EA Games A Game Too Real?
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Discussion

MiniMan64

Original Poster:

19,467 posts

220 months

Sunday 22nd August 2010
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http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100822/ttc-fox-urges...

The News said:
Defence Secretary Liam Fox has urged shops to ban a computer game where players can act as the Taliban and kill British troops.

Dr Fox said he was "disgusted" that Medal of Honor allowed people to recreate attacks on Nato forces.

An updated version of the popular game, due to be released in October, is based on the struggle between allied special forces and the Taliban - with players being allowed to choose which side they want to represent.

A clip on the YouTube website shows a Taliban soldier fighting in southern Helmand province, where UK forces are based.

Gamers are apparently instructed to stop the coalition "at all costs", and receive points for every allied troop they kill.

Dr Fox said: "It's shocking that someone would think it acceptable to recreate the acts of the Taliban. At the hands of the Taliban, children have lost fathers and wives have lost husbands
Ignoring the goverment stepping in on this one for a moment and focusing on the game itself, is it cutting a little close to the bone? I mean NATO and the Taliban are still fighting in the Middle East and at least when they released Battlefield 2 they were called the imaginary MEC.

Bit too real or just a video game?

okgo

42,234 posts

228 months

Sunday 22nd August 2010
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Its never to real its a fking computer game, it bears NO relevance to real life and even the most realistic are not even remotley violent.

fks sake.

Bullett

11,183 posts

214 months

Sunday 22nd August 2010
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Just a video game. He's objecting to the name, not the fact you shoot people in the face for fun.

Counter-Strike to name just one game has been doing the you are a terrorist thing for years. Just because these are called taliban rather than the teliban from genristan does it make a difference?

neilski

2,563 posts

265 months

Sunday 22nd August 2010
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MiniMan64 said:
Bit too real or just a video game?
Just a video game IMO. How is it any different to Call of Duty 4 where you play as Opposition Forces (Arabs)? That's been out for years without any moaning.

Pothole

34,367 posts

312 months

Sunday 22nd August 2010
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"At the hands of the Taliban, children have lost fathers and wives have lost husbands."

Are the 'allied' forces like the A Team, then? Or do the people they kill not have families?


MiniMan64

Original Poster:

19,467 posts

220 months

Sunday 22nd August 2010
quotequote all
I'd like to point out I'm fairly neutral here, I'm a big gamer having recently brushed of BF2 and enjoying it greatly and it's just a game and most of us are fairly good at seeing the difference. On the other hand I was just wondering if perhaps they'd stepped over a line or not? I mean is there really a need to model it specifically on current fighting forces? Meh.

okgo

42,234 posts

228 months

Sunday 22nd August 2010
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Why not?

They've done every other concept well and truly to death, might as well mix it up slightly.

Glassman

25,029 posts

245 months

Sunday 22nd August 2010
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I remember playing cowboys and indians as a kid. It did make me want to go to America and kill every indian I set I eyes on. But the septics had already done that.

Swifty Stig

641 posts

198 months

Sunday 22nd August 2010
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hahahahahaha that comment bout the flight simulator was genius. do u do stand up? haha

ShadownINja

80,101 posts

312 months

Monday 23rd August 2010
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I suppose it depends how it's implemented. It's not like I actually care which side I'm on in BF2 or BF1942, and in the BF2 servers, you automatically change sides at the end of each round, anyway.

That said, as MEC, I have been known to shout "SILENCE! I KILL YOU!" after killing a US soldier.

I can also see that an outsider to computer games might think it's inappropriate because the war is still going. I would, however, be very surprised if either side bunnyhopped and dolphin dived as part of their combat techniques...

Edited by ShadownINja on Monday 23 August 00:09

thehawk

9,335 posts

237 months

Monday 23rd August 2010
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okgo said:
Why not?

They've done every other concept well and truly to death, might as well mix it up slightly.
Every concept?

How about EA Games releasing - "Concentration Camp Guard - The Game", a mix of strategy, torture and genocide.

Of course you could balance it out and have the option to play a Jew or a gay etc and try the more stealth approach aspects of the game.

okgo

42,234 posts

228 months

Monday 23rd August 2010
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thehawk said:
okgo said:
Why not?

They've done every other concept well and truly to death, might as well mix it up slightly.
Every concept?

How about EA Games releasing - "Concentration Camp Guard - The Game", a mix of strategy, torture and genocide.

Of course you could balance it out and have the option to play a Jew or a gay etc and try the more stealth approach aspects of the game.
That would be boring, they didn't have many weapons.

