What a disappointing thing to wake to this morning, Sony has just confirmed that LittleBigPlanet has been recalled worldwide for the strangest of reasons.
According to Sony
“During the review process prior to the release of LittleBigPlanet, it has been brought to our attention 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 Qur’an.â€
At first look it seems a little excessive really, but then I found the two passages in question
1- In the 18th second: “كل Ù†Ùس ذائقة الموت” (“kollo nafsin tha’iqatol mawt”, literally: ‘Every soul shall have the taste of death’).
2- Almost immediately after, in the 27th second: “كل من عليها Ùان” (“kollo man alaiha fan”, literally: ‘All that is on earth will perish’).
Fun fun… okay so maybe that deserves a recall but honestly how on earth did this only get picked up now?
No news yet on when we can expect to see the game but I don’t expect much of a delay since they just need to change the soundtrack.. however to change the soundtrack they need to recall all retail packages and replace the disc.. this is going to cost them a bit which is really unfortunate for Media Molecule.
Last Updated: October 17, 2008
bokka1
October 18, 2008 at 07:01
How can this be offensive to anybody. It is a song FFS.
I don’t own a PS3 BTW.
wayne
October 18, 2008 at 07:45
Geez, not being funny but does the world revolve around islam……If it don”t suit them ban it, but lets purchase American products IE: Coke, Mcdonalds ETC even though we hate them…..
Banana hammock
October 18, 2008 at 08:22
Erm guys, the problem is not what the passages mean, the problem is that it’s deeply offensive to use the passages with music.
Not being religious myself i couldn’t care less but the devs obviously don’t want trouble they can avoid.
PillsburyDeeBoy
October 18, 2008 at 08:33
Dude… I hardly think “Americanism” and “Islamism” are alike. You know… the one is… well… a religion. The thing is I think this recall – even though it is biting my ass – was well justified. Don’t mess around with people’s religions simply because everybody is just too damn sensitive. I think if there was a similar message to be found in the game with pertinence to Christianity or Judaism predicting the end, so to speak, there would be an uproar from those religious communities. Don’t blame this on Islam.
Rather safe than sorry, which is a good attitude for Media Molecule to adopt.
kabraal
October 18, 2008 at 09:21
ahhh… why not just patch it out?
Ah well, I’ve fallout 3 and far cry 2 too work through anyway so a couple of weeks delay isn’t that bad I suppose.
RivaZA
October 18, 2008 at 10:24
I hate it how the world jumps though hoops to not offend the muslims. I don’t recall even a peep from the Christian community for the use of the Christian kids song “Jesus loves me” used in Bioshock. That was most definitely not used in a good context, it was the psychotic murderous mutants that were singing it. As a Christian myself I did not feel offended as it is just a game.
Avayaik
October 18, 2008 at 10:38
Screw this, I just want my LBP.
Strife Lives
October 18, 2008 at 10:50
Exactly! Bioshock is a good example!the world does bend over backwards to not offend muslims.And the last thing Sony wants is a crackpot islamic jihad crazy terrorist vowing to blow up buildings because those texts are their and their blashemas blah blah blah. But,lets be honest,We all know in countrys in Iran where the destruction of the west is praised,they spew out anti christian stuff and nobody even mentions it.
xyber
October 18, 2008 at 10:53
Bloody islams are so offended by everything and if they don’t get their way they start bombing.
I don’t know about games being recalled because of text from the Christian Bible and if there where I didn’t know cause its not in the news as much as islams.
jak
October 18, 2008 at 12:35
I think its better to be safe than sorry before you have Islams blowing up Sony HQ’s and MM HQ’s and Playstation HQ’s in the name of jihad and the disrespect of opposite religions!
PillsburyDeeBoy
October 18, 2008 at 14:24
Wait…wait…seriously guys, are you honestly going to make this a Christianity vs. Islamism thing?
Quite honestly, some of your comments have been borderline intolerant and unacceptable in my opinion. Hate speech, almost. Really. I understand everybody’s frustration… I’m just as pissed… but I do think it is wirh good reason.
