Antiwar group targets Ubisoft, America's Army

Hm, probably will result in an injunction, though only if the Army even planned in creating more of these games. There are plenty of FPS and TPS games out there to do the work for them already, anyway.

wow lamprey263, how old is that information?? the sometimes brutal and unethical ways of the past military history is no secret, there are lots of things that went on in the military that have been stopped because they were decided to be unethical. But believe me, other countries military have much darker pasts than the U.S. , Even til today some military groups in foreign countries kidnap kids off streets to fight in wars

I've played Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario growing up but I never got the urge to run at incredible rates of speed, nor do I go into sewers to look for coins or stomp on turtles for the fun of it. Furthermore this is just another example of parents who don't want to spend time with their kids, watching what their doing, etc. If parents are so worried about what their kids are doing then they should tell their kids no instead of the government doing it for them. I'm in full support of the military and I think that its sad that people like this increase whatever stress or scars that our soldiers bring back with them.

we got rid of Jack T. and this guys show up.......

You maybe be surprised to know that Army recruitment programs that cater to non-adults have used illegal tactics to enlist potential enlistees, including threatening potential enlistees with warrants for arrest (though those are empty threats they can't back up), threatening to blacklist potential enlistees from enrolling in federally funded universities and educational institutions, and blacklist them from receiving any federal loans and partaking in federally funded programs. Though what they say isn't true (because these programs are for minors and there's no binding contracts), they can't do those things, they'll use threats like these against minors to keep them in check until they're in enlistment age, even though those threats are empty. Though, I think this is a lot more important that the video game, anybody with a critical bone in their body knows it's a recruitment tool and the game doesn't really try to hide this fact at all. Though, the threatening of potential enlistees has stopped as far as I know, since the news started covering complaints like these against recruiters, the armed forces had to shut down a bunch of recruitment centers for a limited time while they trained recruiters in which tactics they're allowed to use on potential enlistees, and specifically telling them not to threaten potential enlistees with lies.

More power to this group.

No, seriously now, Rebelboy el al. How the heck is the army protecting freedom of speech in any way? At most, if Bush's convoluted theory is right, they're preventing life, as in "people are not killing us more", but freedom of speech? I believe islamic terrorists want to a) kill as many Americans as they can and b) unite the south of Europe and the north of Africa in a huge islamic empire. Notice how "removing free speech" isn't there? They might kill you, but they'll let you scream whatever you want while you die. You're going to hell, anyway. No mockery at all now, I'm gonna be perfectly honest. If you want to have a national enemy, please, PLEASE, at least bother to know who they are.

This is dum beyond all belief because how is the army recuriting kids at the age of 13 through a video game. It isnst like they are sign a document and enlisting into the army. DUM S@&$ HIPPEIS

why are these anti-war people so agianst people joining the armed forces? dont they know that if it wasnt for those brave men and women fighting for our country and freedom we probilly wouldt have freedom of speech. im all for peace but we all know that there will always be violence in our world and poeple trying to attack our country so why not have people ready to defend it.

This won't stick. If it did, every movie that romanticizes war would face litigation. I am personally against the war in Iraq but so long as the US Army isn't actively signing up people under the age of 17, it's fine. It's freedom of speech.

Yes, dragon3169, we all know terrorists are actively trying to break into the western world, dominate it and make pacifists shut up once and for all. Seriously, if we could turn human stupidity into energy we'd stop global warming in minutes. Unless burning stupidity emits CO2, which I guess is entirely possible.

GRAW is the real third person shooter. America's Army is the inferior relative. Good riddance I say, but I'm looking forward to GRAW 3. I hope this doesn't impact on that at all.

It is a game to show what military training is like. It's not like they ask the kids to sign up for the army after they beat it. These games probably make less kids sign up for the army than any of their commercials on TV. And who knows maybe one day some kids will go into the army because of these games and then they'll be out there protecting the rights of the DASW group to make stupid claims like this.

It's designed to recruit people 18 and over, and to garner interest in people of all ages. The army cannot recruit 13 year olds, whether they want to or not.

go suck an egg hippy!

*facepalm*

Also, crazy people commenting on this thing, have you realized the group's name is made of the typical letters in a keyboard used to control FPSs (WASD)? I'm telling you, this is all bogus, a publicity stunt for the game. Also, aliens took control of the White House in 1992, and it's ever since been an intergalactic reality show. That's why there are cameras in cel phones now. They broadcast to outer space!

