Reality Check: "Mercenaries 2”
20 November 2006

As you may know, Bono of U2 recently formed an investment firm called Elevation Partners, named after a famous U2 song, “Elevation”. Elevation Partners invested $300 million in Pandemic Studios. They also recently bought a major interest in Forbes, again for $300 million. Investment in potentially lucrative business ventures seems like a good business move.
For Bono, “Time Person of the Year” for his humanitarian, anti-poverty, pro-peace efforts, such investments may be somewhat more problematic.

On November 18, William Langley of the Telegraph, when describing Bono’s recent actions, including the moving of his corporate home from Dublin to the Netherlands to evade taxes, wrote, “This debacle was followed by news that Bono was buying a large chunk of Forbes, the American business magazine, founded by the eccentric, Right-wing publisher Malcolm Forbes, which styles itself "The Capitalist Tool". The stake, costing a reported $250 million, was acquired through Elevation Partners (named after a U2 song), a sophisticated private equity vehicle co-owned by Bono and a group of wealthy California-based investors.

While all this may be no more than astute financial management for a super-rich, middle-aged man with three homes, including a £15 million, three-storey New York penthouse, it somehow fails to cast a warming glow of affinity around Bono's heavily publicised forays into the world of the starving and wretched.” ("Profile Bono", Telegraph.co.uk, 2006).

It is clear that Bono’s hypocrisy, when it comes to producing a videogame that seemingly contradicts all of the principles he professes to defend, is a pattern and not unique to “Mercenaries 2”. Therefore, one concludes that this is further evidence that Bono is nothing more than a well-packaged and well-paid frontman for significant corporate interests.

This helps to put “Mercenaries 2” into perspective. With the backing of Bono and his partners at Elevation, the goal is to produce a piece of propaganda that helps to further corporate interests in Latin America, and make a little money in the lucrative videogame market along the way.

Pandemic Studios (now practically owned outright by Bono’s investment firm) is a well-established videogame producer that has developed projects under contract with the Pentagon. A well-known project/program was “Full Spectrum Warrior”, initially created as a training videogame for U.S. Special Forces and CIA operatives. (“Pentagon and CIA Enlist Video Games”, 2003).

This game is now available for retail at any videogame outlet. In the story on “Full-Spectrum Warrior”, the point is made that “Training aside, video games are increasingly viewed by top brass as a way to get teenagers interested in enlisting.”

Pandemic’s current project, set for release in 2007, is called “Mercenaries 2: World in Flames”. However, it is not really about the vaguely labeled “world”.

It is all about Venezuela, about taking down President Hugo Chavez, and about smashing the Bolivarian Revolution that is taking concrete steps to “make poverty history”, as described by Nelson Davila in a presentation on November 19 in Melbourne, Australia, the site of the G20 meeting.

For a more in-depth reality check, let us take a closer look at the nature of “Mercenaries 2”.

This so-called game depicts the invasion and total destruction of Venezuela. The objectives of the game are to assassinate the President, described as a “power hungry tyrant”, and take over the oil industry. The level of destruction that takes place in the game draws comparisons to what happened when the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If you have reviewed the game website, you will have seen that Caracas is reduced to ashes. It is presumed that the same death and destruction extends to all regions of the country.

In the process of playing the game, the players are encouraged to kill anyone in their path and to basically destroy the infrastructure of the country. The game presumes that there is no regard for those who may be killed in the course of achieving the objective. If you have visited the game site, you will have noted that the destruction of Caracas is complete and the general idea of the game is that this type of destruction should be spread throughout the country. For someone who knows the area, the visuals are startling and saddening. Venezuelans viewing the game will instantly recognize their neighborhoods, famous landmarks, and will also recognize that the purpose of the game is to slaughter thousands, if not millions, of innocent people in order to turn the oil industry in Venezuela over to corporate interests.

One may also conclude from this that propaganda such as “Mercenaries 2” can work both ways. The release of this game will further solidify in the minds of people in Venezuela, and throughout Latin America, that people in the United States continue to think of their homes as the “backyard” of corporate USA. One has to wonder, is this what Bono intends? Is this the image that the consumers who will be tempted to buy this game for its entertainment value want to convey to their sisters and brothers in Latin America?

One would like to assume that consumers, if educated about the issues involved, would choose to boycott this game. The challenge is getting the information to everyone so that they can make well-informed choices.

Of course, one must be careful about the crossover between “fantasy” and “reality”. The world of “Mercenaries 2” may be classified as “fantasy”; however, it is also clear that it represents a “desired reality”.

Isn’t this the purpose of public relations and marketing, to create a sense of a “desired reality”?

In other times, this was simply identified as propaganda. Nowadays, we embed such brainwashing efforts in TV news, videogames, editorial articles, books, commercials, TV programs, films, and talk shows.

The next “reality check” is that it is comforting to realize that this game is merely a fantasy because the Venezuelan people would never allow such an invasion to succeed.

However, it is clear that many people would suffer in the process. Those who support the Bush Administration might attempt such an overthrow of the Venezuelan government before President Bush leaves office because they underestimate the Venezuelan people.

They underestimated Venezuelans in April 2002 when they orchestrated a coup that was overturned by the people in 48 hours, and in December 2002 when they tried to shut down the Venezuela economy by instigating a management lockout. Later in the Presidential referendum of August 2004, the U.S. government tried to use the media and backroom politics to influence the outcome.