Negative Creep

26,111 posts

257 months

Monday 23rd August 2010
quotequote all
okgo said:
thehawk said:
okgo said:
Why not?

They've done every other concept well and truly to death, might as well mix it up slightly.
Every concept?

How about EA Games releasing - "Concentration Camp Guard - The Game", a mix of strategy, torture and genocide.

Of course you could balance it out and have the option to play a Jew or a gay etc and try the more stealth approach aspects of the game.
That would be boring, they didn't have many weapons.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KZ_Manager

ShadownINja

80,101 posts

312 months

Monday 23rd August 2010
quotequote all
thehawk said:
okgo said:
Why not?

They've done every other concept well and truly to death, might as well mix it up slightly.
Every concept?

How about EA Games releasing - "Concentration Camp Guard - The Game", a mix of strategy, torture and genocide.

Of course you could balance it out and have the option to play a Jew or a gay etc and try the more stealth approach aspects of the game.
rofl

Or Suicide Bomber - London Edition. Try to blow up as many commuters as possible. Build up a bomb factory in an allotted time with a set amount of money while recruiting bombers. Strategically control your team of bombers to gain information on timetables, footfall sizes through various public venues, then launch the final attack, by-passing patrolling Met police. Also play as Met detectives to sniff out potential suicide bombers while they are scouting the area and in the final attack.

Pothole

34,367 posts

312 months

Monday 23rd August 2010
quotequote all
Negative Creep said:
okgo said:
thehawk said:
okgo said:
Why not?

They've done every other concept well and truly to death, might as well mix it up slightly.
Every concept?

How about EA Games releasing - "Concentration Camp Guard - The Game", a mix of strategy, torture and genocide.

Of course you could balance it out and have the option to play a Jew or a gay etc and try the more stealth approach aspects of the game.
That would be boring, they didn't have many weapons.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KZ_Manager
see also: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/01/world/video-game...


CoopR

957 posts

266 months

Monday 23rd August 2010
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NEWSFLASH! Politician in completely out of touch shocker! rolleyeslaugh

Aside from preferring certain weapons 99.9% gamers really don't give a crap what side they are on. Plus many games like this (including this one...) force you to swap sides and play the same map on both sides.

off_again

13,917 posts

264 months

Monday 23rd August 2010
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Take a lot of this 'news' with a pinch of salt. Medal of Honor has a lot to prove and as a franchise, it has to compete against the mighty Call of Duty - so a bit of PR (good or bad) is never going to be a bad thing. Could its release be due in October? Could this be the start of a campaign to shock, worry and drum up interest? Surely not....

Also, please note that the single biggest market for these games (and CoD) is the US and as a result they cannot and will not jeapodise their $10m's investment by making it an outrageous came. Taken out of context I am sure its likely to shock, but put it into context of the game, situation and circumstances I am sure its fine. CoD did something similar with the terrorist / airport thing - but this was part of a bigger moral compass / judgement thing that was going on with the game that forced you to make some pretty gut wrenching decisions - which had an impact later in the game. Its all quite clever, but again, taken out of context and it could be seen as promoting terrorism..

Pinch of salt I am afraid.

okgo

42,234 posts

228 months

Monday 23rd August 2010
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Medal of Honour has a lot to prove?

MOHAA is probably one of the biggest online games of all time, and it will be being played for years to come.

off_again

13,917 posts

264 months

Monday 23rd August 2010
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okgo said:
Medal of Honour has a lot to prove?

MOHAA is probably one of the biggest online games of all time, and it will be being played for years to come.
Too right it has a lot to prove. They havent had a premium release on a core console for years, supporting other platforms such as the PSP and Wii instead, which have never been big or strong sellers for them (and in most cases they have outsourced the development anyway). MoH has a lot to prove against the current leaders such as CoD. MoHAA was released 8 years ago? It was popular at the time, but trust me, I think CoD is way bigger these days. MoHAA may still be played to this day (and thats fine) but where is the revenue for this? MoH has not been a money spinner for a while and as a result this new game needs to be a success.

bogwoppit

705 posts

211 months

Monday 23rd August 2010
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Don't get me wrong, asa gamer I couldn't care less if the characters in the game represent actual individuals killed in the conflict being represented. But the point is, why do the developers NEED to depict a conflict that is currently ongoing and therefore politically sensitive? If it doesn't matter to gamers, why not make everyone happy and change to a less sensitive topic? The answer is of course that the publishers are deliberately setting out to offend for PR purposes. Which is just crass.