While I admit the extra week stings a little, although with this month's lineup it's really just one delayed teardrop in a tidal wave of pure awesome, those people raging at the idea that, through nefarious means, religious fundies are ruining good ol' freedom of expression
yet again are kind of missing the point. It isn't wrong in anyway shape or form for a game that's supposed to be E rated and 'fun for all the family' to be edited so it doesn't contain content that would be offensive to most members of one of the world's largest religions. What's funny about this whole mess is how quickly Sony responded. Sony is a massive company, Blade Runner esque in scope, and they receive countless emails a day. Seeing them not only respond to one email but also start a product recall, a move which will cost them a small fortune, reminds me of Basil Fawlty trying to come to terms with the Germans in Fawlty Towers.
It's like the second the underpaid jockey in PR read the email he reached under his desk and fingered a large red button marked 'Holy shit! Muslims! A button not unlike the following.
What followed can only be described as something along the lines of 'The Office' meeting 'The Thunderbirds'. 'Muslims alert! Muslims Alert!' sound the alarms as bathroom urinals recede into the walls and are replaced with sanctioned mini mosques. The pictures on the walls, previously terrible motivational posters and snap shots of giant piles of money, rotate to reveal mosaics from Damascus. Two Arab Tech support workers and an Indian gentleman from the legal department are sucked from their chairs into a pneumatic tube which deposits them behind the front desk where they're informed (via radio) that they've been reassigned as receptionists. Finally a light fitting opens and a slim metallic claw places a turban on each of their heads. The alarm ends. Business continues.
