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Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is quickly gaining pre-release notoriety as a center of controversy. First, there was the "No dedicated servers for PC users" flap (although, truth be told, that's more of an inside-gamer thing, not likely to be of interest to the larger culture), then the leaked video that showed that, for at least one level, you inhabit the body of someone taking part in a terroristic bloodbath in an airport. Today, there's a "viral" style promo video for Modern Warfare 2 that is, at best, in questionable taste.
The video was posted on YouTube over the weekend and stars a digitized version of Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels delivering a mock-PSA about "grenade spam." The ad ends with the phrase "random grenades are for p*ssies." It is followed with a credit message saying the PSA was brought to you by "Fight Against Grenade Spam." You can figure out why the fake organization's name is offensive for yourself.
Infinity Ward pulled the video, and community Manager Robert Bowling tweeted that the ad was "more of a social commentary joke of that stereotype than it was a fist-bump of acceptance to it." Right. So Infinity Ward says it was just mocking the people who hold homophobic views as opposed to actually being homophobic... except I've seen the video, and there's nothing in it to indicate this is the case.
Usually, I leave the soapbox to Adam Sessler, but this time, I'm going to weigh in by pointing out that I spent the weekend playing The Ballad of Gay Tony and was pleased and surprised by the positive relationship between Luis Lopez and Gay Tony, and the respect shown to the homosexual community as a whole in that game, so this Modern Warfare 2 thing is doubly disappointing in contrast -- shouldn't we be past this kind of casual, backyard slur in the game community? If not from the players, at least from the professionals? Judging from the discourse on public channels of the last COD, Infinity Ward should are the last people who should be encouraging slurs against gay people; there's enough of it without the company's tacit approval. Besides, isn't that a violation of their own Terms of Service?
Sessler and I have much the same views on this kind of thing; check it out:
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Comments
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ScrubsMcGrubs
Lot of respect for you Adam, but I gotta' say: As far as XBL/PSN and other online gaming services; this really isn't a big problem. I'm not saying discrimination isn't bad but we have options available to us that allows for us to decide what we want to be exposed to. For XBL specifically you can Mute, Block Communications, make it so you can only hear (and receive messages, I think) from you friends, and other such things. Racism, when used in a joking manner, can be funny. I love comedians like Dave Chappell (I'm sure I'll get flak for that one) because while they realize it is a serious matter, they also realize it is ridiculous to the point of being amusing.
I will admit, I say things that could be considered racist. Just the other day I was talking to a friend, telling him that "The Mexicans put too much sauce on my burger". Why? Because I know him and many people know/realize there is a large number of hispanic people who work in fast-food chains. Do I actually care what ethnicity they are? No, but that's not going to stop me from enjoying the humor of it. You want to fight and start a campaign to eradicate the truly racist from the aformentioned services? I will support you 100%.
shmaron
Of all the things to be worried about people complain over this. We have our children playing video games where they play a criminal stealing cars, and killing hookers, and you're worried about one subliminal homophobic joke that wasn't even aimed at homosexuals. How many times have any of you used that term to a friend over the phone or even face to face. If the game had a level where the whole point is to kill gay people in a gay bar, that would be a different story but there isn't, not that I know of...
bigheadzach
Also, if we're seeing 13 year olds playing a game rated M for Mature, the only ones to blame are either 1) the game store owners blatantly ignoring ESRB guidelines, or 2) parents who only pay attention to which colorful video game box their spawn are pointing at, and not bothering to do the homework on what their child is playing.
Makes me weep.
bigheadzach
When the amount of money Microsoft stands to lose from banning problem accounts (those who are verbally abusive and unsportsmanlike) is significantly less than the amount they stand to lose from people voluntarily leaving because such abuse isn't being addressed...is when they will address it.
Unfortunately, MS isn't giving us (the reasonable subscribers) a means of voicing our extreme displeasure, or in a way that says, "This is getting bad enough that we're not finding XBL worth renewing."
Sensible and responsible adults should be the majority voice on this service, and as such, we should have the pull to make positive change happen.
jrwarmke
I like how you had civilization revolution in the background, symbolic. However, you shouldn't have sworn at the end, because that is another of the big problems with Xbox live, there are all these little kids dropping f bombs left and right, and now by swearing here you make it seem like swearing is the thing to do for hardcore gamers or something. SO SHAME ON YOU ADAM SESSLER! Maybe your next soapbox should be to tell these little kids to stop using ALL vulgar language, and not just saying homophobic things.
BONERJAM
I guess I wasn't very clear in my eailr comment. To clearify I was refering to the video being blown out of proportion not the issue being raised. It seems calling it a non-issue was a bad choice of words. I dont at all condone racial, sexist or homophobic slurs but I dont believe they were aiming to offend. Yeah, it was in bad taste but I think people need to relax and relize these guys were just being idiots. We all do stupid crap from time to time but we dont need to be savaged for every mistake no matter how big or small. I'm sure they relize now how stupid it was and are paying the price, which they should. If you let every insult get to you they win but if you ignore it or let it roll off your back they dont win. You may still feel like crap but they dont get the satisfaction they would normally get and that should make you feel better. Again, I dont condone their actions but I understand people make mistakes and do stupid things.
