Konami drops Fallujah war game

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 27th April 2009

Konami has decided to drop Six Days in Fallujah after continued controversy and poor critical reactions.

Konami has decided to drop the controversial Iraq-based war shooter, Six Days in Fallujah, after continuing controversy and negative critical response

The game had supposedly attempted to tell the stories of real marines in the battle of Fallujah and was being developed by Atomic Games for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Though the team was claiming that it wanted to portray the realism of the conflict however, several critics who saw the game reported that the game was little more than a Gears of War clone.

The game also drew criticism for the subject matter it was attempting to deal with too, with the controversy eventually getting too hot for Konami to bear and forcing the publisher to drop the third-person squad-based shooter.

"We had intended to convey the reality of the battles to players so that they could feel what it was like to be there," said a Konami spokesperson in a comment to Asahi.com.

"[But] after seeing the reaction to the videogame in the United States and hearing opinions sent through phone calls and email, we decided several days ago not to sell it."

It's currently unclear if the game, which was never announced for Europe but which was set for release next year in the US, will be picked up by a new publisher or if Atomic Games will drop the project too. If we hear any more then we'll let you know.

Can games be effectively used to portray the horrors of war, or does their status as interactive entertainment make that aim too difficult to realise? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.