Ghost Recon: Wildlands tells a fictitious story, but one that takes place in an existing nation. Ubisoft's open world shooter sees US Special Forces operatives known as Ghosts take the fight to Bolivia, where they're tasked with taking down gangsters and the country's corrupt government. Sounds like reasonably standard stuff for a Tom Clancy game doesn't it?
Unfortunately, the actual Bolivian government doesn't quite see it that way, and has apparently filed a formal complaint regarding the release with the French embassy. Said complaint asks the French government to intervene, stating that the game portrays Bolivia in a negative way - which, to be fair, it kind of does. But is it really a wise idea to start pulling works of fiction apart for depicting a real world location? It's a tricky subject.
Ubisoft had this to say on the matter: "While the game's premise imagines a different reality than the one that exists in Bolivia today, we do hope that the in-game world comes close to representing the country's beautiful topography." It's not wrong, either; that snowy, mountainous area of the recent open beta was incredibly pretty.
What are your thoughts on all this? Is the Bolivian government overreacting, or do you think games like Wildlands should be a little more careful? Put Bolivia on the map in the comments section below.
[source reuters.com]
Comments 17
I tell you one thing, I'll never visit Brazil after playing Max Payne 3.
Bolivia sure seems like a scary place judging from Ghost Recon Wildlands! Almost as scary as San Francisco, or Los Angeles, or New York City, or Miami, or Chicago, or the Fox Islands off the coast of Alaska... shudder
What do all those places have in common?
They have all been settings for video games that were either published and/or developed by a foreign country relative to that location and have been portrayed in a negative or satirical light...
What, is Bolivia's tourism business suddenly taking a hit based on Wildlands? Did people suddenly cancel their travel plans and cite the reason being the Wildlands beta? Are they worried about getting killed by random commandos crashing helicopters or launching mortars? Come on.
I love the Ubisoft spokesman's attempt to smooth things over with a bit of geographical arse-kissing, good save.
Take risks I'll say, waiting to jump back in!
Reminds me how much Kazakstan loved Borat!
It makes no difference to me, South America (even though it's beautiful) has never been on my must visit lists after all the reports of it not being particularly safe for visitors
Modern Warfare games depict an extremist-sparked Russian civil war evolving into WWIII - and yet, not counting some politicians' attempt to make a scandal out of a certain level, I don't recall even Russia filing formal complaints - especially to embassies which seems weird as game developers aren't state-relates businesses. What does Bolivian government expect the French one to do, summon Ubisoft execs and tell them off? Penalize them? Ban the game or something? Please.
Until people grow some respect for Fiction and its place beyond the domain of our crazy realm, we might as well expect cities like LA to complain to UK embassy about Rockstar North. Or to their own government, considering the publisher of GTA games. Wildlands is not the first nor the last fiction work to draw inspiration from the real world, but fiction works never have a default mission nor deserve a default assumption of portraying a carbon copy of it.
I don't think there should be a problem as long as it's clear the game's events are fictional.
Well this is stupid. It's fiction.
How pathetic, and to think these people actualy run country's.
Everyone knows you should only portray real countries if they are baddies in real life. Particularly if the leader of the country is originally english but has a dodgy accent and a twiddly moustache. Otherwise, just hire Troy Baker and make up a pretend country. Job done.
Wait... Bolivia is a real place?! xD
I just have to make sure I die within the next 1000 years. Those robot dinosaurs would scare the crap out of me.
Corrupt cry babies, I'll go listen to POTUS Drumpf instead.
Tbh I can see how Bolivia feels, and some clarification should be made that this is just pretend and not the actual state of Bolivia now. There are people out there like that. Media controls sentiments its just the truth.
@nhSnork Russia is the object of so many military style games I think they're just used to it by now, haha.
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