MW2 is such a stir, even before release
Few games thrive especially on hype and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 would typically be such a game where just its name alone would be enough to sell millions of copies. However, unlike the other hype trains, every time MW2 hits front page on a gaming news/blog site, instead of excitement there seems to be controversy. Unfortunatly for the publisher Activision and the developer Infinity Ward, the controversies usually put them in a very negative light. Perhaps we can joke that Activision is getting marketing tips from Rockstar North but a lot of the new stories aren’t caused by Activision but by despicable gaming pirates.
The most recent controversy is regarding the leaked gameplay footage of a massacre in LAX which the player can choose to take part of, being a part of terrorist NPCs. It’s a brutal footage that has become viewable to public (at least for a short while before reaction from Activision) thanks to the typical European gamer that is not ashamed of having illegally downloaded the game and who is thus willing to post his recorded footage on YouTube. Infinity Ward is wise in allowing this level to be skippable since this really is very emotionally provocative.
The political climate regarding terrorism in the Middle East – especially from the American perspective – has been a loaded one and so a level forcing players to mow down civilians along with a group of terrorists has more implications than many gamers seem to realize. Majority of comments from gamers seem to follow the sentiment “oh, it’s just a game; if you can’t stomach it, you’re a pussy” but I don’t think anyone can really deny just how uncomfortable and stirring it is to be put into such a situation, virtual or not. But this is exactly what Infinity Ward is going for. After all, in that level, you’re not playing as a terrorist per se but as a CIA agent infiltrating the terrorist circles so in order to not blow his cover, he is forced to participate in this massacre. It’s a powerful emotional situation but can it be too burdensome? Personally, I feel that it would be so I will admit that I myself will probably choose to skip the level but the important thing is that IW allowed such an option. But of course, the controversy remains because if majority of gamers find this level to be fun, then the messages MW2 conveys to those gamers would definitely be problematic.
Modern Warfare 2 thus is an odd case of being extremely hyped but every time more information about it is revealed (e.g. third-person multiplayer mode, no dedicated servers on the pc version, dlc already ready to be released…), the hype level seems to decrease, not increase. This is totally the opposite of how hype trains are supposed to work. Controversies for games such as Grand Theft Auto actually increase the amount of attention and hype the game receives but in the case of Modern Warfare 2, controversy seems to be a very, very bad thing. For one, the boycott petitioned against this game is bigger than any previous gaming boycotts in history, and unfortunately for Activision and Infinity Ward, the boycott is a logical and powerful one, one which I find myself agreeing to.
Of course, all the controversies in the world will not prevent MW2 from selling millions and millions but I jus wanted to point here that I, like many people out there, get less and less excited about this game the more I hear and read about it. And what’s worse is the fact tha I personally wasn’t THAT interested in this game in the first place.
Jon Brooks said,
November 9, 2009 at 9:52 am
As a long time gamer (20 + years) I have managed to kill about every virtual creature,
(that as William Money’s character said in “Unforgiven”… ‘that walked, swam or crawled’ … ), that I should be able to, as a thousand times before, tell myself this is only a game. I remember playing Battlefield on-line and the first time I chose to play the OpFor in that game I felt..well..to be honest..guilty. It just didn’t feel right to be shooting at our own forces even in a virtual realm. When CoD4 came out (I have never played the single player..lol) it was another decision that left me feeling guilty again and I avoided choosing the arab Opfor’s for the longest time but played the
Spetzna’s without hesitation. Bias? Racism? When I finally did choose the terrorist side against the SAS or Marines I just pretended, if against the SAS, that it was payback for burning Washington to the ground in 1814, or if fighting the Marines,
that they were all clones of my old Drill Instructors and then I found that I could gleefully shoot them:) I really think I will probably skip the airport level in the single player in this game.