@GUNDAM-RX-78-2: If it was the people themselves who were rejecting the game and not buying it, then I would be fine with that. But I'm not fine with the government telling them what to do because it is against a religion. Obviously, I have no concept of what it is like to live in a regime as oppressive as that, and usually I would not pass judgment on other cultures, but is this kind of censorship in these Islamic theocracies that really pisses me off.

It just gets at the deeper issue that the people of these countries can be Muslim and do what they want, at the same time, and yet their leaders restrict them, as if all the Muslims living in the States, who are both adjusted to Western culture and also retaining their own, are not evidence enough that their people could handle something like God of War.

peAr_nectAr

@AleeYun: Hows about lets all laugh at the BANNED.

Witzbold

@黒天使: You know what's really funny? That gambling, horse-races, alcohol is still very big there in Saudi Arabia.. All of which don't agree with Islam, I don't get it..

@AleeYun: That's not exactly a good thing to say..

Katorok

@黒天使: Fair enough.

GLaDOS

Man thats kinda unfortunate, but then again I can kinda understand why they put bans on things.

Its going to take a lot longer Id say before they start to become more accepting of these sort of things.

Witzbold

@GLaDOS: i said it's strict than the other states , it's still no where as strict as Saudi Arabia , that's true

黒天使

Let's point at laugh at the primitive people. :) Videogames won't ruin your life or the world (except WoW). Get over it.

AleeYun

@黒天使: I have been all over the UAE. Dubai may be the centre of international activity but the belief that Sharjah somehow has a stricter moral and religious standard is wrong. If it did, you'd see the enforcement of the hijab (which you see in none of the emirates) and other public Islamic laws.

GLaDOS

@GLaDOS: exactly

黒天使

Again, there is no objection raised to the killing of Greek Gods. The objection has mostly to do with the nudity in the game.

GLaDOS

@GLaDOS: lol true but that describes Dubai i think , they are 7 states with varying degrees of strictness , sharjah being the most strict

黒天使

@GUNDAM-RX-78-2: Or... ya know... they could NOT stone them in the first place. I do my best to understand other cultures, but a human is a human. This is wrong.

On a related note, I am not for the death penalty and I'm for a punishment that fits the "crime".

Edge of Blade

@steliosco: They probably will, they'll just hide it from dad.

Krytha

when it comes to strict religious governments nothing comes as a surprise , i still remember when the Gulf countries tried to ban Pokemon for spreading the idea of evolution among kids (evolution is a no no in islam in case anyone is wondering lol) , now it's booming and even got arabic localization , governments eventually get over this stuff

黒天使

That's dishonest reporting (or at least biased reporting). No where in the article is there any objection to the killing of Greek Gods. You're saying they take offense to killing Greek Gods based on their description of the game, WHICH IS TRUE?

And you're judging the UAE based on this? It is one of the most liberal countries in the Middle East, especially if you're a non-Muslim. Alcohol is readily available and John Stewart aptly described it as the bastard child of Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia.

GLaDOS

@Xcite79: Calm down. Not every religious person is a suicide bomber.

There's a line between strictness and fanaticism. It might rub a little thin in spots sometimes, but it's there, regardless.

Fishballs

Puts australian weapon raping censorship into perspective

marleycat

I can kinda understand. Then, I'm reminded of how oppresive a theocracy or any state without enforced separation can be, and I realize my values set me against this, wholeheartedly.

Remember what they say about the road to hell and good intentions? And something about pavement?

Edge of Blade

@Xcite79: You know thats why I put ... kind of... in there. Ofcourse I dont completely understand, and I problably never will, ignorance is bliss, But dont you think its better the game be banned than have someone stoned to death?
Also read 黒天使's comment It makes alot more sense.

GUNDAM-RX-78-2

it's not the first game to get banned in the UAE though , CoD4 was banned if i recall correctly , as well as San Andreas if not mistaken

黒天使

@GUNDAM-RX-78-2: Get over it.

mgy

Heh, it's interesting how far people can take religion.

I know there are some faith heads out there that have forbidden their kids from having anything to do with Santa Clause because omnipitance (knowing if you've been good or bad, awake or asleep) is a power that only a god should have.
Oh well, major props for the UAE kids that put fun ahead of religion.

Sam_Lowry

LOL Reminds me of one of my cousins (7-9 yrs old, not sure) in the Philippines. His mom (I assume) bought him a Kratos figure, which is the most bloodthirsty figure I've ever seen :) . Afterward, I looked at their PS2 collection and sure enough God of War was there.

