or mine.
Well, technically it should be GameStop's decision, since it's their stores. And they're deciding. But like many of the posters here you're mistaking discretion/respect for "fear of an emotional collapse."
Like, if I see you waiting on line for a movie, I am not going to just cut ahead of you. I won't do this not because I'm afraid you'll have an emotional breakdown then and there, but because it shows politeness.
Pulling the ads is sensitive. Pulling the game at ONLY military outlets is wrong. If the game is "bad" enough to be pulled at military bases, where very mentally tough individuals reside, you sure as hell better not sell it to 14 year old suburban couch potatoes. They certainly will not be able to handle it. I do applaud them for pulling the advertising -- no need to waive it around inside bases.
but how can you justify making the game completely unavailable to them?
I'm going to guess that the GameStop executives had an emergency meeting on the topic "What high-profile action can we take to defuse this controversy real quick", and the geniuses came up with this.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
... that they can't acquire the game some other way if they really wanted to.
I didn't realize "making sure computer games are readily available to soldiers" was a priority of the US military, much less a priority for a private company who themselves have the freedom to do what they want.
"We're fighting for your freedoms, just don't exercise them."
Yes, and what I'm saying is that pulling the game from your stores does not show politeness. It's a highly anticipated game that doubtless many people in the military are interested in playing, Gamestop is just saying "nope" without even asking what they think about the matter. As I said before, I could understand not putting up giant displays advertising for the game, and I can even understand putting the game behind the counter and making available by request only, I cannot understand taking that decision away soldiers themselves.
As someone below this post put it much more elegantly:
"You can't have that."
"But-"
"Because I RESPECT you!.
"Sorry, you can't buy this game here. We're showing respect for you and refusing to sell it to you."
It's not a matter of "trust," it's a matter of respect. Maybe someone who just lost a friend to the Taliban might not really be in the mood for seeing a game where they can re-enact killing their friend.
Someone modded this as "Troll". Really?!?
That's why I don't play FreeCiv
Game: Player 'Donald J Trump' now has AI skill level 'experimental'.
Actually, this Gamespy article makes it sound like AAFES* asked Gamestop to pull the game. Logically (a dubious word to use in conjunction with military bureaucracy, but run with it a second)... Logically, that means that AAFES will pull the game from its own shelves as well.
This doesn't say anything about NEX (Naval Exchanges) and MCX (Marine Corps Exchanges), which were independent organizations last time I checked, so maybe the Sailors and Marines will be able to buy the game. And mock the Soldiers and Airmen.
*For those who haven't picked this up from context, "AAFES" means "Army and Air Force Exchange Service".
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
TFA doesn't make this clear. Here's a better one: Video Game Pulled Globally From Military Stores Over Taliban Inclusion
Since there are still WWII vets around, games with Nazis should be no-go. Anything after WWI really. Of course, some people may have lost relatives in previous wars, so war games should basically be banned, out of respect.
OMG I just heard about this game called "Counterstrike" where they let you play as TERRORISTS!!! And they take hostages and shoot at anti-terrorist forces! OMG OMG OMG!!!
Seriously, when did it become an issue to have people play as bad guys in video games? Why are we even talking about this?
I recently lost a friend in a tragic block-stacking accident. I demand Tetris be removed from store shelves immediately.
Do they let the American soldiers in the game shoot civilians, rape young Afghanis and bomb weddings with UAVs?
Try to remember this is only a game.
You get killed by the same people in America's Army and that is a free game made by the US Army, so what's the difference?
It's not a matter of "trust," it's a matter of respect. Maybe someone who just lost a friend to the Taliban might not really be in the mood for seeing a game where they can re-enact killing their friend.
But reenacting killing someone else is somehow more respectful?
I think you are a little confused as to what "respect" means. These soldiers are fighting and dying in the name of protecting and promoting liberty and free speech. Your concept of "respecting" that means sheltering them from a video game they may not like.
Frankly, I think veterans have earned, at the very least, the liberty to buy and play whatever goddamn video game they feel like. Instead, some corporation gets afraid of bad PR from nanny-state idiots like you, so they stop offering the game for sale to our troops. How the fuck are you able to twist that into "respecting" them?
Maybe someone who just lost a friend to the Taliban might not really be in the mood for seeing a game where they can re-enact killing their friend.
Perhaps my father was killed by VC, does that mean that nobody should make historically accurate Vietnam games? What if my grandfather was killed by a German, does that put ww2 games in bad taste?
Sure the time scale is greater, but its just being fucking 'PC stupid' to go to lengths like this. I think if I was killed in Afghanistan, I would be pissed off by politically correct assholes who want to sweep everything under a rug, 'out of respect for the survivors'.
