EA Says Modern Warfare 2 Airport Scene “Went Too Far”
Infinity Ward caught the attention of the news media weeks before Modern Warfare 2 was scheduled to release, and it was not because footage from their upcoming blockbuster had leaked out. It was what the scene depicted that made people question whether wartime scenarios had finally been taken too far.
But more than anyone, individuals within the games industry have spoken up about the consequences of the Airport Scene in MW2. EA’s very own Matt Turner, the Producer of Army of Two: The 40th Day, had this to say regarding Infinity’s Ward decision to create that level.
“We wouldn’t have done it, we didn’t do it. For me personally I think the alarm bells went off in a big way on that one because it was out of context. When the footage got leaked thousands upon thousands of people saw it on a clip not knowing what it was.
I’m not saying they were overreacting but people were generating these pretty outlandish opinions even though they didn’t know what the scene meant in the grand scheme of the game.”
And we have to agree with Turner. The scene was important as a plot point within the story, compelling Russia to finally invade the U.S., but it also drew unnecessary negative attention to the industry as a whole. Still, there’s still room for refinement and experimentation by other developers in terms of shocking their audiences. Turner continued on about pushing the limits of storytelling and immersion, as well as the possible ramifications for doing so.
“I say maybe they pushed it too far but in a way that’s a good thing because the media of videogames is very young. We have to start pushing limits, making statements and seeing what kind of social and cultural relevance that we can have which hasn’t really been nailed yet.
I think [Infinity Ward] were pushing towards that direction and trying to make people experience something truly terrible. Whether they were successful or not I’ll leave up to the players to decide, but I liked the fact that they were trying something new that people haven’t done before. I think that’s really gutsy and my hat’s off to Infinity Ward for trying at least.”
[Source]
18 Responses to “EA Says Modern Warfare 2 Airport Scene “Went Too Far””
literature has been doing it for a few hundred years, film for at least 70 years, it’s a natural progression of a genre.
I respected IW for the way they implemented this level into the game. They did it in a mature fashion, and it did what it was meant to do- it took me off guard and pushed the limits of gaming to a new level.
@SolidCake_
I think the media and other factions love to bash video games over movies cause in video games you actually controll what happens and what you do.. as in movies you only watch not participate in the action.. watching something and doing/controlling something bad isn’t the same thing.
HOWEVER video games are rated and MW2 is rated M for mature so you must be 18 to even buy the game sure some parents are ignorant to the ESRB rating system and some retailers don’t care if a person is under 18 cause they just want the sale.
What i’m getting at is maybe there should be a new rule with retailers id checking being mandatory when a person trys to buy an M rated game i know it won’t stop the problem but it can slow it down and if that rule is in place at least the media won’t really have that much to bitch about when it comes to M rated video games.
My last thoughts are in war civiliansare killed by military people and terrorist everyday the media is making the situation seem like your controlling a terrorist but you aren’t tho your doing an terrorist action.. Also there is an option to skip the mission the game isn’t forcing anyone to play it.. Not like this is a game about killing little kids and stuff.. jeez the media is just wayyyy too sensitive and misunderstanding.. there ignorance is really something else.. especially fox news.
Russia did not “invade the U.S.” Russian terrorists did. That’s like saying the U.S. was invaded by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Sept. 11.
Jesus Christ….
This site is informative, but sometimes the writing and editing are atrocious.
@Nosferatu King
youre an idiot…have you even played the game?….also, youre comparing a video game to real life? you really are an idiot
id like to read the article you wrote on this topic
Well it is just a game exploring the possibility of what could or would happen in War. War is not like it is depicted in early John Wayne movies where you never saw blood or brain matter fly out when shot in the head. As a Society the younger generations have been pushing the boundaries farther and farther. This is just evidence of more truthful representation of a “possible scenario”.
There were incidents in 1985 in Rome and Vienna airports when Palestinian terrorists attacked airline workers and passengers at EL AL counters waiting to board flights to Isreal for Christmas.
It is just that we have been overly sensitized to what happens in the rest of the real world. This happens on a daily basis in some form around the world. And if bringing that fact out in a video game is what it takes to open eyes to a fact of life then we should use it to teach children the consequences of what could happen if X,Y or Z conditions come true.
hopefully this doesn’t affect titties in heavy rain
This is someone from EA Games remember, they made Medal Of Honour the rivel to COD so anything someone from EA Games says about a COD game for me is bullshit becasue they can’t take that while their war series has crashed and burned, activision still have there’s going.
