It’s shaping up to be a great fall season for gamers, if, for nothing else, than to watch Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 fight it out for top first person shooter honors. It’s EA (BF3) versus Activision (MW3) for all of 2011’s FPS marbles. While Battlefield 3 won the initial battle, simply by coming out swinging first, Modern Warfare 3 has won the latest round with the release of first non-teaser trailer, which leads this article.
They hype level for both games is extremely high, with EA seeing a 700 percent increase of pre-orders; and, well, Modern Warfare is Modern Warfare. The buzz is always high around this particular title. However, the war for 2011 FPS supremacy may be over before it’s begun, thanks to some backlash in England concerning Modern Warfare 3’s content.
According to a report in the Daily Mail (via The Escapist), some scenes from the upcoming game remind some of the 7/7 attacks that took place in London on July of 2005. In the Modern Warfare 3 reveal, certain scenes feature the British Parliament and the London Underground getting attacked.
The Mail also has screenshots of the scenes in question:
The backlash is growing the point where some English citizens are calling for Modern Warfare 3 to be banned in England, while other spokespeople responded as well:
Vivienne Pattison, spokesman for campaign group Mediawatch UK, said: “I have concerns as these games are hyper-real and take place in a landscape we are familiar with. In light of the fact we have just had the 7/7 inquests, it is in incredibly poor taste.”
Pattison also supported a ban on the release of Saw IV, to provide some additional perspective.
Of course, the Modern Warfare franchise is no stranger to controversy. When MW 2 was released, a great deal was made about the airport execution scene, but ultimately, Modern Warfare 2 broke records when it was released, and England was right in the middle of those record-breaking sales.
With that in mind, it would be awfully surprising if Modern Warfare 3 was banned in England. In fact, this kind of controversy will only help market the game, because, as we’ve learned time and time again, this kind of outcry only increases interest in the item being discussed. With that in mind, don’t be surprised if Modern Warfare 3 breaks the records set by MW 2, especially in the British Isles.