When I asked them whether they thought he was old enough to play it, they just shrugged.

yanipheonu

@GUNDAM-RX-78-2:

You understand? Do you also understand those that would blow themselves up? No, I don't think so. There is no logic here. It is a extremist thought and trying to control their country by the enforcement and beliefs of their religion. They don't want any influence outside their country. You have no idea.

Xcite79

@TOCATL: funny thing is the stuff that airs on tv there is beyond censoring LOL , you can see full nudity on the arabic Showtime channels anytime past 9pm hehehe

黒天使

@Dragonis: Sure it was. I totally believe you. uh-huh. coff. :D

Fishballs

@黒天使: Your cries fall upon deaf ears, I suggest leaving. I sense another Storm approaching.

GUNDAM-RX-78-2

@Fishballs:
That is true. And now that I think of it, thats what I meant to do in the first place....

^_^;;

Dragonis

i repeat , Sharjah has a VERY strict muslim government , this doesn't reflect the WHOLE of UAE , got harrassed by police for wearing a tank top on the street there once <_<;

黒天使

@I_Hate_This_Place: My sister pointed out an article the other day where the Sharia court in my country is considering the ability to press charges on non-Muslims if they get involved with a Muslim in a crime associated with Islam. That scares me to no end, I'll tell you what.

And my best friend is a girl who's also a Muslim, so that means I can't be hanging about with her alone unless I want the Sharia courts to bust my fat atheist ass.

Now look what's happened. There's religion all over my videogame site. No amount of detergent will get THAT out.

@Dragonis: No need for the correction, it could be a sarcastic "ftw", no?

Fishballs

I guess STARGATE is also banned there, cause in the show they also kill false gods many, many times, with bullets...

TOCATL

It's all make-beleive though, right?

DevCo

Wow logic much UAE?

Sorry, I forgot that Allah had a part time job as an ancient greek god. My bad. -_-

TheSmiterer

Just for the record... and I know that you guys don´t care for my oppinion eidther but I DON`T CARE. I´m sick of game politics.

Games are today for the educators minds what comics were a few years ago. "anyone who like comics will turn into a murderer etc etc" Well, FU.

Ban my ass.

Wyld

I can kind of understand. Yes the God is Greek, but that is not the issue here. Its the fact that the player is killing A God, thats just something you dont do.
Try and look at it from this prespective, You were raised your whole life believing something and then somebody just comes and tries to Destroy your beliefs. What would you do? What would you really do?

GUNDAM-RX-78-2

@Cchrist:

Theocracy, according to Dictionary.com
1. a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities.
2. a system of government by priests claiming a divine commission.
3. a commonwealth or state under such a form or system of government.

Havent you ever read the Dungeon Master's Guide?

Dragonis

@Snuffbox:
Exactly. I couldn't have said it better.

IntelSilver

i should note that Sharjah is the only one of the 7 emirates that has strict religion policies , they don't even allow selling alcohol when the neighboring dubai and ajman do it openly, in sharjah they once passed a law forbidding men from wearing skin revealing clothing n such , and you could get arrested if your caught with a woman you're not related to.

i think the GoW ban is because of the sexual content and language and not the "killing of gods" , they aren't the god muslims worship , it's just the fact that the game portrays human killing a "god" is too extreme for them i guess

黒天使

1) Be Atheist
2) Buy God of War anyway
3) ???
4) Profit

HayamaAkito

@IntelSilver:

That's what I was thinking. As a Muslim, I see nothing wrong with this game. In fact, I love the game and it was my favorite game for the PS2!

It's no different than learning about the Greek gods or those of any other ancient religion. It's not like the game commands you to worship Zeus.

Snuffbox

@ca$h:
@Dragonis:

Oh i see it's ok to make up words anyway so my comunistic shouldn't be too bad :P

Cchrist

I have to ask (as I cannot understand) why is the "I cannot see or hear of anyone having a belief different than my own" complex so incredibly powerful in people (true in all people and parts of the world, not just in the UAE)?

I wonder how long before game companies give up and hire localization teams for the fear mongering. One team localizes all the text and dialogue while one localizes the sensational "I played a videogame and it made me a murderer" stories.

NitrousO

Btw, I hate when the government decides whether we should watch/play something or not. Talk about freedom.

IntelSilver

Ahh... the joys of theocracy!

ca$h

...Jack? is that you?

GREY GECKO

@ph15h needs followers: Tetris is communistic. (is that a word?)

