By Kris Graft
Sony has decided to delay the worldwide release of the highly-anticipated PS3 title LittleBigPlanet after a user realized an in-game song recited words from the Qur'an.
"During the review process prior to the release of LittleBigPlanet, it has been brought to our attention that one of the background music tracks licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Qur’an," read a statement from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
"We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologize for any offense that this may have caused."
The game was slated to hit North America on October 21, and other territories soon after.
The song in question is Tapha Niang by Malian kora player Toumani Diabate, an artist described as a "devout Muslim" in Internet reports. A sample can be heard here (.wav).
Lyrics that Sony is paying close attention to are "kollo nafsin tha'iqatol mawt," meaning "Every soul shall have the taste of death"; and "kollo man alaiha fan," meaning "All that is on earth will perish," according to poster Solid_08 on SCEE's PlayStation message boards. (The thread has since been removed.)
The poster commented purportedly on behalf of other Muslim gamers, saying "...We Muslims consider the mixing of music and words from our Holy Quran deeply offending..."
Reports are claiming that Sony is actually recalling copies of LittleBigPlanet from retailers that already have their shipments. We've contacted SCEA to confirm the game's status in North America.
[Update] Patrick Seybold with SCEA stated in a post on the official PlayStation blog that the game will ship to retail in North America on October 27.
