Call of Duty banned in Pakistan

War-games Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Medal of Honor: Warfighter have caught the ire of Pakistani authorities over their poor portrayal of the country.

According to the report unearthed by Fox News, the government took particular offence to the ability given to players to shoot civilians and the portrayal of the country’s intelligence agency as in cahoots with Al Qeada and other terrorist organisations.

The government’s move follows a pro-active step to boycott both games by the All Pakistan CD, DVD, Audio Cassette Traders and Manufacturers Association (APCDACTM).

“The Association has always boycotted these types of films and games. These (games) have been developed against the country’s national unity and sanctity,” explained the group.

In a statement, the APCDACTM continued: “The games (Medal of Honor: Warfighter and Call of Duty: Black Ops II) have been developed against Pakistan, and the association has completely banned their sale. Shopkeepers are warned and will be responsible for the consequences if found purchasing or selling these games.”

Apparently the group was flooded with complaints, leading to APCDACTM president to ban the game for showing the nation in a “very poor light”, especially with its stance on the Pakistani army.

Warfighter’s cynical view of the region’s government might be understood when realising that seven members of the US Navy Seal Team 6, the team that tool out Bin Laden, worked with developers on the title.

James Lee

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James Lee is a freelance writer and analyst with extensive experience in the technology, media and games sectors. For the past few years he has provided content for internationally published industry reports, SEO companies and a variety of news-focused websites. Prior to this, James was responsible for covering news and producing in-depth features for GamesIndustry.biz while occasionally contributing to its sister-site. Eurogamer.net. In addition to this he has contributed to other notable sites such as CVG.co.uk, Edge-Online and DigitalSpy.