EA on the backlash against women in Battlefield V: ‘Accept it or don’t buy the game’

[Lil Ayy Big Gay]

Battlefield V’s decision to prominently feature women in combat as part of its World War II setting may have angered some gamers online — who responded to the inclusion of female soldiers with the #NotMyBattlefield hashtag — but developers at Electronic Arts and DICE remain unmoved by the reaction.

 

In an interview with Gamasutra, EA chief creative officer Patrick Söderlund says that the developer is uninterested in taking flak for diversifying the gaming space. “We stand up for the cause, because I think those people who don’t understand it, well, you have two choices: either accept it or don’t buy the game,†he says. “I’m fine with either or.†According to Söderlund, the dev team itself also pushed for women in Battlefield V.

 

In an interview with The Verge this week, lead designer Lars Gustavsson says that he was surprised by the negative reaction to the inclusion of women, particularly because he had heard so many fans ask for it. “If I got a dollar for every interview I’ve been in through the years, where people challenged us about not having female soldiers, I would be a rich man,†he says. “So to finally be involved with this decision, it’s actually quite mindblowing.â€

“ACCEPT IT, OR DON’T BUY THE GAME.â€

Many of those who used the #NotMyBattlefield hashtag complained that the inclusion of women was “historically inaccurate,†despite women playing a variety of roles during WWII as everything from fighter pilots to snipers. Söderlund found the response to be both ignorant and beside the point. â€These are people who are uneducated — they don’t understand that this is a plausible scenario, and listen: this is a game,†he says.

Executive producer Aleksander Grøndal also pushed back against the hashtag, saying the developer “will always put fun over authentic.†Nor is this a new development for the series. As general manager Oskar Gabrielson explained on Twitter, “the Battlefield sandbox has always been about playing the way you want.†This sometimes means offering fantastical experiences that are neither realistic nor historically accurate, “like attempting to fit three players on a galloping horse, with flamethrowers. With BFV you also get the chance to play as who you want. This is #everyonesbattlefield.â€

EA’s dogged response to this debacle marks another instance of creators standing up against toxic fan bases who seek to rail against diversity and what they view as “PC politics.†When creators speak out against bad actors — whether they’re addressing Comicsgate, Rick and Morty, or harassment from Star Wars fans â€” they’re sending a powerful message about how abusive and exclusionary behavior will not be tolerated.

Gaming today is more gender-diverse than it’s ever been, Söderlund says, and there are “a lot of female people who want to play, and male players who want to play as a badass [woman].†In trying to explain the so-called controversy to his own 13-year-old daughter, Söderlund says he came to realize how ridiculous the conceit of the online backlash was. “I’m like, okay, as a parent, how the hell am I gonna respond to this? And I just said, ‘You know what? You’re right,’†says Söderlund. “‘This is not okay.’â€

 

 

source, https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2018/6/12/17453728/ea-women-in-battlefield-v-backlash-response?__twitter_impression=true

 

 

Everyone who mad at Battlefield V for adding a women deadass is a massive loser, legit can't ctfu.

No one plays Battlefield for the historically accuracy, are you kidding me ?

[chiirbii]

Male nerds are consistently horrible.

[Da Phu�]

[Namazu]

12 year olds who feel insecure about being beat by a girl. I'm not surprised since they're fans of an ea game. The game company that defines fragile straight masculinity

[poseidon]

nvmmm

[Yoonability]

Oh my God I saw wank about this and my eyes nearly rolled into the back of my skull. But it's all about the historical accuracy!!1!!1 amirait

[Uncensored]

Female Gamers

 

 

[StrifeRaider]

Oh my God I saw wank about this and my eyes nearly rolled into the back of my skull. But it's all about the historical accuracy!!1!!1 amirait

Woman fought in both world wars lol 

[NiIo]

Watch this game flop. You do not wanna piss off the very fans that got you where you are today.

[Yoonability]

Woman fought in both world wars lol 

 

Yes I know which makes it even more ridiculous. You know the people complaining about this are the same people who think black people didn't exist in Europe as anything but slaves pre 1960.

[bromiscuous]

Male nerds are consistently horrible.

I used to think some kpop fans were bad but atleast they argue about real people. I've seen nasty stuff from nerds, like sending death threats about portrayals of fictional characters.

[Jinsus]

EA remains the worst

EA is most certainly a greedy company, but this move is.. good? Theyre adding women to the game, how is that bad?

[poseidon]

EA is most certainly a greedy company, but this move is.. good? Theyre adding women to the game, how is that bad?

 

wow im an idiot and clearly didnt read this article. sorry literally assumed from the title and thought EA didnt want to add women. 

[Bitoku]

Accept it or don’t buy the game

 

 

 

 

[kimvfilms]

I'm buying Battlefield again

[NiIo]

EA politicizing this game. Idiots. On top of that, they're belittling their fans and acting arrogant, one of the key ingredients to pissing off your potential customers.

[Namazu]

EA politicizing this game. Idiots. On top of that, they're belittling their fans and acting arrogant, one of the key ingredients to pissing off your potential customers.

How the fuck is putting a woman in a game "politicizing" it? If anything EA is like a decade late doing this.

[Loonathehoe]

Fragile masculinity at it again *shrug*

[Cobalt]

 

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THIS IMAGE MADE MY LIFE

[Brian]

Oh goodie, more men beings cunts. 

[Buttered Sone]

 

 

Funny how those who whinge on about historical accuracy don't care about any of the many unrealistic screwups until there's a woman or POC in sight

[mochichan]

Lmao y'all play a playground war simulator trying to turn one of the most brutal carnages in history into entertainment with infinite respawn lives and y'all REEEEE over realism bc....women. Get over your misogynistic ass

[Pseudo]

These neckbeards need to get out of their mum's basements, serve and meet some female veterans. Tell them then how "unrealistic" it is to have women in the armed forces. While they're at it, meet some women vets from the World Wars too and tell them they don't exist. 

[chiirbii]

I used to think some kpop fans were bad but atleast they argue about real people. I've seen nasty stuff from nerds, like sending death threats about portrayals of fictional characters.

Kpop fans can be messy but I haven't seen them embody the pure hatred some video game fans have. The death threads and doxxing culture is absolutely terrible and it's a hostile place to be if you stick out even a little bit. I mean, the whole Gamergate movement was born because some guy broke up with his gf and wrote shit about her online.

[bromiscuous]

Kpop fans can be messy but I haven't seen them embody the pure hatred some video game fans have. The death threads and doxxing culture is absolutely terrible and it's a hostile place to be if you stick out even a little bit. I mean, the whole Gamergate movement was born because some guy broke up with his gf and wrote shit about her online.

Ergh I'd totally forgotten about that. Nowadays if I enjoy a game, I enjoy it and try to not to get involved in the community that much.