LittleBigPlanet [PS3] - Out Now!

[fishbowlhead]

For all you yanks on the forums, seems wall-mart hasn't complied with the recall, and has started selling it. Target stores as well i think.

[saif]

LBP has not been "pulled" as it was not released and has not yet been released. Delays are much easier to do than pull a game and so the furore to compare and contrast with Resistance is totally misplaced.
Resistance was picked up as an issue, what, six months AFTER the game had been released?
The coverage on the BBC news was comparing them directly and was stoking up the "muslims get whatever they want" angle hard. The coverage annoys me and the request (not demand) to change the music has been met with a hugely disproportionate rage. I don't look at US forums much as they are hate-filled and ill-informed at the best of times so I don't know what they are like now but please, please let us not go that way.

Edit: Wal-mart selling is clearly a politicised gesture - I hope that the same thing does not happen in the UK. Not because I agree with the reasons for the delay but that a large retailer has decided to contravene their suppliers wishes over such a political issue. "FO Muslim wishes" is the obvious intention.

[funkydan]

I wonder if the song in question will be replaced? Or perhaps, it will be a pound cheaper, to make up for the recall and the lack of one song?

There's a song on the game by Jim Noir called 'My Patch' - we used to have a dog called Patch and he was mine, so he was My Patch. Patch died last year and consequently, merely hearing that song now renders me emotionally wrecked and very offended - I know, I'll write to Sony and tell them to recall the game.

This is beyond the realms of the ridiculuous! Recalling a game because of song lyrics - no need for that at all. All Sony needed to do was to whack a warning sticker on the front stating that one song used in LBP may cause offence to those who follow the Islamic religion. Sony could then remove the song on future versions of the game

[Number45]

I wonder if the song in question will be replaced? Or perhaps, it will be a pound cheaper, to make up for the recall and the lack of one song?

I don't think we know yet. I would imagine there's a few of that type of track on there (As there will be multiple levels of that theme) so it's possible they'll just reuse one of the others. It would also require licensing if they were to use a new song, which would delay the game much further.

Somehow I doubt you'll see a reduction, although I do hope they give something within the game by way of compensation. MM have suggested that they'd like to do this (I think, can't remember where I read it).

[funkydan]

I don't think we know yet. I would imagine there's a few of that type of track on there (As there will be multiple levels of that theme) so it's possible they'll just reuse one of the others. It would also require licensing if they were to use a new song, which would delay the game much further.

Somehow I doubt you'll see a reduction, although I do hope they give something within the game by way of compensation. MM have suggested that they'd like to do this (I think, can't remember where I read it).

Dude, I was joking for the most part in my post - wasn't really expecting a pound off the RRP and there was no dog called Patch - I made it ALL up!

[Number45]

Wasn't sure.

[C']

Texted my brother and asked him to do a trawl of Walmart/Target when he gets up (it's 6am for him now so I have hours before he rises I reckon) so got my fingers crossed.

Cancelled my Movietyme order in anticipation.

[QualityChimp]

This is an amazing thread and has made me look into the issue a lot more than I would most news items, which is surely a good thing.

I've still not made my mind up though as I swing from "it's only a game that's only been delayed a week" to "where do we draw the line when trying not to offend people?".

I'm still a bit confused by a few things though, but I'll try to be succinct!

1. If it's offensive for the Qu'ran to be put to music, why wasn't the track complained about in the first place?

2. The Qu'ran advises to not eat pigs but does say "if one is forced by necessity without willful disobedience nor transgressing due limits then is he guiltless. For Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful." (Surah 2:173) and still respect pigs because they are God's creation. Why then, do pigs have to be hidden for fear of offending Muslims?
For example:
China bans Year of the Pig ads to 'show respect to Muslims'
Dudley Council bans toy pigs for Ramadan

3. At what point should freedom of speech allow you the right to prevent other people from their right to free speech? I whole-heartedly agree that somebody shouldn't be allowed to stand on a soapbox saying sex with children is great, but isn't complaining that the swirl motif on a Burger King ice cream needs banning because it kinda, sorta looks like the Arabic for Allah a bit tenuous (which does more harm than good)?

4. If it's a licensed track? Surely Sony can sue the company they bought it off for not fully checking the track out?

5. Why do people still bring up the Crusades as a reason to distrust all Christians? It's hardly Current Affairs! Are we still to distrust all Germans because they started two world wars?

In conclusion, I'm not out to offend anybody - note these are all questions, not statements.

I think we need to take the time to at least look at things from the opposite perspective to see perhaps more of an objective view.

Further reading:
Making a pig's ear of defending democracy - Telegrah article
Muslims Win a Ban On Toy Pigs in the UK! SAVE THE DUDLEY PIGS!
Pig Ban - The media is to blame

[Dogg Thang]

Well on 1, I know next to nothing about the track involved but, if it's older than a couple of years, I think that could be put down to a change in political climates. And, on 4, they couldn't sue for the track having used a lyric from the book as it is well out of copyright. There is nothing actually illegal about the track.

As for the (only somewhat-related) pig issue, I'm still trying to find out what I can but I'm getting some conflicting reports - http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/a...?enewsid=46598

[Darwock]

QualityPost there, QualityChimp.

[yesteryeargames]

whats the track called any idea what level, i want to see wat all the fuss is about

[funkydan]

Track: Tapha Niang
Artist: Toumani Diabate
http://www.myspace.com/toumanidiabate

There's no real fuss as such, it's just that two sentences from the Koran are spoken in the song.

[QualityChimp]

This is the track, but the point is not that it says anything offensive but the original complaint states:

We Muslims consider the mixing of music and words from our Holy Quran deeply offending.

However, it turns out that it's not just random quotes from the Quran. It's actually a song by the Grammy Award-winning Malian singer and kora master Toumani Diabat?. The song is called "Tapha Niang," from his 2006 album, "Boulevard de l'Ind?pendance," and as gamer blog Joystiq deftly pointed out, you can easily buy this song on iTunes and Amazon.

Further, a profile of Diabat? in the Guardian from earlier this year describes Diabat? as "a devout Muslim, with his own prayer room next to his office, and for him the kora is a "deep and spiritual instrument.'"

Source: Machinist

[Number45]

This is quite odd. There are posts on GAF from the original complainant stating that the artist is going to alter the track (Not sure on what) based on the complaint, yet a story this morning on gi.biz basically has a quote from him where he seems to say he doesn't see what the problem is.

gi.biz also use a rather misleading title in that article.

[Anpanman]

QualityPost there, QualityChimp.

Ineed it is, I've been swinging all weekend on this, but have finally decided to cancel my pre-order which I did in town at dinnertime.