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Amid Controversy, EA Pulls Taliban From Medal of Honor Multiplayer
Last month we discussed news that upcoming shooter Medal of Honor would allow players to take the role of Taliban forces in multiplayer games, causing no small amount of consternation among political groups and military supporters. Now, Electronic Arts and developer Danger Close have bowed to pressure and announced that the Taliban side would simply be referred to as "opposing force." Quoting executive producer Greg Goodrich:
"The majority of this feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. For this, the Medal of Honor team is deeply appreciative. However, we have also received feedback from friends and families of fallen soldiers who have expressed concern over the inclusion of the Taliban in the multiplayer portion of our game. This is a very important voice to the Medal of Honor team. This is a voice that has earned the right to be listened to. It is a voice that we care deeply about. ... While this change should not directly affect gamers, as it does not fundamentally alter the gameplay, we are making this change 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."
My grandfather died in WW2, could you please remove the Germans from all your future WW2 games as well? The Japanese, too.
... and for extra realism you get to shoot at British, Canadian, Danish and other "allied" troops. Ultra-realistic!
There have been worse things in video-games. Postal 2 anyone?
If EA had statistical evidence that they would've lost revenue through lawsuits, civil cases, and bad word-of-mouth by releasing the game with "Taliban", then perhaps this was a smart business decision. But if they are simply "bowing" if you will, well, that is lame.
I am not for the Taliban at all, I am just saying bowing to the complainers only reinforces their behavior.
'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
What is so wrong with it? It's a fact. Americans and the Taliban and fighting. Why hide the truth? Are we supposed to just pretend that Americans and the Taliban are "Super Best Friends"? I know, let's just ignore everything.
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I'm sick of people pretending the war has only one side. Where are the families of the dead Taliban soldiers, who are logically just as offended by the ability to play as a US soldier? don't they have a "voice" too? or it it ok to disrespect people as long as you're on the right side?
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Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!
The popular children's game has now been renamed to "cops and opposing forces"
No. We are supposed to dehumanize the Taliban and make sure nobody thinks from their perspective, so we can continue to kill them with no twinge of guilt.
Go green: turn off your refrigerator.
It seems to me too many people give too much power to a simple word. Essentially that's what we're doing here right? Gameplay remains unchanged, we're just changing the name of the other team. So is it because we fear the Taliban? Should we start calling them "The opposing force that must not be named"?
I think you mean a bad example of a corporation being a pussy in face of a bunch of whiners? The fact of the matter is that you are still playing as the Taliban and all the models are exactly the same. All this is is a white-washing of the name.
What a bunch of weak-minded idiots. If a few people who can't handle a video game with content that they don't like that they don't even have to buy complain about said content, they remove it. Those people have just ruined it for anyone who actually wanted that content, as it was originally planned to be in the game. But, no, people who wouldn't buy the game anyway get their way. Absolutely pathetic. I'm sick and tired of this blatant censorship (even if it wasn't technically forced on them). I already had zero respect for EA and any company like them, but this is insane. Might as well ban everything that someone takes offense to!
Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
sed s/Taliban/GenericTerrorists/g
So all these politically correct people will be appeased, but nothing of substance will have changed.
Are the Americans (?) still referred to as such? In the interest of fairness, I think they should be called the "invading force".
I don't feel that suppressing an artistic representation of a current war because of a fear of public backlash is the right thing to do. True that for the shareholder EA this is certainly the most responsible approach, but with regards to the principle behind the US constitution and the civic liberties in general, I feel that this is totally irresponsible.
Jehovah be praised, Oracle was not selected
Of course they shouldn't. The reality is that wargames depict a historical context and history doesn't change to suit the likes of one group or another. There is only one history, the events that took place.
Further, we learn from history that it is dangerous to make an enemy faceless. Doing so is the number one cause of wartime atrocities. What these pressure groups have basically said is that it is more important to hide the reality of the situation than it is to keep Americans aware that they are fighting against people with lives and beliefs of their own. This is a dangerous attitude to have.
I cannot blame a company for eventually caving under pressure, especially one as small as this. But frankly this whitewashing of history is disturbing and historically the consequences of such acts have never been good. This is extremely bad juju.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
And with that, the terrorists have truly won. Luckily the next round starts in 30... 29... 28...
'nuff said.
I hate being bipolar; it's awesome!
What gets me is that there's more public outcry over the name of a team in a game than there is over an actual war. If these people their voices heard by the President and their representatives instead of a video game maker, they might actually save some lives.
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How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
I've seen a lot of comments on here that are derogatory towards EA and the families of soliders who have voiced their opposition to EA's decision. I agree that EA made a bad call by white washing the reality of the conflict. One of the fundamental cornerstones of our society seems to be freedom of choice. As Americans, we want the ability to do whatever we feel like doing, no matter how insensitive or offensive to others it might be. As others have said many times before, freedom is not free. That leads me to my question... how badly do all of you people whining about not being able to play the Taliban, want to play the Taliban?
Will you gather signatures and go on the record saying that you want to do it? Will you lobby and protest and make your voices heard? Are you so strong in your convictions that EA has made a bad decision that you will NOT buy the game in order to voice your dissatisfaction?
If there is one thing I've learned about being American it is that those who are willing to make the biggest stink about something usually get their way. So how strong are your convictions? Are you going to do anything about it, or are you just going to whine on Slashdot?
I'll tell you what then - whenever you see and hear "Opposition Forces" in all the game text and audio, shout at the television: "OH NOES ITS TEH TALIBANZ IN MUH TEEVEEZ!"
Maybe that'll make you feel better.
Thanks EA, for letting the terrorists have win. :(
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
So, uh, hey...
If you don't like this decision, protest the same way the anti-Taliban crew did: by refusing to buy the game.
Of course, it's doubtful anyone will actually care so much about this as not to buy it. Two things about gamers - gamers love to whine and blow things out of proportion, and gamers always cave because they would rather accept what they are being told to accept than not have the game.
Look at WoW players. Every single day, it's whine whine whine, but it's never quit, quit, quit. This is no different.
Trust me. If you want to protest this decision, do it the same way the PC censorship crowd did - with your wallet - and let EA know why you aren't buying. Obviously, they listen to that sort of feedback.
The right to offend is central to the right to free speech.
"earned the right to be listened to"
Excuse me? Fuck you, sir. I'm a retired Marine but I'm so goddamn sick of people hoisting up military service as if it makes you a super-citizen or gives you any superior insight.
They treat you with utter respect, these flag waving suit wearing pricks, until it comes down to them having to keep their word on medical care and other promised benefits.