It will be interesting to see if the added publicity from the controversy surrounding the refresh of the first person shooter Medal of Honor makes it even more popular than the original.
This military themed title has been banned in 49 GameStop locations and at all Post Exchanges and other stores on U.S. military bases worldwide. Public statements have been released by the commander of the Army & Air Force Exchange Major General Bruce Casella and by Gamestop and by EA Games president Frank Gibeau.
By now you’re probably wondering “what’s the controversy?” Basically, while playing in multiplayer mode, a player can choose to play one of the “good guys” or one of the "bad guys”. You can be a member of the Coalition forces or a Taliban insurgent.
This choice has military personnel and family members of those deceased in the real life Afghanistan conflict VERY upset. Many feel that it should not be a form of entertainment to shoot at American soldiers. Kotaku released the attached article with statements from AAFES Major General.
The following statements from GameStop were also released by Kotaku
"GameStop has agreed out of respect for our past and present men and women in uniform we will not carry Medal of Honor in any of our AAFES based stores...," the email, obtained by Kotaku, reads."As such, GameStop agreed to have all marketing material pulled by noon today and to stop taking reservations. Customers who enter our AAFES stores and wish to reserve Medal of Honor can and should be directed to the nearest GameStop location off base. GameStop fully supports AAFES in this endeavor and is sensitive to the fact that in multiplayer mode one side will assume the role of Taliban fighter."
EA Games defended their choices and pointed out clearly that the game is a creative risk, and that they did partner with the U.S. Military and the Medal of Honor Society when creating the game to make it as realistic a story as possible. You can read Frank Gibeau’s comments to Develop in the article here.
So gamers, soldiers, friends and interested parties…does the conflict matter? Is this going to be a good game? What’s your opinion on all of this? I would love your comments. Post below to let me know where you stand on this controversy.
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