Taliban Renamed in Medal of Honor, PC Beta Live
As EA launches the public beta for Medal of Honor, both EA and Danger Close decide to rename the opposing force out of respect for US soldiers, their families and friends.
Friday Medal of Honor Executive Producer Greg Goodrich said that both EA and developer Danger Close have decided to rename the opposing team in the multiplayer portion of the game, converting the controversial "Taliban" into "Opposing Force." Both parties claim that this was done out of respect for U.S. soldiers and their families.
According to Goodrich, the team has received "overwhelmingly" positive feedback from gamers, active military, and friends and family of servicemen and women currently deployed overseas. However they have also received feedback from friends and families of fallen soldiers that have expressed their concern regarding the Taliban's part in the game.
"This is a very important voice to the Medal of Honor team," he said. "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."
He also added that the change will not directly affect gamers. "We are making this change for the men and women serving in the military and for the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice--this franchise will never willfully disrespect, intentionally or otherwise, your memory and service," he added.
As previously reported, the multiplayer open beta for Medal of Honor on PC has begun and will end on October 7 @ 11:59 PDT. The recommended system requirements are as follows:
- Operating System: Windows Vista (SP2), Windows 7
- Processor: Quad Core 2.0 GHz
- Memory: 2 GB RAM+
- GPU: 512 MB of VRAM with Nvidia GeForce GTX260 or ATI Radeon 4870
- HDD Space: 2 GB
- Sound: DirectX 10 compatible
- DirectX: DirectX 10
- Disc Drive: 16X CD/DVD Drive
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Remember, US/UK are always the good guys. It's ok for them/us to shoot whoever they like but as soon as anybody fires back that's a no-no.
Bullshit, although it's not like Medal of honour has ever given a balanced view on warfare.
Nobody complains about playing as Nazis in WWII games.
Now that Activision has taken the we'll-do-anything-to-make-money crown away from EA, they'll do whatever they can to tarnish their reputation with gamers again.
We've been playing both sides of WWII in games for years. Not calling them Nazis doesn't change that that is what the other side in the war was. If you are going to set your game with a mostly-American force fighting against a generically middle-eastern force, it doesn't matter what you call them, people will apply a real-world situation to it. If EA wanted to appease critics, they should have made each side the same, and if they want to keep the same setting, there was no reason to change the name, as that has no effect on the setting of the game.
Deliberately changing the name while leaving the game itself the same is just a lousy publicity stunt on EA's part that does no good for anyone.
I think Activision should go with "the baddies".
Why do people always refer to war with the Nazis? War was declared on Germany, not the Nazis.
This is just stupid. I never heard anyone complaining about Counter Strike. And it had every major terrorist factions you can think of. Why this one ?. That is absurd. You can't say a game is anti-patriotism. Because games aren't meant to be effing real. Anyone bother to read the "The settings,characters and stories this ____ contains are pure fiction" -or what ever comes along those lines- That come written in every game ?. Based on real facts one mostly suck, So I wouldn't classify them as a game
Nobody complains about playing as Nazis in WWII games.
Probably because they were technically Axis troops and not Nazis per se.
There is a point in favour of limiting things in some circumstances - for instance if the point of the game is to immerse and drive you to actually disliking your opponent then you'd have to be careful. That's not to say that could happen in many instances, if anything it's easier to make people cynical of motives (e.g. in Medieval Total War you could call crusades / jihads based loosely on religious grounds but clearly with heavy political / land grabbing intent).
If you had the game spending an age playing for the other side, trying to avenge massacres of children etc that wouldn't be good (if it's in any way believable) - if you play as them where you have to frame the US/UK/Dutch etc by slaughtering your own village then that could be propaganda the other way and might be wrong, but wrong against a set of people we don't like.
With the German / Nazi point, I imagine that anyone we are intended to hurt in such a game would be a firm believer in the nastiest bits of the Nazi ideology, rather than merely being conscripts or standard party members. They'd probably kick puppies for fun if they could.