War, for Konami, has changed again. The publisher is heading back to the Middle East with Six Days in Fallujah, a new, documentary-style video game set in the Iraq War.
According to the Wall Street Journal's report on the Atomic Games developed title, Six Days in Fallujah will be a commentary-free "game-amentary" that deals with the complex issues of war and the difficult decisions one must make, all set against the replicated backdrop of the Second Battle of Fallujah.
While Atomic Games—responsible for titles like the Close Combat series—say "for us, games are not just toys," the Konami marketing folks seem to see it slightly differently, telling the Journal "At the end of the day, it's just a game."
"We're not trying to make social commentary. We're not pro-war. We're not trying to make people feel uncomfortable. We just want to bring a compelling entertainment experience," Konami's VP of marketing, Anthony Crouts, tells the Wall Street Journal.
Atomic Games president Peter Tamte says to the Los Angeles Times that the developer's goal was to bring to Six Days in Fallujah "the horrors of war in a game that is also entertaining." The team is reported to have consulted with some three dozen or so Iraq War vets who were in Fallujah.
Looks like the new issue of GamePro has additional details, should you be a subscriber.
Iraq, the Videogame [Wall Street Journal]
Konami announces Six Days in Fallujah, based on 2004 Iraq battle [LA Times]
DISCUSSION
This seems kind of tasteless to me. I mean, the war is STILL going on right now, and people are STILL fighting and dying over there. Shouldn't you at least wait until the war is over before you start thinking about doing stuff like this?