Cchrist

But Muslims are monotheist, so killing "gods" shouldn't bother them, no?

IntelSilver

@Dragonis:
Err, FTL.
Sorry...

Dragonis

Sharia Law, coming to your country soon.

I kid. This sucks for those who want to play it but can't. Epsecially considering the gods in the game have nothing to do with the god of Islam.

Oh, and if anyone is offended by my little joke, I emplore you to use your right to not be offended. I see plenty of anti-Christian jokes anytime the subject is brought up, so deal.

I_Hate_This_Place

Hilarity ensues. God bless video games; destroying the foundation of oppressive religious regimes one pixel at a time.

FrigidAir44

Thats right God of War you're a bad boy! You shouldn't kill gods!

Cchrist

Once more we see evidence that parental supervision has become an optional choice regardless of the culture.

Teelie

but gow3 is coming... :(
they wont play it

steliosco

Theocracy FTW.

I think that the govnerment should let people think for themselves. Would they disallow episodes of House because House is an atheist? I assume not beliving in God goes against Islamic teaching.

Dragonis

Kratos isn't killing their god, why would they be that perturbed. If we banned every game that conflicted with religious values, we'd only have tetris.

ph15h needs followers

In the United States, the killing of ancient Greek gods is hardly a reason to try and get a game banned, though I am surprised the topless women and sex scenes didn't have people picketing in droves.

Fixed.

Hmm, go pirates! Be subversive! Normally I'm against piracy, but I'm more against censorship. So if pirating a game is what it takes, I'm all for it in the circumstances.

Ghede

@peAr_nectAr: I agree. Banning something that people want because it is objectionable to the people who want is OXYMORONIC. . . Nay, it is simply moronic. The people want it, they don't object to it, so where does the government come off banning it? They find it threatening to their agenda as a government, most likely. It's not objectionable to those who choose to play it. I'm against governments banning things like this because it's really just a matter of eliminating freedoms, and I'll never support the decimation of basic freedom of choice.

Strange Bedfellows

@黒天使: Brokeback Mountain is a brilliant and beautiful film. I saw it in the theatre with a group of friends and the majority of the small audience were older women who also liked it. We discussed it with them afterwards. I don't recall how long it lasted in the theatre, but I do know that the film won some Academy Awards, though that doesn't speak anything for the public, those are voted on by the elite of the filmmaking industry.

Strange Bedfellows

Only a matter of time now until terrorism is blamed on video games.

We will see more "arab" outrage, or islam religion outrage, as this religion is going to struggle as hard as it can in order to retain control over which set of values dominates society.

Asbestos_Underwear

@Iceking5: to be honest the public does have a hand in things sometimes , if parents uproar against a agame with nudity the government will listen.
back when Brokeback Mountain hit cinemas i think it barely lasted a few days before it was removed from all theatres because the public thought it was against their religion and culture

黒天使

@ph15h needs followers:

Tetris has a cross shape, it will get banned too =P. No game is safe!

DigitalHero - My Brain Hurts

@Witzbold: Yeah, it can really seem that way. It's tough to tell immediately too because some people think in terms of cultural time lines and others prefer a schema that has more of a direct impact or current relevance which is fine too, just different.

Krytha

@Witzbold: anime craze is sweeping the arab world , but most the translated animes get screwed beyond belief in trying to adjust them to "arabic" standards (the recent One Piece comes to mind)

i wonder if we'll see a response from Sony , it has a good presence in the UAE heh

黒天使

@Fyren: Yeah but when it's the state that's banning the game, they're censoring the individual, and therefore forcing a culture onto the people. Either way, I'm just glad thst videogame censorship in North America is pretty lax.

Iceking5

@Krytha: Well if its 2 generations thats pretty long for us anyways.

I was speaking more on the grounds of unrealistic folks who just assume everything in the world is the same and why cant the UAE suddenly "adapt" to meet the "standards" they perceive for the world.

@黒天使: Yeah I hear you on that one. Which is why some of the more educated folks in history always have said govt + religion = no. Granted the 2 have something very in common which is having power over the people which is why I suppose the 2 are combined quite often. And what other better way to keep the people on your side by having the faith that they believe in under your own "banner". Still yet though yeah its kinda scary what can occur when the 2 mix.

This goes for any country that mixes religion with the government.

Yeah I did hear that like anime is kinda popular over in the UAE how true is that? Since Ive only heard rumors of it and nothing real too specific from folks who would be more "involved" with the gaming / anime culture there.

