Muslim Organization To Rate Games Based on "Values of Islam"

[mrF00bar]

'Muslims gonna Mus'

That just made me spit lemonade all over my keyboard. xD

 

[Rednog]

Hah, i love the name.

ESRA.

In my language word "sra" means "he/she/it makes a sh**".
ESRA is just like EMAIL, but with poop instead of letters!

Ah the joys of the Polish language.

 

[The Great JT]

With any luck, this will be like the ESRB here in the states, except people will listen to it.

 

[RatRace123]

Yeah, that um... that sounds awful.

No offense to muslims but, forming a ratings board that looks at games from a religious perspective, that's just kinda awful.
Especially because said religious ratings board is probably not going to be filled with rational people, but rather the ones who will want to "Ban that sick filth, because it's an affront to (insert deity here)!!!".

 

[AugustFall]

Fair enough, I don't see a problem with putting a sticker on a game case to say whether or not a deeply religious person should play it.

 

[Sworm]

I'm a muslim myself but I doubt I'll ever buy a game based on the ratings of ESRA. I never paid any attention to any kind of rating and this one doesn't seem to be any different than the western ratings.

same here, even though I somehow suspect the ratings having a lot more restrictions when getting a "pass" grade.
And anyway, in the Best case scenario evilthecat has put it in better words then I could:

Better still, if the games industry actually talked to these people companies might spew out fewer remakes of 'Jiggle Physics: The Game' in exchange for better sales in the islamic world and consequentially maybe we can level up a little as a culture.

And at worst games that were probably already under(or not at all)sold over there will remain that way, not what I'm preaching for but hey, it won't actually change.

Mass Effect 2 would win bonus points for Tali keeping her dignity behind her veil, but lose them for having hot monkey sex with that clear anglo saxon jingoist great devil John Shepard.

I have to admit I immediately thought of Tali, and you can circumvent that jingoist (what does that even mean anyway?) devil thing by using some forged Hadith or illogical & stupid sharia law by saying she legally became his slave or something (yes that's a joke...). I'm sure Bioware can come up with something

 

[sooperman]

I'm really in favor of an international game rating board that spans the world, but this is a nice step that way.

However, the list of traits they judge games on is a bit strange. "And the most important innate trends are truth, virtue, benevolence, excellence tendency, innovation and creativity." This sounds more like Captain Planet rating games than any country. Honestly, truth and benevolence are two of the top concerns. Way to leave room for moral ambiguity.

 

[Angryranter101]

I don't really see why anyone cares, Australioa has a nasty habit of banning games and its not concidered a war crime. It seems that if I, being a Christian say a game is too violent its because I'm a fanatic, but if Extra Credit says that its not got a post feminist view everyone bow down to its logic and berrates testical flenser 2.

 

[Cosplay Horatio]

This is nothing to worry about. They will just be rated similar to how games were rated now. No big deal everyone.

 

[comadorcrack]

Not a bad idea seeing as middle easteners and muslims in particular seem to be the punching bags in games now a days.

 

[Jkudo]

"While the U.S has a tradition of respecting free speech, there is no equivalent to the First Amendment in many Islamic nations."

There never has been. Sharia is proof enough of that.

Honestly though, I can see publishers not even bothering to release games in Middle Eastern countries, or even accepting a rating from this group, if this is what they have to deal with.

And, if these people are so sensitive to works of fiction and entertainment that they create a separate system just to rate games based on 'respect of Islam', then I honestly do not know what else to say. It's baffling to me, and I don't know weather I should feel sympathy for these people, or think of this as paranoia.

You should read first. In fact read the title, "based on values of islam" then see the article for those values.

 

[Jkudo]

I might be a raving nutcase, but this actually sounds a decent idea..

Islamic stereotypes aside, they're not going to wheel in some adulterer-stoning hardline Shariah scholar from west Africa to do this kind of thing. It's founded in Dubai. We're going to get educated, middle class Muslims, hopefully with a range of different sectarian perspectives and interpretations of Fiqh.

Better still, if the games industry actually talked to these people companies might spew out fewer remakes of 'Jiggle Physics: The Game' in exchange for better sales in the islamic world and consequentially maybe we can level up a little as a culture.

Level up as a culture....... (O_-)=b
Seems like a rating system maid by muslims, for muslims. Don't see the problem, it doesn't seem as if the ESRA has the abilitiy to ban a game.

I don't really see why anyone cares, Australioa has a nasty habit of banning games and its not concidered a war crime. It seems that if I, being a Christian say a game is too violent its because I'm a fanatic, but if Extra Credit says that its not got a post feminist view everyone bow down to its logic and berrates testical flenser 2.

Good point! If the ESRA gives a game a mature rating(or whatever they use, inappropriate, etc) they don't really have the power to ban it and if the government decides to ban games of that rating fine. I don't agree with it but Australia does the same thing.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Secular works being given a religious evaluation.

Yeah...no room for disaster there.

 

[Wandrecanada]

Rated S for Stoning!

Remember kids, when you vote for religious government officials, this is what you get. Superior morality...

 

[Charli]

Sometimes things like these remind me that Muslims basically are Christians.

Don't tell to either of them I said that though, they'll be furious!

They're the ones who are idiots if they deny it. It's the same coin. Different sides...

Fanaticism perverts both.


Anyway, Religion. Kindly gtfo my entertainment thank you. That goes for all. Islam and Christianity just tend to be the most invasive of them all.

If it didn't count as a religion, I'd be a Buddhist and ignore you all, but there are things in there I disagree with too. Sigh. I wish it was more to 'each their own' in this world, but no...everyone has to 'belong' to these groups and sadly get associated with people who don't represent who they are...

 

[DarkRyter]

I'm actually kinda interested in seeing how my favorite games rank in Islamic Friendliness, especially stuff like Pokemon.

 

[sp86]

http://www.ccgr.org/
http://guide2games.org/
http://www.christian-life-advisor.com/game-reviews.html
http://objectiveministries.org/zounds/gaming.html

There are more but I can't be bothered. Christians have been doing this since the media came to prominence. That a religion that claims under its auspices over a billion people is acknowledging a component of modernity is progress, even if we as gamers may ultimately disagree with the results.

As an aside, I liked "Jesus in Space" better when it was called Mass Effect.