British Politician Defends His Call For Medal Of Honor Ban

kotaku

The UK's Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox has called for the ban of the "tasteless" Medal of Honor. The only defense he is doing now is of his remarks.

"I am disgusted and angry," Fox initially said. "It's hard to believe any citizen of our country would wish to buy such a thoroughly un-British game. I would urge retailers to show their support for our armed forces and ban this tasteless product."

The Medal of Honor series was created by filmmaker Steven Spielberg, and the upcoming entry in the series features multiplayer that allows player to play as Taliban fighters. Fox's comments seem to be prompted by a YouTube clip that shows a Taliban fighter on a multiplayer map in Helmand province, where is where UK forces are stationed.

Thing is, there are no British troops in the game. According to Electronic Arts, Medal of Honor "does not allow players to kill British soldiers". So how could Medal of Honor be "thoroughly un-British"? Oh right, it can't.

A spokesperson for Fox says the politician "stood by" his comments. "The point remains that part of this game allows you to play the part of the Taliban attacking ISAF troops in the area of central Helmand where British troops are operating."

The most worrying part about this? Fox is shooting his mouth off about something he clearly misconstrued. He didn't know what he was talking about. He didn't have all the facts. Total cowboy stuff.

Those politicians need to lighten up, it's a load of polygons mashed together.

Theres far bigger problems presenting themselves that they could attempt to alleviate but they choose to take the easy road and make it look like they're doing something.

And if some uptight w***er did ban Medal Of Honor, would anyone actually care?

As I said over in the UK forums...

"Yes... let's also ban every World War 2 game with multiplayer because someone has to play as the Wehrmacht and/or the Nazis. No one I know respects our troops more than I do, but this is just silly. It's a game, and the soldiers in the game aren't representing any particular individuals. Chances are, the soldiers over in the middle east will be be playing this game in their free time..."

Also, there are no British soldiers in the game anyway, as far as I know, so he should be complaining about the shooting of allied American troops instead. That is, if he has to complain about anything in the first place...

when its nazi's or the Vietnamese its okay but when its the taliban its suddenly wrong? doesn't compute with meChris_Williams

Don't forget the commies.

And it's fox as usual having no idea what they're talking about.

How fitting that his last name is FOX.

This is what happens when politicians want to make decisions for us based upon their own morals.

Australia has it really bad with tons of games getting banned because the government thinks it's its responsibility to keep some sort of "moral code" when determining what is fit for society, completely taking the responsibility out of the people they govern.

People like this moaned about the no-russian mission in mw2 with out even playing it, all it is is a way to get his name out there as a defender of British morality which is ridiculous as there are a lot bigger problems in this country than video games, im sure open minded and sensible people will no way be offended by MoH and if they are they know just to stay away from it.

yet this same man would never call CoD or other games into question.

Just when their depictions are just as bad oh wait its cause its a russian airport....never really heard a British politician make a hoot about that even tho we have had a few major attacks including one on Glasgow Airport.

I find it prettty funny cause its got them called as the taliban everything suddenly becomes wrong,yet there are other games on the market just as bad which instead depict them as insurgents and CoD even has a map called afghan but its never called up.Find it strange they aint been critisicing CoD as much but anyhow he's a tory so who in their right mind cares what they think unless yoour uper class.

Im suprised they didnt do this to assasins creed two. *Spoiler In the ending, the final "boss" was the pope. Id think that people would be more insulted by you killing a pope then being some random taliban shooting at some random soilider.kipohippo021

The popes called crusades back then. So they were not all that ''good''.

But i argee the Nazis are far far worse then the taliban.

Hell in company of Heroes there is a mission when your in a tiger and blow up loads of british troops and tanks. Infact you blow their limbs off aswell.

In the first Call of Duty I once killed a British soldier as I was part of the German team. Am I evil now ?

In the first Call of Duty I once killed a British soldier as I was part of the German team. Am I evil now ?

R4gn4r0k

In the first Call of Duty I once killed a British soldier as I was part of the German team. Am I evil now ?

[QUOTE="R4gn4r0k"]

In the first Call of Duty I once killed a British soldier as I was part of the German team. Am I evil now ?

AAllxxjjnn

I'm gonna go repent for my sins now, if that is even possible, but I'll try.

Really, I know few situations were banning or censoring is actually good and helpful, but it seems that is all politicians want to do.

