I’m just surprised to learn that Dan Ryckert apparently works in the EA PR department.
EA Is Changing the Name of a Nazi in 'Battlefield V' That Belonged to a Real-Life Resistance Fighter
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Wait is this true? Wtf
It is a mix of fascinating and terrifying to watch very recent well documented history be systemically converted into myth before our very eyes. I feel like in fifty years, WWII will be reduced mostly to costume and style more than actual fact.
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Yup! It’s a black woman to boot.
My initial inclination was to make a snarky comment about how ‘keep politics out of muh games’ and historical purity crowds will of course be silent on this.
But the more I think about it, the scarier it gets. The extreme Right along with bad-faith actors are so thoroughly controlling our political discourse that they’ve got ““centrists”” 1 step away from holocaust-denial talking points.
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I’ve come to believe that the games industry largely thinks being “political” is being didactic. Like, there’s always the chance that “we’re not being political” is a marketing ploy meant to stir up conversation, but I think the white dude liberals who make up A LOT of the AAA space just genuinely believe that to have politics in a game is to have overt soapbox-y messaging
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I am so tired…
What a bar to clear to, before even saying Nazis are bad, admit your WWII game has Nazis and hey maybe glorifying them and capitalising on Nazi aesthetic is perhaps not the greatest move.
They’ll rather double down on feigned ignorance than backing down from potential revenue.
The AAA space continues to be cynical garbage.
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If they had done this for BF5, there would have been a “let me play as the nazis” backlash (maybe even a petition?) which would have really helped illuminate the issue for what it is on its face, rather than the vague “historical accuracy” crap they always hide behind.
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It’s handled in a “we’re all roleplaying as our favorite team” sort of way that Battlefield Hardline treated cops and robbers, or Battlefront treated resistance versus imperials.
In the latter case, the imperials are an obvious analogue for nazis, but there was always a buffer of them being cartoonish enough villains that someone can roleplay as The Bads without onlookers questioning your judgment.
Nazis can’t and won’t every have that degree of cultural remove (for good reasons), and there’s such a heavy pall of sketchiness over people claiming to collect or wear their memorabilia, that the scenario has been played for laughs in a few comedies.
This is the logical end point of treating any potential set dressing over a gamified system as culturally inert, so long as it doesn’t have an impact over those systems.
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I can’t find the picture, but there was parody article I saw way back that said:
Gamer Says They Don’t Want Politics in Their Games About Large-Scale Geopolitical Conflicts
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This isn’t just games at this point. “Poiltics” in the common lexicon is becoming synonymous with “Preaching” and it’s extremely dangerous imo. It’s a not-so-thinly veiled version of the “leftist snowflake” rhetoric meant to paint anyone even vaguely progressive as a didactic influencer who wants to poison your brain.
Like I was listening to the CBC today and the Liberal Feds are picking up the slack for some of Ontario’s fash premier’s cuts to environmental programs for 4 years, conveniently the length of one election cycle and change, and apparently this wasn’t a political move.
We’re in a moment where a politician’s politics (apparently) aren’t political.
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What the actual fuck?! “In WW2 there were nazis” is a statement now?! I don’t have a take! I aggressively refuse to have a take! “German soldier” my whole entire ass! Fuck big budget video games!
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And even then, this isn’t some faceless, feldgrau footman that could hypothetically avoid party membership, he’s dressed like a decorated officer…
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Fascist imagery is perhaps the most recognisable and distinctive in recent memory, so you better believe EA is going to treat it like branding rather than anything with political connotations. I bet Kyle from the focus group rated that Nazi design as “Very Distinctive”.
This from the company that got reamed by gaming nazis for including playable female character and having some minor queer subtext in a cutscene. All that matters to these companies when it comes to politics is what they can co-opt in order to stand out in the market.
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[English subtitles are available.]
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This sketch keeps being so topical!
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And honestly another thing is this is like the ur loot box dystopia, nothing says what the fuck to open your loot boxes to find your ultra super special chocolate covered nazi to play with. As if nazis are just another commodity on the level of paint coats or dog tags.
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I think their marketing team are going to have the easiest home run when it comes to Youngblood. “Remember when we said Fuck Nazis? Seriously, Fuck Nazis”.
“Oh you mean this soldier? the one fighting for the führer? No, dont be silly he couldn’t possibly be a Nazi, as you can see he doesn’t have a swastika on so he can’t possibly be.”
“But he’s wearing a Hugo Boss rigout and killing allied forces”
“No, thats just a work uniform and he’s just following orders, no politics to see here”
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Even when he’s committing blatant war crimes it’s because he’s a badass and not an actual fucking war criminal.
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