SCEE: LittleBigPlanet delayed worldwide due to Qur'an references in music
by Ross Miller 
{ Oct 17th 2008 at 12:26PM }
No word yet on the new release date for any territory. And we're still awaiting SCEA's response to the matter, which we hope to update with shortly.
Update: Media Molecule has released a statement noting that it has an official patch ready for day one, but "a decision was made within Sony that the right thing to do for quality and support of people with no on-line was to replace existing disks." The patch is still ready and the post suggests it will likely "go live at the same time as the game," which still has no new release date.
Update 2: For a closer look at the music track in question, check out our report here.
Update 3: (2:54PM) SCEA says the game has been delayed one week for the US, now coming the week of October 27.
Gallery: LittleBigPlanet
SCEE statement:
"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. We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologise for any offence that this may have caused.
"We will confirm the new launch date shortly."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Cold, with two tees @ Oct 17th 2008 12:29PM
Allah will be pleased.
Pumapayam @ Oct 17th 2008 12:46PM
He must be an Xbox 360 user then.
nickels @ Oct 17th 2008 12:53PM
we can only hope?
would releasing the game and just patching it via a downloadable patch not be ok??
xFenixKnightx @ Oct 17th 2008 1:00PM
nickels
No they cant because not every PS3 out there is connected to PSN. They have to completely eradicate the issue.
copa @ Oct 17th 2008 1:08PM
"They have to completely eradicate the issue."
Yeah, that'll work. Because delaying the most ancticipated PS3 game of the year won't cause 200,000 pissed off people to upload tasteless levels featuring Muhammad sackboys.
Megadanxzero @ Oct 17th 2008 1:12PM
The most anticipated game? You mean THE anticipated game?
xFenixKnightx @ Oct 17th 2008 1:12PM
"delaying the most ancticipated PS3 game of the year"
LOL!
No sir, that was MGS4.
copa @ Oct 17th 2008 1:15PM
"No sir, that was MGS4."
I meant PS3 exclusives.
xFenixKnightx @ Oct 17th 2008 1:18PM
*Because delaying one of the most ancticipated PS3 games of the year
There, fixed. Makes sense now...
StrangeBum @ Oct 17th 2008 1:28PM
@Copa
i c wut u did there
Lars @ Oct 17th 2008 1:36PM
"No sir, that was MGS4."
Depends on who you are. Can we just say "one of the most highly anticipated games of the year" and appease everyone?
Besides, there's been such a plethora of games this generation, it's pointless to squabble over which one is more anticipated. Especially since whatever cool game is coming 'next' is usually what I get most excited for.
Matt @ Oct 17th 2008 2:01PM
Bull like this is what makes these radical Muslims think they can do whatever the hell they want.
Appeasing radicals only lets the terrorists win. I love how putting in some phrases from the Qur'an is not allowed, but smearing crap on a picture of the Virgin Mary is "art". It must have something to do with the fact that there are no Christians threatening to attack the creators of something like that.
baby sea tuna @ Oct 17th 2008 2:30PM
@ Matt
Are you kidding me?! People were elephant-shitting their pants over that Virgin Mary piece (as well as the Piss Christ and countless other Christian-critical works.)
LJ @ Oct 17th 2008 2:58PM
When did Phoenix turned into a TROLL?! really sad...
severian00 @ Oct 18th 2008 12:12AM
And yet there are no riots because of those "works of art". Nobody is killed, nothing is bombed, no property is distroyed. It's sad really that we can't have a discourse about something like this. Instead it's get it out of the game because we're afraid of what might happen.
Travis @ Oct 17th 2008 12:29PM
oh wow...you'd think these were all printed and ready to go...time to get our hands on some original copies
copa @ Oct 17th 2008 12:52PM
Yup, I wonder how much LBP: Blasphemy Edition is going to fetch on E-Bay.
But seriously, it's 2008. Sony couldn't have distributed a title update at launch to keep the track from playing? Or replace it with an audiobook recording of The Satanic Verses?
Travis @ Oct 17th 2008 1:20PM
i want a Salman Rushdie Sackboy ASAP
Ciatrick Leodis McKelvin @ Oct 17th 2008 3:02PM
the major retailers have had the game for over a week now!
severian00 @ Oct 18th 2008 12:15AM
They are all printed and ready to go. We have 20 copies sitting in our stockroom for tuesday. Nothing has come down yet to send them anywhere. If nothing comes by Tuesday morning I'm getting my copy on time after all woo hoo.
the_kid @ Oct 17th 2008 12:29PM
wow that's dumb..
xFenixKnightx @ Oct 17th 2008 1:14PM
Yep.
Mark C @ Oct 17th 2008 12:30PM
I posted this on the previous thread, but we really need a 'Crusader Sackboy'...
Travis @ Oct 17th 2008 12:31PM
seconded
and the ability to purchase indulgences from the PSN DLC
Miguel @ Oct 17th 2008 12:45PM
Thirded
Noah @ Oct 17th 2008 3:01PM
Sackboy is sad now :'(
Eggy @ Oct 17th 2008 12:30PM
"I sense a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced"
Nevers @ Oct 17th 2008 2:54PM
you beat me to it Obi Wan
Jarpo @ Oct 17th 2008 12:32PM
This is really upsetting news.