Anyone else notice that it's always the families and politicians that ask for these bannings and never the actual troops or generals?markop2003

Well I guess it isn't like Britian and the Nazis ever had any major conflict with each oth....oh.....wait. So let met get this straight, this guy is perfectly fine with games where you can play as Nazis, but when a game comes around where you can play as the Taliban it is now offensive and tasteless?

I kinda agree. I mean i wouldn't get all bent out of shape about it like he is, but it's a stupid move on EA's part. Notice how every other game featuring middle east conflict uses made-up names? There's a reason for that. Actually having a fight take place in Helmand province, where so many have been killed, is just stupid and insensitive. Ninja-Hippo

Almost as insensitive as the Russians we kill all the time.

Actually having a fight take place in Helmand province, where so many have been killed, is just stupid and insensitive. Ninja-Hippo

Double standards. When it's a World War 2 battle where even more people have died for instance the battle of Stalingrad, it's perfectly fine.

[QUOTE="Ninja-Hippo"]I kinda agree. I mean i wouldn't get all bent out of shape about it like he is, but it's a stupid move on EA's part. Notice how every other game featuring middle east conflict uses made-up names? There's a reason for that. Actually having a fight take place in Helmand province, where so many have been killed, is just stupid and insensitive. Espada12

Almost as insensitive as the Russians we kill all the time.

[QUOTE="Ninja-Hippo"] Actually having a fight take place in Helmand province, where so many have been killed, is just stupid and insensitive. R4gn4r0k

Double standards. When it's a World War 2 battle where even more people have died for instance the battle of Stalingrad, it's perfectly fine.

[QUOTE="R4gn4r0k"]

[QUOTE="Ninja-Hippo"] Actually having a fight take place in Helmand province, where so many have been killed, is just stupid and insensitive. Ninja-Hippo

Double standards. When it's a World War 2 battle where even more people have died for instance the battle of Stalingrad, it's perfectly fine.

They are as comparable as can be, because they are VIDEO GAMES, not real life. There is a big difference, whether you use real names or made up ones.

GTA IV should be banned because people are getting run over by drunk drivers in New York City ...

The sims should be banned because I can make the family starve to death, just as people starve to death in the real world ...

It's just a video game !

They are as comparable as can be, because they are VIDEO GAMES, not real life. There is a big difference, whether you use real names or made up ones.

GTA IV should be banned because people are getting run over by drunk drivers in New York City ...

The sims should be banned because I can make the family starve to death, just as people starve to death in the real world ...

It's just a video game !

R4gn4r0k

Like i said, there's a reason practically EVERY game before this has used fictional countries and enemies.

[QUOTE="R4gn4r0k"]

They are as comparable as can be, because they are VIDEO GAMES, not real life. There is a big difference, whether you use real names or made up ones.

GTA IV should be banned because people are getting run over by drunk drivers in New York City ...

The sims should be banned because I can make the family starve to death, just as people starve to death in the real world ...

It's just a video game !

Ninja-Hippo

Like i said, there's a reason practically EVERY game before this has used fictional countries and enemies.

The emotion due to losing a child in a war is incomparable to seeing people play a piece of fiction and being shocked. If you want to talk about things being compared.
You keep comparing games to real life but those are two different things.

Funny how they don't mention that the SAME politicians trained and put the Taliban to power in the eighties .

Oh, and this is very good for medal of Honor . I remember a hot coffee some time ago...

[QUOTE="Ninja-Hippo"]I kinda agree. I mean i wouldn't get all bent out of shape about it like he is, but it's a stupid move on EA's part. Notice how every other game featuring middle east conflict uses made-up names? There's a reason for that. Actually having a fight take place in Helmand province, where so many have been killed, is just stupid and insensitive. Espada12

Almost as insensitive as the Russians we kill all the time.

I can see the war being insensitive and stupid. But video games ? Whether a video game uses real names and is based of of something that is going on now games are still fiction ! banning this game will do no good whatsoever besides depriving people who want to play this from their pass time.

The emotion due to losing a child in a war is incomparable to seeing people play a piece of fiction and being shocked. If you want to talk about things being compared.
You keep comparing games to real life but those are two different things.

R4gn4r0k

And let me ask you, if you feel games and real life indeed are so separate that one can never cause problems in the other, would you be quite happy with a game which tasked the player with flying planes into the world trade center? Would you not find that a little tasteless? I'm sure you wouldn't say 'it's just a game', right?

Funny how they don't mention that the SAME politicians trained and put the Taliban to power in the eighties .

zekere

taliban arent trained

Funny how they don't mention that the SAME politicians trained and put the Taliban to power in the eighties .

zekere

Maybe not the same politicians but yeah they gave them weapons to battle communism. After the fall of communism in Russia however they forgot all about them ...

