Electronic Arts Buckles Under Pressure, Removes Taliban from Medal of Honor

kotaku

Responding to pressure from friends and families of fallen soldiers, Electronic Arts today said today they are removing the Taliban as playable characters from their upcoming military shooter Medal of Honor.

The game came under intense pressure from the military after it became known that in the multiplayer portions of the game, players would be able to take on the role of Taliban fighters.

Responding to pressure from friends and families of fallen soldiers, Electronic Arts today said today they are removing the Taliban as playable characters from their upcoming military shooter Medal of Honor. The game came under intense pressure from the military after it became known that in the multiplayer portions of the game, players would be able to take on the role of Taliban fighters.

Here' is the statement in full from Greg Goodrich, executive producer of Medal of Honor:

In the past few months, we have received feedback from all over the world regarding the multiplayer portion of Medal of Honor. We've received notes from gamers, active military, and friends and family of servicemen and women currently deployed overseas. The majority of this feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. For this, the Medal of Honor team is deeply appreciative.

However, we have also received feedback from friends and families of fallen soldiers who have expressed concern over the inclusion of the Taliban in the multiplayer portion of our game. This is a very important voice to the Medal of Honor team. 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.

While this change should not directly affect gamers, as it does not fundamentally alter the gameplay, 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.

To all who serve - we appreciate you, we thank you, and we do not take you for granted. And to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines currently serving overseas, stay safe and come home soon.

Greg Goodrich
Executive Producer
Medal of Honor

Why is it that it is okay to portray mass-genocides of Russians yet Taliban aren't allowed?

Why is it that it is okay to portray mass-genocides of Russians yet Taliban aren't allowed?

Vesica_Prime

i wont buy this game now coz i wanted to play as taliban

i wont buy this game now coz i wanted to play as taliban

sikanderahmed

Why is it that it is okay to portray mass-genocides of Russians yet Taliban aren't allowed?

Vesica_Prime

EA shows respect to fallen troops & their families. Activision would use this for extra publicity.

oh censorship you meaningless overused piece of crap :P

[QUOTE="sikanderahmed"]

i wont buy this game now coz i wanted to play as taliban

bleehum

your sarcasm meter needs firmware update

This is stupid and very hypocritical of people.

I wish everyone would just grow up, it's like I am surround by a bunch of adult sized babies who whine all day long.

[QUOTE="bleehum"][QUOTE="sikanderahmed"]

i wont buy this game now coz i wanted to play as taliban

sikanderahmed

your sarcasm meter needs firmware update

[QUOTE="sikanderahmed"]

i wont buy this game now coz i wanted to play as taliban

bleehum

What is wrong with wanting to play as the Taliban? Am I a bad guy now because I like to play as the Nazis (Nazis are much worse than Talibans) in WW2 games?

Edit: But not buying just because of a rename is a bit... odd.

Who is taking the place of the Taliban?

[QUOTE="bleehum"][QUOTE="sikanderahmed"]

i wont buy this game now coz i wanted to play as taliban

Maroxad

What is wrong with wanting to play as the Taliban? Am I a bad guy now because I like to play as the Nazis (Nazis are much worse than Talibans) in WW2 games?

Who is taking the place of the Taliban?

gameofthering

[QUOTE="sikanderahmed"]

[QUOTE="bleehum"] I think my sarcasm meter is going off the charts.bleehum

your sarcasm meter needs firmware update

it was a joke

This is ridiculous. You can't cave to the offenderatti or they'll come out of the woodwork next time.

Who is taking the place of the Taliban?

gameofthering

the name is being change from taliban to opposing force

So am I getting this right that all they're doing is changing the name??

Hmmm, nevermind, the faction is the same, only it's caleld "Opposing force".

Yeah can't manage to get the bile rising for that. It's silly more than anything else.

My big question is how are they going to balance multi-player? I guess maybe no vehicles at all, just basic rifles? I mean fighting the Taliban is mostly abotu intelligence. Once found these guys are literally wearing rags, living in caves and carry way outdated weaponry. They're no match for U.S. helicopter gunships and other high end tech.

So am I getting this right that all they're doing is changing the name??

meluvulongtime8

Thank you for putting words in my mouth. I'd explain it, but maybe you should read my post above yours, see if you can figure out what I meant by my first post.bleehum

That is why I put in an edit, I understand what you meant now. Basicly not wanting to play a game because a faction is not in it. Problem is this can actually happen with me seeing people not wanting to buy a game simply cause a certain faction is in it (see Civ 5 and the lack of Poland), even though you can take any other faction and just rename them poland in the edit options.

[QUOTE="gameofthering"]

Who is taking the place of the Taliban?

TheShadowLord07

the name is being change from taliban to opposing force

[QUOTE="bleehum"] Thank you for putting words in my mouth. I'd explain it, but maybe you should read my post above yours, see if you can figure out what I meant by my first post.Maroxad

That is why I put in an edit, I understand what you meant now. Basicly not wanting to play a game because a faction is not in it. Problem is this can actually happen with me seeing people not wanting to buy a game simply cause a certain faction is in it (see Civ 5 and the lack of Poland).

[QUOTE="TheShadowLord07"]

[QUOTE="gameofthering"]

Who is taking the place of the Taliban?

SaudiFury

the name is being change from taliban to opposing force

would have been better if it was Invaders vs Insurgents lol

[QUOTE="SaudiFury"][QUOTE="TheShadowLord07"]

the name is being change from taliban to opposing force

sikanderahmed

would have been better if it was Invaders vs Insurgents lol

but i'll leave that for another thread and another time.