Hyams @ Oct 17th 2008 12:31PM
Catholic Church demand that Resistance be taken off the shelves and altered to remove offensive material: nothing happens.
Lone Muslim politely asks that the game be patched after release to remove the song: game is delayed.
Hmm.
Mark C @ Oct 17th 2008 12:32PM
silence infidel!
Monkey Thing?!!? @ Oct 17th 2008 12:39PM
not to nitpick, but i thought it was the Church of England that had that beef with Resistance
Deeznuts420 @ Oct 17th 2008 12:39PM
we must cut off your fingers to silence your filth.
too much?
dwhite @ Oct 17th 2008 12:40PM
That is a valid ironic point. We live in the world of the offended where you can't sneeze without offending 12 special interest groups that interpret it as messages for and/or against a certain The fact that they are heading this off now may be because they learned from the negative press generated last time, or they may be scared someone might blow their shit up. What was the catholic church going to do, molest more kids? (I am sooo joking, but watch people will bitch)
Mark C @ Oct 17th 2008 12:41PM
@Deeznuts420:
Depends, is he saying it in sign language?
Alex @ Oct 17th 2008 12:47PM
Excellent point.
dwhite @ Oct 17th 2008 12:44PM
That is a valid ironic point. We live in the world of the offended where you can't sneeze without offending 12 special interest groups that interpret it as messages for and/or against a certain (insert religious reference or group) The fact that they are heading this off now may be because they learned from the negative press generated last time, or they may be scared someone might blow their shit up. What was the catholic church going to do, molest more kids? (I am sooo joking, but watch people will bitch)
*Re-posted because joystiq cut off my response the first time, I must have offended them.
Kayel @ Oct 17th 2008 12:45PM
Catholics aren't generally expected to run into game studios and blow themselves up. The same cannot always be said for the Religion of Peace(R).
burjeffton @ Oct 17th 2008 12:57PM
Nail...on...head.
Hyams @ Oct 17th 2008 12:54PM
Catholics can be idiots too.
Look at all the death threats and threats against his family that PZ Myers recieved from Catholics after he declared that he would desecrate a cracker.
nonpareil @ Oct 17th 2008 12:56PM
Hey, it's *ALL GOOD* as long as you're offending the right religion(s) (mainly Christianity, Mormons, and those dudes that twirl a lot in Turkey).
CyberKnight @ Oct 17th 2008 1:10PM
@nonpareil: Exactly. Nothing like a nice double-standard to bring the world together. :eyeroll:
+1 for hitting the nail on the head
Haggard @ Oct 17th 2008 1:14PM
Yeah, it was the Church of England. The cathedral in question (Manchester) is actually only about 5 miles from my house.
I don't think there was anything to be mad about, but I showed the level to my dad and he did notice that the layout of it was identical to the real-life equivalent.
Dirk Dorkelson @ Oct 17th 2008 1:14PM
If the quoted passages from the Qur'an are what other sites (Kotaku) are reporting them to be (stuff about how everyone is gonna die, basically), there were going to be a lot more people potentially offended than just devout Muslims. The Church of England thing was small potatoes compared to this.
Duke @ Oct 17th 2008 1:25PM
Catholic Church =/= The Church of England. So there is no need for the nasty child molesting comments. Get your churches straight if you are going to feed the hate.
Either way, the Christian faiths are not known this century for their excessive reaction to the smallest issue, so thats why they don't get the quick response from developers.
aristokrat @ Oct 17th 2008 2:01PM
How would most people know that these verses are in the Qur'an at all anyway? Aside from those that don't speak Arabic, a staggering number of (Middle Eastern) Islamic people are illiterate, as are many clerics themselves. A lot of these Muslims only know what they've been told the Qur'an says, yet frequently they never seem to hear about the parts where they say things like "live in peace with your monotheistic brothers, for they are your family in God" and stuff like that. But why would that be important? Duping poor, uneducated people into blowing themselves up is way more convenient to the leaders over there, who probably don't give a fuck about religion at all and are just as power hungry as the next despot. I think we shouldn't delay the game until 2 in 3 muslims in the middle east can actually find the passages in the Qur'an and point them out, because currently they are being led by the nose by their corrupt theocracies. This is not meant to offend any muslims, but I'm perfectly okay with offending anyone who thinks rulers like those in Iran are anything but evil.
offday @ Oct 17th 2008 2:02PM
Well basically if your christian, then you just have to deal with being offended. Because no one cares. If your religion is anything else, then don't worry because there's probably no less than 100 special interest groups who will look out for you.
Brazell @ Oct 17th 2008 4:05PM
Church of England != Catholic Church. See, 500 years ago, there was this giant split in the Church that changed the world forever.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Reformation
yeah, that happened.
--
On the actual topic, I don't have anything wrong with Sony delaying it to take out the lines. I understand why it's offensive to Muslims, it doesn't change the game one way or the other to have it in there, and Sony's saving face.
Paul.Power @ Oct 17th 2008 5:52PM
See what you can get if you ask politely?
Saria the Cat @ Oct 18th 2008 4:55AM
Just want to say that the Catholic Church (like, in the Vatican) can be a little nuts but putting all Catholics under a blanket of "crazy" or "child molester" is as unfair as assuming all Americans are complete idiot since Bush is our president.