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Medal of Honor's Taliban Renamed To 'Opposing Force'

This will definitely make everyone happy.

The new Medal of Honor's online component once pitted allied forces against the Taliban. It will no longer. Electronic Arts and Danger Close Games have renamed the latter team "Opposing Force" in an effort to soothe all the bad vibrations the game has been receiving as a result of the creative decision to include the Taliban in the first place.
 
It appears the models being used, as well as the weapons by the terrorists formerly known as the Taliban, have not been changed. The swap is in name only, making this move seem kind of hollow in hindsight.

The reaction to the usage of the Taliban hasn't exactly been vicious, but EA has been assaulted by the mainstream media and even the military for it. Before this name swap, EA attempted to explain that Medal of Honor was, in fact, just a video game, and not portraying actual events in its online mode. Later, EA attempted to display the online mode's non-offensive play by giving everybody with a decent rig a free chance to check out the PC version's forthcoming open beta for a period of three days. Now, it's just changing the so-called offensive name entirely. 
 

 A member of the Opposing Force. He answers to Cobra Commander, I think.
 A member of the Opposing Force. He answers to Cobra Commander, I think.


== TEASER ==In a statement, game producer Greg Goodrich confirmed that the people that were kicking and screaming about the Taliban name were a small group. "We’ve received notes from gamers, active military, and friends and family of servicemen and women currently deployed overseas," Goodrich wrote on the MOH blog. "The majority of this feedback has been overwhelmingly positive… However, 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 small number of people means a lot of the Medal of Honor team, and as a result according to Goodrich, EA has "decided to rename the opposing team in Medal of Honor multiplayer from Taliban to Opposing Force." 
 

No Caption Provided

I'm guessing this was a tough call for both parties. On one hand, you've got real world people who have given it all in the conflict this game takes inspiration from, who aren't digging the inclusion of the Taliban. On the other hand, this is just a game. It doesn't represent real life--no-one knows that better than the game makers themselves. But does this decision make it better?

178 Comments

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baconbits33

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Edited By baconbits33
@Branthog:  You don't see soldiers doing that, cause they don't care, hell they die so we can do shit like this. And that extremely small group that EA is talking about, odds are only 1% of that small group has fought in this war. Frankly the way I see it; If the guys who are actually fighting the Taliban don't care, its safe to assume that you can use the name Taliban.
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bulletstorm

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Edited By bulletstorm

Weak.

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Sergotron

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Edited By Sergotron

I am actually glad for seeing it removed. This is one topic that is still a bit too touchy this day and age. I am sure 20 years from now this will not be an issue, but for now I agree with this type of thing just being left alone. 
 
PS: I read a comment from this story from a different news site earlier today and nearly lost my shit. Someone had the nerve to say that the soldiers of the US army are too sensitive and are a bunch of pansies. Kid needs to be slapped upside the head.

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Zatoichi_Sanjuro

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Edited By Zatoichi_Sanjuro
@Sergotron said:
" I am actually glad for seeing it removed. This is one topic that is still a bit too touchy this day and age. I am sure 20 years from now this will not be an issue, but for now I agree with this type of thing just being left alone.  PS: I read a comment from this story from a different news site earlier today and nearly lost my shit. Someone had the nerve to say that the soldiers of the US army are too sensitive and are a bunch of pansies. Kid needs to be slapped upside the head. "
Well it isn't being left alone, the game is still going ahead. Unless you're solely offended by letters and words then it should still be an issue for you.
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TorMasturba

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Edited By TorMasturba
@Sergotron said:
" I am actually glad for seeing it removed. This is one topic that is still a bit too touchy this day and age. I am sure 20 years from now this will not be an issue, but for now I agree with this type of thing just being left alone.  PS: I read a comment from this story from a different news site earlier today and nearly lost my shit. Someone had the nerve to say that the soldiers of the US army are too sensitive and are a bunch of pansies. Kid needs to be slapped upside the head. "
And by one of the people he's calling a bunch of pansies. See what he says afterwards.
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Myomoto

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Edited By Myomoto
@baconbits33:  Wait hold the phone, when did I ever say I had any sympathy for the Taliban? All I said was that I'm tired of having them represented as one-dimensionally in any kind of media. Also, it's fucking "you're" as in - "you are", not "your" as in a possessive.
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subyman

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Edited By subyman

This is so lame.  I hate how society has forced these guys to change this.  In 10 years it will be okay to include the Taliban, but nooooo not right now.  

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A_Wet_Shamwow

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Edited By A_Wet_Shamwow

because me shooting American's as spetsnas is sooo much different

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Jayross

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Edited By Jayross

PUSSYS!!!

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jorbear

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Edited By jorbear

Fox News still  isn't satisfied.

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JoelTGM

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Edited By JoelTGM

Eh, I could see why people would be offended or off-put from the name, especially if the Taliban are more than just flash game target practice to them.  It's too soon for a lot of these people. 

