The latest trailer for Modern Warfare 2, depicting a Washington under siege, was only revealed this Sunday, but it's already raised the ire of crybabies/pot stirrers who can't handle the concept of a videogame trying something contemporary and unique with its plot.
The Christian Science Monitor does the predictable and easy thing -- invokes 9/11 like it was Godwin's Law and insinuating that no videogame should dare even think of touching that sacred and Holy event. The article stops short of accusing Infinity Ward of "trivializing" 9/11, but it does manage to throw in the obligatory Grand Theft Auto reference. It also displays ignorance of the subject by completely skipping the Fallout 3 post-nuke Washington imagery.
"And with what’s coming out of the gaming industry these days (Grand Theft Auto IV, anyone?) is this any worse? Maybe not," explains the writer. "But this is one of the first times such striking imagery has surfaced since 9/11, when the idea of widespread destruction on US soil was suddenly thrust into reality."
Interestingly, the author of the post claims that, "Some say the images of destruction on US soil are too much for a post-9/11 audience," yet it provides no evidence of these mysterious criticisms and instead seems to indicate that somebody's trying to invent a controversy. The article also implies that showing devastation in a videogame is perfectly fine, provided it's not American devastation.
I am mainly posting about this because I doubt this is the last we'll hear of this issue, and I fully expect the usual unimaginative outlets to jump on this "shocking 9/11 imagery" as soon as they hear about it. I could go on a rant about how, almost ten years on, people need to grow a set and stop being hypersensitive little bitches and screaming "9/11" at everything, but I'll save that until this inevitable canned controversy kicks into overdrive.
Contest:
9:30 PM on 10.06.2009
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Seriously why do people jump the gun like this?
Seriously, 9/11 was ages ago. Plenty of films have represented US soil being destroyed. But of course, in a game where you fight to DEFEND it, you're criticised for wanting to. Makes perfect sense to me.
I don't remember there being a huge racket over the exploding UK landmarks in V for Vendetta, anyway.
Besides, knowing CoD:MW2's action/spy movie style approach to it's single-player, you can expect everything to go okay.
Although I kinda wouldn't want that. Be pretty damn stereotypical. It'd be really ballsy if the final moments of the game, your efforts didn't go through as planned, and it ends with Russia firing a couple dozen nukes at America. Last moments involve trying to find cover, before a flash consumes you and it goes 'CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2' or something.
Or something like that.
Who told the christians about science?
Was it you jim?
See, this is why we can't have nice things.
Oh please. Give me a fucking break with that elitist nonsense.
We were talking about advertising as a part of propaganda and somebody mentioned the whole Fallout 3 thing when a nuked DC caused a big uproar. It's interesting because the big moment in the Independence Day film was The White Hiuse getting blasted by a huge ass laser beam. Nobody bitched then. And in the movie 2012 there's a scene of DC being completely obliterated and no one called them out on it.
It's sad the prejudice so many still hold against video games and just new things in general be it music, movies, tv, anything. It doesn't even have a reason anymore. It used to be video games were training kid to kill. Now they're just bad in general without reason.
Dear god, whatever the ending of MW2 is, unless it is what you described, I will no longer be able to enjoy it.
I think that IW would actually be ballsy enough to do it too. That nuke scene in MW1 seriously struck a nerve.
Where were these people when GTA:London came out? Where were they when the first Modern Warfare took the fight to suspiciously-generic--unnamed-Middle-East-country? Where were these knights of morality when India, Mexico, Japan, China, Germany, France, Italy and Britain were featured in violent games?
When a (proper, non-flash) game comes out that has you hijacking planes and flying them into skyscrapers, then people can start crying. Gun play on the lawn of the White House? Get over it, it's nothing.
Seriously why do people jump the gun like this?"
They like to cause trouble, feel like they're right and superior in their righteousness. Like they're fighting for a huge cause, in this case being: "9/11 should always be a pink elephant and we should always be scared of it rather than grow out of it."
That's what makes me mad.
Not sure if that was a joke or not, but the Christian Science Monitor is actually a rather respected publication that does not preach religion in the way its name might imply.
Doesn't mean that this particular write-up is correct, but they do tend to have some excellent articles.
Always is. Every day they wake up and see Jesus hasn't come back yet, so they need something to pass the time, really.
If people were never challenged, or never forced to see things that made them uncomfortable, we'd never move on or learn anything. It's pathetic how the people who get attention and mass media support (i.e. prime time news) are the people who are shoving their heads in the sand and pretending to live this perfect, sheltered life.
Really? Because I could swear that in the last six months or so InFamous, ProtoType, and Bionic Commando each took place in a large American(-ish) city in the immediate aftermath of a far more 9/11-ish event than the full-scale invasion shown in that trailer.
Also, I think all further mention of recent media criticism of games should now include a completely context-free parenthetical of "(Christian Science Monitor, anyone?)"
Fecking ai!, people need to stop being over FECKING
sensitive grow a Fecking pair ((yes I say fecking trying to cut back on the cursing both on teh intwebz and in life))
It would at least be slightly justified outcry if they brought up the airport massacre in the beginning of the trailer but they completely skip it because it's in another country. What the hell? this is just fucking silly.
Wait...
/SARCASM I WAS KIDDING EVERYONE
Splinter Cell Conviction seems to be taking this even further, making the US government the enemy. I think everyone is fatigued with fighting Russians/Germans/Middle-Easterners while America is consistently presented as blameless.
20 bucks says the pull the non-descript location shit like when they tastefully had the first MW game happen in "Unspecifiedistan"
Just call it Mew Bashington or just "The Capitol" and voila