Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Secondary Navigation
Search
Search:
Videogame delayed over possible offence to Muslims
AFP - Tuesday, October 21
LONDON (AFP) - - Release of one of the most eagerly anticipated games in the history of the Sony PlayStation has been delayed because of concerns that some of the background music may offend Muslims, the game's developers said Monday.
LittleBigPlanet, in which gamers can customise the rag-doll protagonist Sackboy and allow it to roam through an interactive world filled with different challenges, had been hailed by video games website IGN as "nothing short of astounding" and given a review rating of 9.5 out of 10.
But its release date has been put back after one of its background music tracks, a song by Mali-born artist Toumani Diabate, was found to have included expressions from the Koran, which could be interpreted as an offence to Muslims.
"We're sure that most of you have heard by now that one of the background music tracks that was licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Koran," a statement on the game's website read.
"We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologise for any offence this may have caused.
"We will begin shipping LittleBigPlanet to retail in North America the week of October 27," as opposed to its original release date of October 21.
According to a separate statement on the website of Media Molecule, the British-based developers of LittleBigPlanet, they were "shell-shocked and gutted" by the delay to the game's release.
"We learnt... that there is a lyric in one of the licensed tracks which some people may find offensive, and which slipped through the usual screening processes," the statement read.
"Obviously MM and Sony together took this very seriously. LBP should be enjoyable by all."
A post on a Sony public Internet forum alerted developers to the issue, noting that Diabate's "Tapha Niang" included two expressions from the Koran that could cause offence to Muslims.
The forum user, who identified himself only as "yasser", said that "Muslims consider the mixing of music and words from our Holy Quran deeply offending (sic)," in a post on Thursday.
The delayed release was welcomed by some Muslim commentators, with Manzoor Moghal of the Muslim Forum think-tank telling the BBC that the game's developers should be praised for "taking decisive action by withdrawing these games immediately, and releasing a version that is not offensive to Muslims."
Sony was forced to apologise in June 2007 when it emerged that one of its video games, "Resistance: Fall of Man", featured a violent shootout inside a building that resembled an Anglican cathedral in Manchester, northern England.
The news was condemned by Anglican leaders, who demanded that the game be removed from store shelves, a request Sony refused.
In 2005, the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, deemed blasphemous in the Islamic world, in a Danish newspaper sparked outrage and violent protests in several countries.
The caricatures were then reprinted earlier this year by several other Danish newspapers.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (14 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: Personal Technology
Videogame delayed over possible offence to MuslimsAFP - Tuesday, October 21
Samsung plans foray into crowded US laptop computer marketAFP - Thursday, October 16
Fans anxiously await revamped, cheaper Apple laptop computersAFP - Wednesday, October 15
Related Articles: Technology
Yahoo lets outside developers play with its softwareAFP - Wednesday, October 29
Microsoft gives a peek at next-generation softwareAFP - Wednesday, October 29
Christian Science Monitor to drop print for WebAFP - Wednesday, October 29
EU computer network links Pakistan researchers to the worldAFP - Wednesday, October 29
Thailand plans to block websites insulting royals: ministerAFP - Wednesday, October 29
Enlarge Photo
Children peruse video games. Release of one of the most eagerly anticipated games in the history of the Sony PlayStation has been delayed because of concerns that some of the background music may offend Muslims, the game's developers said Monday.
Related Full Coverage
Personal Technology
Mobile phones & personal gadgets
All Full Coverage
Most Popular – Technology
Viewed
When men see red, they see hot: study
World's fattest man weds friend's widow
Desperate pleas end in despair as starlet's nephew found dead
Markets rebound ahead of key US meeting
Australian central bank intervenes as dollar falls again
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology