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Media Molecule 'Shellshocked And Gutted' By LBP Delay

Media Molecule says it's "shellshocked and gutted" at LittleBigPlanet's delay, and explains how it prepared a new patch and disk image to rectify the problem of Qu'ran verses in one of the game's songs -- and why Sony chose to do a full recall inst

Leigh Alexander, Contributor

October 20, 2008

1 Min Read
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Media Molecule says it's "shellshocked and gutted" at the recently-announced delay of its long-awaited LittleBigPlanet, recalled on the cusp of launch after it was discovered that a song in the game contained verses from the Qu'ran. "Obviously MM and Sony together took this very seriously. LBP should be enjoyable by all," says the developer in a statement on its official website. Many Muslims consider the mixing of Qu'ran verses into a song to be an offense. Media Molecule explains that "within 12 hours" of learning of the issue it prepared a day-zero patch and readied a new disk image -- but Sony decided that "the right thing to do," considering consumers that may lack internet access, was to fully replace assisting disks. Today Sony announced a new European release date for the game, promising LBP in stores "no later than" November 3; the title releases in the U.S. on October 27th. Apologizing to excited would-be consumers, Media Molecule says it, too, will continue to support the game. "We know that LBP will be something that you can enjoy for a long time to come, when all of this is forgotten and all that remains are thousands of incredible levels and creations to play, create and share."

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About the Author

Leigh Alexander

Contributor

Leigh Alexander is Editor At Large for Gamasutra and the site's former News Director. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Variety, Slate, Paste, Kill Screen, GamePro and numerous other publications. She also blogs regularly about gaming and internet culture at her Sexy Videogameland site. [NOTE: Edited 10/02/2014, this feature-linked bio was outdated.]

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