Daily Mail backlash against Konamis Fallujah FPS

Just hours after news emerged that Konami has signed a publishing deal with Atomic Games for its upcoming Iraq war title Six Days in Fallujah, UK newspaper The Daily Mail has reported on the ‘outrage’ felt by some connected to the armed forces.

Considering the enormous loss of life in the Iraq War, glorifying it in a video game demonstrates very poor judgement and bad taste,” Reg Keys, whose son was killed serving in Iraq in 2003, stated. It is particularly crass when you consider what actually happened in Fallujah.

These horrific events should be confined to the annuls of history, not trivialised and rendered for thrill-seekers to play out, over and over again, for ever more. It’s entirely possible that Muslim families will buy the game, and for them it may prove particularly harrowing.

Even worse, it could end up in the hands of a fanatical young Muslim and incite him to consider some form of retaliation or retribution. He could use it to get worked up and want to really ‘finish the game’. I will be calling for this game to be banned, if not worldwide then certainly in the UK.”

The game has been developed in conjunction with former soldiers and intends to tell stories pertaining to the ‘horrors of war’ from a realistic and non-glamorous perspective.

Atomic Games president Peter Tamte, however, was understandably defensive of his team’s title: For us, the challenge was how to present the horrors of war in a game that is entertaining, but also gives people insight into a historical situation in a way that only a video game can provide.

Our goal is to give people that insight, of what it’s like to be a Marine during that event, what it’s like to be a civilian in the city, and what it’s like to be an insurgent.”