Witzbold

i figured since they believe there is "No God but Allah..." then they should have no problem with mythological gods?

ruba-dub-dub

Hmph. A LOT of Americans are just as bad as these Arabs. Frankly, I've had it with culture and organized religion. I'd ban it all if I could.

It's telling that whatever your beliefs or non-beliefs, Americans would sooner elect a former drug user or porn star than an atheist.

mariospants

@Fyren: Obviously, if people are going out of their way to play it, it is not objectionable to their culture. The problem is, the government is deciding precisely what their culture is. It is not the culture I object to; it is the government that controls this culture.

peAr_nectAr

I can't believe some of the posts blatantly attacking another culture.

Yes, I also do believe that videogames are far cry from the monster that is depicted in the mass media. However, if a game depicts or conveys a medium that is not justifiable to a culture's perspectives, let it be known and taken proper action to edit or ban as needed.

Most of us are so diluted in the way of "Americans", we do forget that there are some countries that hold their religion in the utomost importance.

Fyren

@Witzbold: I don't know if it will take that much longer. Yes, the power of culture is very large, but don't underestimate globalization either. A lot of the people who have had a taste of something they like probably resent not having access to it now, and those people are also likely the next generation who will inevitably be deciding what comes and goes within the culture. So I guess if you define "a lot longer" as 40 years, then yeah, I suppose. But my bet is that things get altered in no longer than two generations.

Krytha

@Witzbold: yeah it's kinda tough , but i don't see stuff like this ever getting better as long as the government is based on religion.
ex: last couple of years DB / DBZ was translated to arabic , but the show never passed to the juicy parts since they couldn't figure how to "modify" all that Death/Gods/Come from the dead stuff

people learn to live with it , and as someone said earlier , god bless the rampaging pirating in the UAE for allowing people to get access to this stuff hehehe

黒天使

@黒天使: You're right... but its not VERY strict if you ask me, and its not really that bad. Sorry to hear that you've encountered such experience but Saudi by far STRICT in such terms.
I live in UAE, Sharjah and I don't see the game being banned is ever going to stop people from buying it anyway.. It's not as bad as you guys think.

San Andreas was banned? I never knew.. the game was shit anyway. I could still buy COD4 if I wanted to, its not hard to find in stores also STEAM does its job. :>

k_dash

This stuff has been happening ever since modern technology and media started being introduced into a society with very primitive ideals. The shit will hit the fan and there's really nothing anybody can do about it except censor everything.

Also, lol@3D Beat 'Em Ups. Ninja Gaiden is the only game that does it right. I hope they know they're not missing anything.

Mr. Mastodon Farm

@IntelSilver:

Just what I was thinking. he's killing a heathen god anyway. if anything, he's doing them a favour.

Marasai

Is killing a person not against Islamic beliefs? Because I'm pretty sure there are a hell of a lot more games featuring killing people than there are of killing gods.

wicko

Hrm, muslims are against the killing of greek gods... you learn something new every day!

Oyn

i wonder what made them remember the game NOW lol , it's been out for ages and the PSP iteration and sequel have been out for a while too

some angry dad musta caught his son chocking the chicken to the minigame i guess hehehe

黒天使

@Krytha: Also another reason why I said its going to take a while for things to change is due to the fact that when in such situations with religious folks running things, the only way to get into power is by emulating those above you. So basically you cant really stand out and away from the crowd which is what would be necessary to change things. It will take generations over generations for things to change. I mean look at Japan for example, granted its not based off of religion but the way the govt thinks and does stuff is basically the same of how the previous person who is running things did it. Which is why this country is still so "backwards" in terms of globalizing and understanding the international market.

To cut it short "cookie cutters" are necessary to get a position of power.

Unless the people are actually willing to stand up for what they really believe in and would fight for the "new" person to get into a position of power, then again they still would be held back by the other old thinkers within the group and shoved off into some corner to do busy work.

Witzbold

@Fyren: "Most of us are so diluted in the way of "Americans", we do forget that there are some countries that hold their religion in the utomost importance."

My roommate is Iranian. Immigrated from Iran to America a few years back. Want to know what people think of theocracies there?

He says visit. If you can't visit... he put it to me this way: their country is a theocracy. But the people go out, drink, and party and even though all those activities are illegal.

The only people whom follow the religions really are the people whom are poor and uneducated or follow out of fear of punishment. Most jump at a chance to come to America to get away from it.

The necessity to pirate a game there is like the 'Boston book banning era' in colonial America: if its banned it means that either it must be good and something they should read because it makes people think, or follows popular culture or signs of change.

