Last night, Infinity Ward posted a short video on their YouTube account featuring an in-game version of Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels (who will be facing the New York Yankees tonight in Game 3 of the World Series). In the vignette, Hamels advised Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 players that random grenades are “for pussies”; the “public service announcement” was provided by an organization called “Fight Against Grenade Spam.”
I somehow missed the “FAGS” acronym the first time around, but the Internet certainly didn’t. Numerous Web sites and Twitterers condemned the PSA and Infinity Ward’s perceived endorsement of an anti-gay message (something that’s especially troubling in the context of the foul-mouthed gamers who comprise much of the online user base for Call of Duty).
Infinity Ward has since taken down the video, and the studio’s Community Manager, Robert Bowling, posted a couple of responses on Twitter. In reply to Philip Kollar of Game Informer, who called the PSA “stupid” and said that it “makes [him] reconsider [his] purchase [of Modern Warfare 2] more than any other controversy surrounding the game thus far,” Bowling said:
I think it was more of a social commentary joke of that stereotype than it was a fist-bump of acceptance to it.
But after freelance gaming journalist Mitchell Dyer noted that the video “was so poorly handled/executed that it looks derogatory” and “seems to enforce the [assh*le]-ry,” Bowling agreed and pulled it:
I think the core gag is great, the end is a bit too far from the intent of the joke & can appreciate the concerns.
What do you all think? Do you buy Bowling’s claim of “social commentary”? Should Infinity Ward have seen the response coming, or is the Internet overreacting to a harmless joke? Is the studio perhaps merely appealing to the people whom it hopes will buy its game, and if so, is that an acceptable explanation?
Samit Sarkar is a founding Destructoid editor and go-to Sports guy. Samit was the son of the Duke of Knees, rescued from a burning village in the afghan desert by a golden condor. He is an ace Backgammon player and lost both legs in a whaling tour. He lives for free in a nursery in Scotland where he teaches monks how to capture butterflies without hurting them.
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Contest:
6:30 PM on 10.31.2009
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Anyone will protest anything nowadays fucking hell.
I don't see how it even made the ad. Why they assumed it would have been ok is beyond me. Using the word is stupid, in any context you want to put it in. How many times I hear the word being thrown around every day irritates me. It's a derogatory term towards a group of people, if you want to call something stupid, use the word stupid.
As always. Move along.
what a fag
As for MW2, I wasn't going to pick it up anyway so this is entirely academic.
This is a derogatory term just as much as the 'N' word is, but people are finding it ok just because it's still socially accepted. I get the joke, but I think it was really dumb and not even well thought out.
Day one purchase confirmed.
It seemed less about humor and more about trying to make people feel bad, it WAS trying to be insulting and when they got called on it they attempted a 'social commentary defense', which really doesnt make it any better.
I'm not offended, its just dumb they are trying to justify something that is pretty much 'DO YOU GRENADE SPAM, WHAT ARE YOU, A FAGGOT!?'
Serisously when I of all people don't take offense it's time to grow some bulloks.
Hey, at least they didn't say "Grenade spamming is retarded" in the video. That would have caused tons of controversy that would have been equally as retarded.
I agree a lot of people over-react to stuff nowdays and Political Correctness is starting to get tiring, but at the same time I believe that the amount of Racism/homophobia I see on the internet is appalling. We need a balance, we need to stop getting worked up over pointless comments, but at the same time we need to show respect for other people.
You can continue to be sheep because you want your precious MW2, but tone down your e-muscles because you're not impressing anyone.
it seems an arse load peepz have turned
into nothing but a bunch of p******
everything is offensive now a fecking days
You don't see homosexuals protesting British slang for cigarettes do you? Because its not offensive to them. If I started calling every cute dog on the street a fag, and it took off, and everyone was calling cute dogs fags, do you think homosexual people would be upset? No, using the word in an offensive way toward them is what makes your typical homosexual upset.
The word is meant as a derogatory term, it's a term meant to put someone down.
No I don't because we're obviously of a different culture, but that doesn't make it right in the US, since it is used differently here.
They knew what they were doing, they wouldn't have taken it down if they didn't think it was that wrong. But in the end it doesn't matter because they got the publicity they wanted.
He's a complete douche. anything he spouts out don't even bother to listen to.
It's just a waste of life
That said, I still want a Phillies hat for my MW2 charcter!
Really? I am mortified that you would group us all under the flag of pussies. As an American, I feel that a sense of community should be felt when communicating with someone whom is different than one's self. It's up to the individual to.......wait a minute. I'm not some spineless emo that is hypersensitive to the thoughts of others. I realize the average IQ is just above ambient room temperature in Fahrenheit. And above all, I will not be insulted by someone I do not even consider a peer. Maybe I should heed your words, rallyf1. Even if you did call me a wanker, LOL.
Also, team america already did it so it wasn't even original or particularly funny.
hey sanious your a fag