Medal of Honor Studio Was "Hurt" by Controversy

[Serving UpSmiles]

sex, violance, and controversy are the top 3 advertising techniques. When used all at the same time, (GTAIV) for example, created big sales. Same goes with the MW2 No russian "controversy" but that didn't stop it selling millions.

Can't wait for the game, looks very authentic, multiplayer will be a flop though.

 

[rees263]

If the controversy isn't coming from gamers, ignore it.

Exactly. None of the sources of this outcry are, as far as I can see, people who would buy this game anyway - they're largely the same people who tell you that games corrupt our children etc. I highly doubt this controversy will hurt sales. If anything the extra publicity will help, but to be honest I'm not sure this game is interesting enough to warrant a release-day purchase anyway. I imagine a number of people will feel the same, given that CoD is released soon after.

 

[Catalyst6]

If only they stuck to Generic-Middle Eastern terrorists! Then none of this would've happened.

Truly. Then the media wouldn't have been able to breach their shroud of sheer mindlessness and see what the faceless stand-ins are standing in for. But give them a name and Oh Shit Just Got Real.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Do not worry, Medal of Honor team. I already have your game on reserve at Target. I will buy it opening day.

Personally, I think the 'No Russian' level deserves more scorn than this (since the people the Taliban are fighting can fight back through the wonder of multiplayer), and since that game survived the fire, this will too.

 

[hansari]

The article says they did see it coming, just not really the extent of the controversy. And I can kind of see why it would kind of suck to put all this work into a game and then have a ton of people ignore everything else to go HABLAGARBLEGARFLE THIS GAME IS EVIL because of one little detail.

Sigh [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Days_in_Fallujah]

And you expect any different from a studio doing the same thing, but with a bigger budget and brand name franchise?

Surely, the people in charge are busy with the everyday responsibilities, but I'm sure at least ONE PERSON had to have known about Six Days in Fallujah and brought it up at sometime or another.

 

[SelectivelyEvil13]

If only they stuck to Generic-Middle Eastern terrorists! Then none of this would've happened.

Truly. Then the media wouldn't have been able to breach their shroud of sheer mindlessness and see what the faceless stand-ins are standing in for. But give them a name and Oh Shit Just Got Real.

T.A.L.I.B.A.N.
Terrorist
Afghan
Liberation
Insurgency
Battling
American
Nationalists

I mean, if they absolutely refused to just drop the name...

 

[goldenheart323]

The fact that they are using taliban soldiers in this game isn't worse than the fact that they are using nazis in the older games.

What worries me is how the taliban are used as cartoon villains (this worries me with nazis aswell), adversity can only be solved by clarifying diffenrences, not by making the counterpart look like demons.

I think there are major differences between letting people play as Nazis, Germans, Chinese, etc, and playing as the Taliban.

Nazi's, Germans, Chinese, none of these countries are actively killing our soldiers. We're not at war with any of them. And how big of a heel would you be if you actually knew a soldier wounded by the Taliban, & you pulled that game out for some MP? "You can be the soldier, & I'll play as the people who shot your leg off & killed your frien... Oh, my bad. I'm sorry."

When Billie's playing as the Taliban, even if he is well adjusted & doesn't end up joining them in real life, he's still rooting for the Taliban to win his match. What parent wants to hear his/her kid yell "Yes! The Taliban won!"? Rooting for the Taliban in any way, shape, or form just seems like it belongs solidly in the "bad things" category. I can understand parents worrying about little Billie associating himself with a specific group that accepts all kinds of people for the purposes of killing both US soldiers & innocent civilians.

To play as a Nazi, or German, or any other country's soldier, guess what? You have to be a citizen of that country. Playing as a Chinese/whatever country soldier killing US soldiers isn't considered a big deal because no one's worried about little Billie being influenced enough to defect, leave the US, & become a Chinese soldier. However, any fool can become a member of the Taliban and try to plot terrorist attacks & shoot Americans.

So there are 3 differences between playing as the Taliban and playing as a Nazi or Chinese soldier, etc.. Some may feel those differences don't matter, or shouldn't matter because "it's just a game," but I think this is what is causing the uproar.

(Edited my 2nd paragraph some. Added the "being a heel" part.)

 

[Giorgos Pardal]

"The

 

[Autofaux]

I like to think that the judgment to trust is that of the Spec Ops guys who provided consultation. They felt that the team were "extremely receptive" to the things they were saying, and seemed happy with their experience with the team. Their community now has a real face, from real operators in the field.