FrigidAir44

@Strange Bedfellows: yeah seen it :) ... gay arab here so i know the mentality of the arabic islamic culture against that movie lol

黒天使

@HayamaAkito:

That joke was pretty good in South Park, it was still pretty good when people started to use it properly in different situations, but yours is simply bad ...

Anyway, This story is quite stupid since Kratos isn't killing Allah (Is Allah their god ?). Who cares if he kills Greek gods, it's been proven with solid proof they don't exist, but other solid proof proves that all other actually believed gods exist and they all created the earth ...

Shteve

it's funny, cause I talked about this before on Kotaku.. The problem is not really Kratos killing Greek gods. It's cause Muslim education systems are so far up their own ass that they don't teach people about the Greek civilization or Norse methodology for example.. at least that others have views other than Ibrahim derivative religions.

So with all this ignorance about such topics.. The conspiracy theorists religious clerk kiss ups start lying bullshit around about how this game was designed to offend Muslims by killing gods, they spice it up also by mentioning destroying Mosques, etc, etc. This gets forwarded into the most retarded email chains and fools follow through with those false stories until they get it banned.

This happened to many games, CoD4, God of War, Command and Conquer, Pokémon is just to name a few.. and for those interested, you might be able to go to an Arabic web forum and just download God of War games with a fan made localization.

Hell, this will crack you up, according to one of those emails.. "Ash" means "I am Jewish", "Pikachu" means "I hate Muhammad". Thats just the frost toppings, Teaching children black arts of magic and evolution also was cited.. Dubbers had to completly rape any Anime following Pokemon's trend.. for example Digimon and I think Hunter X Hunter.

Plsk1n

The UAE sucks ass. Dubai wants to make there city into a thriving tourist town, but they arrest a fool for having half a grain of weed stuck to the bottom of his shoe. I knew some guys from Dubai and they were way cool, but man, I woulnd't want to live in a hard-ass state like that.

MrSatan

@黒天使: I'm a muslim myself, and I was getting the impression evolution WASN'T a no no in islam. Just that humans were sort of thrown in the mix later on. :P

Itchy (PSN: Kaizoku-ou)

@黒天使: Please please do some research before you say anything. The UAE is not a religious-based government, it is run federally by different princes in each state some far more liberal than the others. Dubai is different from Sharjah, for example and none of the regimes are like the religious government in Iran.

Soldrak

@Xcite79: Wow damn, way to go exaggerating things. Banning games and movies is hardly anything new and not at all unique to Sharjah.

The ignorance of some posters is frankly hilarious. This isn't the "country" of UAE banning God of War, it's the STATE of Sharjah within the UAE because the UAE is a federal country with autonomous states that each have separate laws. Xenophobes and country-bashers should at least do some research before they go off about so-and-so muslim country oppressing freedoms in an attempt to validate their own biases and hatred for everything un-American.

Lastly did most of you not get the gist of the article? The game is being sold freely DESPITE the so-called ban, which means it is a law in principle only, in practice the authorities turn a blind eye and it is taken with the none-seriousness it deserves.

Soldrak

@黒天使: They sound as much awful being dubbed in English too.. English subs all the way, this is going too offtopic.

k_dash

k_dash:
I am aware as well of UAE states system, which really works well for them to be honest and lifts a huge banner of soverignty and success of local governance. But what I am speaking about is how easily it is to mold the government decsion by having one mob who demand bans influnce their decsion. Greatly assisted by the fact that many are undereducated outside the topics their educators want them to know. UAE is leading the way into a great nation, I am not here to compare how ignorant is one country to another. I am only explaining the dynamics that caused the ban... which spans Sharjah states to other countries.. but not neighbouring states.

I actually think it's pretty stupid to ban them for such reasons instead of actually regulating the ESRB ratings into the market or at least educating parents about them.

Plsk1n

The Middle East could use more irreverent blasphemers.

Immutablyme

The killing of gods is a touchy subject?

Does being adversed to the killing of gods imply recognition that such a feat is indeed possible, not the mention the little issue of pluralizing the word?

Moonshadow101

@Plsk1n: They do this where I'm from too, I just read an e-mail regarding the Harry Potter author being a satanist and the books being manuals for witchcraft. Only this time, it's bat-crazy Christian sects forwarding the e-mails.

