Defence Secretary Liam Fox has requested UK retailers to refuse to stock EA’s upcoming First Person Shooter title, Medal of Honor, the reboot of the once highly acclaimed franchise, on accounts of having the ability to being able to play as The Taliban in online being disgusting. The Department of Media, Culture And Sport, though, do not back this statement. A spokesperson of the said department told ComputerAndVideoGames, “”Dr Fox was expressing a personal view and we understand why some people might find the subject matter of the game offensive.
“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.
“There is a clear choice for consumers which they can exercise when making decisions about purchasing video games.”
On this controversy, EA says, “Medal Of Honor is set in today’s war, putting players in the boots of today’s soldier… We give gamers the opportunity to play both sides. Most of us have been doing this since we were seven. If someone’s the cop, someone’s got to be the robber, someone’s got to be the pirate, somebody’s got to be the alien. In Medal Of Honor multiplayer, someone has to be the Taliban.”
Later, BBFC told CVG that the violence in Medal of Honor is just bordeline as compared to that in competiting FPS’s in the market, and they think the game’s rating should be either 15 or 18.
“We gave it a cautious 18-rating, but it’s not as strong as other comparable games,” said the BBFC spokesperson. “We considered it to be somewhere between a 15 and 18 rating when looking at our guidelines.
“There are a number of games set in both modern and historical wars in which you can shoot UK and US troops in multiplayer. Medal Of Honor is not unique in this respect.”
So, don’t worry folks. We will have no ban on Medal of Honor, and all the retailers will be stocking it for sure.
