That was the line as delivered by Electronic Arts in defense of its upcoming addition to the Medal of Honor franchise. Perhaps I reside in some Bizzaro-type universe as I cannot help but not see the problem here. Apparently, others reside here with me.
EA has taken a hard stance against the negative press it has been receiving from media outlets such as FOX NEWS, who had on Gold Star Moms’ Karen Meredith, who stated, “We’ve just come off of the worst month of casualties in the whole war,” she said. “And this game is going to be released in October. So families who are going to be burying their children are going to be seeing this and playing this game. I just don’t see that a video game based on a current war makes any sense at all. It’s disrespectful.”
Even politicians such as UK Defense Secretary Liam Fox, who, calling the game “Disgusting”, have joined in, asking both retailers and consumers to boycott the game – a request which seems to have fallen on deaf ears, while simultaneously pushing for an effective ban:
It’s shocking that someone would think it acceptable to recreate the acts of the Taliban.
I am disgusted and angry. It’s hard to believe any citizen of our country would wish to buy such a thoroughly un-British game.
I would urge retailers to show their support for our armed forces and ban this tasteless product.
It should be noted that UK soldiers do not appear in the game, though they have served in Iraq. Only U.S. forces appear in this title.
Of course, this is not the first time a video game has been targeted due to the way it portrays the present conflict. Developer Atomic Games’ Six Days in Fallujah, a title based around the real-world experiences of Marines serving in Iraq, was left without a publisher after Konami backed out due to receiving large amounts of negative press. Of course, the difference here being that Atomic Games’ President Peter Tamte made the mistake of saying they used the input of insurgents in development.
Not to long ago, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was also targeted as a result of an (optional) scene where the player, portraying an undercover agent operating within a terrorist cell in Russia, walks through an airport terminal as the terrorist fire upon travelers, employees, and officers. In this situation, even if the player chooses to play the scene, they do not have to fire their weapon at civilians to successfully complete the mission. They do, however, have to fire at FSB troops. The scene was flagged heavily with negative media. Despite this, it continues to sell heavily, even recently earning the title of the Best Selling Game Ever in the UK.
Responding to the negative press directed at Medal of Honor, Electronic Arts’ Amanda Taggart initially released a statement saying, “We give gamers the opportunity to play both sides. Most of us have been doing this since we were seven. If someone’s the cop, someone’s got to be the robber, someone’s got to be the pirate, somebody’s got to be the alien. In Medal Of Honor multiplayer, someone has to be the Taliban.” Strangely enough, this is nothing different than Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, in which, on multiplayer, persons can play as members of the
OpFor, who happen to be terrorist. However, I can recall nor find any controversy relating to this. I’m reminded of a statement by Christopher Mintz-Plasse of the film
Kick-Ass, “People are so angry at Chloe [Grace Moretz] for saying bad language but she murders a ton of people and no one seems to be offended by that.” It seems like
cherry picking to me.
EA Games’ President Frank Gibeau later told Develop.
“We respect the media’s views, but at the same time [these reports] don’t compromise our creative vision and what we want to do. The development teams care very much about what they’re building, and of course a bit of criticism from the media causes some to get demoralized, but at the end of the day we’re proud of what we’re doing. Bringing Medal of Honor back was no small feat.
At EA we passionately believe games are an art form, and I don’t know why films and books set in Afghanistan don’t get flack, yet [games] do,” he explained. “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.
Games have been set in Afghanistan before. We anticipated this when we decided on the concept of the game—this is about being a special forces solider. What’s really important for us is that we partnered with the US military, and the Medal of Honor Society as well. We’ve gone out of our way to produce the best story for the game.”
Medal of Honor releases October 12th, 2010 for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.
VALVe just passed along these brand new screenshots to us of Portal 2 displayed at Gamescom, a European trade show presently occurring in Cologne, Germany. So here they are, posted below, along with some E3 photos, for your enjoyment.
Need For Speed: World is one of the newest entries to the Need For Speed franchise from Electronic Arts. It is an Massively-Multiplayer Online Racing game, exclusive to the PC, and the spiritual successor to Motor City Online. Unfortunately, this game is in desperate need of serious improvement or it may go the way of Motor City Online.
The game is advertised as free-to-play, however, to really get any of the true benefits of the title, gamers will have to pay $20 for the starter pack to advance beyond level 10. Truthfully speaking, the limitations imposed upon players who choose not to pay are severe, much to the point that you might as well pay or not play at all. But is the game worth the $20 to be able to reach the extra 40 levels, garner new vehicles, and earn access to new locations? From the impression gathered, unfortunately not much incentive to do so is offered at this point.
Need For Speed World was made by combining elements of Rockport (Need For Speed: Most Wanted) and Palmont City (Need For Speed: Carbon), and inserting them into one game. Through this, you have access to a vast area to explore and as you do so, you will encounter many other drivers, police, and the notorious Need For Speed taxi. You can chat with players in a chatbox located in the bottom left hand corner of your screen which is almost-always present (except when in your safe house), compare vehicles and statistics with other drivers, invite them to races or group sessions, join in races, or collide with a police cruiser to engage in a chase. Outside of that, the game does not offer much more. This results in a rather lackluster Massively-Multiplayer Online experience.
