Aug 23, 2010
Hot on the heels of Gran Turismo 5 and Mafia 2‘s Italian disputes, Britain’s getting in on the act as EA’s upcoming modern-war shooter Medal of Honor finds itself at the center of yet another whirlwind of controversy. Tory MP Liam Fox has appealed to UK retailers, demanding they not stock the game on its release in October.
While we presume he did plenty of research on the game before unleashing his opinion on the British public, Mr Fox is seemingly under the impression that Medal of Honor’s multiplayer glorifies the events of Britain’s war against the Taliban, though the game doesn’t feature British soldiers.
“It’s shocking that someone would think it acceptable to recreate the acts of the Taliban. At the hands of the Taliban, children have lost fathers and wives have lost husbands. I am disgusted and angry. It’s hard to believe any citizen of our country would wish to buy such a thoroughly un-British game. I would urge retailers to show their support for our armed forces and ban this tasteless product.”
The UK government’s Department of Media, Culture and Sport have been quick to dismiss Mr Fox’s comments. A department spokesperson issued this statement earlier this morning.
“Dr Fox was expressing a personal view and we understand why some people might find the subject matter of the game offensive. There is a ratings system in place which exists to categorise games appropriately, in this case the game in question is rated 18 so should only be sold to, and played by, adults. There is a clear choice for consumers which they can exercise when making decisions about purchasing video games.”
The British Board of Film Classification have also commented, reminding nay-sayers of Medal of Honor‘s countless war-time counterparts, such as Call of Duty and Battlefield: Bad Company, which feature similarly controversial themes.
“We gave it a cautious 18-rating, but it’s not as strong as other comparable games. We considered it to be somewhere between a 15 and 18 rating when looking at our guidelines. There are a number of games set in both modern and historical wars in which you can shoot UK and US troops in multiplayer. Medal Of Honor is not unique in this respect.”
Retailers, both online and on the high street, maintain that they will be selling the game on day of release despite a similar furore in the US, while EA have issued a company statement defending Medal of Honor against its worldwide discord.
“Medal Of Honor is set in today’s war, putting players in the boots of today’s soldier… We give gamers the opportunity to play both sides. Most of us have been doing this since we were seven. If someone’s the cop, someone’s got to be the robber, someone’s got to be the pirate, somebody’s got to be the alien. In Medal Of Honor multiplayer, someone has to be the Taliban.”
Medal of Honor is released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC in the US on October 12th, and in Europe on the 15th.
Source CVG
*Sigh*