Modern Warfare 2 map pulled due to religious insensitivity.

First, I would like to tell you this: Yes, this is 2012. Modern Warfare 2 was released in 2009, and this is only happening now.

Virtual Islamic Inscriptions were found on a virtual picture frame above a virtual toilet. This is apparently a sin in Islam, and was pointed out by a Muslim gamer only recently, which has caused Infinity Ward to make changes to map rotation, removing the offending map.

Was Infinity Ward right to pull the map? Or is it overeaction? And how did no one catch this for three years in a game that has sold over 22 million copies worldwide?

How did no one catch it? Simple, no one bothered to take a closer look at the scenery. And for those who did, very, very few would even know what that meant.

I'd say Muslim gamers have more pressing things to complain about than one line of text on one map... But hey, not my religion.

Honestly I don't see this as an overreaction. It's not going to be down forever, they'll probably just scrub the texture and throw the map back up with a patch. Any extended delays can probably be blamed on Microsoft's ridiculous certification procedures.

Infinity Ward should probably do a bit more research into any religion they want to portray in the future. They did show respect to their playerbase by not coming up with some lame excuse or anything... They took immediate action and responsibility for the case. I can respect that.

On the other hand... Come on dudes! Chill! It's some random texture on some random spot!

edited 8th Oct '12 6:31:54 PM by ShirowShirow

I don't agree with you often, Shirow, but when you're right, nobody says it better. :)

That does not in any way reflect on the majority of Muslims. It's no secret that a lot of states and families governed by different versions of sharia law have ridiculous human rights violations but mainstream Islam is exactly as inoffensive as Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism or whatever religion that that dude down the street prescribes to that never bothers you.

I'm not a fan of fundamentalism in general, but misconceptions hurt everyone.

That's what they're doing now most likely. Console patches are a pain in the ass though.

edited 8th Oct '12 6:58:09 PM by ShirowShirow

Couldn't they just... edit the map to get rid of the offending bit? I don't know anything about how these things work, but it sounds kinda simple. Go into the map editor, cover up the inscription with regular ol' wall texture, then release an update to the game that incorporates the change.

Or are the makers just that lazy?

edited 8th Oct '12 7:00:45 PM by Pannic

No, "muslims" will do that to rape victimes. Muslims, on the other hand, are loving, reasonable human beings. You can't say something that is blatantly offensive to a religion and its followers, and then say "no offense" to any of its followers who see your comment.

As for IW, while I respect that they are acting responsibly in the immediate situation, they should have done research before including it in the first place. In fact, they probably shouldn't need to do research to understand why somebody of faith might be offended by you placing their religious text above a toilet.

edited 8th Oct '12 7:04:28 PM by TheAirman

It's a fucking plant. There's no credibility to this complaint. It's a plant to stir the pot just like the anti-Islam film was used to do so around the time the US embassy was stormed in Benghazi.

What else could it be? If it was genuine it would have been noticed years ago.

I've a sneeking suspicion this thread isn't going to stay unlocked long.

That said, I am ignorant in the finer points of Islam, but how many non-practitioners of any religion, even if they read up on it, are going to know all the little details? How many non-Jews know all the details of keeping kosher, for example? Assuming everyone making the map was working in good faith, it seems an excusable mistake as long as they correct it in a sane manner.

edited 8th Oct '12 8:24:35 PM by Elle

Like the previous thread on Iranian World of Warcraft players being banned as part of the sanctions at the insistence of the United States, this topic seems better suited to On-Topic Conversations.

It wasn't a very good map anyway, much too large for the tiny playercount that game supports. Not that I ever played Call of Duty or Anything

edited 8th Oct '12 8:40:00 PM by cfive

"No offense to any Islams that may come onto this thread."

Is Islams even a word?

I share your suspicion.

I F*cking called it!

edited 8th Oct '12 11:07:51 PM by DeviantBraeburn

"No offense to any Islams that may come onto this thread." sounds pretty offensive, TBH. Could be entertaining if you were parodying someone ignorant though.

They are Muslims. Be courteous and capitalise it. As mentioned, misconceptions help no one.

Oh boy. Sometimes you just gotta know when to say when.