Medal of Honor - No More Taliban Option

Today EA announced that the Medal of Honor developer will remove the option of playing a Taliban from the MP part of the game, after receiving feedback from people asking them to remove it.

Do you think they made the right decision? If they make it available in the future (as a DLC, for example), would you buy it?

 

Well, personally, I don't think they should remove it. Don't play as Taliban if you don't want to, and gives others the chance to blow the snot out of the Taliban.

 

Make it available only for peoples who have KDR of 0.4 and below

 

Well, EA was trying to grab some market from east too but no luck
Anyway, I don't think that we should mix personal and gaming storyline together..
I still remember that airport level from MW2...

 

That airport level from MW2 was no worse than other games like GTA where you mow down innocent civilians, not to mention a host of other games. It's all cartoon in my mind.

 

Whats the difference with the final MP version now?
We will just play some nameless terrorist group instead. xD

 

People these days are overly sensitive. The worst part is the people who wanted the change aren't even gamers.

 

Yes, they should remove it, if the institution (U.S. Military) and those connected to it from which this series gets its ideas, information, and inspiration strongly oppose it.

If this were a general and more fictional FPS like Unreal Tournament or Halo, and they wanted to create a "Taliban" group, then that's up to EA. But you don't create a game titled after the most decorated military award, including real military branches and unit names, and essentially creating a somewhat realistic military FPS unless you intend to represent these things in accordance to the wishes and approval of those that matter.

While I strongly oppose exclusive licenses in video games, I'm in favor of it when it comes to the U.S. military.

 

What?

Actual MILITARY branches have condemned the feature. Who the hell cares if they're gamers or not? These "overly sensitive" people are doing the real stuff and serving the country, while you're whining about not having the option of playing a pixelated Taliban behind a computer screen. Join the service and serve under a combat-related MOS if you want to fight actual Taliban, tough guy.

 

Renaming something makes it go away, right? Probably should rename Nazis in WWII games too. Let's all use the term "they who should not be named" instead. There that's much better now.

 

Medal of Honor should have been made as it was originally intended, and everyone who doesn't want to play it should express that by not buying it.

 

well i cant see any kind of sense in this issue.games are just for fun,nothing else.why EA have been using Naziz in MP of previous games.weren't Americans soldiers died fighting against them.
i am sorry to say that American Government always think that they are on the right side whether its been Russia,Vietnam,Iraq,Afghanistan,Iran,Japan etc and this attitude is reflected in their games.

 

I don really get what was offensive in the first place! The worst I see is that after a round in MP u may see Taliban wins!

Don mind the decision tho! I don really know what team i'm playing as half the time on BC2!

 

I'm sure if they made a game where you could play an Al Qaeda operative who hijacked a play and then get's to fly it into the Twin Towers in flight sim mode, nearly everyone would agree that that is outrageous.

No, it's not exactly the equivalent argument. (But better than the Nazi comparative.)

But both cases, the aforementioned hypothetical game and MOH's Taliban option, can be viewed as inciteful, recruitment tools. Let's face it, a lot of these FPS military games induce teenagers to want to join the military. Well, a Taliban option in MP would have the same effect on a youth who are opposed to the West - viewing American military action as unjust.

What is more, imagine the type of anti-American rhetoric and taunts that are sure to occur while playing in MP matches. The flame wars that are sure to ensue would further deteriorate perceptions and coax the flames of anger and hatred.

Media has a fiduciary responsibility to not merely represent "reality" but to also NOT incite already tenuous social, political and religious relations around the globe.

Just because you can, doesn't always mean you should.

 

I don't really care either way. I just don't see how simply changing the name will get it back on store shelves...

Also, did a quick blog about it, if anyone cares to read it.
Better Gaming - Gaming: Medal of Honor - No More Taliban Option

 

well i cant imagine that video games can have such a drastic impact on anyone.

 

Yet they do. Especially the more "realistic" they become.

 

I know plenty of friends who have joined the Army and Marines. I can guarantee you none of their decisions to join had anything to do with video games.

 

Whew! Sure glad they changed the name then (and absolutely nothing else gameplay, story or graphic wise). We can all feel better that kids across the pond won't be inciting anti western trash talk as OpFor.

 

It's not like the US military hasn't ever killed innocents. Stop complaining. There are no "good guys" in war.

 

I know a few who gained interest in the idea because of games. Specifically, combat flight sims from the 80's. Joined Air force and Navy.

I know a person who became a weapon's buff because of video games. Is thinking of joining the Marines.

And then we have the America's Army video game that the military was using as a recruitment tool.

And then there's movies... etc. Point is, media does have an impact.

 

I understand that EA got a some negative publicity from this within the US, and they are trying to do damage control by changing the name to "Opposing Force."

I don't know if there was some other action they could have taken to resolve their PR problem; maybe this was the best choice to avoid more PR issues after the launch. Although it seems that for the MP part of this game to work, there is a need to have two sides of the battle, and it is a little silly to call one of them Opposing Force.

It's just a game IMO and personally I don't mind either way, but maybe this is one of the first times when a video game is released that depicts a war that is still ongoing? I would imagine there would be a lot less complaints if several years had passed since the war was concluded. It wouldn't have been possible to make films like Full Metal Jacket, or Apocalypse Now, etc., while the Vietnam War was still going on, for example.

 

This was a dumb thing to do.. destroys the realism of the game.. i understand that soldiers are dieing etc but changing the name of the taliban doesn't help.. they won't go away... if it was kept , it would help ppl understand how taliban operates and dangers faced by the soldiers seriously.. For me , IDK really speaking.. always been Opposing force in MW so this makes no difference for me.. speaking about that , i'm getting the limited edition of the game.. hehe... but i have to agree with some ppl.. this game should nver have been made in the first place.. at least untill the war was over.. if it had been on iraq, i think there would have been less of an uproar.

 

Wait - I don't understand. Are they removing the option to play as Taliban, or simply removing the Taliban altogether from the entirety of the game?

I thought they were just removing the option to play as Taliban, but some of the comments from people in this thread would seem to indicate otherwise.

 

Its only the NAME. When you play in multiplayer you will see that you are fighting opposing forces instead of taliban.

 

so based on that argument then we shouldn't use us army terms in games either as it is a tool to recruit more into there army and view the eastern areas as unjust, creating more conflict in the long term.....hmm may need to ban war games full stop...that would fix it.

 

I've taken an alternate track with all of this. I think that the devs saw what was done with MW2 - specifically they saw the Airport level and then saw what kind of reaction it stirred up - then they dropped this 'Taliban' bomb as a pure marketing ploy, knowing it would get people talking. After the winds were stirred up enough, they removed it altogether (I don't think protestations from family members of fallen soldiers had has much of an impact with the devs as the media has proposed).

While some might say bending to PC pressure is cowardly, I'd say its just viral marketing at work.

Just some food for thought.....

 

9/11 was an inside job. lol jk

2 bee zupa cereal tho- hijacked plays are no funny business

 

That was one of the dumbest things ever... but i'm not suprised that the iranian president said that.. the way they think , it makes perfect sense especially if it gives them a reason to critise the US.