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PRESS RELEASE
Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts are looking for video game enthusiasts of all ages and fans of the Star Wars®: The Clone WarsTM animated television series on Cartoon Network to be the first to get hands-on in the open BETA testing that begins today for Star Wars®: Clone Wars AdventuresTM. Get a sneak peak of the highly anticipated free-to-play online virtual world and provide feedback to help put the finishing touches on the final game scheduled to be released later this year on September 15th.
The ultimate virtual destination for a new generation of Star Wars fans, Clone Wars Adventures is an action-packed virtual world where players can go online to experience fun minigames, daily activities, events, rewards, lively social environments and competition. Clone Wars Adventures lets players duel iconic adversaries with their own custom Lightsaber, speed through the galaxy in a custom Starfighter, defeat enemies and take down starships.
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NEW YORK, Dec 02, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., announced today that Grand Theft Auto IV for the PC is now available for purchase at retail outlets nationwide and for digital download on Steam.
“We are very proud to be releasing Grand Theft Auto IV for the PC,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “We have taken our time to ensure this version of the game is not just a quick port, but a perfectly tailored experience for the PC. We hope the PC gaming community appreciates all of the innovative features in the game. Grand Theft Auto began on the PC and we have tried very hard to ensure this version was worthy of that heritage.”
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VALVe has slashed the cost for Half-Life down to less than a dollar. For the low low price of $0.98, users can now buy the original Half-Life for Steam. Half-Life, built on the GoldSrc engine and released in 1998, is VALVe’s award winning title featuring protagonist Gordon Freeman. From it came many mods including the time tested Counter-Strike. And trust me when I say it’s well worth the 98 cents.
[ Joystiq ]
IRVINE, Calif. – November 20, 2008 – Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft®’s second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King™, has sold more than 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability*, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. This eclipses the previous record of nearly 2.4 million copies sold in 24 hours, set in January 2007 by Blizzard’s first World of Warcraft expansion, The Burning Crusade®. Wrath of the Lich King was simultaneously released in North America, Europe, Chile, Argentina, and Russia on November 13; Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand on November 14; and South Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on November 18.
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November 19, 2008 – Alienware and Bigfoot Networks have teamed up to deliver the next generation online gaming desktop PC for the holidays. Gamers can now order an Aurora™ Online Gaming Edition QuickShip Desktop configured with the Killer NIC™ K1 , a network card that reduces lag and delivers smoother, more responsive online game play. The online gaming PC will ship within 48 hours after payment confirmation and validation, and is priced at $1899.
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It’s rare when such a game comes along like Left 4 Dead (PC Version Reviewed). However, when it comes to Valve, we usually expect nothing less than Pure Gold. With releases such as Team Fortress 2, Half-Life 2, Portal, and even going back to the original Half-Life (which spawned mods of it’s own including Counter-Strike), Valve has shown and continues to show it knows how to make a great game. So when I was offered the demo for Left 4 Dead, I could not help but pounce. What happened next was a wallet opening and a card being charged for a copy of Left 4 Dead. Once the download was complete, I could only sit and wait for 12:00. Time to cure the infection, “One Bullet At A Time”.
At first, I looked for something to compare Left 4 Dead too. Resident Evil? Dawn of the Dead? Perhaps 28 Days Later? None of these seemed to fit. The reason is Left 4 Dead stands on its own. Ironically, the game is presented somewhat as a film. The cinematics are great though and help to further the story which is made up mostly of you and your allies trying to stay alive. The story revolves around 4 main characters, Francis, Bill, Zoey, and Louis. Francis seems to be more of a hard-nosed Mercenary type while Bill seems to be an older seasoned person, likely with experience in war. He’s also a bit of a strategist and seems to serve as a leader figure to the group. Zoey, the lone female, is more of a fearful person, but does not hesitate to help others before herself, and Louis is a more jumpy person ready to shoot anything formerly human that moves. Together, the four attempt to escape the infection and the mass hordes of zombies ready to assail them around any corner.
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London, UK – November 17, 2008 - Fonix Speech, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fonix Corporation (OTC BB: FNIX), and Ubisoft announced today that the highly anticipated Tom Clancy’s EndWar, now available at leading video game retailers, features Fonix VoiceIn technology for its voice command interface. EndWar, initially available in US and UK English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Russian and Polish is available for both the Microsoft Xbox® and the Sony PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems. A PC version in the same languages will launch in Q1 2009.
“Ubisoft chose Fonix speech software for its convenient user interface, low memory and processing power requirements. We needed to ensure that everything done in the game could be done by voice commands and Fonix VoiceIn offered us the technology to accomplish that,” commented Vincent Greco, worldwide technical coordinator at Ubisoft. “Fonix provided us with a unique set of tools for game development across multiple platforms.”
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