US Military Base Stores Reviewing Medal of Honor Ban
A representative of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service told Joystiq that it was "aware of reported changes to the latest Medal of Honor game" and that "the organization has been, and continues to be, engaged in a thorough review to fully understand the extent of the modifications.
The modern-day shooter revamp, set in the current war in Afghanistan, caused upset by allowing players to play as a Taliban fighter against US forces. This led to the AAFES asking on-base stores to pull the game from sale. EA has since renamed the faction to 'Opposing Force,' though you'll still be blasting away at virtual US troops.
As small as the change might be, EA Games president Frank Gibeau had previously defended the Taliban's inclusion as a creative risk that was "creative vision," taken due to the company's belief in video games as an "artform."
"At EA we passionately believe games are an artform, and I don't know why films and books set in Afghanistan don't get flack, yet [games] do," Gibeau told Edge in August. "Whether it's Red Badge of Courage or The Hurt Locker, the media of its time can be a platform for the people who wish to tell their stories. Games are becoming that platform."
"We respect the media's views," he said, "but at the same time [these reports] don't compromise our creative vision and what we want to do."
The decision to 'remove' the playable Taliban was made, according to executive producer Greg Goodrich, not due to media controversy but for "the men and women serving in the military and for the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice."
With singleplayer by Danger Close and multiplayer by DICE, Medal of Honor is due out for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 12. A PC-only multiplayer open beta test is running from today until 11:59pm PST on October 7. Grab the client from FileShack if you fancy playing, though do check out the system requirements first.
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nymosis
replyPeople are too easily offended, there's nothing wrong with playing as the Taliban, it may be offensive, but I'd imagine certain people, such as Afghan citizens are offended playing as U.S. Marines, blowing away their fellow countrymen. I honestly wish that EA hadn't of changed the name. The military bases are allowed to ban whatever they want, that's fine, but I don't think there is anything wrong with calling the other side "Taliban" or whatever else they want to call it.
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A not-at-all unlikely scenario:
You are a ex-military spouse that lost your husband/wife in Afghanistan from a Taliban attack. Your kid is playing this game, shooting NATO forces as the Taliban. Would you say that this spouse is "too easily offended" when s/he gets upset over seeing this?
It's not the soldiers or American gamers they're worried about offending so much, it's the spouses that have lost someone, or have their loved ones deployed. To me it's understandable from AAFES side, and EA's side.-
An even less likely scenario:
A parent does some basic research on what's involved in a game before buying it for their kids or letting their kids have access to it.
Instead, EA chooses to capitulate to people who weren't going to buy the game anyway.
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An even less likely scenario:
EA waves a magic wand, which they've kept tucked away for just such an occasion, that makes parents pay attention to their kids games.
Instead, EA chooses to make a simple and inconsequential name change to avoid some unneeded attention from widows and the banning of their game in a large store chain - the latter obviously being more important to the business.
"Instead, EA chooses to capitulate to people who weren't going to buy play the game anyway." Fixed (I assume you were still talking about the parent).
You guys act like they're selling out on their grand artistic vision. It apparently isn't affecting the gameplay. They're showing a little sensitivity and business cunning and changing a name. That's all we know at this point.
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Yes, I would say that spouse is too easily offended, are they going to be offended by every novel and movie that depicts the Taliban explicitly, and yes, there are a lot of them. What about the children and spouses of Taliban fighters who are killed by American forces? Why did they just renamed the Taliban forces and not the Americans?
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I agree with this.
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