With the recent delay of LittleBigPlanet and the controversy over at GameSpot, I've been thinking... Will cases of people being offended by something affect the future of gaming, perhaps even other mediums, and possibly cause censorship to creativity? I'm going to highlight some games that have caused some controversy:
LittleBigPlanet LogoLittleBigPlanet
Scheduled for a release date of October 21, the release was recently pushed back to "the week of October 27," Sony stated the reasoning for the delay:
"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 Koran," Sony said in a statement. "We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologise for any offence that this may have caused."
I think it was a smart decision, and honestly, a 1 week delay isn't much too cry about at all. However, a news article was released today by EDGE magazine, entitled, "Muslim Group Condemns LBP "Censorship":
M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D., president of the non-profit American Islamic Forum for Democracy told Edge on Monday, “Muslims cannot benefit from freedom of expression and religion and then turn around and ask that anytime their sensibilities are offended that the freedom of others be restricted.
I think this goes to show that just because one group that is representative of a religion or organization is offended by something, it does not mean that all who follow the religion agrees with the that particular group. Still, the fact that one small group being outraged over lyrics and actually causing Sony to delay the game just for that reason shows just how much power consumers have and how much fear a big company like Sony has for keeping their reputation in good standing.
Resistance Box ArtResistance: Fall of Man
The Church of England considered taking legal action against Sony due to the game featuring the Manchester Cathedral without their permission. Both the Dean and Bishop of the Manchester Church stated that the game encouraged youths to fire guns in the building. Other Cathedral officials stated that the use of guns in a city which has gun crime problems was very irresponsible. They demanded that Sony give an apology and that the game be withdrawn from further sales. A spokesperson for Sony stated that the church in the game did hold some resemblance to the Manchester Catherdral, but that "the point was to depict a backdrop of an old church, not to illustrate a specific church." Although Sony issued several statements and offered quite a few apologies, the game was never pulled, and has gone on to sell over 3 million copies.
Back cover of GTA:San Andreas.GTA: San Andreas
A software patch was released for the PC version entitled "Hot Coffee mod," referring to unseen sex scenes in the game. RockStar initially denied the fact that this mini-game was hidden within the game, but a console hacker was able to prove that the mini-game was in fact part of the game's original data. This sparked much controversy with politicians. The game was re-evaluated by the ESRB and upped to an Adults Only rating, causing RockStar to discontinue it's manufacturing until a re-release, with the mini-game data removed, was issued. Let's not forget that the game required purchasers to be 17 years old or that the mini-game in question could only be accessed by using an Action Replay device (for console versions) or changing code in the PC version, and could not be accessed by playing the game normally. A GameSpot article asserted the fact that no nether regions were shown, no matter how players rotated the camera, also stating that: "...the minigame is about as raunchy as an episode of Sex and the City." I'd like to point out the fact that the uncensored version of Sex and the City is rated MA, intended for audience 17 years old or older... So why did GTA:SA have to change it's rating to AO with no nudity being shown while Sex and the City with nudity is allowed to air with the same exact age rating?
Fat Princess
An upcoming PSN game for the PS3 that "pits two hordes of players against each other in comic medieval battle royal." The goal is to rescue the princess from the enemy dungeon, but player's adversaries have been "stuffing her with food to fatten her up" and "it's going to take most your army working together to carry her back across the battlefield." An angry feminist blogger, Melissa McEwan stated her feelings about the game:
Anyway, congrats on your awesome new game, Sony. I'm positivelythrilled to see such unyielding dedication to creating a new generation of fat-hating, heteronormative assholes. It's not often I have the opportunity to congratulate a cutting-edge tech company on such splendiferous retrofuck jackholery. Way to go! The Fat Princess of Shakes Manor salutes you.
This statement was followed up with a photo of herself giving the middle finger as a salute to Sony.
Future of Gaming
I don't know about other countries, but in the United States, we have an overwhelming number of cases of people suing others in court. I'm speaking primarily of absurd cases. I once read about a gentleman who drove a city dump truck and sued the city because he backed up into his own vehicle. So perhaps I am being a bit paranoid, but with the amount of sue-happy people these days and the fact that people are finding more and more thing offended, I think I have a good reason to be a little worried. I can only imagine a bunch of feminists will be up in arms over Bayonetta. Is the fact that people finding more and more things offensive going to hinder how some games play for us? Will some games be out right censored or significantly changed in the future for this very reason? Am I worrying too much?
Would love to hear other's thoughts on this, thanks for reading.
