Something went wrong. Try again later

Giant Bomb News

211 Comments

Your Early Retail Copy of LittleBigPlanet Just Went Up In Value

Muslim holy text found on LittleBigPlanet soundtrack, game delayed worldwide.

We're right there with ya, little guy.
We're right there with ya, little guy.
Well, if you managed to find a retailer that was willing to break the street date for LittleBigPlanet and sell you one, hang onto it, because it seems to be something of a rarity now.

Sony has confirmed to Eurogamer that LittleBigPlanet has been delayed from its release date--originally scheduled for next week--and that no new date is available. That's a worldwide delay, by the way, not just a European delay.

Why? Because one of the songs licensed for the soundtrack contains bits of text from the Qu'ran. In an effort to not offend the Muslim community, Sony is recalling the game to edit out the song.

A thread found on Sony's European forums gives a bit more detail, claiming that the statements are made during the third level. Also according to this thread, the song is Tapha Niang by Toumani Diabate's Symmetrical Orchestra. At two points in the song, phrases that translate to "every soul shall have the taste of death" and "all that is on earth will perish" are heard.

I'll just point out here that those are fairly heavy statements for a game like LittleBigPlanet to be making, religious text or not. The offending bits can currently be heard here.

SCEE claims that a new date will be made available shortly. Most major US retailers seem to still be showing the original 10/21 ship date as of this writing.

[UPDATE] Sony's Director of Corporate Communications & Social Media, Patrick Seybold, has posted an update on SCEA's official blog announcing that the game's release will only be delayed by one week, putting it on shelves during the week of October 27. That's a pretty fast turnaround!
Jeff Gerstmann on Google+