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CNN Live Today

U.S. Army Puts Out Video Game in Hopes of Attracting Recruits

Aired May 23, 2002 - 12:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. Army getting into the gaming industry in hopes of attracting new recruits. You will be able to find the PC game, America's Army online. And for more and an early preview, here is Renay San Miguel of CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You are familiar with the images, U.S. soldiers being all they can be, defending America. Starting in July, you will be able to conduct your own army missions on your PC, and the only weapons you'll need are a Pentium III processor and a modem. The U.S. Army is launching its own video game, called America's Army, as a way to boost its ranks.

LT. COL. CASEY WARDYNSKI, PROJECT MANAGER, AMERICA'S ARMY: If you walk down any aisle of any store that sells games, you are going to see lots of them that borrow off of Army themes, either past, present or future. And of course, we use simulations a lot in the military as well, so it seemed like a real logical way to sort of connect the young Americans.

SAN MIGUEL: The idea is to give young men and women a taste of battlefield tactics. It will be an online game, so players will be able to log on to the Internet and use team strategies to defeat an enemy. the game will be rated T for teens, since the Army wanted to make sure the violence wouldn't be like something you would see in the first 30 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan."

WARDYNSKI: We want to make sure this thing embedded Army values, so you win by achieving objectives, not by sort of being mayhem incorporated.

SAN MIGUEL (on camera): How will the Army achieve its recruiting objectives? Well, since it already has a revenue stream, namely your tax dollars, it'll simply give the game away. You'll be able to download a copy for free from Goarmy.com, get a CD copy from one of three computer gaming magazines, or simply walk into an Army recruiting office and they will give you a copy.

GEORGE JONES, EDITOR, GAMERS.COM: It seems like it's a pretty interesting game. I mean, I got to say, for the U.S. Army's first foray into electronic entertainment, it's pretty impressive.

SAN MIGUEL (voice-over): Lieutenant Colonel Wardynski already has heard from his video gaming commanding officer, his son.

WARDYNSKI: My 12-year-old pronounced it a 15 out of 10, and he now thinks I do something that create value in the world. I make games.

SAN MIGUEL: Renay San Miguel, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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