Publisher Electronic Arts, alongside developers DICE and EALA, has announced that the multiplayer component of the Medal of Honor first person shooter will no longer feature the Taliban name, with the enemies of United States and NATO forces now being simply labeled as “Opposing Force”.
In a statement posted on the official web site for
Medal of Honor Greg Goodrich, who is the executive producer working on the title, has said, “we have also received feedback from friends and families of fallen soldiers who have expressed concern over the inclusion of the Taliban in the multiplayer portion of our game. This is a very important voice to the Medal of Honor team. This is a voice that has earned the right to be listened to. It is a voice that we care deeply about.”
He added, “Because of this, and because the heartbeat of Medal of Honor has always resided in the reverence for American and Allied soldiers, we have decided to rename the opposing team in Medal of Honor multiplayer from Taliban to Opposing Force.”
The statement makes it clear that the change has not been made because of pressure coming from the media but because the team working on the video game is trying to respect the memory and actions of those who have died during the Afghanistan conflict.
It seems that only the name will be changed, with the appearance and tactics of the multiplayer enemy forces remaining the same and making them pretty clearly recognizable as being the insurgents of Afghanistan, popularly bundled under the
Taliban label.
This comes a short while after John Riccitiello, the Chief Executive Officer of EA, has said that he is very proud of Medal of Honor and of the way if depicts the on going conflict.
Even developers working on the rival franchise Call of Duty have jumped into the discussion to provide support for
Medal of Honor and its approach to modern warfare.
Medal of Honor will launch of the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the PC on October 12.
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