Blow up U.S. tanker in Iranian game
by Zack Stern 
{ Sep 30th 2006 at 11:40PM }
Reuters covers the release of Counter Strike, a game that charges players with the goal of sinking a U.S. oil tanker in a critical channel, blocking the path that two-fifths of all the world's oil travels. Iran's government sponsored the game for distribution within that country.The topical nature of the game isn't new; Kuma Reality Games mirrored real-life U.S. strikes against Iraq. The anti-American sentiment isn't even new, as seen in Night of Bush Capturing.
This trend of all sides using games as propaganda interests us. Are games more persuasive than radio broadcasts and dropping leaflets? When will bombers start dropping games over enemy states?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
n0th1ng @ Sep 30th 2006 11:18PM
I guess the Iranians couldn't think of a unique name, so they stole it from Valve's Counter-Strike and marketed for anti-Americans. Lame.
Agrajag @ Sep 30th 2006 11:25PM
Sounds like ATLEAST a seven out of ten.
Psaakyrn @ Sep 30th 2006 11:26PM
Counter Strike is not a copyrightable name. How many games can you think of which uses the words (or their derivatives) "Racing", "Fighting", "War", "Soccer", "Football", "Tennis", etc? I'm quite sure there's at least some old games which just gave their title as one word only..
Antonio @ Sep 30th 2006 11:28PM
I wish an American publication/site would play the game and give their insights into it. Interesting to see what kind of propaganda the Iranian government is sponsoring. Granted our government did the same thing with America's Army (Join the Army - it's fun - and since most people joining are Hispanic or Blacks their lives don't matter) - Sorry for the last part - I'd love to see a game where the sons of Republican congressmen fight in the war.
Psaakyrn @ Sep 30th 2006 11:30PM
For that matter, the Counterstrike expansion for C&C: Red Alert came out first.
Conbus @ Sep 30th 2006 11:32PM
I'd like to see what it looks like, considering it took 8 people 3 months to make, anyone have pics? If anything, I guess we can take this as videogames becoming more mainstream and taking a few more steps (however miniscule they may be) towards the other forms of media.
I think a game could be more persuasive than other forms of media, if it done well, I doubt this 3 month game is gonna do more than constant leaflets though.
_habit_ @ Sep 30th 2006 11:36PM
Screenshots and spec requirements? I'm rather curious, considering Iran is not exactly up do date on their computers and such, at least in terms of the general public.
And what's funnier is that this is obviously marketed to the younger demographic, who, at my guess would rather work on getting out of Iran, and building a good life for themselves in America and other free countries (There's got to be like 2 other free countries...right? Ahh damn communists!), than play games about killing Americans.
Of course, I haven't been to Iran since I was 4, so I don't remember much about the place, thus my views on this topic are just about as high up in the air as anyone elses.
LordMinogue @ Sep 30th 2006 11:53PM
Does it have a compelling plot? A stellar sound track? Good physics and grahpics?
...if so it might be worth purchasing
Paul @ Sep 30th 2006 11:54PM
How much stuff did you blow up in vietam, russia, germany, japan, iraq, iran, saudi arabia, mexico, brazil, and europe continent as a whole?
Why is it such a big deal when the target is usa?
guises @ Oct 1st 2006 12:00AM
"Valve's Counter-Strike"? Valve may have bought the rights to it, but it's not like they came up with the name either.
bobby @ Oct 1st 2006 1:01AM
to _habit_
I went to Iran last year. Based on the quality of my cousins' computers, I doubt the specs are very high.
PSWii360 Fanbot @ Oct 1st 2006 1:10AM
How is this any different than killing Germans in Call of Duty?
Welcome to spin country
Justin @ Oct 1st 2006 1:17AM
As opposed to America's Army, which is a raucaus good game, encouraging your time to be spent assisting all peoples in the world in building a ugalitarian society of love and abundance....(make sure you read that a second time, only with 3x more sarcasm)
Why is it news when a different country with whom we are far from friendly publishes a game where they shoot at us? We do it constantly...
jman @ Oct 1st 2006 1:29AM
@ #4:
'and since most people joining are Hispanic or Blacks their lives don't matter) - Sorry for the last part - I'd love to see a game where the sons of Republican congressmen fight in the war.'
get your facts right: only 22% of today's recruits are black. see http://www.parapundit.com/archives/000239.html . There has also not been any evidence to say that Democrats are throwing their sons and daughters into the fray in Iraq either, so don't call the kettle black. As of September 20th, out of 2,690 total casualties in Iraq, 74% have been caucasian, 10% African-American, and 11% Latino. see http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm . A recent study also shows that over 80% of new recruits are Republican. I know it's off topic about a video game, but if you're going to say something then say it right.
troc 59 @ Oct 1st 2006 1:32AM
N-a-a-a. I'd rather reach out and "touch a mech" At least if his nuts get blown off they can be remade on a workbench.
Version 1.0 @ Oct 1st 2006 1:48AM
Lol... Big deal... How many games have been made where you control an American soldier and attack the middle eastern countries? This is just one game... Which will probably fail anyway...
