Edit: I misunderstood parent comment when crafting the below response.
> a racist flag
I'm curious, should all WW2 games be removed because of the facist swastika flag? Or games involving the cold war because of the communist flag with the Soviet Union? In both cases, atrocities that were an affront to humanity occurred with millions perishing in various camps.
Which brings up another question: Why stop at video games? Board games physically print these symbols that could be taken offensively. I ask because I have Axis & Allies and Twilight Struggle sitting on a shelf right here, but don't consider myself facist, nor communist, nor insensitive. I don't have a civil war board game but I bet they physically print those symbols too.
Sorry for misunderstanding. As someone who grew up in the South, I have grown to hear the phrase "a racist flag" as one of those trigger phrases that is politically loaded. I now realize your point is about being in questionable taste when using it as a PR stunt.
I don't disagree with your overall point but I don't remember a lot of WW2 games featuring a swastika (well, besides wolfenstein 3D), they often replace them with other symbols. I'm in europe though, maybe it's different in the US.
That being said it's probably not comparable. If some US states still had confederate flags on some of their public buildings in 2015 it's probably not nearly as offensive as a swastika.
Most WWII games still use the real symbols in other places, and, while under German law Art is exempt from the Swastika ban (you have to endorse the swastika and glorify it to be illegal), no publisher actually tried to get their game classified as art yet, so they just remove it, as it's easier and less risky.
> a racist flag
I'm curious, should all WW2 games be removed because of the facist swastika flag? Or games involving the cold war because of the communist flag with the Soviet Union? In both cases, atrocities that were an affront to humanity occurred with millions perishing in various camps.
Which brings up another question: Why stop at video games? Board games physically print these symbols that could be taken offensively. I ask because I have Axis & Allies and Twilight Struggle sitting on a shelf right here, but don't consider myself facist, nor communist, nor insensitive. I don't have a civil war board game but I bet they physically print those symbols too.