Sony recalls 'LittleBigplanet' over Koran passages
Summary
Topics
A SCEE representative also confirmed to GameSpot that this recall would be global, and could not confirm when the game would now actually hit shelves with the offending music removed.
Sony's LittleBigPlanet is expected to be one of the most high-profile releases of this holiday season. Developer Media Molecule has seen its game go from indie darling to AAA system-seller in the past year, thanks to the many appearances that the game has made at trade shows and events. However, fans of the game are going to have to wait slightly longer to get it.
The confirmation follows rumors that that Singing Safari level of the game features a song with two expressions found in Islam's central holy text, the Koran. Cached pages on the official PlayStation forum claim that the two phrases are (literally translated from the original Arabic): "Every soul shall have the taste of death" and "All that is on earth will perish."
Although Sony's press release does not confirm that the above lines are in the game, they do claim that "one of the background music tracks licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Koran." Reports say that Sony is recalling the game over fears that the passages in question could deeply offend Muslims.
Independent translation done for GameSpot confirmed that the lines linked from the original post are indeed from the Koran.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's press release continues, "We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologies for any offense that this may have caused." It ends by saying that the company will confirm the new launch date shortly.
For more on LittleBigPlanet, check out GameSpot's full review of the indefinitely delayed game.
[UPDATE]: Impatient gamers may still be able to get their hands on the version of LittleBigPlanet that contains the Koran references. Gaming importer National Console Support said that it has begun shipping US versions of the game to customers who preordered it. What's more, the site says that it will ship the game to US customers for Saturday delivery if they order by 4 p.m. Eastern time today.
This is not the first time a game developer has run afoul of the Koran. In November of 2002, Microsoft released the Xbox fighter Kakuto Chojin with a piece of background music that sampled passages of the holy book.
An internal Microsoft "geopolitical strategy team" identified the potential problem with the music as soon as the game had gone into duplication. Microsoft had a chance to recall the game before it hit shelves, but decided to release it anyway in the hopes that the music would go unnoticed. Although Kakuto Chojin was a critical and commercial flop, the background music eventually came to the fore, and Microsoft recalled the game in February of 2003.
[UPDATE 2]: SCEA has acknowledged the recall on its PlayStation Blog, apologizing to those offended and for the delay. According to the post, SCEA "will begin shipping LittleBigPlanet to retail in North America the week of October 27th."
[UPDATE 3]: SCEE has just issued a statement confirming the game will be out in the first week of November for other territories. The statement reads: "Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is pleased to confirm that LittleBigPlanet will start to appear in stores no later than the week commencing Monday 3rd November in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, on a country by country basis. We appreciate all the enthusiasm surrounding this much anticipated title and we would like to thank PlayStation fans for their support and understanding."
Talkback Most Recent of 73 Talkback(s)
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And "singing" about death, etc., only offends Muslims?
So the rest of "us" shouldn't be offended by these passages why?
IT_Guy_z20th Oct 2008 -
Using your logic...
... we should be offended by your post since it mentions *that* word. *roll eyes*
ejhonda20th Oct 2008 -
C'mon EJ...say it...you know..."that" word.
Tell us all what it is that is offending you.
Mark-Twain20th Oct 2008 -
So is there like a "being offended" users group?
Do people put this stuff on calendars?
Is there a newsletter of things to be offended about? With helpful talking points?
Do we have "Being Offended" training seminars to teach us how to more effectively be offended?
With tips on how to cultivate your outrage?
Is there a "Being Offended" championship? And the critical question: how long until being offended becomes an Olympic sport?
bmerc20th Oct 2008 -
Deeply offended
I find your post deeply offensive. I especially do not like to see the word "th*t" posted here. Please stop th*t!
dfreeman@...6th Nov 2008 -
Deeply Offended
Perhaps, instead of th*t, it should read sh*t.
standeman6th Nov 2008 -
Olympic Offendalon
I took home a silver at Seoul in '88 for being offended. I played the religion card on a triple human rights violation, but the German competitor was of mixed decent and played a race/religion counter combo. It was a stunning upset, the Germans hadn't been convincingly offended since before first World War.
thomasmarshall3@...7th Nov 2008 -
RE: Sony recalls 'LittleBigplanet' over Koran passages
These are the facts.