Moe A @ Oct 1st 2006 1:48AM
"12. How is this any different than killing Germans in Call of Duty?
Welcome to spin country"
Agreed. Games, especially mindless shooters, have a long way to go until they can provide the kind of story elements that create a meaningful experience. Until then, every dead enemy is just another notch in the belt.
Tim @ Oct 1st 2006 2:09AM
I can't wait until Fox News gets some in-game footage and connects it to 9/11.
PCTips @ Oct 1st 2006 2:41AM
I wonder what will be the answer of U.S. developers. They will make game where Iran will be blown up? Welcome, the virtual wars between countries has begun!
syrian @ Oct 1st 2006 3:24AM
first iran is not communists and iranian people have a decent life and its a free country too not like the usa way but u get wat am saying and i have prof cuz evry four or seven years the iranian people vote for wat presdent they want just like here in the us but the us media always show bad news about othere countres and 99.99999999999999999999999999999999% of it is a lie
Sherv @ Oct 1st 2006 3:46AM
Give me a break, Iran is by NO means a free country...it is ruled by a theocratic regime and its people have _VERY_ severly limited "freedoms". I am Iranian and have much of my family still living there; the president doesn't wield any power but rather the Supreme Leader and the other clerics waiting in the wings do.
Anyway, about this game...#19 brought up a very interesting idea, the notion of virtual wars between countries. I have no idea how far-reaching the impact of a game like this can be, but it seems to me that, given the maturity levels of most gamers that I see around me (especially/understandably the younger ones), there are a lot of impressionable minds insofar as what the content of games are and how they deliver.
ill trooper @ Oct 1st 2006 3:47AM
We have so many games, movies and TV shows that show middle-eastern enemies I don't mind seeing the U.S. taking it a little in a fictional video game experience
What's that old proverb? "An A.I. for an A.I.?"
en @ Oct 1st 2006 4:26AM
The thing with this game is that it's based around taking out a civilian target (apparently). Although there may be some civilian casualties in American war games, I can't think of any where the whole plot is to kill innocent people. There isn't much of a challenge in shooting something that doesn't shoot back.
geekRECON @ Oct 1st 2006 11:53AM
What sets this game apart from American-made war games is that it seems to be a government-sponsored game about killing civilian targets. True war games are nothing new, but those aspects of this game are.
NoHitHair @ Oct 1st 2006 6:14AM
Yes, all this propaganda is brand spankin' new and comes solely from Middle Eastern nations. I seem to recall facing at least a dozen or so "anti-terror" computer games at my local EB over a couple years almost immediately following 9/11. They were mostly unplayable garbage tattooed with the obligatory camoflauged soldier staring down the long barrel of an assault or sniper rifle flanked by various infantry and sometimes a tan-painted tank or two in the background. It was stunning to me that developers had suddenly and simultaneously realized the potential of present day RTS and FPS games - the coincidence almost makes you wonder. I'm just plain shocked and appalled that Iran would advocate anti-U.S. games.
Maybe Joystiq would like to add a blog entry relating to the slew of these politically driven games?
Jay @ Oct 1st 2006 7:01AM
Shit you have to do something against America it must be bann-ed!
Sami @ Oct 1st 2006 10:25AM
Hooray! We've been getting American propaganda games so long I'm getting sick of it. Finally there's something to put in a little balance, just a little. The American propaganda games aren't limited to just America's Army - the propaganda mindset is present in just about every Western war game.
nootau @ Oct 1st 2006 8:53AM
I had always wondered how the Germans felt being the butt of all recent popular games in the US, with companies capitalizing on a dark time in their history that they'd like to forget because a lot of good people died for an insane war started by a crazed leader...
[Doc.] @ Oct 1st 2006 9:11AM
to 12.
i agree. the villianization(?) of the third reich in modern media is completely blown out of proportion. ol' adolf did great things for his country, and... aww hell, i can't even keep a straight face. they're freekin' nazis for chrissake. it's almost like saying 'that crowbar-weilding meanie is such a pain in our benefactors collective arse.'
noobius_prime @ Oct 1st 2006 9:20AM
@26 lol well maybe teh krauts shood make a game abot the ameriken civil war or slavery r somtin.
n @14 well maybe those guys are just better at not geting shot rofl imean look at gangbngers and stuff.
hXc4life
LaughingTarget @ Oct 1st 2006 9:28AM
It's a game, get over it.
The only difference is this one is purely politically motivated, and shows just how juvenile these groups can get. Terrorists = Children with Guns. Usual schoolyard rules: You made fun of me, now I'm going to beat you up.
Western developers using terrorists in their shooters are just playing on national sentiment to make a buck. The Iranians are trying to use games as propoganda which, if America's Army is any indication, doesn't work worth a flip. We aren't seeing record numbers of US military enlistment, so this won't matter either.
