Army ponies up $50M to fund combat video games

Games are increasingly serious business, apparently serious enough to convince the U.S. Army to green light a dedicated video games unit and earmark $50 million over five years for game-related projects to enhance soldier combat-readiness. Funding for this new "games for training" program begins in 2010.

"The Army takes this seriously," said Lt. Col. Gary Stephens, product manager for air and ground tactical trainers at Project Executive Office -- Simulation Training and Instrumentation (PEO-STRI), reports Stars and Stripes. "We own gaming for the Army -- from requirements through procurement."

Acknowledging the games industry's multibillion clout, Stephens says the Army wants "to take advantage of that," but doesn't intend to compete in that capacity. "We don't have the intent or capability to be a commercial game house," he said, adding that the Army's gaming unit will instead monitor industry trends and identify technology appropriate for military training.

It's not clear from the Stripes piece how or even if the program relates to America's Army, the self-billed "official game of the U.S. Army." America's Army, a tactical first-person shooter based on variable flavors of Unreal engine technology, launched in July 2002 as a public relations and recruiting tool for the U.S. Army. It's been the subject of numerous popular and academic articles, many questioning whether the game improperly blurs the line between entertainment and war.

The Army already uses an alternative commercial first-person shooter based on Codemasters' Operation Flashpoint technology to train soldiers. The Army says it's shipped over 3,000 copies of the game -- called DARWARS Ambush! and designed to quickly allow soldier-authored training scenarios -- since the project launched in 2003.

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