In a response to the ludicrous mainstream press attention that Medal of Honor had been getting for it's completely overstated "feature" of giving players the opportunity of fighting for either the Coalition military or the terrorist Taliban forces, EA and developers DICE and Danger Close have now removed reference to the Taliban in the game.
Instead, players checking out the
open beta test tomorrow or picking up the game at retail in a couple of weeks will instead be playing as and fighting against the "OPFOR" opposing forces. The change is reportedly only superficial and will not fundamentally affect the gameplay.
Here's the full statement from Executive Producer Greg Goodrich:
"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."
Medal of Honor is due on October 14 in Australia for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Posted 11:53am 04/10/10
This world is turning us into cotton ball covered little babies.
People in the army have seen people arms get blown off and kids get shot up, there is no way that a skin or a name on a game would even make them glance twice.
Posted 11:57am 04/10/10
War is s***, I don't have respect for any military so censoring one side and not the other is lame.
Posted 12:03pm 04/10/10
so we should really tip toe around everything to do with them
99% of the time they are sitting on base gettin wasted playing playstation and basketball getting paid 80k+ a yr
Posted 12:08pm 04/10/10
Posted 12:10pm 04/10/10
Is it because its a current war?
Posted 12:13pm 04/10/10
sif they dont play on stone computers
Posted 12:35pm 04/10/10
Yes.
Posted 12:46pm 04/10/10
What about those that lost loved ones to US forces, mercenary Predator drone strikes, etc.? Is everyone who fights for the Taliban a "terrorist"? Sure, they get their funding and orders from those with a vested interest in bringing back a conservative Islamic government, but a great deal of them are local Afghans signing up to protect their valley. They don't deserve to be represented also?
It seems it's okay to depict the entire gamet of German troops in all these WWII games, from the Wermacht to the fanatical Waffen SS (an Al'Qaeda equivelant?). People lost loved ones to them back then too.
See, ya gotta understand that publishers make these games to make money, not pay homage to fallen soldiers. I think they've made a mistake with this decision, the controversy alone would drive big sales... just like the Airport scene did for MW2.
Posted 12:50pm 04/10/10
Wasnt there guys in wolfenstein that were torching prisoners or something along those lines.
Back before old whingy mums thought computer games turned their kids into raging serial killing rapists.
Posted 12:53pm 04/10/10
This is an American game by an American studio, they don't give a s*** about them. Its totally understandable that they'd change the name of the enemy if there was neg feedback from American soldiers and families over a live situation.
The name "Opposing Force" is stupid though. Surely they could have just run some text through an English-Arabic translator and came up with something cool that meant Butterflies of War?
Posted 12:56pm 04/10/10
http://www.militaryfactory.com/military_pay_scale.asp
Now, go compare that with against the actual ranks of the grunts doing the fighting (I'm using the US Marines here as they're normally the first expeditionary force on the ground): http://www.militaryfactory.com/ranks/marine_ranks.asp
Now... what about bonuses for being in a combat zone or in combat?
http://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/special-pay/hostile-fire-and-imminent-danger-pay. $225/month bonus for people to shoot at me doesn't sound like a very good deal to me, imo.
So, let's take a PFC E-2 grunt: $1622.10 per month + $225 "combat" bonus = $1847.10 per MONTH. That's a whopping $19,465.20 pay per annum. With the princely sum of an additional $2,700 if they're getting shot at the whole year.
I'm sure there are other benefits as well, but as you can see, c~$20k pa for someone to take potshots at my head with an AK-47 sounds like a pretty f*****g dumb idea...
Posted 12:57pm 04/10/10
agreed.. why not PCBG - Politically Correct Bad Guys.
Posted 01:06pm 04/10/10
how long is it 20k a yr tho, maybe 1 yr...
and there is no way they are out on field 365 days of the year.
they would be on base f*****g around 75% of the time.
with no bills, special taxes, no interest loans and after your in service for 10-20yrs i think it is you get a contiued salary after you leave.
There are so many different branches of military, obviously if ur going to become an army grunt you want a certain amount of "gettin ur head shot off"
Posted 01:21pm 04/10/10
How many times did she save the world??!!!
Posted 01:32pm 04/10/10
Posted 02:25pm 04/10/10
OPFOR my ass. I just had to register on this site just so I could post my disbelief...
If the wanted to get it right, they should have called them ACM (Anti-Coalition Militia) or just simply 'Insurgent/Terrorists'
PS, I'm a serving soldier who has fought the Taliban....very differnt from a game. None of my friends have been killed by a polygon...
Posted 02:27pm 04/10/10
Posted 05:04pm 04/10/10
You're going to have to be more specific.
Posted 05:51pm 04/10/10
Haha that's mean
Posted 07:04pm 04/10/10
Posted 10:11pm 04/10/10
As far as the rename goes, being a digger myself, I haven't been deployed but I'm not that fussed either way I can see why they would change the name, being that it is a current war but honestly, I think the fact that you are playing as a terrorist and shooting allied soldiers would be the main concern, not what we call the people.