No Medal of Honor for the US military

[Inspector Fowler]

I saw this a couple places, but here's a link to Joystiq.

They can do whatever they want, but what makes me laugh is that in Call of Duty you spent the latter 1/3rd of the game murdering the shit out of a bunch of US military soldiers who had gone rogue, trying to nuke the US in an effort to get more people to enlist.

[SilentScreams]

Laughable. As if soldiers are going to care that MoH has Taliban in it.

[txshurricane]

Why is anyone here concerned with what happens in an on-base GameStop? Are we talking business ethics or political correctness? Because one of those belongs in a different forum...

[National Kato]

Originally Posted by txshurricane

Why is anyone here concerned with what happens in an on-base GameStop? Are we talking business ethics or political correctness? Because one of those belongs in a different forum...

I don't think it matters whether you see this issue as one of business, politics, or an amalgam of both to care about what our armed forces are doing. After all, it's the public's money that funds them.

I don't see a reason to raise an alert before one is needed. The subject is directly linked to videogames and this is the General Gaming forum.

[Inspector Fowler]

No no, nothing political!!!

To me it goes in the same kind of category as people who go, "Oh noes the Grand Thefts Auto!" while a hundred games with far more violent or brutal content are being released.

And in this case, I was contrasting Medal of Honor - where you're given a chance to imitate our actual servicemen, serving in an actual conflict - to Call of Duty - where an Army Ranger turned CIA operative was expected to shoot up an entire airport of innocent people before killing 30-40 police officers. This was before the part where an entire battalion of US Spec Ops troops goes rogue and you have to kill almost all of them before stabbing a United States Army general in the eye.

So my point is that, typical of people who monitor/restrict/complain about videogames, they've taken one small myopic slice of the pie and banned a game from sale without realizing that there are other games with far worse conduct.

And besides! When kids play cops and robbers, somebody plays on each side, right?

[National Kato]

They're more concerned with sensitivities among the serving men and woman. There's graphic violence in a lot of games. They don't mind violence. The game allows for playable Taliban characters and the powers decided that wasn't the smartest thing to have on base.

I may question whether it makes a difference, but I'm not a soldier in wartime nor a leader of soldiers. I can't presume to know what is best for on-base gaming/morale.

[Xerxes]

As Nolan North on that website said...

I think the bigger news here is "Military bases have Gamestop stores"

Way to take away the solder's freedoms Gamestop.

[Kelegacy]

They're cornering the market on military base game stores. I smell antitrust.

[jeffbax]

Originally Posted by SilentScreams

Laughable. As if soldiers are going to care that MoH has Taliban in it.

I'd like to think this, but I have a suspicion that a soldier in the middle east right now, who more than likely has lost a close friend at some point, might think a little differently about being so cavalier.

It's one thing to think it's all just a simulation here in the states, but I imagine those on the front lines might have a little different perspective.

[SilentScreams]

Good point. I guess there's no way we can know that. I'd like to think that they would just shrug it off as a game and nothing more, but who knows without seeing and experiencing what they have?

[Inspector Fowler]

I can't speak for everybody but my very good friend is a Middle East combat vet who doesn't bitch at all about stuff like this - he'd rather a game be authentic.

Like I said, they can do what they want. But playing as the Taliban in MP - is that any worse than implying that an Army Ranger would kill an airport full of people? I don't think so.

And in BC2, CoD 4 and MW2, you kill a shitload of US soldiers in MP anyway. It just seemed like an odd thing to put their foot down about.

[J Arcane]

IME, there's quite a lot of soldiers who're big fans of Modern Warfare and games like it, at least as I've encountered and read of online.

All this means is they won't be buying it from Gamestop.

[jeffbax]

Originally Posted by Inspector Fowler

And in BC2, CoD 4 and MW2, you kill a shitload of US soldiers in MP anyway. It just seemed like an odd thing to put their foot down about.

Do those games feature the very people that the soldiers are actually in the desert shooting? I don't think you can compare the situations, and while most people may shrug it off... that doesn't guarantee it wouldn't have big effects on even a minority of soldiers and if that is the case how unlikely is it that they would be able to avoid seeing others play it?

Maybe they just don't want them to start going soft on the effects of US soldier's dying to the literally exact insurgents while they are in the middle of the real.fucking.thing.

Ideally, soldier's would be able to choose, but the military is not a democracy - it's a controlled environment that I think likely warrants control of such things if only for the mental stability of the few.