If they're just doing this to make some money, all power to them. What they're trying to do is laughable at best. Keep on fightin the good fight, guys. You're doing a great job wasting money, which makes it all the harder to believe you're being repressed and your people are poor when you guys certainly find enough cash in the bank to develop a video game.
nootau @ Oct 1st 2006 10:39AM
yeah, its funny, not everyone during WWII in germany was a nazi. Sheesh. That is the point i was making and #27 [Doc.] pointed it out well, how these games warp peoples minds about history. I am sure the Germans have an opinion. Anyone from Germany here on this board?
Dont get me wrong, i am not defending Nazis nor Germans who were in or supported the party. Just using it as an example....another example would be all the entertainment (movies,games,etc) that made the U.S.S.R. out to be this great evil, etc. Or China! (a recent C&C RTS comes to mind..) ...etc, etc. Its just propaganda or feading into fears and hatred. The end. Nothing thing to see here.
syrian @ Oct 1st 2006 12:26PM
to # 21 i have a relative how is a emasdor in iran and he said its a free country but not the same as the usa but u can give say wat u think about the goverment and theres websites supported by the iranian presdent that any one can give there ideas to him or support him or even say wat they dont like about him wat have he done wrong and cretzize him as will if ur realy an iranian to a little search on google and u can find the websites that am talking about
syrian @ Oct 1st 2006 12:26PM
# 32 theres alot of game supported by the usa goverment and the most popular one is american army and its free and the iranian games is not to attack civilians its to attack the usa army that took there scientist hostage
Epic @ Oct 1st 2006 12:43PM
This is clearly propaganda. A government-sponsored game depicting an attack on a civilian target is propaganda in poor taste. In this case, the Iranian government's motives are clear. In the case of America's Army, it's more of a "buzz-builder" than a propaganda tool. The Army's marketing department was responsible for that one, and it's not aimed at inflaming the situation.
I don't like the moral equivalence that seems to come up between the US and terrorists, or between the US and Iran. The Iraqi insurgency used to be branded by some as "freedom fighters." Then those "freedom fighters" started killing more and more civilians participating in elections, and 90% of their targets are Iraqi civilians. Iran is currently in hot water at the UN. They're lucky they've been given so much time already to comply with their international obligations. If they get a nuclear weapon, it will not be a good thing, I promise you.
_habit_ @ Oct 1st 2006 4:02PM
I gotta say though, it's not like this is any worse than GTA, where Americans are killing other innocent Americans (if you can call anyone these days innocent).
thecactusman17 @ Oct 2nd 2006 12:08PM
Syrian, (#33) what your "embassador" friend didn't tell you is that the democratically elected leader of Iran is a figurehead designed to pull influence away from the real leaders of the country, the mullahs and oil producing businessleaders. One can certainly go head and criticize the government, but if that same person were to go and demonstrate against the local Islamic leaders who actually control public policy they would be thrown out of the country at best. Don't forget: political appointment and actual control are two very diferent things.
aZn_1080p @ Oct 1st 2006 10:28PM
Give the iranians credit, at least their game is realistic in its depiction of attacking a 'civilian' target, and not some jingoistic celebration of taking out 'evil doers'.
How many american kids would like to play a simulation of the reality of what their army does in iraq - kill 10 innocents for every 'evil doer' they catch, torture thousands of civilians, profitter, orphan innocent children, or worse, leave them slowly dying of radiation sickness or phosphorouse burns after using WMDs on their villages..
Actually, scratch that, based on many of the ignorant comments I've read here and elsewhere, a lot of the chickenhawk faction of americans probably *would* enjoy such a game.
m.a.r.w.a.n @ Oct 2nd 2006 11:18AM
I think it's amazing (and a lil' laughable) that when Iran does something similar to what the US (including the preciously incompetent ARMY games) has capitalized on, it's suddenly taboo.The hypocracy is classic.
It's just a game. Someone's out to make $$$ using the sentiments of their people(or maybe I should put a Rial sign)....doesn't that sound familiar in our Good ol Americana?
p.s. I think it's pretty silly from both sides, but c'mon, some of you guys should have seen this coming from far away.
CyberKnight @ Oct 10th 2006 10:17AM
@ #7:
"Screenshots and spec requirements? I'm rather curious, considering Iran is not exactly up do date on their computers and such, at least in terms of the general public."
My cousin has just recently visited Iran last month and he told me that he saw his friends playing intensive games (including FEAR, Half-Life 2 and Battlefield) on dual-core computers with the latest graphic cards. Iranians are just like the Americans, they are PC enthusiasts and PC gamers. So to answer your question, Iranians have the latest computer systems. Do not underestimate the Iranians.
sweethavok @ Oct 2nd 2006 2:18PM
I would really like to understand this Islamic extremist, but for some strange reason I somehow can't shove my head up my ass to see their point of view in this world.
On a serious note though I only have a problem with the extremist before somebody takes this out of context and says that I am a racist.
United Artists @ Oct 2nd 2006 3:58PM
aZn_1080p,
As a soldier I find your comments disgusting and un true. I challange you to find a army in the world that is more humane than the United States. Besides, your rant of civillians being murderd, children orphan, cities attack reminded me of when Washington and NYC was attacked