If the Spec Ops guys are fine with this game, the media and the politicians should grow a pair and shut the fuck up.

 

[KiKiweaky]

If only they stuck to Generic-Middle Eastern terrorists! Then none of this would've happened.

Yea like the GLA =D (generic loonatics assocciation) or something like that hehe.

But ye the media bugs the crap out of with this shit, 'OMG THEY R PUTTING TALIBAN IN ZEE GAMEEE NOOOOO' I mean who cares. Its a game!!!!

 

[metalhead467]

The article says they did see it coming, just not really the extent of the controversy. And I can kind of see why it would kind of suck to put all this work into a game and then have a ton of people ignore everything else to go HABLAGARBLEGARFLE THIS GAME IS EVIL because of one little detail.

Sigh [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Days_in_Fallujah]

And you expect any different from a studio doing the same thing, but with a bigger budget and brand name franchise?

Surely, the people in charge are busy with the everyday responsibilities, but I'm sure at least ONE PERSON had to have known about Six Days in Fallujah and brought it up at sometime or another.

Just because you know it's going to happen doesn't mean that it can't still make you feel a bit hurt when it inevitably does happen.

 

[Anstrup]

The fact that they are using taliban soldiers in this game isn't worse than the fact that they are using nazis in the older games.

What worries me is how the taliban are used as cartoon villains (this worries me with nazis aswell), adversity can only be solved by clarifying diffenrences, not by making the counterpart look like demons.

I think there are major differences between letting people play as Nazis, Germans, Chinese, etc, and playing as the Taliban.

Nazi's, Germans, Chinese, none of these countries are actively killing our soldiers. We're not at war with any of them. And how big of a heel would you be if you actually knew a soldier wounded by the Taliban, & you pulled that game out for some MP? "You can be the soldier, & I'll play as the people who shot your leg off & killed your frien... Oh, my bad. I'm sorry."

When Billie's playing as the Taliban, even if he is well adjusted & doesn't end up joining them in real life, he's still rooting for the Taliban to win his match. What parent wants to hear his/her kid yell "Yes! The Taliban won!"? Rooting for the Taliban in any way, shape, or form just seems like it belongs solidly in the "bad things" category. I can understand parents worrying about little Billie associating himself with a specific group that accepts all kinds of people for the purposes of killing both US soldiers & innocent civilians.

To play as a Nazi, or German, or any other country's soldier, guess what? You have to be a citizen of that country. Playing as a Chinese/whatever country soldier killing US soldiers isn't considered a big deal because no one's worried about little Billie being influenced enough to defect, leave the US, & become a Chinese soldier. However, any fool can become a member of the Taliban and try to plot terrorist attacks & shoot Americans.

So there are 3 differences between playing as the Taliban and playing as a Nazi or Chinese soldier, etc.. Some may feel those differences don't matter, or shouldn't matter because "it's just a game," but I think this is what is causing the uproar.

(Edited my 2nd paragraph some. Added the "being a heel" part.)

1. Very true that USA aren't at war with with any of the countries that participated in WWII, but You could still be a "heel" towards WWII veterans who got wounded (regardless of nationality), theres no difference.

2. Parents shoudln't just mindlessly dissmiss it as him being a terrorist, concern is necessary when youe a parent, but just labeling a video game as bad because it has Talibans in it, is idiocy. And there is no excuse for idiocy! (for the record, im neither pro/anti USA or the taliban in this conflict, both sides acted wrong in my oppinion)

3. That thing with joining the taliban, i hadn't really thought about that one. But i mean one could in theory as well turn radical communist or radical nazi from playing as them in a video game (well as much as one could turn taliban)

 

[Painful illusion]

Nazis don't bother Americans because they where never directly affected by them except for the men who served in the war. They Taliban's on the other hand seems to close to home...but it's still a game people.

 

[SmugFrog]

Wounded, even?

If you want to cause controversy you better be prepared to deal with it.

I think this is a case of "No wait! We're not done milking the controversy for publicity!"

I've become seriously suspicious about their motives after they defended it so much, and then defended the change by saying things like, "It was just a change to some letters on the screen - that's all. No one should be upset that we changed it."

I kind of think the whole thing was a publicity stunt. Perhaps they even "leaked" the story to an interested media agency?