[nabokovfan87]

Here is another take on the same story:

http://kotaku.com/5628960/an-ex+sold...honor-decision

As well as something about Gamestop not selling to military bases?

http://kotaku.com/5628741/gamestop-p...yline=true&s=i

I will likely take a look over this during lunch, but why is it all of a sudden gamestop's responsability to censor what the soldiers play, let alone the fact that they are only restricting sales in the military and not globally is kind of assinine.

Also comforting to know that even when you get deployed you cannot escape the wrath of gamestop. I would have figured the publishers sent the game directly to the PX or what not and it was sold as if directly from the publisher/developer.

EDIT: If anyone has a right to play a game where you shoot the taliban, don't you think it would be the U.S. Deployed military forces?

[National Kato]

Originally Posted by nabokovfan87

EDIT: If anyone has a right to play a game where you shoot the taliban, don't you think it would be the U.S. Deployed military forces?

I think you're missing the point. It's not shooting the Taliban that's the problem. It's being able to play as the Taliban in MP and shoot American soldiers that can touch on sensitivities.

...let alone the fact that they are only restricting sales in the military and not globally is kind of assinine.

It makes more sense to restrict sales on military bases than globally. A military base does not have the same freedoms and rights afforded to civilian space.

Also comforting to know that even when you get deployed you cannot escape the wrath of gamestop. I would have figured the publishers sent the game directly to the PX or what not and it was sold as if directly from the publisher/developer.

It wasn't Gamestop that made the decision. Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), the Department of Defense agency that runs department stores, or exchanges, on all military bases, decided it will not sell Medal of Honor at any of its locations, and pulled all advertising associated with the game.

So, no reason to blame Gamestop.

[burger]

Thread title is misleading

[Shieldmaiden]

I honestly think that all the soldiers will be buying their copies of Medal of Honour elsewhere. I can't say I've ever met any squaddies who would be even a little bothered by MoH.

[txshurricane]

I think the bigger question here is: are the soldiers really that hard-up for games that they need Medal of Honor?

Played the beta...did not like.

/offtopic

[J Arcane]

It's the closest heir apparent to Modern Warfare, now that Call of Duty has completely lost the plot with that clusterfuck that is Black Ops.

[nabokovfan87]

Originally Posted by National Kato

I think you're missing the point. It's not shooting the Taliban that's the problem. It's being able to play as the Taliban in MP and shoot American soldiers that can touch on sensitivities.

I was thinking 1 thing and typed another, yes you are correct. This discussion came up on another podcast, and my counter was simply that if you remove taliban it would be US vs. US. The argument would then be, which is worse, US vs. Taliban/Terrorists (same as in CS:S, nazis in DOD, and several other games), or US vs. US which only happens in AA.

Originally Posted by National Kato

It makes more sense to restrict sales on military bases than globally. A military base does not have the same freedoms and rights afforded to civilian space.

I completely understand restricting things for the sake of security and safety, but that isn't the issue. We aren't talking about buying food from only certain places, we are talking about something where it can be seen as a little grey in terms of what is politically correct.

It sets a precedent, and I don't agree with the precedent when you consider this didn't happen in COD: MW/MW2 last year and year before, to COD: BO,, to SOCOM, or to BF: BC2/BF3 (And yes, I understand that in some of those games the "bad" teams skins are generic soldiers, but to me that is worse because it skews the good vs. evil mentality).

Originally Posted by National Kato

It wasn't Gamestop that made the decision. Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), the Department of Defense agency that runs department stores, or exchanges, on all military bases, decided it will not sell Medal of Honor at any of its locations, and pulled all advertising associated with the game.

So, no reason to blame Gamestop.

The Army and Air Force Exchange Services has confirmed to Kotaku that they requested the game pulled from the 49 GameStop's located on bases in the continent U.S. The ban, an AAFES representative told Kotaku, also extends to all military PXs worldwide.

Depends on the "wording" of the "request", but good to know gamespot didn't feel some need to shelter soldiers, who in reality need things like video games to escape more then anyone. Although playing a virtual thing of what you do in real life isn't escaping, it would make you wonder why COD and others are allowed. I would suggest all modern setting combat games be banned just for the sake of avoiding any side of opinion skewing at all. To be completely politically correct, it would make sense that that course of action be taken.

Originally Posted by txshurricane

I think the bigger question here is: are the soldiers really that hard-up for games that they need Medal of Honor?

Played the beta...did not like.

/offtopic

I take it you have never watched MASH? They aren't exactly rolling in cash and many gaming sites send care packages with various items to the troops including several places that offer a child's play like service for the troops.