All three of these efforts to overthrow the democratically elected government in Venezuela failed. If they ever tried to invade, this too would be met with failure, and one would like to think that those backing Bush know this now.

However, the fact that this game, “Mercenaries 2”, is being produced with the backing of $300 million from Elevation Partners causes one to wonder whether everyone really understands this reality.

Clearly, as a piece of propaganda, “Mercenaries 2” is extremely effective and important. It reinforces and promotes stereotypes. It helps establish that it is acceptable to invade and occupy Venezuela or any other Latin American country. The fact that it specifically targets Venezuela is a detail that cannot be overlooked.

Those who have protested the publication of this videogame have done so as a matter of principle. No one involved in this discussion questions the importance of protecting the right of free expression. However, this game is clearly a piece of highly politicized propaganda that the company is trying to sell as a “game”. It is not “just a game” as some have tried to portray. At the very least, Pandemic Studios may be challenged on the grounds of false advertising.

As we all know too well, fantasy invasion scenarios can lead to real disasters.
The case in point is our occupation of Iraq.

The invasion of Iraq was sold to us on the basis of fantasy. The reality, of course, is quite ugly and different from the imagined outcome that was sold to the citizens of the United States. “Mercenaries 2” was conceived during the high-flying days of the Bush Administration. The idea behind the game is a failed concept. Pandemic, and one of its backers, Bono, needs to re-think the rationale behind this game. One recognizes that they have invested millions of dollars in this failed concept. However, one would like to think that the corporate directors at Elevation Partners, led by Bono, one of its managing directors, would come to realize that it is time to pull the plug on this project if they want to have a future for their videogame productions.

There is another aspect of this issue that was addressed in the original letter to Bono but it has not been fully explored to date. That is the issue of racism.

When you visit the Mercenaries 2 website, you will note the racist nature of the game.

One may question that the producers of the game intended to create a scenario in which the game is so real that people who live in the locales of the game may be terrorized by the nature of the game. If one examines the way the producers conceive of the destruction of Venezuela, one has to wonder whether there is not an underlying racist attitude in all of this. Would Pandemic Studios design such a game that depicts a group of Saudi, Iraqi, Pakistani, or Afghani mercenaries destroying Boston, New York, DC, Los Angeles, Denver, and Seattle? It is highly doubtful.

However, it is clear that the game producers want to make sure the game is as realistic as possible, with the destruction being as widespread as possible.

In fact, if one visits the “Mercenaries 2” blog site, one can find that the game producers and their associated bloggers are exchanging photos and information about possible strike sites in Venezuela (no citation is possible because access to the site requires username/password access). One of the videogame reviewer sites has stated that “the South American setting was instantly recognizable, and the lush jungle environments made for a spectacular place to cause mayhem.” (Gamespot; CNET Networks Entertainment, 2006)

This is a good example of how this piece of propaganda is a simple attempt to reinforce stereotypes that have been in place for hundreds of years.

If one needs further proof that the game producers are very focused on the fact that this game is reality-based, please check out the following citation, which is an interview with Andrew Goldman, the CEO of Pandemic Studios: “Mercenaries is no longer just an action shooter. It’s now a full-on world simulation.” (Next Generation, 2006)

It is clear from this quote, and the associated material, that the main objective of this particular game is to simulate a possible future reality.

In other words, this is a game scenario that is more than “just a game”.

If one were working for the public relations department of a videogame publishing company such as LucasArts, the company that published the first Mercenaries game, it seems reasonable that you would think twice before making this part of your corporate strategy.

This would seem to especially be the case when the country in question is Venezuela, a country that has had great success in fighting the historic ills that have plagued Latin America.

Venezuela has become a beckon of hope for many people throughout the region and among many Latinos in the United States. Devastating a country that is a beckon of hope may not be a good corporate media strategy.

So that you may judge this “game” for itself, if you have not visited the game website, the following are exact quotes from the website of “Mercenaries 2”:

“Mercenaries 2: World in Flames™ is an explosive open-world action game set in a massive, highly reactive, war-torn world. A power-hungry tyrant messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a warzone.”

“If you see it, you can buy it, steal it, or blow the living crap out of it.”

“Work for the highest bidder! Clients will offer you money, information and other resources in exchange for your services – provided you haven’t done anything to piss them off!”

As one can gather from these quotes that the purpose of the game is simple: serve those paying for the service, kill all those who stand in your way, and kill the country’s leader.

As a final reality check, read how the Venezuela Solidarity Network's campaign to stop Mercenaries 2 has spread throughout the world.

Also visit the Australia Venezuela Solidarity Network. The Bolivarians in Australia have done a lot to highlight the importance of stopping this insidious videogame.

As you will note, Bono's actions are coming under increasing scrutiny. Those who support Venezuela are waging protests at all of his Australian concerts.

One of the Australian activists, Lisa Macdonald, recently wrote an excellent article for Green Left Online that appeals to Bono to stop his war game: “Bono Urged To Stop War Game”

Please examine these issues carefully and let Bono know what you think. It is not too late for him to do the right thing. If he really believes what he says, then it is impossible for him to financially back the game “Mercenaries 2”. He cannot have it both ways. None of us can. He has to choose.

Resources you can use to contact Bono and his associates:
Fact Sheet (pdf)
Fact Sheet (Spanish-pdf)
Original Letter to Bono (pdf)
Original Letter to Bono-Spanish

If you would like more information, please contact the Venezuela Solidarity Network at vsn@afgj.org