Who Needs Hollywood?

I listed a “Top 5″ of the decade movie post the other day and I find it sad that there are few good war movies on it much less even made. Besides Taking Chance (on HBO) and Ridley Scott’s Blackhawk Down (7 years after the action it portrays) what other positive portrayals are there of today’s American troops? My wife got me the above game for Christmas so I’m about to find out I guess. From the Dallas Morning News:

Game makers have stepped into the breach. And they’re making huge bucks crafting patriotic entertainment pieces for which the movie industry used to be famous.

Most notable of the new virtual epics is Modern Warfare 2 and its predecessor, both from California-based publisher Activision Blizzard Inc.

Activision’s top executive made it clear where the company stands when he announced an endowment to help military veterans find jobs.

“Business leaders have an opportunity to … reverse an alarming trend of not recognizing the sacrifices made by the men and women of our military service,” CEO Robert Kotick said.

Honoring American military service is important to many developers, including Plano-based Gearbox Software, even if Activision is getting most of the attention.

Activision’s Modern Warfare 2, which is set partially in Afghanistan and lets you play as American and British soldiers hunting terrorists, is a cultural sensation.

When it came out Nov. 10, it became the biggest entertainment product launch in history, grossing $310 million in North America and the United Kingdom in its first 24 hours. In its first five days, Modern Warfare 2 sales hit $550 million.

Activision was quick to put that in perspective, noting that the largest worldwide five-day box-office take for any movie was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at $394 million.

Please don’t judge the modern college student by idiots who get the attention from Ivy Leagues, Berkeley, etc. They are the minority. A lot of good kids are contemplating the military as an option. Is it the job market? Sure — somewhat, but who joins up just to pay off student loans when it’s a good shot that Afghanistan or Iraq are in their future? Whether or not those destinations are actually guaranteed the perception is that if you enlist — you go into harm’s way. These video games are having a positive impact on how younger Americans view the military.

And looking at the numbers… if we want to support businesses that are pro-troops, then buy a video game it seems.

But after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Hollywood went silent instead of ramping up production on war epics as it did when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941.

When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, that silence turned largely to criticism, as anti-war films like Redacted and Lions for Lambs emerged.

The $20 billion-a-year video game industry was ready to enlist.

In addition to the Modern Warfare games, other successful military games released since 9/11 include Conflict: Desert Storm and its sequel, Back to Baghdad, Full Spectrum Warrior (originally developed as a U.S. Army training simulator), and the SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals series, which has had multiple sequels on different Sony consoles.

More will soon join the fray.

Electronic Arts’ Medal of Honor franchise, which previously focused on World War II battles, is making the leap to the modern era.

The next installment, due in 2010, will focus on U.S. special operations forces fighting their way through Afghanistan.

Sean Decker, vice president and general manager of the Los Angeles division of Electronic Arts that is overseeing development of the new Medal of Honor, said video games rather than movies are becoming a cultural touchstone for a growing number of Americans.

We always talk here (inspired by John Nolte’s big issue) about the myth that Hollywood is all about money. Think of the money they are leaving on the table here.

Game makers aren’t afraid to put players in situations where U.S. soldiers are unambiguously the good guys, while the combatants – often Muslims – are the bad guys.

Gearbox Software, the Plano-based video game development studio, is well-known for its World War II-based Brothers in Arms franchise.

Randy Pitchford, co-founder and chief executive of Gearbox, said one reason game makers are more willing to make epic war productions is simple logistics and expense.

“The last Brothers in Arms video game, if that was a movie shot in live action, could never exist because it would cost a billion dollars,” he said.

Pitchford said the game industry, still young and technologically immature, is also more willing than Hollywood to promote military virtues.

“Maybe there is something to the point of courage,” he said, reflecting on the gritty bloodshed and death required to make its Brothers in Arms games both historically accurate and engrossing.

“These themes can be deeper or riskier than what we see in Hollywood. And I know that’s true with other games as well.”

Gearbox’s in-house military guru is retired U.S. Army Col. John Antal, whose business card now includes the titles of historical director, script editor, organizational adviser and military expert.

The flood of pro-military games and trickle of pro-military movies in the last several years is probably due at least in part to politics, Antal said.

“In 2002, there was the movie We Were Soldiers,” he said. “Mel Gibson made that movie. That was a very well-received movie in the military. I’m sure Hollywood hated it.”

Gearbox isn’t the only studio to rely on military expertise to keep its games realistic.

Electronic Arts is working with U.S. special operations forces on the new Medal of Honor.

During one game mission, a Navy SEAL tells his teammates to look up at the second floor of a building. Real-life SEALS told Electronic Arts the dialogue needed to be rewritten.

“They said ‘We wouldn’t say that word. We’d say, ‘Look up on the second deck,’ because we’re Navy,’ ” said Decker, the vice president and general manager of the Los Angeles division.

h/t: Instapundit

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