List of Entertainment Affected By The September 11 Attacks - Video Games

Video Games

• The video game Grand Theft Auto III, released in October 2001, was delayed almost a month to make last-minute changes, since the developers' offices were near Ground Zero, and since the game was set in a city loosely based on New York City. The paint scheme of the city's police cars was also changed from a blue-and-white NYPD design to a black-and-white LAPD design during game development. One mission which referenced terrorists was completely removed. Other changes which were relatively minor included altering the flight path of an AI plane that went near skyscrapers, and removing a few lines of pedestrian dialogue and talk radio.
• The video game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was released as scheduled in November 2001 despite the plot centering around terrorists in New York City and a scene in which a giant battleship crashes into Federal Hall; however, a scene in which Arsenal Gear, a futuristic mobile fortress, destroys the Statue of Liberty and much of Manhattan's financial district was removed, as was live-action footage of the Twin Towers originally slated to be used in the ending.
• Microsoft removed the World Trade Center from Microsoft Flight Simulator beginning with the 2002 edition. Also, Microsoft removed Crash Damage from the games. That meant that when a plane crashed, it did not catch alight.
• The 2000 computer game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, depicting an alternate history where the Soviet Union launches an invasion of the United States, changed its box art after the attacks. The original art was a fold-out cover. The inside depicted the New York skyline on fire including a ruined Twin Towers with flames and smoke emitting out. The cover depicted a Soviet soldier who was wearing an eyepiece with crosshairs on the American flag. The altered cover merely depicted the Soviet soldier wearing the eyepiece with crosshairs on a nuclear bomb explosion. The release of its 2001 expansion pack, Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge, was postponed because of this. Controversial in-game levels, including ones where players had to destroy the Pentagon and attack the World Trade Center area, were not changed, however the landmarks and level names like "Operation: Big Apple" were no longer mentioned in walkthroughs on the game's website.
• The Dreamcast game Propeller Arena was canceled. It was an air combat game which featured modern-day dog fighting with planes in cities that had skyscraper buildings. A leaked and completed version has since made it to the Internet.
• The PlayStation 2 game Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburos release date in the United States was delayed due to the opening scene where a space colony was dropped on a city that resembles New York.
• The PlayStation 2 game Shinobi originally had a scene in which the main character jumps out of a helicopter and sticks his sword into the side of a skyscraper to slow his fall. When this character hit the ground, the building was supposed to shatter. The scene was removed.
• The PlayStation game Syphon Filter 3 had its cover art changed before release. It originally had Gabe Logan, viewed from an angle, pointing a gun at the camera with a look of anger while Lian swung into frame guns ablazing. The American flag was prominently displayed as well. It was changed to a generic head-view of Gabe and Lian looking serious. A level in the game that takes place in Kabul, Afghanistan (albeit in the 1980s when it was under Soviet occupation) remained.
• The PlayStation game Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro had its final level changed. Originally it was a showdown between Spider-Man and Electro atop the World Trade Center. This was changed to the top of another generic skyscraper. The New York City skyline was also obscured by a storm so that the World Trade Center was not visible.