Oh boy, here we go.

Guys, lets not turn this into a political thread. Off topic is over here. We come here to discuss games and systems, not war.

Yeah, I saw your edit after I posted. :Pbleehum

NP, sorry about the confusion I caused, your other post was not there while I was typing mine. Anyway I agree with you, not buying a game just because of a rename is a bit odd.

Guys, lets not turn this into a political thread. Off topic is over here. We come here to discuss games and systems, not war.

[QUOTE="bleehum"] Yeah, I saw your edit after I posted. :PMaroxad

NP, sorry about the confusion I caused, your other post was not there while I was typing mine. Anyway I agree with you, not buying a game just because of a rename is a bit odd.

[QUOTE="meluvulongtime8"]

So am I getting this right that all they're doing is changing the name??

bleehum

This is just **** ridiculous. Why bother changing the name at all? It's kind of an insult to their intelligence for those who were against the Taliban being in the game. They're going to know it was meant to be the Taliban just with a different name. They should've just left it the way it is.

I'm sick of this ****. Black people got pissed off about Resident Evil 5 having a white man murdering blacks, so Capcom won't have a Resident Evil game probably never take place in an African setting again. Then blacks will complain that there aren't enough of blacks in the game. People are never **** satisfied.

[QUOTE="bleehum"][QUOTE="meluvulongtime8"]

So am I getting this right that all they're doing is changing the name??

majadamus

This is just **** ridiculous. Why bother changing the name at all? It's kind of an insult to their intelligence for those who were against the Taliban being in the game. They're going to know it was meant to be the Taliban just with a different name. They should've just left it the way it is.

I'm sick of this ****. Black people got pissed off about Resident Evil 5 having a white man murdering blacks, so Capcom won't have a Resident Evil game probably never take place in an African setting again. Then blacks will complain that there aren't enough of blacks in the game. People are never **** satisfied.

except there is a resident game taking place in africa again: resident evil the mercenaries for the 3DS

Do they not realize that it is fake? Do they think that if you kill a US soldier in multiplayer that a real one dies in real life? monkeytoes61

*sighs*

Political correctness wins again.

[QUOTE="bleehum"][QUOTE="meluvulongtime8"]

So am I getting this right that all they're doing is changing the name??

majadamus

This is just **** ridiculous. Why bother changing the name at all? It's kind of an insult to their intelligence for those who were against the Taliban being in the game. They're going to know it was meant to be the Taliban just with a different name. They should've just left it the way it is.

I'm sick of this ****. Black people got pissed off about Resident Evil 5 having a white man murdering blacks, so Capcom won't have a Resident Evil game probably never take place in an African setting again. Then blacks will complain that there aren't enough of blacks in the game. People are never **** satisfied.

no they wont

Let me guess the game will end with the saying "America is awesome and so is its Goverment" *sigh*
im picking up Black Ops anyawy

*sighs*

Political correctness wins again.

BigBoss154

your avatar fits with your opinion ;)

They're still the taliban at heart. No matter what name you put on them, people will recognise them as the Taliban stand-ins. It's like how CoD4 used Opposing Force (OpFor). It was an arabic super power lead by a dictator, everyone knew they were just the Iraq/Iran stand-ins. Whether I buy the game or not is dependant on gameplay and from what I hear from my friend who played the beta, its not all that flash.BeyondPain

the game has significantly improved since beta

[QUOTE="majadamus"]

[QUOTE="bleehum"] That's how I read it, they didn't say anything about changing models.TheShadowLord07

This is just **** ridiculous. Why bother changing the name at all? It's kind of an insult to their intelligence for those who were against the Taliban being in the game. They're going to know it was meant to be the Taliban just with a different name. They should've just left it the way it is.

I'm sick of this ****. Black people got pissed off about Resident Evil 5 having a white man murdering blacks, so Capcom won't have a Resident Evil game probably never take place in an African setting again. Then blacks will complain that there aren't enough of blacks in the game. People are never **** satisfied.

no they wont

Great retort.

They've been complaining about it with movies, and I've seen it here on the message boards about how blacks aren't represented fairly or enough in video games.

Why is it that it is okay to portray mass-genocides of Russians yet Taliban aren't allowed?

Vesica_Prime

Let me guess the game will end with the saying "America is awesome and so is its Goverment" *sigh*
im picking up Black Ops anyawy

iMojo786_PSN

so did Modern Warfare

[QUOTE="majadamus"]

[QUOTE="bleehum"] That's how I read it, they didn't say anything about changing models.TheShadowLord07

This is just **** ridiculous. Why bother changing the name at all? It's kind of an insult to their intelligence for those who were against the Taliban being in the game. They're going to know it was meant to be the Taliban just with a different name. They should've just left it the way it is.

I'm sick of this ****. Black people got pissed off about Resident Evil 5 having a white man murdering blacks, so Capcom won't have a Resident Evil game probably never take place in an African setting again. Then blacks will complain that there aren't enough of blacks in the game. People are never **** satisfied.

except there is a resident game taking place in africa again: resident evil the mercenaries for the 3DS

Who is taking the place of the Taliban?

gameofthering

Medal of Honor multiplayer from Taliban to Opposing Force.

If they just used the term "terrorists" generically, would anyone really care? Because Opposing Force just sounds dumb.