Wost PR nightmare in gaming history?

[Okele]

Today sony announced that it is recalling every copy of Little Big Planet and is delaying it's release to an indefinite time table.


Story here: http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/690201/Quran_Quote_Causes_Worldwide_LittleBigPlanet_Recal l.html


This is one of those: "omg are you effing serious?" moments

[Zephik]

I wonder if the same would of happened if it was from any other religion?

Meh, oh well. Hopefully it won't take too long to fix this little problem.

[NightrainSrt4]

Well I hope they get everything resolved quickly and efficiently, but I can see why they want this issue fixed before the game gets released. Although on the other hand, I think this is just getting the game an enormous amount of hype and publicity before launch, as the hype recently has cut down quite a lot since last year when people were raving about this game.

I'm no expert but I believe the biggest issue with the song being is the game is not that it will insult Americans or Christians or anything, but that it may insult many Muslims. Although the Quran doesn't explicitly state any ban on music, and Muhammad allegedly was known to play music himself, several books after the Quran did impose a ban on music, and especially music containing scripture. So those following this belief would be very upset about the lyrics in the song, which is understandable.

I just hope they get it all resolved, as it looked like a very interesting game. Hopefully it delivers a bit more than what Spore did (I was looking forward to both of these games, as games that could possibly redefine and bring new elements to the gaming world).

[d_stilgar]

From the view of a Muslim that does not want scripture in music, this is understandable. I myself have no problem with the music or the meaning of the words. Islam is a good religion and most of its members are very good, dedicated people. I think we would say the same about Christians, although I don't think a game developer would really care if they offended some Christians. Some people get offended. I find GTA3&4 offensive, so I don't buy those games.

Little Big Planet, however, is meant to appeal to anyone and everyone, so this is a reasonable, however unfortunate thing for them.

[FuzzyPlushroom]

Oh, no, if you want bad game-related PR, you can't get past E.T. for the 2600 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial_(Atari_2600)). To this day, it's blasted (albeit justifiably) as "the worst game ever made", and at least ten truckloads of cartridges containing it were buried in a New Mexico landfill.

A recall's nothin' compared to that, especially one based on decidedly questionable reasoning.

[Pointy_Stick]

You want the worst games-related PR ever? Look no further than Acclaim.

First, there was that time they advertised their game on a tombstone (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2002/mar/15/games.advertising), then there was the time they offered $10,000 to parents who named their kid 'Turok' (http://news.cnet.com/Turok-maker-plays-the-name-game/2100-1043_3-955594.html).

It doesn't get any worse than that.

[d_stilgar]

ET wasn't a bad PR move, just an awful awful game. Nonetheless, Atari screwed up big with that one.

Acclaim, what the heck is wrong with them? That stuff is stupid. Can we at least have one place on this planet that doesn't have advertising or extreme branding?

[Airbozo]

....Can we at least have one place on this planet that doesn't have advertising or extreme branding?

NO!

now go buy some stuff...

[Pointy_Stick]

d_stilgar, I'll tell you whats wrong with Acclaim. They're bankrupt. That's what's wrong with them.

[xmastree]

I don't think a game developer would really care if they offended some Christians.
And therein lies the problem. Muslims tend to get offended rather easily, and then over react. Look at the Danish cartoon fiasco for example.

[d_stilgar]

So, I just read some more about this (I tend to just glean), and the artist of the song is a devout Muslim. I'm not sure who we are trying to offend/not offend anymore.

[blueonblack]

Actually, I'd much rather they did this, take it back and get it right before releasing it again, than what Bethesda just did with Fallout 3. What a crock. I don't buy games on release day (except this one), is it common for a developer's game site forum to have 18 pages of threads from people who can't play the game 24 hours after it's released? Do they release them untested? Seriously, anyone know if this is unusual or not?
________
Medical marijuana card (http://medicalmarijuanacard.info)

[d_stilgar]

Actually, I'd much rather they did this, take it back and get it right before releasing it again, than what Bethesda just did with Fallout 3. What a crock. I don't buy games on release day (except this one), is it common for a developer's game site forum to have 18 pages of threads from people who can't play the game 24 hours after it's released? Do they release them untested? Seriously, anyone know if this is unusual or not?

What version do you have (PC, 360)? Also, are you saying it worked for the first 24 hours then stopped working altogether?

[blueonblack]

I have the PC version, and it worked for about an hour, until I got to a particular spot in the game. Crash. Every time, no matter what I have tried.
________
FORD C-MAX SPECIFICATIONS (http://www.ford-wiki.com/wiki/Ford_C-Max)

[The Great Destroyer]

so what ever happened to the recall? because my best friend still has his copy of LBP (awesome game by the way!)