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View Full Version : Medal of Honor UK ban not backed by DMCS, retailers will still stock the game



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.

Diablo13
24-08-2010, 12:50 AM
While games are not reality, but rather an escape from it, I personally think this is in extremely bad taste and an insult to those that have died, military or civilian, as a result of Taliban terrorist actions! :cussing:

Yes you can play as a Nazi or just about any other military force in various games, however WWII was a long time ago and is not the same as depicting a current ongoing conflict, which is still claiming lives! :puke:

This option is only there as a result of EA's greed in trying to extend the life of The Medal of Honor franchise, which is one game in a somewhat overdone and tired genre.
I am with Liam Fox on this one, not everything in gaming is acceptable and a stand has to be made somewhere. :no:
I would not normally agree with censorship in games, however the sensible side of me realizes that there have to be some borders of good taste and decency which should not be crossed in the name of "entertainment"!
If there is no control whatsoever then we will end up with "games" about Fred and Rose West, baby killing and god knows what else. :(
EA knew it would be in bad taste and would disgust a lot of people when they made it. They also knew that there will always be the braindead who will buy anything and swell their coffers, so they went ahead anyway to see how far they could push the boundaries in the future?
Take it off the shelves and make them apologise and re write it without this offensive material included. It won't take long because they will already have a standby version available for release in case it backfires on them!

tinkertiler
24-08-2010, 08:23 AM
I would boubt that it will be taken off im afraid as they didnt do it with Modern Warfare 2 with the Airport part where you have to kill civillians! Yes i agree with you about it being in bad taste but i cannot see them pulling it as it is part of the multiplayer part of the game! Im wondering where it will stop now and how far this sort of thing will go in games before someone says hang on this is going to far!!

Diablo13
25-08-2010, 05:07 AM
For years there have been numbskulls getting up on their hind legs and saying "videogame violence leads to actual violent tendencies".
I think that is a crock of ****e.
The most violent images you will see are on the news and that is real life!
I have no love of censorship, but this content by EA is just sensationalism and going a step TOO far, for no better reason than to court controversy.
How would a parent who had lost a loved one, feel going somewhere and seeing their deaths being made into a game?
There has to be a line drawn in the sand somewhere between what is and is not acceptable in games.
In just the same way as there are rules of decency in the transmission of porn, what can and can't be shown and when and who can watch it.
EA are playing straight into the hands of the people who know absolutely nothing about gaming, but are now being given good grounds and evidence to strictly control the content of games!
I would like to see the game withdrawn and the offending part removed.
If not I can see a future of absolutely anything goes in gaming.
Or on the flip side an absolute control brought in whereby any violence is of the Tom and Jerry variety, with no blood or realism at all.
The German versions of games apparently are much more tightly controlled, so there is no blood allowed in a game!
I hope that that degree of control does not happen here, but could you really blame the censors when companies will not be sensible and will let anything go?