Video Gaming Blog

Submitted by Gaming Briefs and Nostalgia Bits

Singapore has tossed out a game for the Xbox called Mass Effect because it’s got lesbian innuendo in it:

SINGAPORE (AP) - 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.”

I don’t think so. Quite the opposite, I think it’s gross. If the game was made in Japan, this is where I’ll have to make a note about how there are some things in their entertainment industry that, by our standards, are considered blatantly insulting, but by their standards, are very iffy. It’s not like nobody in Japan doesn’t find it as objectionable as we do, of couse there are those in Japan who frown upon this kind of nonsense, but even so, that’s the problem with when some people in showbiz there just don’t stop and think about what if they’re doing is tasteless. Sure, it’s good that they don’t involve male homosexual activity in this game, but that doesn’t mean lesbian activity is any good either; it’s just as bad and gross.

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.”

Realistic? Gee, just what the world needs. Mature approach? Oh yeah, I’m sure it does. Just what the world needs too.

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.

Hmm, I don’t know if nudity per se is that big a deal, but I do know that graphic violence most certainly is, ditto anything that insults good religions. Criticism of religion is something that I believe should be respected, but denigration for no good reason is the wrong way to go.

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.

I don’t know if the law should be enforced better, but I do think some good counseling and therapy are needed to ensure that people will be in a healthy state of mind and thus not end up becoming gays and lesbians and indulging in abnormal and unhealthy behavior.

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