Activision Confirms and Explains Leaked Modern Warfare 2 Footage

Oh please, stop with the speculation. This is about as bad a leaking the footage to begin with.

Thanks for the "insight." Actually considering that it was CNN that was one of the main sources for the video itself, saying that the content will attract big media is hardly a stretch. Understanding that ATVI put in a warning and allows people to skip the scene, personally I'm totally cool with it, but that won't necessarily stop idiots on Fox or elsewhere from stirring up big trouble.

The scene itself is fine. Plenty of action movies depict villains doing much worse. The problem is that the player can PLAY the scene - they can take part. That, to me, screams that this is an attention grab & nothing more than an attempt to be "controversial" and out-do COD4's infamous nuke. If IW was really trying to do nothing than establish that their bad dude is in fact a really bad dude, then why not do it through conventional means. Or have the player in the airport trying to STOP him.

But the inclusion of material such as this reeks of publicity. I have a hard time this video was 'leaked' in the traditional sense of the word, and in fact was released through informal means as a way to garner further hype for the game, especially in the Western world. After all, there is not a sound business mind out there that would find this sort of content to not be inflammatory, as well as a media hog.

Yes, it's certainly possible that this was deliberately "leaked" to further boost the hype for the game. As the saying goes, there's no such thing as bad publicity.

James - the fact that you are asking people to speculate on something that was leaked - and that they have not played - is beyond journalism. It is sensationalistic and irresponsible.
You are correct that CNNi placed the info out there - but since that time they, along with everyone else who was connected with it, have taken down their stories. Check your links, they are not valid.
That is not my 'insight', it is a fact.

I know the vids were taken down, that's been mentioned in my previous story. The fact is that ATVI has confirmed that the footage is real, and what the footage reveals is frankly quite surprising. There's nothing wrong with discussing that. You are of course free to label it whatever you want, but I obviously disagree.

@ lonelygirl13: What is up with some of you people accusing IndustryGamers lately of bad journalism? This website, unlike many others, offers the opportunity to readers to comment on specific stories and developments in the gaming industry, and voice their opinions on many subjects, even on subjects as controversial as the subject of this post. In my humble opinion, providing opportunities for dialogue is not a bad journalism. Yes, you are right stating that the sources that were reporting the story have taken down their reports, but that does not negate the fact that these scenes have been confirmed and ARE REAL. Not being able to talk about something as controversial as the ability to play a terrorist in a video game is kind of acting as an ostrich, that when in danger, puts her/his head in the ground to hide from her/his enemies.

The scene is shocking, but it's meant to be – to me, it gives more weight to the evil being perpetrated than something that was non-interactive or depicted from the other side could ever be. It's using the gaming medium's strengths to tell a story.

That said, I think IW has given itself an easy out from controversy by making the mission optional. They can simply point to that and say, "But you didn't have to play it."

Kudos to Infinity Ward for pushing the envelope in this cinematic experience.

"Moments of clarity" are hard to come by in real-life (though 9/11 stands as a recent example when we saw, clearly, that our enemies were evil). But movies and video games have opportunities through storytelling to present fictional moments of clarity quite frequently.

This scene, gruesome as it is, depicts a very plausible scenario and enables the player to recognize the evil that exists in the world. Then, almost more importantly, allows the player to take take action to stop that evil, driving home the point that evil triumphs when good people do nothing.

This is no different from situations where a movie's protaganist, such as Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, takes action to stop terrorists. I don't recall being presented with a pop-up asking if I'd like to skip the ethically uncomfortable scenes in that or any other recent movie.

I look forward to playing Modern Warfare 2 and experiencing the rich game-world that Infinity Ward will create.

@nikos:
Asking for people to speculate on their feelings on a scene, level, or any experience without having the full context for it is bad journalism, plain and simple. It is no better than the BS that happened on Fox News when reporters and "experts" passed judgement on Mass Effect without playing it.
Reporting about it is one thing, but inciting people to comment about something they don't fully understand is, at the very least, inappropriate - especially for a place that bills itself as an "industry" site.

I don't have a problem with this, nor did I have any problem with "Six Days In Fallujah" (which I hope finds a publisher). Such gameplay give the story much more impact and elevates these titles from mindless shoot-'em-ups to something that actually has moral weight.

SeattleTom, I think we do have to recognize, however, that there is a major difference between a scene like that in a movie and a scene in game where you control the terrorist and shoot down innocent people. It's a different emotional level if you're playing out the scene versus the passive experience of just watching something unfold. As I said before though, I have no problem with the way IW is handling this.

@lg13 - Why are you commenting under that name? You clearly hold some pretty strong opinions on this subject. Why comment under a pseudonym?

@ Justin Davis: :) Excellent point dude (lol)! @Lonelygirl13: obviously we hold different opinions and we disagree on what bad journalism means. However, I have to say that I admire your passion, as well as the intensity in your entries. I look forward to having more conversations with you.

I feel they walked a very fine line letting the user play out such a scene. When you watch the scene play out in the video that was leaked...its very horrific in nature and quite unbelievable. However it's not like you can't do similar feats in video games that are available currently.

So with all that said, I will still pick up my copy! :-)