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Editorial: Waiter, there's a Nazi theme in my Android Market (updated)
Earlier tonight our friend Michael Gartenberg tweeted that when he went to the Android Market to search for the word "Jewish," a number of Nazi and Hitler themes turned up. Of course, we had to take a look for ourselves, and sure enough, the search for a fairly innocuous word related to a religion and culture turns up skins which are disgustingly, hatefully pro-Nazism and pro-Hitler. That's a problem, no matter how you look at this. In the past, we've railed against Apple for its confusing, unfair, and often absurd App Store policies, particularly when it comes to the policing of applications based on content, not code. Steve Jobs has made a point during press conferences to say that the Android Market allows porn apps -- which of course set off a furious debate. Sadly, what Jobs should have pointed out was that the Market allows something far more insidious and damaging than even the hardest-core pornography -- apps that spread hate and propagate the views of a movement that is pretty much universally reviled.
There's a game that exists which has Nazi Dinosaurs in it
Okay -- Time Gentlemen, Please featured a number of Hitler-Heiling prehistoric lizards, so we guess there's now two games out there which feature Nazi Dinosaurs. Still, the more recent title to boast the hybrid, a Half-Life 2 mod titled Dino D-Day, actually allows you to go toe to talon with with these fanged, scaly members of the Third Reich. You can check out an overwhelmingly patriotic trailer for the mod over on ModDB -- or, if you're in the mood to massacre some Nazi Dinos right now, the mod is also available to download. (To be fair, the dinosaurs featured in Dino D-Day are unable to speak, so it's difficult to know whether they harbor the disturbing political and social beliefs of the Nazi party. However, they're affiliated with them in combat, so we've got no reservations about punching them repeatedly in their stupid dinosaur faces.)
Chilean PS3 ad depicts gamer giving blood to Nazi officer [update]
[Update: Apparently, BBDO Chile created these ads to submit to a number of ad design competitions and festivals, and received no official endorsement or approval from Sony. BBDO Chile's president has issued an apology for the use of Sony's branding without its permission. His full statement can be found after the jump.] Original: Here we go again: A Chilean advertisement for PS3, created by major ad firm BBDO, has become the source of a great deal of controversy for showing a modern day gamer giving a blood transfusion ... to a Nazi! The National Socialist in question is intended to be Erwin Rommel, a German field marshal whose humane treatment of captive soldiers and refusal to kill Jewish civilians made him a fairly respected military figure -- but we doubt the casual observer's initial reaction to the ad goes much further than, "Oh gawd, is that a ... swastika!" Then again, after being accused of promoting racism and endorsing, nay, providing instructions on suicide, accusations of harboring Nazi sympathies is kind of par for the course for Sony's PlayStation advertising. Check out the full advertisement -- as well as a similar, equally perplexing ad depicting a gamer giving his still-beating heart to Joan of Arc -- after the jump. (By the way, we'll be patrolling comments on this post for any invocation of Godwin's Law. Keep it civil, gang.) [Via Engadget]
Chilean PS3 ads show gamer giving blood transfusion to a Nazi
You'd think Sony's ad teams would have learned to stay away from needlessly controversial imagery after that whole "White is coming" PSP debacle or even those "Take a Running Jump Here" ads, but... they haven't. Check out these Chilean PlayStation 3 ads, which show a modern-day gamer giving a heart transplant to Joan of Arc and a blood transfusion to a Nazi. Yes, Sony has Godwin'd its own advertising. The Nazi in question is supposed to be Erwin Rommel, a highly decorated and respected German field marshal, but it's not like Sony's really riffing on that here, and making an ad with a swastika in it that relies on your audience to know the subtle nuances of WWII history just isn't the smartest move in the world. It's a pretty simple rule: if you make a video game ad with Nazis in it and it's not about shooting the Nazis, you've screwed up. Let's just stick with those creeptastic Japanese PS3 spots, okay? P.S.- We'll shut off comments in a heartbeat. Behave yourselves. [Via Copyranter]
Call of Duty: World at War co-op mode pits players against Nazi zombies
There's been a number of pleasant surprises that have come out of Treyarch's upcoming installment in the wildly lucrative Call of Duty franchise -- such as the inclusion of Jack Bauer, and its uncanny resemblance to the previous, well-received chapter in the series. However, last night's episode of GameTrailers TV brought another shocking (yet welcome) revelation, straight from the mouth of Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia -- Call of Duty: World at War will contain a four-player, co-op zombie (of the Nazi variety) survival mode.Those who currently aren't busy scraping pieces of their blown mind off of the wall behind them will probably be interested in a few details Lamia mentioned -- the gameplay mode (which is unlocked upon the completion of the single player campaign) will place four players in a central structure, then assail them with wave upon wave of undead national socialists. Throughout the game, players will collect money which can be used to fortify their compound, or purchase new weapons. Also, there will be Nazi zombies.Stoked parties can catch a glimpse of the SS Zombocalypse in Chapter Four of last night's GTTV episode, now available online.