Soldrak

@Plsk1n: We are aware of these bullshit emails being spread, I'm a Muslim, I didn't even bother researching about all those lies, any human being could tell, only the extremists from any religion would react.
It's really sad how people just over exaggerate, thinking the country are being run by some Mullas, and whatnot.

This is the UAE I am talking about, unlike some of the ignorant neighboring countries.

k_dash

Doesn't surprise me at all.

KM91

@Plsk1n: Thanks for understanding, I know what you mean about how bad it sucks having the government being influenced by such mobs lol. But honestly it doesn't really bother us at all, it doens't make a difference.. it still works well for us, most of us are happy about it. There are many ways to get the game to your hands, and we won't get arrested for owning GOW copy anyway, same goes with COD4.

As you can see many of the posters here are getting the wrong image about UAE, making it sound like some dictatorship country from how much they're over exaggerating.. They're not banned because of the government, such games are banned because of the resident's complaint measures. isn't that something great to have in a country?
It's a game, big deal... there are tons of ways to get the game. It's not bad for us, it's just bad for Sony.

k_dash

@Snuffbox: uh more like youre killing them in horrible fashion.

devilhunterx

I am shocked... shocked to find that there is gambling happening here at Rik's!

teeth7

Doesn't matter...pirated games are really easy to get a hold of.

reddevil3

@I_Hate_This_Place:
It already has.

devilhunterx

for real? its just a game my... gosh!!!

for real though i'm catholic but damn i'm not that reilgion freak. i understand religion and all that but in this day and age some of the stuff the church says is just plain wrong. don't forget the inquisition. i just hope companys don't become sisses because in order to have freedom you have to fight for it legally or illegally (no not drugs but sumthing like this) censership will only give the gov more power

psgamer92

@Soldrak: Here in mexico the church tried to re-gain loyals with that harry potter thing, and now in mexico the catolics drop 15% wich is a lot considering that 10 years ago 98% ok the total population was catolic, it seems that youg people of mexico today dont care anymore about religion, maybe in 25 years the catolic church will be highly reduced in mexico...

TOCATL

@iby777: I salute you.

k_dash

@k_dash: lol kdash, you mistook me for an observer, while I Actually suffer the same, of course we can get the game eventually, it wouldn't matter for us at the moment, we just want to play the games. I just want to say that what really ticks me off is the justifications for such bans. For example, I got CoD4 mail ordered early on release so I manged to grab a copy before it got through to the customs to ban them, but I had to wait three months till my friends on XBL joined me in the game.. and they had to pay 3 times the price for the game. The problem here on the Saudi side is that you really don't know if the game was banned or not from the government sources, but the stores complain about it to you, the customer, which really leaves room for monopoly in the game prices, if they feel a game can be conterversial, they will cry wolf and say it was banned to gain extra profit.

Plsk1n

It's funny what some countries find offended and what others don't..

Like movies, in Germany they cut out violent & gore while in Saudi Arabia they cut out nudity & sex

iby777

I'm a Muslim and this makes no sense to me. Killing of greek gods brings a burst of outrage, but not topless women and sex scenes.

It's a religion based off of one god, why on earth do they care about greek gods. This is sad.

NightMystic

Oh no, here we go with another Muslim bashing comments section.

Well, actually I'm pleasantly surprised to see a lot of the commenters who AREN'T doing that. Nice.

The truth of it is, ignorance isn't just limited to Sharjah or anywhere in the Middle East. Most likely the only real specific objection for Muslims in this game is the nudity. Killing of Gods? That's absurd and ridiculous and has NOTHING to do with Islam.

But we see plenty of ignorance when it comes to games like Mass Effect right here in our own backyard. Don't need to go anywhere else to see it, really.

Spoony Bard

@Plsk1n: OK, this might be a different case in Saudi, its not really that bad over here in the UAE.. paying 3 times the price for the game? over here we would threaten the local shops ourselves if he tries to sell the game for a higher price tag like that.
By complaining to the authorities, since its being sold 'illegaly' or by just complaining about the shop selling pirated copies, since they are illegal over here too.
Ripping us off is not an option, unless they were original PAL games, which would cost ridiculously more, and UAE is PAL regioned.
I go for NTSC anyway.

k_dash

I daily go around killing mythical beings because I played God of War.

I should be locked away.

PirateThom

Smite them o mighty zeus for banning your game... well not really as you sort of hate kratos...

So wierd why should they care if you kill some ancient greek gods?

God, Allah, Budda, Christ bah! Dont even hold a religious candle to Dionysus, let alone Athene.

Masamuru123

I hate to say it, but if you in any way think a videogame can be "dangerous" I'm done listening to your argument.

