US army spends $32.8 million on propaganda videogame

US army spends $32.8 million on propaganda videogame

The US army has invested $32.8 million in its own videogame, which acts as both a recruitment tool and PR drive for America's military, it has been revealed.
America's Army is, according to its website, "the Official US army game (AA), which provides young Americans with a virtual web-based environment in which they can explore an army career".

The game looks professionally made and even has its own YouTube channel – in short, it's got that high-gloss sheen you can only get when money has been spent.
And, it turns out, millions of dollars have been spent on the game. Millions of tax-payer dollars.

SOURCE

reply to post by Djdoubt03


I was wondering when they were going to start this.

I am sure their are some other games they would like to see more kids play. Remote operated weapons systems is the current rage in the military. Imagine, a private running a system and of course the private has no idea where the system is.

Scary.

reply to post by endisnighe


Ever see the movie "Toys" with Robin Williams? An evil General designs what seems to be ordinary video games but turns out the video games are remote controllers for tanks and aircraft. Much like an advance UAV control system.

Hmmm....lets sell the video games that actually drive vehicles remotely when hooked up to the net. If we sell them to every kid in America and allow kids who are much better than adults at gaming kill our enimeys from the comfort of home.


I'm down with it. I'd volunteer to have one one in my home, as long as the graphics are excellent and not like Atari's Battle Zone (which by the way was sold to the US Army as "Bradly Trainer" for tank simulation and troop training)

A version called The Bradley Trainer (also known as Army Battlezone or Military Battlezone) was also designed for use by the U.S. Army as targeting training for gunners on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.[1] Approaching Atari in December 1980, some developers within Atari refused to work on the project because of its association with the Army,[2] most notably original Battlezone programmer Ed Rotberg.[3] Rotberg only came on board after he was promised by management that he would never be asked to do anything with the military in the future.[4] Only two were produced; one was delivered to the army and is presumed lost, and the other is in the private collection of Scott Evans [5][6] who found it by a dumpster in the rear parking lot at Midway Games. The gunner yoke was based on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle control and was later re-used in the popular Star Wars game.[4] The Bradley Trainer differs dramatically from the original Battlezone as it features helicopters, missiles, and machine guns; furthermore, the actual tank does not move - the guns simply rotate SOURCE

[edit on 12/10/09 by Djdoubt03]

Eh whatever.

This way, they can never complain about violent video games.

Second, any good parent/smart child will be able to see past this propaganda. Instead of me filling the boots, it will be someone who "wants" to.

This game has been out for 9 years now. The only thing new about this story is the amount of money spent on the game in 9 years.. and I believe this was admitted before now.

32 Million over 9 years is a very small amount of money for a game over 9 years. We should congratulate the Army.

Just like movies today, it is common for game developers to spend 20, 30, 40 thousand dollars on video games.

And yes, 9 years ago when this first came out, we Gamers knew all about the use of it as a recruiting tool.

I do not play it, because it's an online game ( I like old fashioned story driven First Person Shooter in your face offline games).. but hey Kids.. it's Free! If you like online games and want to kill a few bad guys, give it a try!

Just please.. don't let them talk you into joining the army. All they will do is send you off to fight somebody elses war and get you killed..




[edit on 10-12-2009 by JohnPhoenix]

OH MY GOSH, government made game is immediately propaganda and EVIL!
You guys are unbelievable. This is one of the few semi worthwhile things produced by the government. For one thing it doesn't require you to sell your soul, your wallet, your arm or leg, it's massively popular since it's modern and on line with gaming standards, registration doesn't require you to give up your identity, it sure as hell doesn't spam your email account with unwanted offers and whatever else. And trust me, it is realistic with my being in the Army (obviously) and having played it. The original version of it is playable on a 56k dial up connection, and that was a couple of years ago.
Honestly, lighten up and maybe even enjoy it if you get the chance.

On a side note, why is the game the only environment that the Universal Camo on the ACUs where they actually work?!

Real War is alot different from video games.
I think some kids or teens who mistake for a war video game they think that war is going to be a blast or fun, but in reality its hell.


When you see the crap in front of you, will experience heavy Posttraumatic stress disorders, not to mention some anxiety attacks due to nightmares of been close to death.


Yes playing war video games is fantasy but in reality thats alot different.

From what I remembered it was actually a pretty decent game. Was definately not the reason that I enlisted, but a good game either way.

The Angel Of Tears is a Muslim angel that answers the prayers of the crying children. Every year children are mocked and brought to tears because they took their gaming so seriously. This game has answered the prayers of those children it seems for the past nine years. There is nothing less than sacred about that.

I suggest humans quit fighting in the next 2 years...for their own good.

reply to post by Djdoubt03

I play AA. I really enjoy it. It is a great way to blow off some steam. The government blew like 2.3 trillion on absolutely nothing this year. I would rather them spend 32 million on something that is entertaining to me, than just lighting it on fire like most of the money they take from us.

Has it been 9 years? I first heard about it being in development in 02/03 when I was playing Desert Combat. I played the first version of AA .. From a gamers perspective, it wasn't a 10, but it was better than 5.

I'm sure that now they've had it out and had time to develop new models, skins, and vehicles and build it on a better gaming engine that it may actually be pretty damn good by now.

It's a free game.

Better than paying $60 for something that contiually needs to be patched or it crashes or fails to initialize on the game servers and you get booted.

Ah, AA! I played this game for a few years from 04 to 06 (I think). Was addictive as heck and very fun. We all knew it was a propaganda tool and used by the military to train soldiers but it wasn't really a problem. A game is a game.

reply to post by Djdoubt03


I WENT TO THE LINK PROVIDED AND STARTED LOOKING AROUND AND CAME ACROSS A SIGHT CALLED METAL STORM. JEEZ.

Originally posted by middleclasssoldier
reply to post by Djdoubt03

 

I WENT TO THE LINK PROVIDED AND STARTED LOOKING AROUND AND CAME ACROSS A SIGHT CALLED METAL STORM. JEEZ.

Metal Storm?

Doesn't a game like this give your enemy an inside edge?

Why have an online game that exposes your strategy and your weak links?

Have been playing this for a while.
Not once have I been asked to be recruited (Yes I am a pretty good player).

Also, the Army has given the contract to a privately owned game dev studio, so the money is being put right back into the economy.

PS: Game isnt that great, but its free, was very buggy last time I played which is not surprising because the dev team had to meet impossible deadlines set by the gov. Kinda like the fact that obamas advisors told the car companies they have to get around "this physics thing to improve milage on cars".

I used to play this and frankly I'm quite surprised that they've spend so little on it. At least the version I played could compete and even beat most commercial products. Everybody knew it was propaganda but at the same time it was the most realistic 'shooter' out there. Having to pass tests for first aid among other things was brilliant.

I think it's amazing they do this for only a "30%" increase in perception/attitude towards the military. While that is apparently a large number for recruitment, it's still not that much.

Originally posted by FritosBBQTwist
Eh whatever.

This way, they can never complain about violent video games.

Second, any good parent/smart child will be able to see past this propaganda. Instead of me filling the boots, it will be someone who "wants" to.

Don't worry, you probably couldn't fill the boots even if you wanted to.