It was a controversial year for gaming. The past 12 months saw the in-game assassination of Castro, playable Taliban, a Freedom of Speech shaking Supreme Court case and the call for a ban on Blood Minerals in gaming consoles.
Matt Turner, a producer on EA Montreal’s Army of Two: The 40th Day, praised Infinity Ward for having the sack to do its infamous “No Russian” mission, in which terrorist NPCs kill civilians, but adds “we wouldn’t have done it”.
Typically, the controversy over “Virtual Jihadi”—a mod of a skin of 2003′s budget-bin jingoist shooter Quest for Saddam—deals more with free speech and abuse of authority rather than what the game asks its players to consider.
Within hours of Madden NFL 10‘s midnight launch, NFL pariah Michael Vick was signed to a two-year contract with Philadelphia. Vick’s not included on the retail version’s roster, so an immediate question is, when will he be added?
Tim Langdell’s released a lengthy statement—including e-mails between himself and Mobigame—presenting his version of events in his efforts to protect the trademark “Edge”, and defending himself against the portrayal of his actions by the gaming press.
Earlier this week came the news of Microsoft pre-emptively choosing not to release Fallout 3 in India, citing “cultural sensitivities.” It’s interesting because rather than wait for a ratings board or authority to ban it, or local media/pissed off people to demand it’s banning, Microsoft just said nothankyou.jpg and took its business elsewhere.