Strangelove

oh, so wait, its okay to force your religious beliefs on the entire country?

since when is THAT okay?

fuckin IDIOTs.

joelface

Getting upset about killing ancient greek gods seems silly. If they were getting tweaky about the violence, topless women or whatever, I would understand. I would disagree with them, but I would at least understand where they're coming from.

ubiquitous

I'd like to see some kid, any religious backround, try to smite a god........

......... waiting is hard

AntiZERØ

Yeah, people might freaking try to kill gods after playing.

tehFluffz

I'm in the process of acquiring a copy of COD 4 (it is banned as well) here. From what I'm hearing there are a few shops where you get originals, still.

But Steam is always my final option.

Dontdrop

By the way, weren't the UAE a little concerned with part about his family's ashes coating his body?

AntiZERØ

Aren't the Pantheon gods false gods or idols anyways? The Old Testament talks of smashing the idols of pagans to wipe the lands clean of the pagan filth. Why would virtually killing pixelated pagan idols be any different? If there's anything to be upset about, it would be apotheosis, maybe. That seems pretty heretical, the idea of a man being able to become a God. I'm wagering that that, and the nudity and violence are the cause of the ban.

onikuwagata

I would have thought a game involving violent murder would be exactly in line with Islamic values.

Dag

@Dag: How do I report morons?

GLaDOS

Doesn't seem like most people even read the source article and fell in hook, line, and sinker into Kotaku's editorializing. THE ARTICLE DOES NOT MENTION ANY OFFENSE TO THE KILLING OF GREEK GODS.

Caps were used for giggles.

GLaDOS

@mcderek3000: @Dag:

Both those comments were uncalled for. Try to be mature in your responses.

Black Arts Viper

Don't get me started. There was a show that was trying to discuss violence in videogames and the impact it has on children and I can't begin to tell you how much it sounded like a fox news piece.

A friend of mine called in and tried to the topic from the gamers point of view but they dismissed him as some sort of addict.

Strange world we live in.

Black Arts Viper

Maybe when Kratos runs out of Greek Gods to kill, he will start going for Allah.

mcderek3000

The whole point of the ban is to protect kids from believing that they can defy and defeat a deity as if a deity is a vulnerable being. They have no rating system, piracy is rampant therefore kids could get a hold of this game.

Us adults can think for ourselves but kids would believe anything because they're.. Well, kids.

lamusiqa

" I was shocked to see how much it contradicted Islamic values,"

Yeah, because Zeus, Ares, The Moirae ,Krakens, Perseus-Icarus-Theseus and such are very important islamic figures...

Just which version of Qur-an are these guys reading?

Rolanthas

Remember, when you invent enough rules, EVERYONE is a criminal. But here's the half-time score.

Advocating the the freedom of choice:
Games: 1
Religion combined with politics: 0

(I tried to word this as carefully as I could, as not to offend anyone. Really.)

StartRunning

@Dag: /seriously, not a cool comment.

To be honest, it's a different belief/government to what I'm used to, I wouldn't like it but I'm in no position to criticise.

TearsandScreams

@Soldrak: i never said the UAE government was religion based , i said they vary in religion strictness , with sharjah being the strictest among them , i'm arab and lived in the UAE long enough to know what I'm talking about.

@Itchy (PSN: Kaizoku-ou): do a little research , islam does not condone evolution , in islam , like Christianity , god created each life form uniquely , they did not just sprout from evolutionary means.

黒天使

@Witzbold: anime has always been popular in middle east, its been popular for about 25 years. 90% of kids shows over there are anime. Thats what actually got me into anime in the first place.

Desertwolf

@Dag: Oh, awesome, you're bashing a religion you know nothing about.

Troll.

Spoony Bard

I bet they had no problems with Manhunt though right?

Altima NEO

lovely Dag, i bet you're an informed scholar who knows what Islam is about. maybe its time to cut down on how much Faux News ur watching.

asTer0id

Dammit, Im late again...

Anyways, you can still get it here fairly easily, even the legal version...

As For "Corrupting Islamic values", i disagree. ITS A GAME FFS !!! THey use that Islamic values for blocking sites aswell, not only p0rno, but warez and also Flickr, and other sites, [suc as israeli sites,and sites critical of their rule] which most of you readers have free access to. They should let the individuals choose what content to access.

HOwever most of us have our ways of bypassing their blocks...

*cough ULTRASURF *COUGH*....