What the HELL is wrong with a factually depicted game? Telling an accurate story is very respectful of those who served.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
I'm playing a game at the minute, about a guy who relives his ancestor's life as an assassin in the middle ages. It triggered a latent ancestral memory in me and I realised this guy actually assassinated my mother's mother's father's mother's father's uncle's mother's mother's father. How could they to market this game to me? The disgrace.
Gee, and just think, if it wasn't for those damned Americans we could all be wearing German jack boots now. They ruined it for all of us. I guess the South Koreans and people in Taiwan are pretty pissed off at America too. Eastern Europe must be really angry with America since America was the biggest roadblock to Soviet Russia making all of Europe just like them. Hell if it wasn't for American forces helping in NATO at least the Berlin wall could have stayed up. Yep, damn those American bastards for outlasting the Soviets. [/sarcasm] By the way, name democracies that were toppled by America. Real democracies, not those that were democracies in name only, like [insert list of dictatorships that you seem to support]. I agree with anyone who slams America for getting into Vietnam and Iraq. But other than that you're talking out your ass. As for Iraq, I suspect the people who were gassed or otherwise abused by Saddam Hussein might beg to differ with your or my feelings on the subject. Personally I think Iraq forced a loss of focus on the real issue, the rogue state of Afghanistan. I was not sad to see Hussein go, but sure didn't like the timing or piss poor management of the whole thing.
-- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
Pulling the advertisements I can agree with, maybe even putting the game behind the counter out of sight, but how can you justify making the game completely unavailable to them?
It's not a matter of "trust," it's a matter of respect. Maybe someone who just lost a friend to the Taliban might not really be in the mood for seeing a game where they can re-enact killing their friend.
No one has the right not to be offended.Period.
if you dont like what you see ,look the fuck away, its not everyone else's problem nor their resposibility.
I'm sure Gamestop made this decision with the general population in mind (for PR), not so much with the soldiers in mind. Also, they aren't depriving the soldiers of the game- the soldiers just have to order the game online, go off-base or receive the game as a gift. I don't see a problem here.
My webcomic
So just change the Taliban to Nazis? Problem solved.
Now how should they sell the game in Germany... Change them back to Taliban? Problem solved.
But what about US bases in Germany... Change them into... lemmings? Now comes copyright infringement. The studio is doomed.
If this was the case then how about the people who see adverts for GTA when their loved ones have died as a result of street violence, or WoW when their family has been eaten by evil dwarves? How about other games that let you play as "the enemies of the west", or even as enemies of humankind! (Battlefield2, Left4Dead) I disagree with this type of censorship, "in case someone is offended". Nobody has the right to not be offended, and certainly nobody has the right to be offended on behalf of anyone else, especially me! I am a serving military officer, and I find being patronised in this "politically correct" manner offensive!
>> By the way, name democracies that were toppled by America
This is actually a wonderful question. Start with:
Chile, Nicaragua, South Vietnam.
Plus Hawaii, Cuba, Philippines, Honduras, Iran, Guatemala, Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia, Haiti.
Others?
But like many of the posters here you're mistaking discretion/respect for "fear of an emotional collapse."
Like many of the posters here you're mistaking self censorship for "discretion/respect".
You can argue that they're self censoring out of respect, but don't argue that it isn't censorship.
Like, if I see you waiting on line for a movie, I am not going to just cut ahead of you. I won't do this not because I'm afraid you'll have an emotional breakdown then and there, but because it shows politeness.
Phrases like "disturbing the peace" and "disorderly conduct" generally apply to situations like this.
Unlike the situation with GameStop and Medal of Honor, there are laws designed to reign in people who violate social norms (like standing in line) when social pressure isn't enough.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
It's not a matter of "trust," it's a matter of respect. Maybe someone who just lost a friend to the Taliban might not really be in the mood for seeing a game where they can re-enact killing their friend.
Well then maybe they shouldn't buy the game. Meanwhile others should be allowed to do so. Just what freedoms did his hypothetical friend die for? There's a huge difference between not advertising it out of respect and BANNING it.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
Chess glorifies political and religious oppression and war, representing a system wherein common people and even low-ranking nobility are expected to give their lives for the life of a king who is basically useless. Maybe we should ban chess out of people who live in oppressive theocratic monarchies.
From what I know of the way GameStop operates, I highly doubt this is "a matter of respect". It's more likely that
1) They weren't selling many copies of the game at military bases
2) They were catching a lot of flak and losing customers because of the advertisements at the military bases.