Oh please....I am completely against war but this is stupid. Why don't they talk to those recruiters in high school before they go after games. I turned 17 in my junior year, meaning I was already exposed to army recruiters before I reached the legal age. And besides, what about war movies, they can be easily used to recruit underaged childern. People and groups like these, although they do mean well and have my support in their hope for a better world, are idiots when they target games to further their efforts. Its pretty simple- they dont target movies (as much) as they know there would be way too much opposition in the way so they go after games thinking they're an easy target. Too bad they didn't realize that games may have the best defense in these situations due to the amount of challenges the gaming industry has already faced.

I wouldn't be surprised if the army started holding people hostage to get people to join. That's not good.

Oh, and Caer_Death... "National sovereignty becomes more and more meaningless daily, as the states must sell it to the feds of ill begotten gains" Are you from the 19th century? States aren't nations. The United States is a nation, and it has national sovereignty. The states are equivalent to provinces, segements of a nation but not nations themselves. They don't have sovereignty. The province of Bavaria answers to the German central government in Berlin, the island of Okinawa answers to the central government of Japan in Tokyo, the people of Patagonia answer to Buenos aires, and the American states answer to Washington D.C. Get used to it. It's been that way since 1865. Regionalists... ugh.

Everything was going so well, I agreed with the group on every account, they had my vote, and maybe a small contribution in Christmas... ...and then, that hilarious warning label proposal. Now I know this has all been set up by Stephen Colbert and we'll find out in a few weeks, when he confesses on his show. I mean, war "has been known to cause deaath, irreparable injuries"? Who are these people? The Marx Brothers- The Next Generation?

Wow, some of the posts here make the X Files seem credible. Bunch of bloody Questions and Rorschachs, eh? Let's all get our tinfoil hats on just in case. *sigh*

How exactly am I wrong? The US ignores international (i.e. World Laws) that they don't wish to abide by. Whether or not this supposed Army recruiting tool violates said UN standard doesn't really matter so much as either submitting or withdrawing, in both cases, is an absolute mistake on both ends. Sacrificing national security to a foreign entity is the among the stupidest of things a country can do, especially in times of hype and hysteria, thinking that we're going to be hit by some magical terrorist attack. They haven't poisoned the Cleveland General Water Company, so I'm not worried. But beyond these boundaries, the boundaries of my state, others shouldn't be depriving any of us of our rights. Not even Lincoln wanted to support the Emancipation Proclamation until the Abolitionists tacked it on as an essential to the expansion of federal powers. So beware, lest you wish to be ruled by China, Britain, Japan, Germany, and those damn socialists in Norway as much as those in your home state.

Well, it is a form of propaganda I'd admit, but this is far different than other cases of it. When the Pentagon paid TV's networks' military analysts secretly, who were supposed to be retired officers and free to give their own unbiased opinion of military strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan, while being paid by the TV networks to give their unique perspective on certain situations based off past experience, what happened was you had military analysts giving the public doctored talking points that were provided by the Pentagon and White House to promote favorable views of the Executive Branch's wartime strategy, instead of being factually based off the news networks fact hunting, it's this kind of behavior that's illegal by standards set by the Government Accountability Office. Though, while this game is a propaganda tool, it is not one so severe that it is illegal as the source of the media doesn't hide the fact of who developed it and for what purpose. Though, when the government doctors news and makes it indistinguishable from factual news based coverage, that in the GOA's sense is illegal, and both the Defense Department and the Congress are already investigating this for the last two months. As for international law, that doesn't seem to matter much in the US as nobody internationally has really enforced it here (except for commercial issues). International law bared no relevance in the issue of the United States torturing foreign detainees and holding them without trial or even the ability to challenge their detention. Not to forget to mention, doctoring intelligence to promote the illegal invasion of another country was also an unchallenged violation of international law, as Operation Iraqi Freedom was not the result of a direct attack or supported by the UN Security Council. Also, many western nations were and still are complicit in these illegal actions. And it's not like anyone here is going to enforce them, just like the Judicial Branch here doesn't even support constitutional rights in our own country, and instead would rather serve as the President Bush's lawyer than the country's.

