Blog:The Failure of Wolfenstein II

It has been sometime since Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus was introduced to the world. And ever since that, many people online, including our resident psychopath Grust, have been claiming that this game is "ripe with S.J.W propaganda". Of course, since I haven't played the game yet, I decided to remain skeptical. After all, it's not uncommon for people to overreact these days, as things weren't exactly improving since 2014.

Until not so long ago I saw a report about the game's Steam sales, and boy oh boy was it bad! Have you ever heard of a AAA title that went on sale just one month after its launching? How about an individual game that sold worse than a standalone DLC?! How about the fact that Kingdom Come outsold that amount in EIGHT DAYS?!

Okay, let's ignore the fact that it's only the PC sales figure here, also ignore the fact that PC games get pirated a lot more, and that it's competing with Destiny 2, Assasins Creed Origins, The Evil Within 2 and Super Mario Odyssey; Wolfenstein II's sales are nonetheless abnormally bad for a Bethesda game.

And let's face it, it's Wolfenstein we're talking about here, the ultimate Nazi slaying simulator. And Nazi slaying is  considered by many of us as simply mindless, rage relieving fun. So this game seemingly has all that's needed for success. Why we couldn't enjoy it?

Well, I suppose if you are not into current US politics, you can.

As far as I'm seeing here, Grust and Mr0303 were completely right, it's not just SJWs like MMORPG.com, Antifa terrorists or Mic on purposely politiczing the game, the devs themselves actually admitted politiczing it. And it shows on many, MANY accounts. How about the scene with Anya pregnant and wielding dual Sturmgewehrs? Or how Grace Walker is a BLM outrager stereotype? Or Kommandant Gruber and his milkshake? Or how Horton Boone is a Commie? Or how they blatantly [http:// https://np.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/74l982/gaming_wolfenstein_2_is_supposed_to_be_non/ linked] your promotional tweet to Donald Trump's campagin slogan? Or this?

Call me over reacting or whatever, but it appears that I'm not the only one to think that Wolfenstein II is pandering towards a group we all loved to hate.

Now, there's one thing that I want to make very clear: having politics in your works of fiction is not a sin, there are plenty of successful works that contains social or political commentry. But it becomes a problem when you present everything in such a black and white manner, which is essentially telling us what's right/wrong. Doing political commentry is already a risk you are taking here, especially in modren day US society where things can get extremely toxic.


 * When fans say, "we want politics out of comics and movies", it's SHORTHAND for, "an excess of modern-day social and political topics that feel shoehorned in."


 * Rational fans (the 99.99%) aren't demanding the ABSENCE of allegory or commentary. They're hoping it gets dialed back.


 * ---Blake Northcott, author and comic creator

Very recently, Colin Campbell from Polygon has been complaining about several examples of political commentry done right in games: These are clearly good examples on how to create political commentry: simply put the situation on display, and leave the audience to determin what they think. It's like journalism: your job is to tell the story, not to explain what's right or wrong. Don't treat your audience like idiots. We are normal people, and normal people knows deep down that racism is bad, that Nazis and white supremacists are evil, that racial segregation is injust, and that they are (and should) be subjects of the past.
 * The Division 2. Set in Washington, D.C. in the near future, the game asks players to fight back against a corrupt government and help save the United States from tyrants. Despite obvious parallels with the current political landscape in the United States, Ubisoft continues to deny any real world inference, even in the face of incredulity.
 * Sony’s Detroit: Become Human flirts with issues like social justice and domestic abuse, but its creator David Cage says it’s “really about androids,” further claiming that the clear real world parallels in his work are merely in the eyes of players.
 * Far Cry 5 portrayed a rural, anti-government American cult in which bastardized crosses were wielded by fanatics, but publisher Ubisoft refused to be drawn on obvious comparisons with currently resurgent white supremacist groups.
 * Deus Ex: Mankind Divided posited a world of cybernetic enhancements, divided by “mechanical apartheid,” but publisher Square Enix repeatedly denied that its imagery of societal separation and prison camps had anything to do with the real world of racial divisions.

In that one article, Colin pretty much showed just how little he and his ilk cared about games, he doesn't want it to be entertainment the way it should be. He wants it to serve as his political propaganda, when he claimed that "Social issues are profitable.", he doesn't mean profitable to the company (which we've already learned is not), it's profitable to him/SocJus.

The only good thing I can see from this is that Wolfestein II is not a failure colossal enough to bring down the studio. Hopefully they will learn from their mistakes and Youngblood will be simple, Nazi slaughtering fun.