tinkertiler
23-08-2010, 08:31 PM
The Medal of Honor reboot has been placed right in the sights of the controversy cannon over EA's decision to let players play as the Taliban in multiplayer. One British official has called for the game to be banned from retail, but other parts of the British government don't seem to share his opinions.
Responding to Defense Secretary Liam Fox's call for UK retailers to not stock the game, a spokesperson for the Department of Media, Culture And Sport said that Dr. Fox was just "expressing a personal view."
"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," the spokesperson further noted. "There is a clear choice for consumers which they can exercise when making decisions about purchasing video games."
The ratings body in question, the BBFC, has also backed its decision to rate Medal of Honor as as fit for a retail release. In fact, the BBFC claims that compared to other shooters, Medal of Honor is actually relatively tame.
"We gave it a cautious 18-rating, but it's not as strong as other comparable games," a BBFC spokesperson said. "We considered it to be somewhere between a 15 and 18 rating when looking at our guidelines."
As for the Taliban debacle, the BBFC countered that Medal of Honor is not unique in this aspect. "There are a number of games set in both modern and historical wars in which you can shoot UK and US troops in multiplayer," the spokesperson said.
Many UK retailers, meanwhile, seem to be intent on ignoring Dr. Fox's call.
Responding to Defense Secretary Liam Fox's call for UK retailers to not stock the game, a spokesperson for the Department of Media, Culture And Sport said that Dr. Fox was just "expressing a personal view."
"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," the spokesperson further noted. "There is a clear choice for consumers which they can exercise when making decisions about purchasing video games."
The ratings body in question, the BBFC, has also backed its decision to rate Medal of Honor as as fit for a retail release. In fact, the BBFC claims that compared to other shooters, Medal of Honor is actually relatively tame.
"We gave it a cautious 18-rating, but it's not as strong as other comparable games," a BBFC spokesperson said. "We considered it to be somewhere between a 15 and 18 rating when looking at our guidelines."
As for the Taliban debacle, the BBFC countered that Medal of Honor is not unique in this aspect. "There are a number of games set in both modern and historical wars in which you can shoot UK and US troops in multiplayer," the spokesperson said.
Many UK retailers, meanwhile, seem to be intent on ignoring Dr. Fox's call.