Here we go again. Apparently all Gamestop stores on US military bases, all 49 in the U.S., and PXs worldwide have ceased taking pre-orders for EA Games' upcoming Medal of Honor because it features playable Taliban characters in multiplayer. These stores will also not sell Medal of Honor when it releases on October 12, 2010.
Troops looking to pick up the game after release must venture to an off-base retailer to snag a copy of the title. Meaning, the game isn't banned from being played by military troops, but the Army and Air Force Exchange Services have requested that the title not be sold on military sites "out of respect for our past and present men and women in uniform."
"GameStop has agreed out of respect for our past and present men and women in uniform we will not carry Medal of Honor in any of our AAFES based stores...," responded an email sent to Kotaku. "As such, GameStop agreed to have all marketing material pulled by noon today and to stop taking reservations. Customers who enter our AAFES stores and wish to reserve Medal of Honor can and should be directed to the nearest GameStop location off base."
This is just more controversy thrown on top an already large pile for the new Medal of Honor, the first game in the franchise to leave the WWII theater of war and dabble in the present day war in Afghanistan.
EA Games declined to comment on Kotaku's original story, but their stance remains quite clear. In multiplayer, someone has to be the bad guys. In the case of Medal of Honor, the bad guys are nameless Taliban. For the life of me I don't see what the big deal is here. We've been fighting "terrorists" in games, both in single player and multiplayer, for years. But as soon as you mention "Taliban," everyone starts pointing fingers of blame for bringing up a topic that's still a sore spot on the consciousness of Americans.
And I'm positive this won't be the last bit of controversy to Medal of Honor before it's October 12, 2010 release. Stay Tuned for more of your regularly scheduled drama...