If they were truly doing it "out of respect for the soldiers", then they wouldn't want to profit off the game and would remove it from their shelves in ALL their stores.
Now, as for the people who complain about it not being available to the soldiers -- I'm sure they can still order it online, or get it at a shop that's off-base.
this guy actually assassinated my mother's mother's father's mother's father's uncle's mother's mother's father. How could they to market this game to me? The disgrace.
Right, you light the torches, I'll get the pitchforks, let's get this thing banned!
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
Everyone is way off base with the motives here. This isn't about protecting the soldiers or respecting them. The real story is a bunch of top level gamestop employees got their asses handed to them last night in a game of CTF by a bunch of people with "USMC" as their clan tag so now their trying to take precautions to prevent that from happening again.
I'm a USMC Infantry Machine Gunner. I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan. For a time, I was the farthest forward-deployed unit in our military. I'm pissed. GameStop just lost all my business. I don't care that you can play as Taliban on a game, even I'll do it just for kicks. I seem to remember something (http://www.slate.com/id/2096112/) about the Japanese fighting against the Japanese in a different MOH title. It's not a big deal. Really, though, thanks for treating us like children, and "protecting" us from the evils of those Taliban, who we haven't walked with on streets holding rifles, or shot at or been shot at in reality. We obviously cannot handle it. GameStop, I hope you die.
Exactly what I was thinking. This has fuck-all to do with "respect" for our soldiers, this is 100% a move to try to raise good feelings amongst the general populace.
"16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
It's not minor at all. It's the equivalent of someone pissing on you. It shows a total lack of respect. It's like saying "you are nothing". In Eastern Europe I once pushed an old lady to the ground for cutting right in front of me. I have gotten in several fights over the years (in various countries) with people who stepped right in front of me while I was waiting in a long line. It almost never happens in the US or Canada though. If it did happen here and some guy engaged him (hopefully by slugging him hard in the face), I wouldn't be aghast. I would be cheering for the guy. Queue jumpers are no better than vermin and should be treated as such in any civilized society.
Your a real mans man aren't you?
He's five foot-two, and he's six feet-four,
He fights with missiles and with spears.
He's all of thirty-one, and he's only seventeen,
Been a soldier for a thousand years.
He'a a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jain,
A Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew.
And he knows he shouldn't kill,
And he knows he always will,
Kill you for me my friend and me for you.
And he's fighting for Canada,
He's fighting for France,
He's fighting for the USA,
And he's fighting for the Russians,
And he's fighting for Japan,
And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way.
And he's fighting for Democracy,
He's fighting for the Reds,
He says it's for the peace of all.
He's the one who must decide,
Who's to live and who's to die,
And he never sees the writing on the wall.
But without him,
How would Hitler have condemned him at Dachau?
Without him Caesar would have stood alone,
He's the one who gives his body
As a weapon of the war,
And without him all this killing can't go on.
He's the Universal Soldier and he really is to blame,
His orders come from far away no more,
They come from here and there and you and me,
And brothers can't you see,
This is not the way we put the end to war.
Univeral Solder
If you must moderate, please moderate as irrelevent, not something bad, because I'm sure someone will find this interest
Oh really? And how are the Nazis depicted in these books? Ah, right, as they really are. Evil and stuff...
"To the victor go the spoils and to they also get to write the history books."
I think you take the above quote literally: that the victors themselves come and write the history books, print them with their labels and distribute them. Well, sorry, but it is not what is meant at all.
I'm a servicemember. I've been to Afghanistan and seen the places shown in this game first hand. I've seen men and women die for freedom, and some die for no reason at all. I still want to play this game. I've not been home a full year yet, but I want a small piece of that time back. I want to see things I know and feel the same heart racing fear of going around a corner when Taliban snipers are looking over your shoulder. This isn't internet tough guy talk, I'm a broadcast journalist and I've shot plenty of video showing what I'm talking about. Some of us (military members who have deployed and fought the Taliban) still want to play this game. I don't live in the States and there are no GameStop's here so it doesn't really affect me, but I know that if I were in America and wanted this game, I'd like to be able to go to my nearest game store (most likely a GameStop) and pick it up. They're not removing it from all of their stores, just the bases. That makes it more about the attention will get from this move, and less about the people affected.
I'd say it's almost as polite as not selling hamburgers to fat people. If you were fat, would you really consider that polite? If you were a soldier, would you really consider it immensely polite on the part of GameStop if they made a product unavailable to you strictly based on your occupation? Would you consider that any better that racism?
May the source be with you.
Sun Tzu put it best why American soldiers should play as the Taliban:
So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
My brother was a trireme who was killed by a phalanx so thank you for respecting my loss.