Or how about them giving a piece of land called Israel to the Jews after World War 2, the only problem was there were already people living there, ...

[QUOTE="zekere"]

Funny how they don't mention that the SAME politicians trained and put the Taliban to power in the eighties .

sikanderahmed

taliban arent trained

[QUOTE="sikanderahmed"]

[QUOTE="zekere"]

Funny how they don't mention that the SAME politicians trained and put the Taliban to power in the eighties .

mystervj

taliban arent trained

they just pick up weapons and go in the fight

[QUOTE="sikanderahmed"]

[QUOTE="zekere"]

Funny how they don't mention that the SAME politicians trained and put the Taliban to power in the eighties .

mystervj

taliban arent trained

I can GUARANTEE they were trained by western forces .

Instead of spending his time moaning about video games this guy should focus on doing his actual job.

[QUOTE="sikanderahmed"]

[QUOTE="zekere"]

Funny how they don't mention that the SAME politicians trained and put the Taliban to power in the eighties .

mystervj

taliban arent trained

Instead of spending his time moaning about video games this guy should focus on doing his actual job.

AdmiralRJW

Agreed . According to my opinion, every story has two sides, and in the end, we are all humans trying to make a living in a much too crowded world .

[QUOTE="mystervj"][QUOTE="sikanderahmed"]

taliban arent trained

zekere

I can GUARANTEE they were trained by western forces .

[QUOTE="R4gn4r0k"]

I can see the war being insensitive and stupid. But video games ? Whether a video game uses real names and is based of of something that is going on now games are still fiction ! banning this game will do no good whatsoever besides depriving people who want to play this from their pass time.

The emotion due to losing a child in a war is incomparable to seeing people play a piece of fiction and being shocked. If you want to talk about things being compared.
You keep comparing games to real life but those are two different things.

Ninja-Hippo

And let me ask you, if you feel games and real life indeed are so separate that one can never cause problems in the other, would you be quite happy with a game which tasked the player with flying planes into the world trade center? Would you not find that a little tasteless? I'm sure you wouldn't say 'it's just a game', right?

If you can't draw the line between games and real life than
-People who play FPS will become murderers and the people who shoot up schools.
-People that play games like GTA will become gangsters and car thieves.

I don't understand why people get upset. I understand that you understand though.

Doesn't sound like a very fun game but if it was of course I would play it. I'm not doing anything wrong am I? As I'm killing NPCs and not real human beings.

Politicians have been baited into commenting on violent games since the original GTA. Each and every time it's just ended up as free publicity for whichever game it was.

*Shrug* It's the man's opinion - the MoD doesn't tend to control video game content (Besides ending up as protagonists in a variety of semi-historical video games as a result of their previous operations ;) ).

[QUOTE="Espada12"]

[QUOTE="Ninja-Hippo"]I kinda agree. I mean i wouldn't get all bent out of shape about it like he is, but it's a stupid move on EA's part. Notice how every other game featuring middle east conflict uses made-up names? There's a reason for that. Actually having a fight take place in Helmand province, where so many have been killed, is just stupid and insensitive. Ninja-Hippo

Almost as insensitive as the Russians we kill all the time.

What difference does it make? Either way you are killing another nation's citizens and portraying them in a bad light. People really need to get over it, I have enough friends in the military and they don't call for these bans, infact they are PLAYING these games while there. I always ask them why they play Modern Warfare when they are doing the real thing, most of them just laugh but really it seems that the soccer moms and politicians are the only people who get hurt or offended over such things.

[QUOTE="zekere"]

[QUOTE="mystervj"] They do get trained, how can anyone fight without proper training?delta3074

I can GUARANTEE they were trained by western forces .

Support, yes, but initially trained by Western organisations to end the Russian invasion, with success, which is why the operation in Afganistan is such a failure .

Registered my displeasure, as a UK resident, about this. You can to at admin@northsomersetconservatives.com

[QUOTE="Espada12"]

[QUOTE="Ninja-Hippo"]I kinda agree. I mean i wouldn't get all bent out of shape about it like he is, but it's a stupid move on EA's part. Notice how every other game featuring middle east conflict uses made-up names? There's a reason for that. Actually having a fight take place in Helmand province, where so many have been killed, is just stupid and insensitive. delta3074

Almost as insensitive as the Russians we kill all the time.

Does it really matter? We have WW2 games and Vietnam games as well, should those be banned?