As US gun laws come under the spotlight after the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut  another issue is receiving press, that of weapon manufacturers using games such as Medal Of Honor to market their wares.

The New York Times reported how Electronic Arts created a Web site that promoted the manufacturers of the guns, knives and combat-style gear depicted in Medal of Honor Warfighter. The worrying part was that “links on the Medal of Honor site allowed visitors to click through on the Web sites of the game’s partners and peruse their catalogs.”

Ryan Smith, who contributes to the Gameological Society, an online gaming magazine told the New York Times that “It was almost like a virtual showroom for guns.”

Among the video game giant’s marketing partners on the Web site were the McMillan Group, the maker of a high-powered sniper’s rifle, and Magpul, which sells high-capacity magazines and other accessories for assault-style weapons.

Gun control is probably the United State’s most contentious issue at the moment with everyone having an opinion. Piers Morgan certainly has one, and has incurred the rath of 30 000 people who have signed a petition to kick him out of America. Gaming and guns have always had a strained relationship. Many continually blame violent games for shootings, despite studies not showing any connection between the two.

America’s National Rifle Association  (NRA) jumped straight into the hornets nest last week accusing producers “of violent games and movies of helping to incite the type of mass shooting that recently left 20 children and six adults dead at a school in Newtown, Conn.”

It gets a little more interesting and conflicted. The New York Times reports:

While studies have found no connection between video games and gun violence, the case of Medal of Honor Warfighter illustrates how the firearms and video game industries have quietly forged a mutually beneficial marketing relationship.

Many of the same producers of firearms and related equipment are also financial backers of the N.R.A. McMillan, for example, is a corporate donor to the group, and Magpul recently joined forces with it in a product giveaway featured on Facebook. The gun group also lists Glock, Browning and Remington as corporate sponsors.

Makers of firearms and related gear have come to see video games as a way to promote their brands to millions of potential customers, marketing experts said. Magpul and Electronic Arts made a video posted on YouTube about their partnership.

Very murky indeed.

Games seek to be as realistic as possible and license real-world items to feature in their games. Laura Parker, associate editor for Gamespot Australia, a gaming Web site said gaming companies “believe the use of real-world brands — be it clothing, tactical equipment or guns — is a way to ensure that games like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor feel as close to real life as possible.”

In the case of the recent promotional Web site for partners of Medal of Honor Warfighter, a spokesman for Electronic Arts said it took action after it discovered that gamers could click through to its partners’ sites.

“We felt it was inappropriate and took the links down,” said Jeff Brown, a spokesman for Electronic Arts, told the NYT in an e-mail.

But Mr. Smith, the gamer who first wrote about the links says that EA Games has not gone far enough and that visitors to the site  can still “take a few extra steps to buy it [guns].”

[Source: New York Times]