krispybacon1
I agree with Adam. When i owned a 360 I bought Gears of War 2 the first day it came out, and started playing online, but one of the first matches I got into the people on there were so vulgar that I just wanted to get rid of the game entirely.
krispybacon1
I agree with Adam. When i owned a 360 I bought Gears of War 2 the first day it came out, and started playing online, but one of the first matches I got into the people on there were so vulgar that I just wanted to get rid of the game entirely.
unleashedace
people do it on live because of pure stupidity.
when i used to play halo 3 online i would get hate messages from people saying your a f*g, go kill yourself..and why? all because they lost in a video game..lol ....i honestly don't care anymore because it doesn't happen that much anymore and when it doe's happen during the game or in a pre-game lobby i just mute them.
angryspoon
I totally agree for the most part but I am really surprised that you had to jump on the bandwagon and and ONLY mention Fox News. Real smooth move there being like the rest of the liberal media.
In terms of the racial stuff though I completely agree. Kids these days really need to be taught by their parents that its not cool. To many parents ignore their kids today, what happened to parental supervision. My Dad and/or Mom would have beat my butt if they heard me talking like most of the kids on live.
And PSN is not any better.
deeboy44
Holy over the top batman! Do you really think that bitching on a blog very few people even notice is gonna make a difference? Probably not. Im not agreeing with the idiots that spew venom on anyone who is playing them online, but seriously, it only makes those people even worse by giving it attention. Its almost like those ridiculous smokeing commercials that are trying to encurage people not to smoke by showing how funny or stupid you look when doing it. Its made a mockery of and not taken seriously.
So yes there are going to be idiots that say the most ridiculous and hanous things at people they've never met before, but it will never stop. My advice to you would be to punch the parents square in the mouth and mute the kid playing online.
squeezy89
Thank you Adam, finally someone with influence is voicing their opinion on topics such as this. I'm 20 years old an have been playing live for about 2 years now and i love live. I love playing with friends that are in different states, especially since I'm in college and don't get to see them. But recently i have been getting sick of all the inappropriate trash talking. If people want to cuss me out fine but it stops being tolerable when they use racial slurs and terms that offend different races and your sexual preference. It gets to the point where i get in private chats with my friends so i don't have to hear the other people talking at all. If i play by myself, which i hardly do anymore, i will have my mic in just to test what people are saying. If there are some cool guys on ill keep it in and add in but the majority of the time i take it out because i don't want to hear the stuff that these narrow minded people have to say.
T_Rexx
Don't expect it to change Mr. Sessler, cause it wont. The problem is not with X-Box Live.....
If the Home is broken then the kids will be broken. It's all about a lack of home grown principles coupled with a society that is the actual replica of Sodom/Gomorrah.
HYDRACORE
While I'd like to go explain that this is a bit of an overreaction in the abscence of context (that grenade spam bit is VERY IMPORTANT), I'll concede to the point that bigotry should not be a double standard.
But seriously, with some of the milder(read: non-ethnic) slurs being repurposed as synonyms for idiot/dumb---/d-ck, I wouldn't be surprised if someone started calling a 'nade spammer a ---.
It's important not to interpret everything literally, and to KEEP THE CONTEXT IN MIND. If you cite the part where there's an acronym formed in the words "Fight Against Grenade Spam" by itself, people will jump the shark and claim bigotry/ignorance. However, if you emphasise the part about grenade spam, people might get the joke, as crude as it is...
of course, when a person's just rampantly swearing, or is actually being a bigot, then something really needs to be done...
Metalstorm98
Thank you Adam. As always you're being a voice of reason. I feel like there is not enough of that anymore. Nothing annoys me more then when I hear racial and insenseitive statements online, that are made simply because theres no accountability. While I have no idea if IF's move was deliberate it certainly was out of line. I call people many things online, many of those statements are not allowed to be posted on this site, but i never stoop to the level of generalizing a race or creed. To all the noobs, frubs, and (list of explicitives not legal here) that still do generalize and discriminate please grow up
BogusGnarly
You are homophobic unless you try to find hidden messages and purported agenda in everything you read and watch.
VayMasters
Actually, my point of view immediately caught that they were making fun of the people who were homophobic and not the people who were homosexual. It's a very thin line that only some of the best and brightest comedians or comedy writers could pull off.
IBloodstormI
The best way to create a racist or homophobe is for the groups to tell them what they can and cannot do.
IBloodstormI
I think its funny, but that because I could careless about political correctness. PC only serves to make the cracks in society bigger. PC takes away rights and liberties. People have the right to not like gays, to not like other races, just as much as someone has the right not to like steak or not to like salads.
Geomancy
It's gotten so bad in Halo 3 that I automatically mute all players before I play online. Surprisingly, I rarely hear that kind of language in Gears of War, at least in the cooperative Horde mode.
Racist, sexist, and homophobic language are not signs of maturity; they're infantile. When I hear that sort of talk I don't think, "oh, he's so cool." I think he's either a dumb child or a hole.
The more we dehumanize people with language, the greater the chance it will have ugly real world consequences. Some poor 15-year old girl was just brutally gang-raped in the Bay Area. How can people do that, you wonder? But then you read the news reports and listen to the degrading way that the perpetrators and their friends talk about women, and you kind of realize that they were basically putting their dehumanizing language towards females into action. Real men they are.
So thanks for spotlighting this, Stephen and Adam.
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