Sony recalls LittleBigPlanet following Qur’an concerns

by Stevie Smith - Oct 21 2008, 12:25

Widely expected to become the year’s biggest software release for the PlayStation 3, Media Molecule’s hugely anticipated LittleBigPlanet has been recalled by Sony Computer Entertainment in light of potential cultural clashes connected to its content.

Specifically, the inventive platform puzzler, which includes an innovative user-creation toolset, has come under surprise scrutiny mere days ahead of its retail release after soundtrack references to the Qur’an were spotted.

The resulting fallout has forced Sony to issue a global retail recall of the product, which will now delay the game’s full release for upwards of two weeks in some territories.

Development studio Media Molecule had hoped to avoid the recall by issuing a downloadable software fix to coincide with LittleBigPlanet’s initial October 21 launch in North America.

However, Sony decided on dragging the game out of circulation on the basis that not all players would be likely to take it online, which would subsequently leave the offending content intact.

The lines from the Qur-an, the holy book of Islam, are apparently contained within the game’s soundtrack and spoken in Somali, which is probably why they were not isolated ahead of the game moving into mass production.

PlayStation forum rumours surrounding the two sampled expressions suggest the lines are evident during LittleBigPlanet’s Singing Safari level and, when translated back into English, convey that “every soul shall have the taste of death” and “all that is on Earth will perish.”

While not detailing the actual content, which could be potentially offensive to Muslims, Sony Computer Entertainment has confirmed that lines taken from the Qur’an have slipped unnoticed into LittleBigPlanet.

“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 Koran,” explained Sony via an official statement. “We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologies for any offense that this may have caused.”

Since the announced recall, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has said that an amended version of LittleBigPlanet will begin shipping to retail stores in North America during the week of October 27 (which could stretch arrival to November 01).

According to online trade magazine MCV, officials at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) have confirmed that LittleBigPlanet will be available across the region from November 05.

Sony has not issued any comment with regard to how much the global recall is likely to cost.

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