UK Government to Recruit Soldiers Via Xbox Live

[John Funk]

UK Government to Recruit Soldiers Via Xbox Live

Busy playing Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox Live in the UK? Your government may be looking to get you into actual Modern Warfare soon.

Before you ask: No, this isn't some sort of Last Starfighter thing where the UK government looks at the people topping the leaderboards and then shows up at their house in suits and sunglasses to give them special top-secret assignments (or at least, I don't think so).

According to Marketing Magazine UK [http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/rss/968520/Government-intelligence-agency-recruits-via-Xbox-Live/?], British intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) will be advertising recruitment and career opportunities with the armed forces over Xbox Live. The six-week-long campaign will target 18-34 year-olds - not coincidentally the major Xbox Live-using demographic - and though the site claims that it "will include streamed video banners within the games," I'm not sure if this means that the advertisements will actually appear in multiplayer matches, or if it will just be a Dashboard thing.

After all, for all it might be a good idea to try to recruit people while their adrenaline is pumping from the thrill of simulated battle, it might break immersion a little bit to see recruitment ads in the middle of your ODST match.

One presumes that the military will be offering up additional training for those gamers who enlist, unless they've really bought into the idea that games can actually teach people how to shoot a gun.

(Via CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=227872?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS])

(Image [http://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/3268871691/in/photostream/])

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[WrongSprite]

Meh, why not, there's adverts on TV anyway.

 

[dekkarax]

Those are US soldiers in the pic, the stripes are upside down

OT: as long as it's a dashboard thing, I'm okay with it.

 

[Distorted Stu]

Meh, i got excited about the Last Starfighter lark. =[

 

[TheEvilCheese]

I live in the UK and, frankly, I find this insulting.
We are already caught up in a useless war and if the government cannot find enough people willing to be killed for no apparent reason they should take the hint.

People don't want to die.
Well, most people don't.

 

[SantoUno]

Woah woah woah woah woah...woah .......woah .........

Lois this is not my batman glass Oh wait

Seriously that is messed up, I would expect that from the US armed forces but why the UK? That is messed up, trying desperately to snatch young innocent gamers who are just playing to have a good a good time and throw them into a life-changing situation that they most likely never want to be a part of.

Hope no one is victimized by this

Also this sadly just fuels the fire that games can actually make you a potential killer, either on the battlefield or off it...

 

[Jack and Calumon]

"Hey you! Wanna have a life like the real Captain Price's? Then join the REAL SAS! It's AWESOME!"

Imagine that when completing Modern Warfare 2. Cos All I got was a game that kept crashing, and an advert would have been better.

 

[Cargando]

*Sigh* Yes, that's exactly two things the crowds have been crying out for: more soldiers and more in-game ads.

 

[robman1130]

i find nothing wrong with advertiseing

 

[The Random One]

Well, that's an advertisement venue. Although, from now on, every time I see an ad for the armed forces of any country I'll remember that billboard in one of the games for the ZP contest - Join the army! No girls, no games, no beer - it's perfect!

 

[AddytheGreat]

Those are US soldiers in the pic, the stripes are upside down

And they have American flags on their uniforms.

This is alright I think, If they paid for the campaign, then its alright. There are adverts on TV so, surely this is just the same, but actualy being aimed directly at the target audience.
Its all good.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I live in the UK and, frankly, I find this insulting.

I would find it insulting if I wasn't used to the Government being inept.

 

[LTK_70]

Okay, what? Although I can see how the army is interested in the core demographic of 18 to 34-year-olds, I seriously doubt that the gamer demographic is fit for military enlistment. I don't assume everyone who plays Call of Duty and other war games has even the slightest wish to get out on the actual front line, because honestly, then why are you playing that game in the first place?

 

[Christemo]

*head-desk untill i get a migraine*.

just because someone is good at aiming in a fucking game doesnt mean they can aim, or want to aim a gun in real life. and most of the high-rankers on XBL are underaged for the army (i suppose).

this is just plain stupid, if you ask me...

 

[Unrulyhandbag]

The army isn't all infantry you know. Having just left (hated the last few years); I knew quite a few lads who liked nothing more than a blast on modern warfare for a few hours after work. A lot of the newer lads in the technical trades are gamers to some degree. Of course most like to go out for a few pints and shun the 'geeks'.

That said I find the army's recruiting methods pretty reprehensible (they actively target 12-16 year olds, you just told to say otherwise) and I hate in game advertising banners. I don't mind if a billboard in a game gets adverts that change every now and then but an immersion breaking floaty banner just annoys me.

 

[cobrausn]

I was in the military for four years and I met more gamers there than I usually do at college. And I'm now a Computer Science Major. I'm considering going back in and through OCS.

Not all gamers are fit for the military, but many are, and many of them join. They know who they are targeting with these ads, and good for them.

 

[Zac_Dai]

lol I have the exact same headset the soldiers in the picture are using.

As some other people have said, a lot of people in the military are gamers and so I can see why they are using xbox live.

But then I don't think any non-gaming related advertising belongs on a console.

 

[WINDOWCLEAN2]

I live in the UK and, frankly, I find this insulting.
We are already caught up in a useless war and if the government cannot find enough people willing to be killed for no apparent reason they should take the hint.

People don't want to die.
Well, most people don't.

oh wow really subtle, useless war you say?? have you forgotten September 11th 2001? or closer to home July 7th 2008? How about you show respect for the people giving their lives so you don't get blown up on your way to work?

OT : I think its a good idea as alot of these people will not know where their lives are going and if they join the military they can feel a good sense of purpose in British society

 

[Skizle]

*head-desk untill i get a migraine*.

just because someone is good at aiming in a fucking game doesnt mean they can aim, or want to aim a gun in real life. and most of the high-rankers on XBL are underaged for the army (i suppose).

this is just plain stupid, if you ask me...

There have been studies that showed that new recruits that played first person shooters were better with their rifles than new recruits that didn't play first person shooters.