For those of you who have yet to hear, Konami has reportedly dropped Six Days in Fallujah, the game from Atomic Games that was to be based on the second battle of Fallujah in Iraq in 2004. According to an unnamed P.R. rep speaking with Asahi Shimbun, Konami made the decision to abandon the game after seeing the reaction in the United States:

After seeing the reaction to the videogame in the United States and hearing opinions sent through phone calls and e-mail, we decided several days ago not to sell it. We had intended to convey the reality of the battles to players so that they could feel what it was like to be there.

Cowards.

I’ve been one to avoid the whole Six Days in Fallujah argument, but this is depressing news. Here was a golden opportunity to convey the harrowing, nerve-racking events that the men of the 3rd Battalion 1st Marines went through during the battle for Fallujah. This was a prime chance to tell the story of what happened from the perspective of those who were there, instead of through the voices of dipshit protesters that infect the nightly news programs.

But no. You had to cave to the outside pressure of a group of ignorant hypocrites.

Hypocrites?

Yes, hypocrites.

The crux of the argument against this particular game is that it is based on real events and that “trivializing” these events in a video game would dishonor those who fought and died in said conflict. Which is interesting when you consider that, as of this writing, there have been no fewer than nine Gulf War games, 12 Vietnam games, 15 Civil War games, 19 World War I games, and 160 World War II games — most of which have some interpretation of the Normandy Beach Invasion.

Yet, not once did we hear protests that these games were trivializing warfare. In fact, when the original Medal of Honor was released back in 1999, the game was being praised for being an accurate, interactive representation of World War II.

So what’s changed? Well, there isn’t a major Hollywood motion picture driving interest in the game’s subject matter, for one (read: Saving Private Ryan). But other than that, where’s the problem? We’ve already established that “it’s based on a real event” is an empty, dare I say “straw man” argument. So what can it be?

Former Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins says that making the game would be “flippant”.

It’s much too soon to start making video games about a war that’s still going on, and an extremely flippant response to one of the most important events in modern history. It’s particularly insensitive given what happened in Fallujah, and I will certainly oppose the release of this game.

Colonel Collins, Sir, I have flippant for you. In 2003 Encore Software and Black Ops Entertainment released a game called Fugitive Hunter: War on Terror. The game was a first-person shooter in which you traversed the Afghani mountainside as, essentially, a one-man army. When you reach the end of the game you face off, one-on-one, with Osama bin Laden.

Not flippant enough? What if I were to tell you that you and bin Laden proceed to kickbox. Don’t believe me? Here’s somebody playing the final level of Fugitive Hunter: War on Terror.

And yes, the live-action sequence set to bad rap music is actually in the game.

How anybody could dare to call Six Days in Fallujah flippant when THAT exists is beyond me. And yet, not a soul spoke out in protest over this game — even though it was released mere months after the United States invasion of Iraq.

Advancing the “Art” of Games

By dropping support for Six Days in Fallujah, you help to reenforce the long-void belief that video games are a lesser medium than film. Too many game makers are afraid to take risks — not design risks, but artistic risks. The few games that do take true artistic risk are usually buried under the next big FPS starring ‘roided-up muscle men. The result? Games like Halo are mislabeled as “revolutionary” when the games that take true chances are almost completely ignored.

And why? God forbid they alienate the consumer or (insert sarcastic gasp here) take gamers out of their comfort zones.

It’s okay to make somebody uncomfortable. In fact, sometimes you need to make somebody uncomfortable in order to drive the point home. This is a lesson taught in Call of Duty 4, of all places. One of the most successful and acclaimed games of the past decade has a moment so powerful that many have commented (myself included) that they had to put the controller down and step away to let what had happened sink in. Was it a shock? Yes. Was it unsettling? Absolutely. But never was it tasteless and it showed that video games are capable of taking that leap — if publishers weren’t so damn scared.

“It’s Insensitive to the Servicemen”

Keep in mind that it was members of the 3rd Battalion 1st Marines who came to Atomic Games and said to make the game in the first place. According to Atomic Games president Peter Tamte, the Marines wanted Atomic Games to “create a videogame about their experiences there”. So there is obvious military support for the title.

In a weird way, I can even see how a game like this could be considered a form of therapy for those who play it and even, perhaps, for those Marines taking part in it. They could look at this project and be able to say that they’re finally able to close this particular chapter on their lives — to say that their story was finally told.

Other servicemen will probably avoid the game. That’s not a good thing or a bad thing, it’s simply fact. Some people would rather avoid anything that could remind them of their time in the suck — and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Hell, I’d probably lump myself with the second group. I have little interest in reliving events that have left me with my own personal demons. With that said, there has not been a single moment where I felt that this game should be banned or censored in any way. As a matter of fact, I thought free expression was one of the reasons why I joined the United States Military in the first place.

So, in Conclusion…

Konami… hell, any publisher, show some chutzpah. Support the game, promote the game and do your duty as a publisher to ensure that the final product not only sees the market, but does every soul who served in Iraq proud.

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