I wish I could say this was unexpected, but, well, let’s be honest here: My reaction to EA’s last-minute act of self-censorship was less of a “WHAT†moment and more of a dejected sigh followed by the shocking realization that, holy moly, the sky is blue today. And the grass! It’s green! When did that happen? The pieces were in place, after all. There was a controversy, subsequent knee-jerk reactions on all sides, and an unfortunate precedent left festering on the shelf for years. Sad to say, it was only a matter of time before this happened:
“We have also received feedback from friends and families of fallen soldiers who have expressed concern over the inclusion of the Taliban in the multiplayer portion of our game,†said EA producer Greg Goodrich. “This is a very important voice to the Medal of Honor team. This is a voice that has earned the right to be listened to. It is a voice that we care deeply about. Because of this, and because the heartbeat of Medal of Honor has always resided in the reverence for American and Allied soldiers, we have decided to rename the opposing team in Medal of Honor multiplayer from Taliban to Opposing Force.â€
GameStop’s military base locations – which formerly refused to sell the game — are now engaged in a “thorough review to fully understand the extent of the modifications.”
Which means everything’s peachy, right? Well, no. Not at all, actually. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: if the gaming industry wants to be taken seriously – for its depictions of war to become more meaningful than a kid playing with GI Joe figures in his sandbox – then we need to start acting like it. No more getting pushed around by vocal minorities. But that’s been discussed to death and will continue to be until something finally comes of it. Plus, the issue I’m attempting to dissect today makes that “big topic†seem like a guppy following in the wake of the Titanic.
Related posts:
- Report: Medal of Honor Pulled from US Military GameStop Stores
- EA: No Sequel Unless Medal of Honor Sells At Least Three Million Copies
- EA Newsapolooza: Crysis 2, New Dragon Age, Medal of Honor Dated; Dead Space 2 Skipping PCs
- Hoo-rah! – EA Officially Announces Battlefield 3, Grants Beta Access to Medal of Honor Limited Edition Buyers
- Beta test a new massively-multiplayer online game