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AhmadMetallic

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Edited By AhmadMetallic

lol

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gbrading

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Edited By gbrading

Adrian Shepherd will have something to say about this.
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RankRabbit

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Edited By RankRabbit

The Taliban sucks ass anyway

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Detrian

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Edited By Detrian

Pussies

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Daveyo520

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Edited By Daveyo520

Well this is stupid.

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BlackHeronBlue

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Edited By BlackHeronBlue

ah Americans and the way you amuse the world with your PC bullshit. George Carlin would have a lot to say about this.

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George_Hukas

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Edited By George_Hukas
@OracleXIII said:
" ah Americans and the way you amuse the world with your PC bullshit. George Carlin would have a lot to say about this. "
lol Carlin was American so.... 
 
EA are just a bunch of pussies. I wonder what else they cut because they were scared how it would go over.
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Vod_Crack

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Edited By Vod_Crack
@gbrading said:
" Adrian Shepherd will have something to say about this. "
Word.
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joeybagad0nutz

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Edited By joeybagad0nutz

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I think it's stupid. People are to goddamn senestive these days.
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RsistncE

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Edited By RsistncE
 On one hand, you've got real world people who have given it all in the conflict this game takes inspiration from, who aren't digging the inclusion of the Taliban.     
 
And this matters why? They CHOSE to join the military and therefore accepted the risk of going to war. This is their problem, so screw them. It's not like the Taliban attacked their country and they're defending it. Hell, Taliban members complaining about the inclusion of US forces is a more legitimate complaint than this one. EA pussied out and shame on them for doing it.
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JLP

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Edited By JLP

Remember, folks - freedom of speech isn't violated unless the government does it.  Potential customers or the media?  That's all fair game.

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Azteck

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Edited By Azteck

How silly of you, EA.

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baconbits33

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Edited By baconbits33
@Myomoto said:

" @baconbits33:  Wait hold the phone, when did I ever say I had any sympathy for the Taliban? All I said was that I'm tired of having them represented as one-dimensionally in any kind of media. Also, it's fucking "you're" as in - "you are", not "your" as in a possessive. "

And I quote: "I'm so fucking sick of the DEHUMANIZATION OF THE TALIBAN" If you knew anything at all about the history of Taliban then you wouldn't say that. Oh and I've come to learn that when people begin to correct another person on grammar, it's a last resort so that they can make themselves feel better about their argument. I can tell you that A; Simple mistakes like mixing up "your" and "you're" are very common amongst most people, and also not because I don't know any better, but because I type faster than 80% of people. And B; I don't give a fuck about you trying to correct my grammar.
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Example1013

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Edited By Example1013
@Myomoto said:
" @baconbits33:  Wait hold the phone, when did I ever say I had any sympathy for the Taliban? All I said was that I'm tired of having them represented as one-dimensionally in any kind of media. Also, it's fucking "you're" as in - "you are", not "your" as in a possessive. "
How many dimensions do they need for us to know they're bad guys? Sure, they're people, and they feel emotions, but they've lost all rights through their choices. The Taliban was a group of murderers and villains who happened to get control of a government. I'm more than willing to judge them off of what they did, and many of them probably deserve the harshest punishment allowable.
 
Name one positive effect the Taliban had on Afghanistan. One. And if you can make a case, I'll mail you a $5.
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ArchScabby

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Edited By ArchScabby

Hooray!  Show the mainstream media that they can bully the game industry into doing what they want!

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Enyeez

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Edited By Enyeez

crack under pressure, another reason to dislike EA :/

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DragonBloodthirsty

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I don't have particularly strong feelings about it.  I would like a more descriptive name than the extremely vague "opposing force", but I'm unlikely to ever actually play.  When I do play games, I like a name I can pin on the enemies, even if it is a completely fictional name.

The Taliban, if I remember right, were a significant but not the only opponents in the United States' recent wars.  We never seemed to shy away from shooting Nazis, but maybe the issue is that we rarely get to play as the Nazis.

I don't think EA is likely to care what their customers think; they seem to care more about their image to the public than their player base.

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Immuniity

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Edited By Immuniity

Far be it for a video game to be allowed to be on equal footing with every other media. OH NO, THINK OF THE CHILDREN! Its all well and good books, TV and movies can tackle any subject with emotional maturity but heavens forbid you try to do it with video games..cause only kids play video games, right?

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subyman

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Edited By subyman

It's okay to live in a country invading another country, but HELL NO we can't have virtual depiction of the conflict!

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szlifier

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Edited By szlifier

So Giant Bomb crew is now boycotting MOH. All those shaved beards. Explains everything!