All the World's a Stage: So you want to be an orc
This installment of All the World's a Stage is the second in a series of roleplaying guides in which we find out all the background information you need to roleplay a particular race or class well, without embarrassing yourself.If you've seen Lord of the Rings, or read any other fantasy story in which orcs are portrayed, you probably think orcs are hideous humanoid monsters charging mindlessly forward to slaughter helpless innocents. Azerothian orcs are significantly different, however, with a shamanistic culture that prides honor above all other virtues.But unless you've played World of Warcraft or Warcraft 3, you probably wouldn't know that. The orcs of Warcraft 1 and 2 were pretty squarely in "bad guy" territory, and it is only with the story of Thrall's rise to power and return to shamanism that we find out what the orcs' true history is.Ironically, the story of the orcs is a bit like that of the horrors of modern Nazis and the lore of the ancient Jews mixed together. Imagine that the vast majority of your species came under the sway of a terrible and evil leader, utterly determined to commit genocide against your peaceful neighbors. After carrying out this deplorable task, your people sought a new enemy, and found a new world to destroy. In the midst of this conquest, however, your people's political leadership failed, the way back home was cut off, and you all ended up as slaves in exile, lethargic and utterly without hope. Suddenly, a hero appeared to unite your people, overcome your former masters, restore your ancient faith, reclaim your dignity, and establish a new homeland. What follows is a brief account of the events most orcs know about or lived through, and a glimpse of the effects they would have had on your character.
Nintendo joins the rest of the world in not welcoming Hitler
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Nintendo_joins_the_rest_of_the_world_in_not_welcoming_Hitler'; "No online racing for you!' That's the message Nintendo is sending to Mario Kart Wii owners hoping to race their Hitler Miis on its Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service.Any attempt to bring a Mii sharing the German dictator's name online for Mario Kart Wii will be met with the following error: "You cannot access Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection using this Mii name. Please change your Mii name and try again." Presumably, you should still be able to race with a Mii bearing Hitler's likeness while using a different name. You know, if drifting through Moo Moo Meadows as the architect of the Holocaust is your idea of fun.According to initial tests, Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, and several other dictator jerks are not currently banned. Really, though, when was the last time you ran into someone using a Mii of Robert Mugabe.
'Heil Hitler' car auctioned in Forza 2, exposes kink in user-generated gaming
Microsoft and Turn 10 might be determined to seek and destroy acts of hatred and discrimination plastered on Xbox Live, but the publisher and developer of Forza 2 couldn't act fast enough to prevent a 1957 Mercedes 300SL, defaced by pro-Nazi symbols and sentiments, from being offered through the game's online auction mode. 360-gamer recently pointed to the unsettling item, criticizing the moderators for their inability to keep this kind of content off of the Xbox Live servers; or at least promptly remove it (apparently the car's been Live for a while).Whether adolescent mischief or true delusion, a small percentage of user-generated content is always going to incite "discrimination, hate, or violence towards one person or a group." While Microsoft clearly defines the boundaries of condemnable content in its Online User Policy*, the company fails to suggest how it might protect its users from being victimized by such content. Probably because it can't.
Independent movie about undead Nazis to premiere on PSP
You know it's a slow news day when stories like this make it to the Fanboy. A small independent British film company plans on releasing a film about undead Nazis called "Last Evil," and they plan to distribute it online for free in iPod and PSP format. This isn't the first time an indie film has made its way to the portable before (never) reaching theaters. Although I can't say I'm too confident about a film that shares the same story as Castle Wolfenstein, I have to admit, you can't beat this movie's price of entry.[Via DCemu]
Zombies, Aliens, or Nazis? Designing the perfect game enemy.
The net's full of debate about the perfect game protagonist (ninjas, pirates, or robots?) but too little real debate about what makes the perfect in-game enemy. In comments on yesterday's post about upcoming Xbox 360 (Japan) zombie stomper Oneechanbara, Joystiq reader Gimbal posited that risen corpses may well be the ideal enemy: "Zombies, like Nazis, are the perfect enemy for video games." Zatso? What makes a perfect enemy anyway? The perfect enemy is:
