PS3 LittleBigPlanet delayed due to Qur’an references in soundtrack
LittleBigPlanet is potentially the biggest game on the PS3 so far. We’ve had a very successful beta that prompted a rush for the chance to give the game a go, and the reviews have started to pile in, all of which rate it highly. But now, thanks to some references to the Qur’an, the Islamic religious text, in the soundtrack, the game’s release has been delayed by at least a week.
LittleBigPlanet was due for release in the U.S. on October 21st, and in Europe and Asia in the days following that. Everything was looking spot on for a successful release, and the marketing campaign had started in earnest. Unfortunately, due to a lack of quality control and some over-sensitive gamers, the game has now been delayed.
According to Gamasutra, the problem is that one track on the soundtrack, Tapha Niang by Muslim artist Toumani Diabate’s Symmetrical Orchestra, contains lines from the Qur’an, Muslims’ holiest text. The two potentially offensive lines were “kollo nafsin tha’iqatol mawt”, which translates as “Every soul shall have the taste of death”, and “kollo man alaiha fan”, literally translated as “All that is on earth will perish”.
The issue seems to have been brought to Sony’s attention, this late in production, by a poster on the Playstation Europe message boards. The poster himself wasn’t offended and merely wanted to bring a potential conflict to Sony’s attention. And it’s a good thing he did.
Rather than carrying on with the release and issuing a patch in hindsight, Sony decided to take drastic action and recall all copies that are already with retailers. The song, or at the least the potentially offensive lines from it, will now be removed from the game, obviously delaying the release of what Sony itself is building up as the new messiah for the Playstation brand.
Sony has now issued a statement on the Playstation Blog, confirming a new release date in North America of October 27th. However, there is yet to be any announcement concerning new release dates for other territories.
I can see why Sony has taken this drastic action, because as expensive and annoying as a recall is, it’s still preferable to a political storm upon release. Although this delay may annoy a few PS3 owners, rather that than upset millions of Muslims worldwide.
Related Posts:
22 Responses to “PS3 LittleBigPlanet delayed due to Qur’an references in soundtrack”
Leave a Reply:
You must be logged in to post a comment. Don't have an account? Register today!
October 18th, 2008
ohh my gawd… Sackboy is a racist anti… watever…
now for the icing on the top… presenting… the new sackboy costume… THE MUHAMMAD COSTUME!!!
Start burning flags people…
October 18th, 2008
and the new catch-phrase is allah
October 18th, 2008
Yo, dont make fun of islam, just because some terrorist assholes blow themselves up. You should blame the developers for making a mistake like this. its not like home that gets delayed like a year. Its only a day or two.
October 18th, 2008
i don’t blame them after the church of England filled a law suit for Rfom
October 18th, 2008
Bummer!
October 18th, 2008
It is all a bit ridiculous really. Poor Sony. They are trying so hard and things never seem to run smoothly. An over reaction is you ask me.
October 18th, 2008
Sony –> “This, we don’t need.”
October 18th, 2008
Sony probably did the correct thing here, because, no doubt, SOMEONE would have found this offensive, but who?
And why?
A reference in a language most getting this game won’t even understand should be qite a bit less offensive than Bible games that came out now and then in the 90’s that mutilated various stories from the Bible, from everyone’s point of view!
People need to get over it.
Comming up next: Sackboy is too dark and Sackgirl is too light, all races offended.
October 18th, 2008
I thought everything was done politely and pleasantly for once, which was a nice surprise. And yes, Qur’anic lines mixed with music is blasphemous.
I thought Sony handled it well, and I’m glad they did.
October 18th, 2008
qahar.. Im not making fun of Islam… just mocking the Dev’s clusterfuck…
Although I have to say… this recall is good move…
If they just Patched it.. people could probably try to crack it and bring it out… like Hot Coffee…
but I have to say… to the people who re called the disks… you guys suck at covering up something… learn from Nixon… lie… to hide the worse-er lie… couldve just said like all the disks had a 666 sign on them or something…
jeez…
I wish they would make a decent Noah’s Ark game… I would kill and the animals and surf the high tide… NOW THAT would be game of the year…
October 18th, 2008
Sony did the right thing.
Better this than a mass media frenzy (altho the free advertising would’ve been great!).
October 18th, 2008
Most dumb game recall I’ve ever heard about.
October 19th, 2008
haha I just noticed something. Seems like the advertisements on this site use keywords to know what to advertise. On this page I see ‘The International Muslim Matrimonial Site’ and ‘Singlemuslim.com’ advertised.
Am considering advertising myself on Singlemuslim.com for a bit of a laugh….
October 19th, 2008
Ha good find actually harry, wtf? Blorge is promoting islam now?
October 19th, 2008
its all a big conspiracy theory… Blorge secretly promotes Islam… amd I heard… that the Vatican City Promoted Catholicism…
October 19th, 2008
Joking aside. Does anyone realize what just happened? Sony gave into censorship. It’s a sad day when people can’t freely express themselves without having their words or expression censored because someone doesn’t like what’s being said. Very sad indeed.
October 19th, 2008
# harry sachz:
- Sony –> “This, we don’t need.” -
I can actually imagine it.
And for some reason advertising doesn’t appear on Blorge (or Deviantart, or a whole load of other sites) on my computer, which I thought was nice, but now I feel like I’m missing out.
October 20th, 2008
This is just stupid. The song came out in what 2006? I don’t recall the streets filled with angry Muslims over this song for the last couple years! Why now!
October 20th, 2008
Sony did the right thing. They pulled the offensive content and only delayed the game by a week. That way everybody is happy.
My own personal opinion: It’s a trivial, stupid thing to get offended by. If they were that offended, than don’t buy the game or blow anything up.
October 20th, 2008
Hey Royzy Are you gay?
Your website has a drwaing of a nude dude? wtf?
Don’t link that gay porn crap here.
October 20th, 2008
JD,
Using free speech responsibly is not the same as censorship. Sony cannot afford to alienate any potential customers.
@Harry, promise me you’ll let us all know how it goes with the Muslim Singles site!
-Arvis
October 20th, 2008
Haha dude, it’s life drawing!