2002 was when this game came out. 2008 is when they react. They need to play some games to increase their reaction time. :P

wow, took them long enough to spot this one lol

I downloaded and played A*A for the PC some time back. In articles and interviews I had seen prior to getting the game, Army reps said that A*A was not to glorify war or killing. Instead, A*A was put together as a means to show people, including potential recruits, what Army training and life was like. Since I was not of recruiting age (actually well beyond that) I was not subject to be one curious about Army life for recruiting sake. Instead, I was interested in the training aspects of the Army and what Army recruits go through. It was something I had missed out on in my younger years and was something I found interesting. I also let my 12 year old play the game and remember discussing it with him at the time. It turned out to be a good tool in that respect. He has grown up with a healthy view point of the military and the sacrafices they make. He was never influenced in any way to go off and just join because of that game. People that think that children do things out of infuence by games are just nuts. Kids have a lot of negative influence but most of it is from misguided friends and peers...not video games. This DASW group is just another wacky group that has no clue.

Wow, protesters are honestly running out of legitimate things to swing at aren't they? Joining the army is voluntary, and I don't see anything in the law that says it's illegal to sway children towards that voluntary decision. And lol, did anyone else laugh at their desired warning label? ANYTHING with that label would never get any good press. Gotta love protest groups and their hilariously stupid agendas.

Caer_Death your wrong, and if you want the truth, YOU CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!!1

The game AA is supposed to be a representation of the real army (hence, they use it to recruit people), but the game is horrible, and unenjoyable. If the army resembled anything like that, I would never join. In the game your squadmates are horrible. If its meant to br a representation of the military than who would join an armmy where you cant relly on your squadmates? Thus, the game doesn't recruit people b/c it does the exact opposite of what it's meant to do.

If that UN BS actually meant something, then they would stop sending so many godless Army Recruiters to my old high school. We had to sit through at least 2 or 3 assemblies a year telling everyone how good of a career they could get in the Armed Services rather than working for the worthless and worthlessly rising minimum wages in a failed city. Face it people, the Army picks and chooses which laws they wish to follow and which ones they wish to ignore. That's a fallacy of the federal government. That's the fallacy of all high end, bureaucratic mistakes. National sovereignty becomes more and more meaningless daily, as the states must sell it to the feds of ill begotten gains, and the feds must sell it to the UN and the World Bank for further ill begotten gains. So beware, unless you want the world to become even more of a police state than it already is.

Maverick82102 if you let your son play that game you may lose him forever. He will be so influenced that he could end up in one of these future wars that I have seen in Ghost Recon or COD4.

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

WOOHOO lets sue their ***:D

it absolutely was a joke Canadians are free to come to US if anyone hasn't noticed. Everyone is so serious what next...Us makes better beer then the Canadians. by the way, my favorite sport hockey

They are recruiting through the game. I thought that was common knowledge when the game was released. Its a game released by the U.S. Army for FREE. Duh, what other reason would they have to create it?

Its obvious they need to get more recruits. It doesnt bother most of us,

i think me and my 13 year old are gonna go rent that game now....

@siLVURcross Geez , man, lighten up. His comment seemed like a joke to me. Plus, drinking beer isn't all that bad, you should try it some time.

lighten up eh

lilsmuck: It's eh not ay jack***

dah dah dah yeah right kilgore

While I am against the conflict in Iraq, I state that the group "Direct Action to Stop the War" can kiss my ass.

I haven't played it yet. Thanks for letting me know about it.

i agree with these guys. america's army while being a good game, is first and foremost a recruiting tool used by the army to target a teenage audience. age verification suggestions made by people won't work with this game, as it is primarily distributed via the internet and not in retailers. also these systems aren't very reliable as it's as easy as changing your year of birth from 1993 to 1967 on a scroll tab in order to download the game. i do think ubisoft should be left out of it, as they only publish the retail versions of america's army which appear on consoles, they don't really play a part on the pc development side, which is the platform most people who play AA play on.

To clear a few things up: -You can join the US Military as young as 17; you need your parent/guardian's consent to do so -The military does NOT train personnel to be mindless, robot zombies who blindly follow orders; we're trained to follow orders, but also to recognize when those orders are illegal, and to not only disregard those orders, but to report the issuance of illegal orders -The military does NOT want personnel to think in "video game terms"; the military realizes that personnel don't re-spawn and can't heal just by picking up a med kit or finding a shady spot for a few seconds As for the protesters, they can protest all they want, call for all the labels they want; they have the right, the freedom to do so. They may not appreciate it, but that's why myself and all my brothers and sisters in uniform chose to serve. We may or may not agree with it, but that's what makes America and all other free nations great; the freedom to express an opinion, no mater what it is.