British Spy Agency to Recruit Splinter Cell Players
British Spy Agency to Recruit Splinter Cell Players
October 19, 2007
In the video game world, high-tech and espionage come together in the popular Splinter Cell series, a fact that hasn't escaped notice by real-life spooks at a British spy agency.As reported by CNN, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Britain's super-secret electronic surveillance outfit, plans to recruit new members by placing jobs ads within games like Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent. From CNN:
The monthlong ad campaign, which starts at the end of October, is being run by GCHQ, the recruitment firm TMP Worldwide and Microsoft-owned in-game ad agency Massive Inc.
Ads headed "Careers in British Intelligence" will appear as billboards in scenes in "Splinter Cell" and other games including "Need for Speed Carbon" and "Enemy Territory: Quake Wars" when they are played on computers and Microsoft Xbox consoles in Britain.
Spokesperson Kate Clemens said:
The world of online gaming offers GCHQ a further route to target a captive audience.
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Posted 11/07/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:26pm
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:23pm
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
Posted 11/07/09 at 03:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:36am
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:32am
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:30am
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:44am
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
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Comments
Thank God its no the CIA they're talking about. That organization is filled up with enough pansies already.
Hah, I like your thought process.
We could all be sitting at the local pub and when Villain X walks in we all just look at each other dumbfounded, then un-suspiciously continue filling our kegers with our favorite beer while we spy...
Seriously though, do they listen to XBox Live conversations... British Intelligence is one thing not shown!
idiocies aside. do they really think that they are going to be able to turn videogamers fit? this sounds like a failure version of cody banks in the making.
I can't wait to see the new order of spies.
Or Cider for me.
@Paul
Very few people show their intelligence on xbox live.
Ok, I'll behave now. :)
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
pc is where the real gamers are at
So, a government agency is shelling out money to place ads in a game to recruit "spies?" Really??
"The world of online gaming offers GCHQ a further route to target a captive audience."
Targeting a captive audience!?!?!? Targeting how? Do well at this fictitious game and you might have what it takes to enter a high-stress training program that could very well end up with you being the bagel-boy for the rest of the office of spies.
....Really?????
My heart weeps.
FFS, people, GAMES CANNOT TRAIN YOU TO {fire a gun|be a spy|take over the world}.
Both you and I had the same idea :D.
That's the worst kind of assumption. Its rather obvious that's not the case. They're simply placing ads where they know people will see them, albeit their placement may not make any sense at all within the context of the game itself.
Please, the CIA is filled with Nazi's.
Agreed. The common denominator in all those games is that they're all designed to excite and get your blood pumping. They probably want to find people who are thrill-seekers.
That being said, I don't know how good of an idea it really is. I played Goldeneye to death and never felt the urge to be a real superspy, dodging bullets and whatnot. My body already has enough orifices, thank you.
Analysis of events, large and small, is most of the intelligence work. There is information gathering, some actual spying, then the shit we don't know about.
British intelligence is simply looking for intelligent, educated, and to an extent motivated people.
I doubt they are looking for candidates for NOC duty.
Now the NSA, there's somebody with some work ethic.
They're recruiting gamers so that they won't need q to explain to them how the gadgets work.
It is a listening post, an intelligence gathering hub. Think listening into phone converstaions etc. rather than shooting up villians.
You don't need to be athletic for that.
They are targeting tech-savvy people for tech-savvy work.
Even in M16 the majority of people are in intel. If you join an intelligence service you are much more likely to be sat at a desk pouring over maps or transcripts than be a service agent in teh field.
Sorry to kill the romanticism but GCHQ are looking for Bonds-they are looking for people whoa re good at gathering and processing information in a high-tech work environment.
Our civil liberties have been violated enough in the UK already without using video-games as a recruitment tool to extend the reach of this surveillance society in which we find ourselves.
I hate in-game advertisements at the best of times, this is a step too far. I know the armed forces are struggling to recruit, evidently the intelligence agencies are having a similar problem.
Many organizations, both national and non-national, conduct espionage operations. It should not be assumed that espionage is always directed at the most secret operations of a target country
CIA can't violate a U.S. citizens rights. They have no jurisdiction inside the states. NSA and FBI on the other hand, can very easily do it. And if you want to do Splinter Cell type stuff, don't join the CIA, or NSA, or FBI. That's not what they do. The only people that come remotely close are the Army Special Forces (Green Berets). For more info go to your library and go to the non-fiction section and actually learn something real about it.