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Sergotron

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Edited By Sergotron
@Zatoichi_Sanjuro: Oh believe me sir it very much is still an issue for me. I understand not everyone has the same views as me and if they want to pick it up I have no problems with that. I personally would not be comfortable playing such a game, so I will pass.
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Zatoichi_Sanjuro

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Edited By Zatoichi_Sanjuro
@example1013 said:

Name one positive effect the Taliban had on Afghanistan. One. And if you can make a case, I'll mail you a $5. "

Extraordinarily simple: They brought order to chaos. Thanks to those lovely superpowers the USA and the USSR Afghanistan was turned into a lawless mess of heavily armed warlords who did whatever they pleased to whomever they pleased. A full body veil is an extremely functional piece of dress when you have a pretty daughter and you live in a country where a gang of 15yrs olds with AKs can do what they want.
The Taliban ended that. They brought draconian rules but rules, however harsh, are far preferable to chaos. Many Iraqis, even Shia Iraqis, have openly said they preferred to live under Saddam. At least with him they knew what they had to do to survive. A carbomb, on the otherhand, is indiscriminate.
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MeatXbeatsXman

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Edited By MeatXbeatsXman

Not to sound like a dick, but it seems like a creative copout. Changing the name alone isn't going to dissipate the idea that the "opposing force" is the Taliban.

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X19

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Edited By X19

I'm just glad its still coming out after all this BS.
 
I couldn't give a crap about the multiplayer I just want to play a good FPS SP campaign which hasn't been an option since COD4.

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woodroez

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Edited By woodroez

This is the right choice. That someone thought-and some still think-that contexualizing this game so intimately with an ongoing conflict in which young men today are fighting and dying in is completely crazy to me. 
 
Bending to the will of the mainstream? Are the parents of dead soldiers mainstream? Is "a lot of the Medal of Honor team," as Mr. Nicholson mentioned in the above article, mainstream? The people making it knew that aspect of the game was appalling! What more do you need to know? 
 
EDIT: Heh, I just realized I read the uh, secondary headline or whatever "This will definitely make everyone happy" not expecting it to be ironic at all until I started reading the comments.
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TheHT

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Edited By TheHT

It'd be funny if the panties-in-bunchers settle down all thanks to a name change. Funny in a really sad way.

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shazb0t--defunct

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Edited By shazb0t--defunct

Blagh. 
 
People need to get over it. If they want to talk about abuse of free speech, they can take it up with the Michigan State Attorney who's publicly harassing a gay student council member at the U of Michigan (CNN video here). Or all the videos of animal cruelty floating around the web (pet maltreatment, etc.).
 
Now those are misuses of free speech. Including the Taliban in a video game, when the game is meant to be based on real life and reflect the real stories of soldiers, is not a misuse. If harassment of fellow citizens and animal cruelty are protected speech, so is shooting terrorists.

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Shadow

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Edited By Shadow

Great.  That was the only thing about the game that had me even remotely interested.  And I already didn't really care.  Now I'm just totally apathetic towards anything this game has to offer.

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korolev

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Edited By korolev

Oh so you mean they're the OpFor eh?

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korolev

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Edited By korolev

Bah - you can't justify what the Taliban have done to the Afghan people. Yes they aren't demons, no one is a demon - the Taliban are made up of people. They're just very bad people. Go read a list of what the Taliban banned when they controlled the majority of Afghanistan (they never controlled all of it) - they banned music, they banned kites, they banned plastic bags, they banned women's education, they banned all other religions, they banned and they banned and they banned. Most Afghans HATED the Taliban, and the Taliban weren't even Afghan! They were originally from Pakistan, and most of the Taliban leaders are not native Afghan people.   
 
Yes they aren't demons. They're just evil people who are fighting for a medieval patriarchal society in which women have no rights at all. Say what you will about the West, Anwar, but we allow our girls to go to school. The Taliban didn't. We allow women to divorce their husbands and retain property. The Taliban didn't. We allow people to listen to MUSIC. The Taliban didn't. We allow gay people to live. The Taliban didn't.
 
Renaming the Taliban to "Opposing Force"?  I don't like it either by the way. 

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LordAndrew

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Edited By LordAndrew

"Opposing Force"? Has anyone made a Half-Life joke yet?

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backsattack

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Edited By backsattack

I kind of thought the way that AA handled it was rather clever where you were always playing as the Army in multiplayer.

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CenturionCajun

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Edited By CenturionCajun

I have to say that this saddens me but it doesn't shock me. At the end of the day EA is a major entertainment company and will do whatever is necessary to ensure that they make the most money off of their products. Part of that is avoiding bad publicity that can affect sales and having your game paraded on Fox News as being anti-American isn't conducive to that. Pushing free speech is the realm of the little man or a product that thrives on being controversial (South Park, Family Guy, American Dad, etc.). It's sad but true.
 
The only thing about this that makes me scratch my head is that in the multiplayer you're still going to have a force who is killing US soldiers (who are other players) in real world Afghanistan locations. So, they are going to be the Taliban (or one of the many other militias) in everything but name. To paraphrase a famous quote "A rose by any other name is still a rose."

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Eribuster

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Edited By Eribuster

Well, a name is only a name. Sad to see EA buckle under the pressure.

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Sooperspy

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Edited By Sooperspy

That is really fucking stupid/ Kinda saw this coming, though.

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Yummylee

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Edited By Yummylee

Should of just pulled through with it, instead of giving in like they did. For the sake of their own dignity. They going to call the multiplayer characters in GTA games ''misguided offenders'' next?

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Ash_F

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patrick5152003

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Edited By patrick5152003

that did it. i'm canceling my pre-order.
 
 
im not joking