Videogame delayed over possible offence to Muslims

Release of one of the most anticipated games in the history of the Sony PlayStation has been delayed because of concerns that some of the background music may offend Muslims.

Release of one of the most anticipated games in the history of the Sony PlayStation has been delayed because of concerns that some of the background music may offend Muslims, the game’s developers said on Monday.

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LittleBigPlanet, in which gamers can customise the rag-doll protagonist Sackboy and allow it to roam through an interactive world filled with different challenges, had been hailed by video games website IGN as “nothing short of astounding” and given a review rating of 9.5 out of 10.

But its release date has been put back after one of its music tracks, a song by Mali-born artist Toumani Diabate, was found to have included expressions from the Quran.

“We’re sure that most of you have heard by now that one of the background music tracks that was licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Quran,” a statement on the game’s website read.

“We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologise for any offence this may have caused. “We will begin shipping LittleBigPlanet to retail in North America the week of October 27,” as opposed to its original release date of October 21.

A statement on the website of Media Molecule, the developers of LittleBigPlanet, said they were “shell-shocked and gutted” by the delay.