LazySAGamer
October 18, 2008 at 23:22
I am watching the comments but at the moment I see nothing overly wrong to censor them.
Religious discussions are never a good idea but I strongly believe in freedom of speech and expression… just don’t cross into hate speech, and yes the difference is quite simple.
Hate Speech – “Hate speech is a term for speech intended to degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or prejudicial action against a person or group “
Fred
October 19, 2008 at 00:33
I can see more problems coming with user created levels popping up that might be offensive to certian groups or religions.
janrik
October 19, 2008 at 02:28
Storm in a tea cup anybody?
This is going to lead to some interesting levels I’m sure, as mentioned.
Gamers can forgive a lot… just not delays.
Then again, does Sony or MM not have a QA dept somewhere?
A approval system maybe?
This is a huge mistake to make in today’s climate, IMHO.
kabraal
October 19, 2008 at 08:25
I’d say it just gives the game more marketing exposure
Fred
October 19, 2008 at 11:11
Maybe a publicity stunt , or is that taking it too far?
Vamp
October 19, 2008 at 16:54
Wow,it’s a great world we live in when people get offended
by what’s written in their own “Bible”.
You mean that they never sing songs with phrases out of the
Qur’an? People are too damn sensitive.
Strife Lives
October 19, 2008 at 17:21
Videogames just happen to not be a church.you do realise that? And quoting from the bible out of context is blasphemy.
Vamp
October 19, 2008 at 17:39
Religious music aren’t just played in churches.It’s put
on cd’s for a reason.Too be listened to somewhere else.
People quote the bible out of context to prove their own
points on a daily basis.Besides,just because a phrase is
written down somewhere,doesn’t automatically mean it’s taken from there.(unless it’s a religious song)
I just feel it’s a bit harsh.But that’s just my opinion.
PillsburyDeeBoy
October 19, 2008 at 18:36
I agree, Lazy, it hasn’t become hate speech yet 🙂 …but it was teetering 😉 . Thanks for watching what the kids say.
Wie
October 20, 2008 at 04:08
W/E
Kale
October 20, 2008 at 08:21
I’m not muslim why should I suffer for their believes?!?! Why must the food I but in South Africa be halaal?!? Why must the world watch everything they say or get threatend by violence for muslim believes?!?
I’m not that desperate for the game but the principle of the matter is upsurd.
Here’s a plan they can ban the game in their country and just not by the thing.
I’m Christian and I must deal with the fact that God and Jesuses’ names are used in vein, I’m not going to threaten to kill anyone for it.
So PillsburyDeeBoy perhaps you should re-check your statement about intolerance I think the world has been far too tolerant…
LazySAGamer
October 20, 2008 at 08:42
Food doesn’t have to be Halaal, however if companies want a larger market they should make sure not to cut out Muslim or Jewish people.
It should also be noted that no Muslim person has threatened Sony or Media Molecule over this, Sony and MM have chosen to do this as they do not wish to cause offense. Remember this isn’t Fallout 3 or Bioshock.. This is a happy playful fun game. Causing offense could kill the game…
Muslim Gamer
October 20, 2008 at 10:44
Couldn’t have said it better myself. The real reason they’re delaying the release is because the passages from the Quran used in the game are COMPLETELY out of context and could be used to further stereotype Muslims as bloodthirsty terrorists.
Sony and MM at least care enough not to feed into this.
Come on guys, so what if the game is slightly delayed? With the amount of quality games being released over the next two months theres enough to keep you busy until LBP arrives.
Kale
October 20, 2008 at 10:45
You win this round Mr. LazySAGamer 🙂
I see your point and I agree. Especially since this game is focused on such a large age market.
I still disagree with PillsburyDeeBoy’s opinion on intolerance though. Had the game been released on time with the flaw in place there would have been uproar too and possibly worse so since it actually offended a religion, but you are right – prevention is better than a cure.