EA Cuts Taliban From Medal of Honor

[BrownGaijin]

They shall no longer be called Taliban. The faction's name will now simply be "Brown people"

"Brown People"?

(Xylophone begins to play image of me thinking begins to dissolve to other image of... me)

Hola. Mi nombre es Juan. El nombre de mi esposa es María. Yo tengo un libro.. ¿Dónde está la biblioteca?

(Same dissolve effects)

Whoa... Cool...

Go Doyers!

EDIT: Oh yeah I guess I should talk about the topic itself.

OT: Personally I didn't have a problem with it one way or the other. I wasn't going to buy the game to begin with. What besides all the people who are disappointed in the move I'm am noticing is that there are a handful of people who are claiming that EA is doing it because of reasons other than what was posted this morning. I wonder if they're claiming that its a smoke screen, or if they ever bothered to read the article.

 

[TerribleAssassin]

Wow. Way to stick to your guns, EA. I guess just changing the name makes everything better?

Then some clever clog will change the name back most likely...


OT: Well, that's consistancy , you change the name just before release, smooth.

 

[Snotnarok]

Way to let the stupid ignorant people push you around EA.

Next week ya gonna let them take guns out of the game because a few people had lost their best TV's to guns?

 

[beddo]

Who out of these groups that complain would have bought the game? Surely you should listen to your customers?

I think what annoys me was that there was all this talk of freedom of speech from the creators and it now seems hollow. Saying that, I imagine it's pressure from above that is concerned with negative media coverage, that has forced the team to make the changes.

 

[the_maestro_sartori]

What a load of shit.
Next world war 2 game that comes out I'm gonna type up 10 different letters, from 10 different names, using 10 different addresses of friends and family around the country, complaining about inclusion of the Germans as the "enemy" as well as a playable faction in the game.
Clearly, as someone born in the UK with family members that died in the war I feel badly hurt and upset that they'd allow us to play as Germans killing off the good guys etc etc, and see what kind of response I get.

£10 says I get told to get stuffed, grow up and realise it's a game, and not real.

Just like these idiots should have been complaining about the Taliban being a playable side in the online section of this game.

I repeat - load of shit. It's fine to kill them, but not to play as them killing others, in a virtual world? Pfft I say

 

[mr_rubino]

Who out of these groups that complain would have bought the game?

The answer is "none", as if you had to guess. But EA apparently hates soldiers, to put the opinions of whinging civvies sitting safe in their gated communities ahead of the opinions of our protectors.
(I think not enough people are seeing this.)

 

[lostzombies.com]

What a bunch of weak willed, politically correct horse manure. Yes, I can see how someone might consider calling the other side the Taliban to be a somewhat sensitive matter to some, but we've been using Nazis in games for years. Please don't try to tell me that the Nazis are any less offensive a group than the Taliban.

The media doesn't even understand the difference between the taliban and Al Qaeda. The taliban are basically a nationalist political movement responsible for...deefending their own country from foreign interference. If the opposing team was called Al Qaeda then there may....may be some cause for said concern.

It's just a sign of how the media has blurred the lines from terrorist-al qaeda-taliban-insurgants-arabs-muslims-anyone who has a difference point of view from fox news

 

[DeadRow]

Nice spine you have there EA xD

 

[Kelethor]

Ea, youv let Jack Thompson win. Now he'll think he's "Back" or something, and that his Crusade too destroy video games isn't over. Nice going.

 

[Slayer_2]

I'm disappointed in you, EA.

You are disappointed that they listened to soldiers and families of soldiers and used better judgment in making a decision? It's not like they were being forced to do anything. They chose to heed the wishes of many people who's lives have been changed by their interaction with the Taliban?

I wouldn't have minded either way really, but it sounds like they at least used good reasoning and judgment in this call.

How is this any better than keeping the name "Taliban"? The virtual terrorists are still killing virtual US soldiers in the exact same way and in the same places. Yet, with a little changing up the name, suddenly that makes it so much better? It's just media ass kissing, and that is why it is a stupid move.

Honestly, I don't really care much, I just hate when game companies cave in due to media pressure, grow a pair. People don't like the game? Don't play it, problem solved.

 

[hem dazon 90]

Pansy!

 

[The Funslinger]

If games can't be up to date, we should boycott all forms of media being up to date, movie about Afghanistan conflicts? Forget it! Hell, if they're going to try and claim it as offensive just for being in a game, all forms of media should be censored. Even the news! Really, I don't see anybody complaining about films depicting recent things. Nobody complained about Blood Diamond, which really didn't hold back at all. They just said it was gritty and eye opening and all that shit...

 

[IckleMissMayhem]

Pointless back-down. The offence has already been given, taken, and smeared all over the news for the past {insert number of weeks here}. Seems a bit pointless to be "backing down" less than two weeks before launch. If they were THAT worried about causing offence to ISAF and their families (both serving and deceased), they'd have used a different opponent from the get-go. And I don't think anyone with half an ounce of common sense is buying this. At least, I hope not. It's a piss-poor, pitiful non-acquiescence to an understandably horrified public reaction to their game.

 

[WestMountain]

So they chickened out?

Surprising.....

 

[Therumancer]

It's as if you moral relativists literally cannot help yourself from being snide and painting everyone with more relevant points as devils even as you're attempting to make a point.

?

Not my best written bit, but I wasn't being snide at all. As for who has more relevent points that's a matter of opinion. I DO represent a minority opinion (in most things) here on The Escapist, and being The Internet I don't expect to actually convince anyone to think radically differantly from their starting positions with my posts. I simply state my opinion and hopefully bring some balance to things.

If your going to bother to respond, you might do things like mention which points you feel are more relevent than mine.

 

[AlexLoxate]

Goodbye freedom of speech. As I said in one of my earlier posts in another Medal of Honor related topic, it would have been interesting to see a Taliban campaign. Now that EA submitted to the pressure and cut them out even from the multiplayer, I see less and less reasons to get this game. If I wanted to fight with or against an "Opposing force" I might as well play any FPS multiplayer. I wonder if they'll put little devil horns on the enemies in the campaign...

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Son, I am disappoint. I love controvesial stuff, and debating on it.

 

[TaboriHK]

If you're getting mail from the family of dead soldiers requesting that you remove it, is it really a huge slap in the face that it's gone? The skins are all the same, it's exactly the same. Just call it Taliban on Live if it's so important. This isn't a censorship issue. Do I personally think it was insensitive? No. But this is not actually important. They didn't significantly change the game experience by taking a name out. And to anyone who implies that this is what separates games from other fictional media, you obviously haven't seen enough movies that were based in Fakeistans.

 

[mechanixis]

Oh no! Now the game won't be realistic anymore!*



[small]*It was never realistic. It's just more shooty nonsense for people who think this is what the military is like. Having the characters and factions in these games named after real things, in pursuit of being topical, is an insult to the reality of the subject matter.

I'm sure EA resolved to do this a long time ago, but was looking to milk the "there is no bad press" method of promotion.[/small]

 

[Frontastic]

I don't fucking believe it. Well, this is going to set a nasty precedent.