Firstly.
even though you aren't dead now, we will each of us die. probably not together like dinosaurs, but we are not immortal. so I find nothing wrong with
"Every soul shall have the taste of death" the good news is that in order to taste you must be paying attention, so this implies that my soul will live on..
that's good news. i'm still not offended.
Second.
if you dig a hole any where on this planet you will discover matter that was and has now perished. the dirt you uncover could have been a tree or an animal; it could have been anything, but now it's dirt. so look around every thing you see will one day return to dirt. even the plastic that makes the game will float around the pacific gyre for a couple thousand years until it too returns to dirt.
again i'm not offended.
I think sony enables stereotyping and racial hate by expressing it's fears.
stuff-that-should-be-said20th Oct 2008 -
Exactly...
There are councils in UK that ban the word Christmas for fear of offending Muslims, yet no Muslim I have ever met has ever told me they are offended by Christmas lights.
Bozzer20th Oct 2008 -
No right to be...
"ban the word Christmas for fear of offending Muslims"?? Then they're nuts in the UK... Muslims have no right to be offended by the word Christmas. It's not their word... if they're offended by Christmas, then they're offended by Christians and shouldn't be in a Christian or a multi-faith country. I don't deny Muslims the right to say Koran (or Qoran or Quran or whatever the spelling of the day is). Personally, I'm going to record that Koran (English) translation with a musical background... in fact, perhaps a sex-laden decadent rap background... heck I'm going to write a whole rap 'song' (but with real music ;)) with those passages... and put it on my MP3 player... hopefully someday I can play it in a public place. Since it is not inciting violence or hatred, it is simply free speech. No one is stopping Muslims from public displays of their religion... so why must we stop Christian displays? Especially in our own countries? By the way... I'm not a practitioner of any religion... except perhaps one of human rights, individual rights and equal rights... the only rights we should be observing, they apply to everyone (without polarization)... unless you want to include animal rights... but I'm not going for plant rights, sorry. I'll darn well insult, offend and murder plants all I want (even sacred ones)... except those rain forest trees, ya know... we need the oxygen to spout more diatribe.
RDrr20th Oct 2008 -
All it is doing is quoting Muslim scripture
what's the big deal? Oh, that's right. Muslims tend to riot. Smell
the fear.
frgough20th Oct 2008 -
Stereotype.
Your comment is wrong. They don't "tend to riot" at all. I send my muslim friends christmas cards every year and not one of them has "rioted".
Although you will be more than welcomed at the local council with that attitude. No doubt you would be happy banning the word Christmas in case you offend Muslims because you believe that somehow they are going to "riot".
Idiot.Bozzer20th Oct 2008 -
You've missed the point
The point isn't that "Muslims tend to riot." The point is that this type of action perpetuates that perception. Pandering to religion like this doesn't promote mutual respect or civility. The fact that some phrases from the Koran appear in a video game should be irrelevant, and probably is to most people. Besides which, it's pretty unlikely that the handful of people who *will* be "offended" will ever play the game.
minnebrain-2258886682447431110861283698178220th Oct 2008 -
Redundant.
I honestly don't think it would offend anyone. What is stated in the quotes are true. People will eventually die and eventually everything on earth will perish some way or the other. People are just looking for the smallest thing to bicker about now a' days. Even if it were offensive to some people, so what? It isnt doing any direct or indirect harm to you or religion. Some people just need to calm down and stop finding things in video games to complain about.
Malinko20th Oct 2008 -
RE: Sony recalls 'LittleBigplanet' over Koran passages
I don't get it. We've had movies, books, & songs that have
quoted the Old Testament (Pete Seeger's "Turn, Turn,
Turn," Which the Byrds took to fame), the Hindu
Upanishads (The last fight scene in the Matrix series was
scored with a song that quoted them.), and other religious
sources, and nobody got bent out of shape ("Turn, Turn,
Turn" is a classic), but, all of a sudden, Sony has to reedit a
video game because a song they licensed for the game has
a couple of lines from the Koran? Sometimes, there is
deep meaning in these lines that cross over beyond the
faith that holds the text sacred. The fact that someone
would get outraged over the use of them is insane and
illogical, especially when you consider that using such
wisdom could bring someone around to your way of
thinking. Not if no one hears it, of course! Makes no
sense.
Robert Brearey Jr.20th Oct 2008
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