In the past few days following the reveal of Battlefield V, the presence of a woman on the cover art and of playable female characters caused a degree of drama on the internet, with people arguing over the historical accuracy of such design decisions.
While EA DICE’s General Manager Oskar Gabrielson mentioned that playable female characters and player choice are going to be kept in the game, the prize for the most hilarious (but definitely on point) take on the issue goes to… NieR: Automata Director Yoko Taro.
Commenting on a Japanese article on the issue on Twitter, he had this to say:
“Meanwhile, in Japan battleships are made into beautiful girls, warlords are made into pretty boys loving boys, schoolgirls ride tanks, and anything you want…”
One thing is for sure: Japanese media is certainly full of stories told in historical settings or featuring historical themes, in which realism and accuracy are set aside in the name of fun (or fanservice). While Battlefield V is set in World War II and DICE will, as usual, take a quasi-photorealistic approach, it remains a work of fiction exactly as Battlefield 1 and all its predecessors.
That being said, considering that the game’s recurring revenue model is likely to be based on cosmetic customization (even if specific info have not been provided yet) and what we have seen in the rather crazy reveal trailer, the presence of female soldiers — which did fight in some areas of World War II — is probably the very last thing people should worry about in terms of historical accuracy.
Battlefield V is set to launch on October 19, 2018 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with Digital Deluxe purchasers able to play the game three days early. And yes, you can pre-order the game already on Amazon; or go and support Yoko Taro’s own game by playing NieR: Automata.
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