What do Germans think of Portayal of Nazis in Video Games?

[Ted Striker]

There has been recent debate at Electronic Arts, over whether to build a mission in the shooter game, Call of Duty, from the perspective of the German soldier. Only recently, because of the now long ending of the Cold War with Russia, have we seen missions built from the perspective of the Russian solider. Battlefield 1942 lets you play the role of both German and Japanese.

But most of these World War 2 shooter games almost always overwhelmingly show the big villain as being Nazis. I wonder what Germans feel, or if they even play these games, as Nazis get blasted by machine guns and sniper rifles, and shout out things like, "Mein Leben!" as they fall to the ground and die.

Most of us are able to differentiate between the Nazis of 1944 and the modern Germans who have profusley apologized for the actions of their ancestors. Some even idolize the German army for their skill and bravery on the battlefield, even if it was for the wrong cause.

[General Ludd]

Nazis are always the most uber.

[Ted Striker]

[Barinthus]

This German girl I dated a while ago told me she's tired of seeing Germans as villians in movies so I'd presume she feel the same about games. And that there are others like her.

[Ted Striker]

Barinthus,

Thank you for taking pity on my poor and unattended thread.

I think I remember you showing a picture of this girl somewhere, she was pretty cute from what I remember.

[Barinthus]

Heh I can empathize, so many threads of mine get ignored

Yes that's the one Unfortunately she's one of those clingy types so dropped her.

[bipolarbear]

A while back my shcool had German exchange students, adn one them had a gamers kid as a host.

The kid showed him violent videogames b/c they are outlawed in Germnay or something.

The first game he showed him was Medal of Honor jsut to be an ass.

Apparently the kid started crying becasue he was killing his countrymen, and ancestors.

[Barinthus]

Seriously?!?!

[Ted Striker]

Medal of Honor is pretty much 100% German killing the whole way. My other question was, how many games like this actually make it to Germany?

Except in the expansion pack, where you are killing Italians instead. The Italian weapons rock too, they hit HARD.

The expansion pack is fun because at one point you're fighting in the middle of a sandstorm, and the Germans are wearing gas masks, so they look even more sinister.

[MrFun]

Doesn't Hearts of Iron allow you to play as the Germans in World War II?

Or am I thinking of Axis and Allies -- the first title and its sequel? Or is this the case with both, Axis and Allies, and Hearts of Iron?

[Kuciwalker]

Yes to both.

[MrFun]

ok, thanks

[bipolarbear]

Seriously?!?!

quite seriously. The host kid was kind of a douche bag in my opinion. He didn't even warn him about it. I probably would have started him off with something nice nad easy like Doom, and taken him up through the ninties to the present, that way he could have a full appreciation of the past 20 years of violent video games.

But seriously, WWII games and an innocent German kid don't usually mix.

[Ted Striker]

Awwwww poor kid.

Did the kid realize what he was doing or did he intentionally trying to shock the German kid and was bragging about it?

[Hueij]

There has been recent debate at Electronic Arts, over whether to build a mission in the shooter game, Call of Duty, from the perspective of the German soldier. Only recently, because of the now long ending of the Cold War with Russia, have we seen missions built from the perspective of the Russian solider. Battlefield 1942 lets you play the role of both German and Japanese.

Cool. Do they let you round up the Jews from Polish villages?