Rabble! Rabble! (Singapore bans Bioware's Mass Effect because of lesbian scene)

[Dreamer128]

Yahoo-News wrote the following:
Singapore bans game over lesbian scene

SINGAPORE - Singapore has banned an Xbox video game because it contains a sex scene between a woman and a female alien, the city-state's censors said Thursday.

"Mass Effect," a futuristic space adventure published by Microsoft Corp., has been banned because of "lesbian intimacy," Chetra S., deputy director of the Board of Film Censors, in a statement.

Players can engage their avatars in a variety of sexual encounters during the game, though none between men or between men and male aliens, according to reports on several blogs. The human-alien duo are depicted kissing and caressing each other in a sex scene that The Straits Times English-language newspaper in Singapore reported ends with the alien saying, "By the gods, that was incredible, commander."

A Microsoft spokesman in Singapore said Microsoft respected Singapore's decision to ban the game, which is to launch globally on Nov. 20.

"'Mass Effect' features realistic content and interactions in the context of the science-fiction story line," Ian Tan, marketing communications manager for Southeast Asia said. "The game takes a mature approach to various relationships amongst characters throughout the game and the content in question is another dynamic of that."

Chetra, of the censors' board, said Singapore's video games industry is largely self-regulated, with game importers responsible for declaring to the censorship board that the game content falls within a set of guidelines.

"This helps to ensure that games are suitable for a general audience and do not feature exploitative or gratuitous sex and violence, or denigrate any race or religion," Chetra said.

Other video games that have been banned this year include "God of War II," for nudity, and "The Darkness," for "excessive violence and religiously offensive expletives," Chetra said.

Chetra said the city-state's Media Development Authority, which oversees the censors' board, will introduce classification for video games next year, a move that could allow games such as "Mass Effect" to be passed under a mature classification.

Authorities in Singapore have banned gay festivals and censored gay films, saying homosexuality should not be advocated as a lifestyle choice. Under Singapore law, gay sex is deemed "an act of gross indecency," punishable by a maximum of two years in jail. Despite the official ban on gay sex, there have been few prosecutions.

( http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071116/...re_game_banned )

Gamespot has this to say:

Singapore bans Mass Effect

Alleged girl-on-girl action causes government to put a stop to the title's release in the region.

By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UK

Microsoft and BioWare's sci-fi action role-playing game Mass Effect is due to be released on November 20 in North America and November 23 in Europe. There will be one country that won't be playing the highly anticipated title, though--Singapore.

Reuters is reporting that the Microsoft game has been banned by Singapore's Media Development Authority, according to local paper The Straits Times. The ban is due to a love scene that can occur between a female human--if the player has chosen a female main character--and an alien "woman." The gender of the alien in question is actually not quite that simple; while female in appearance, the designation has little significance for the species in question--the Asari--as it has only one gender.

Other recent games have also been banned in the country, including God of War 2 (for nudity) and The Darkness (for excessive violence and religiously offensive expletives).

(http://www.gamespot.com/news/6182936...s&subj=6182936)

[Greything]

It's only a matter of time before they ban Witcher then.

[SpiritWarrior]

Seems like the whole world is moving backward as opposed to forward lately.

[Dreamer128]

Hm.. it would appear Singapore un-banned the game. Nothing to see here people, move along.

Word on the web is that the game will also make an appearance on the PC as early as next year. (Link: http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/16/si...s-mass-effect/ ) If so, I'll forgo buying an '360' and get myself a new PC instead.
Of course, this isn't really a surprise, since all the other 'X-box Exclusive' titles all made their way to the PC eventually.

[Kyrvias]

I actually don't think there'll be a PC port of Mass Effect. Bioware is currently devoting almost all of it's PC resources to Dragon Age, which is goingto be great

[Kakero]

Ban also no use lah, People can still buy the game in the market bo.