- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Let me start by saying I have the utmost respect for Bungie the company and the products they produce. In an industry that seems to churn out more chaff than chalice, the quality of their finished product has, on several occasions, brought tears of joy. Here comes the 'but'...
Firing up the dashboard the other day, I was presented with an ad for the 'Halo 3 Sniper School' brought to us by the US Army. More recently, it was the 'Halo 3 Heavy Weapons School'. Shame on you Bungie. I don't know who's decision this was, but this is appalling. There is a growing movement to try and pin increased school violence, murder-rates, etc. etc. on video games and we gamers have been saying all along that there is no connection between games and 'real-life'. Then a promotion like this comes along and is implicitly telling that coveted 18-25 demographic that being in the military is like playing Halo.Let me start by saying I have the utmost respect for Bungie the company and the products they produce. In an industry that seems to churn out more chaff than chalice, the quality of their finished product has, on several occasions, brought tears of joy. Here comes the 'but'...
Firing up the dashboard the other day, I was presented with an ad for the 'Halo 3 Sniper School' brought to us by the US Army. More recently, it was the 'Halo 3 Heavy Weapons School'. Shame on you Bungie. I don't know who's decision this was, but it is appalling.
There is a growing movement to try and pin increased school violence, murder-rates, etc. etc. on video games and we gamers have been saying all along that there is no connection between games and 'real-life'. Then a promotion like this comes along and is implicitly telling that coveted 18-25 demographic that being in the military is like playing Halo. You can discount the implied link all you want, but the bottom-line is, even if no one at Bungie intended it, you can bet the Army's recruiting office is entirely willing to take advantage of the association.
While I didn't try it, you can 'sign-up' for this 'training' by downloading content. Does this content get me put on a mailing list? If some high school student simply wants a new gamer picture and downloads the content, do they get swamped with mail and phone calls from unscrupulous Army recruiters who chat-up potential recruits with comparisons between HALO and service in the armed forces? I'm making a few assumptions and giving just a few examples, but you hopefully get the idea.
Before you flame me, if you're even still reading, I am not some overly concerned parent (in fact, my 2 1/2 year old son loves watching the "Master Chief Movie" (the HALO 3 ad from XBOX Live)), and I'm happy to let him. I have earned all 1000 gamer-points in HALO3 (yes, EARNED them, not by standing in a match taking turns with the rocket-launcher just for the achievement). I'm also not anti-military. What they do every day makes it possible for me to sit on my ass in front of my big screen and play games. We need them and I'm happy they're out there. But there has always been a well-defined line between life and gaming. Not only did Bungie cross the line, they pushed their fan base right into the waiting room of the US Army recruiting office.
I understand the desire to maximize a revenue stream, but if you need ad-revenue to keep developing new content, have Master Chief drink a Pepsi or eat at Taco Bell. I don't like that, but I can understand it.
I would appreciate a reasoned response from someone at Bungie, but I will understand if no one wants to touch this. I just needed give it some voice.
See you in matchmaking,
RobotSpider