Laden vs. USA
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Laden vs. USA is a handheld monochrome video-game.
The game features digitally altered photographs of Osama bin Laden and George W. Bush mounted on a simple plastic case. Gameplay involves a ground-to-air missile battle superimposed over an image of an exploding World Trade Center.
It features a model no. of GM-028A-3 and bears marks of "Made in China". It is apparently manufactured by the Panyu Gaoming Electronic Co. Ltd. of China. Because of widespread counterfeiting in China, it is uncertain whether Gaoming is indeed the manufacturer of Laden vs. USA or the company is actually the target of corporate/political espionage.
Laden vs. USA is an example of the growing political and cultural impact of video games. While controversial titles like the Grand Theft Auto and Ghost Recon series earn both acclaim and disdain for their intense and graphic realism, the Laden vs. USA title - however rudimentary in both graphics and gameplay - presents a unique challenge to journalists, scholars and historians for its inherent value as classic war propaganda.
The title has significance in the historical timeline of video games. Despite the basic gameplay, this is the first video game to feature the 9/11 attacks as the main plot device. Also, it marks the first time that such a video game has been manufactured and widely distributed rather than made available as an Internet download.
Some have compared the availability of this game and other pro-bin Laden merchandise to the availability and collection of Nazi propaganda and merchandise. The game is unrated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Daidaixing Electronics Company
- Shop bars twin towers game - January 17, 2005, Guardian Unlimited