I’ve played the 40th day and IT SUCKS! The camera is so dodgy and how any games tester can honestly say it’s ok is beyond me so keep on sprouting out crap EA Games, I hate acitvision and bobby kotick but it’s always nice to see when someone from a rivel games company can’t take losing.
@ curtissheets28
i don’t think you understand what Nosferatus is saying…
@ Shadowjin
You’re right; she didn’t understand what I was trying to say. But that’s what happens when you rush to someone’s defense and you’re twelve.
@shadowjin & @ Nosferatu King
maybe i dont understand what they are saying…whether i do or dont, the argument about 9/11 is ridiculous…how is it like that at all?…the video game contains insane amounts of gray area material…it was russia, it was russian terrorists, it was russian supernationalists, etc….it is subjective…….in real life, who-done-it is objective..or at least it would be in a non-racist, perfect world…you cant make that comparison and expect people to agree with you…a video game tragedy can never be compared to a real life tragedy on a topic outside of creating realism
im not rushing to anyones defense here, im just pointing out fallacies…also, it gives me a good laugh that you think the “she” and “twelve” would get to me…funny thing is, i dont know you and never will, i dont care about your minuscule attempts at insulting me….if anything, you make my day better because i just smile
attaway curtissheets28! You tell them what’s up…by the way Nosferatu King I thought you were a moron right away just for saying “Jesus Christ” in a video game forum…was it really necessary to use that phrase to show your frustration? I’m no where near some religious freak, but even if I was atheist I would find it inappropriate. Find a new way to express yourself or don’t express yourself at all.
As for the level of the game…You didn’t have to pull the trigger if you didn’t want to…nothing negative happened to you if you just stood by without shooting…though you do have to take out some of the cops. Either way I wasn’t offended by it because IT’S A VIDEO GAME! There are a lot of things I do in video games that I would never do in real life…like jumping in a ring with a UFC fighter for one example! Or trying to shoot lightning out of my hands while grinding on a train rail! Get my point?
@Nosferatu King
In the game, you are playing an undercover US soldier, that has infiltrated the terrorist cell. The Russian terrorists want to spark a war between the US and Russia itself. To do so, they shoot the living shit out of everyone in a Russian airport. When you reach the end of the level, the Russian terrorist leader shoots you, thus leaving the body of an “American” terrorist on Russian soil. This in turn causes Russia to invade the US as retaliation. Thats the story of the game.
After reading through the posts, i can clearly see that it is you, who has no idea what they are talking about as i fully understood the article in every way.
Anyhow, back on subject, i have to say that i found the whole scene very shocking. But it was good for the story, and set off the motion of events to come. I did partake in killing the civilians because after thinking about it, it’s no worse than playing GTA4 and killing innocent ppl on that! It’s just so much more realistic and graphic that it kinda took my breath away for the first few seconds.
Well done to Infinity Ward for pushing the boundaries, and shame on EA for not having the bollocks to follow suit!
this is actually pretty normal. Every medium goes through these rough spots- i mean TV is still censored, in varying degrees by the FCC and also networks, but it was because it was a new medium and people who weren’t ready for it didn’t know how to respond to it.
@XST-ANGERX
wow .. lol another one that doesn’t “get it”..
im enjoying just watch how many people are confused by his statement.
@ giese095
rolls his eyes at the dumbass.
I thought the level was brilliant. Within the context of the game, I thought it was powerful and shocking. Your character doesn’t have to participate in the murdering of the civilians at the airport, and when I played the level, I simply followed behind Makarov and witnessed his terrorism first hand. It made him one of the most ruthless video game villiians of all time. It was just so visceral, yet so casual, that’s what made it so evil.
Infinity Ward took first person story telling to another level with this game, I was very impressed.
And I hope other companies are willing to push the envelope with their own games, because I think gamers are ready for their media to evolve.
After reading what the EA spokesman had to say, I think the title of this article should be changed. Yes he said they might have gone too far, but he didn’t say that it was necessarily bad. In fact, I fully agree with everything he had to say. You shouldn’t mislead your readers by taking random quotes out of context to put in your titles. This article could easily be called “EA tips their hat to Infinity Ward for gutsy decision in MW2″.
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