Dude From Dubai

We can't have tetris, It suggests terrorism by blowing up established blocks. If you think about it, your job in tetris is to destroy!

Draftbaboon

@NightMystic: like a lot commenters from the UAE and other middle eastern countries stated previously, the game didnt really get banned for "killing gods", but more because of the sex scenes and nudity which is an absolute no-no in middle eastern countries.

If you would read the original article it sounds like that as well, but the kotaku article seems to have taken the wrong idea and emphasized it.

9a3eedi

I'm glad to see some posts from guys with experience in the UAE and Sharjah itself with informative comments.
I find it amazing how many other people are quick to comment on an area and culture they know very little about though.
Still, it's always funny to see which stereotypes are in fashion with the proles this month

Funk-Defunct

@Plsk1n: Gaming in the UAE isn't really "official" stuff, so ESRB and other things which are mainly American aren't taken into account there. Most games in there are imported as-is. A good example would be that while the UAE is a PAL country, everybody buys NTSC consoles and games because it simply is more convenient :P

Also if you notice there isn't really a "Nintendo of UAE" or something like that, so non-official.

And having the government taking action by having a big percentage of people complaining about it.. it sounds a lot like democracy doesn't it? Except that the government has a say on the matter.

9a3eedi

@Plsk1n

I find you very ignorant, why do you think western way of education is the only/right way? You believe that Columbus first found the New World, while their teachings say they had trading with the natives for decades before Europeans arriving there, why do you think Greek civilization or Norse methodology should matter to them? When no one can clearly prove its real. I can rant on but its off the topic. You shouldn't be so self centered.

Lets-game

@Plsk1n: I find your comment funny, because I studied in the UAE my whole life and we learnt everything there is to know about the ancient greeks, rome, and the rest.

As for the email forwards, well, they should be treated as such. Pure bullshit. A lot of people know that its bullshit and simply delete it, but some people dont and spread it anyway. It would happen everywhere anyway. Taking advantage of certain issues that happen in certain areas allows things like this to thrive. And I know this isn't specific to middle-eastern states either. It probably happens in western countries as well.

As for CoD4 and Command and Conquer getting banned, well if you're going to be selling a game to people, where those people feel that the game mocks them, then obviously people are going to complain. If you notice these games are all taking place in some random Middle East, denoting stereotypes that Arabs are all crazy people who want to kill all Americans when in fact they're not.

9a3eedi

@黒天使: It's not because of evolution that gulf countries tried to ban Pokemon. It has nothing to do with it. The fact is that when poekmon came out and kids naturally became obsessed with it, parents were getting concerned, so they started circulating rumors about how it is a Zionist regime (and you know the stance of anything "zionist" in arab countries) to get kids to stay away from it. Ridiculous, but worked to some extent.

It was never banned however, except in Saudi, but Saudi is a different matter.

9a3eedi

You guys fail to see the fact that they aren't us, they have different view on this world. Islamic religion is very peaceful and spiritual. For us it might seem completely the opposite and "barbaric" because of the media brainwashing us.

Islam is the youngest religion,discovered 600years after Christianity(33% world population) has around 1.3b believers(24% world population) and at this day the fastest growing. You can say what ever you want but we(Christians) are more violent and bloodthirsty in the world.killing over 100mil human beings past -+100years, ww1(20mil),ww2(55mil),Vietnam(4mil),eradication of indians,Belgium-Congo(3 mil)(im belgian) Soviet revolution(5 mil),Soviet Union vs Ukraine(10 mil),Stalin's purges(13 mil),the Soviet Union Afghanistan (1.3 mil),US afhgan/Irak still killing. listed the biggest conflicts all caused by us. and still we look at suicide bombers and 9/11 as its such a abnormality while US nuclair bombs cities. I really fail to see people blaming anything on Islam, so maybe what for us seems normal they see it as cruel, bad and evil? This relates to games as well.

Lets-game

Wow. The article totally misses the point of the whole ban.

I am from the UAE, so I can directly comment on this. The reason why the game got banned in Sharjah isn't because of the "killing of gods" that Muslims don't even believe in anyway, it's because of the nudity and sex scenes. And that wasn't done because the government forced it, as the article clearly states that they only banned it after residents complained about it being sold. After all the residents find it offensive themselves.

Also I would like to say that Sharjah is the only state in the UAE which enforces the Shariah properly to some extent (though its not as strict as other countries like Saudi). The rest of the UAE states are pretty laxed. Just because the state banned it doesn't mean other states did.

Some people just do not get that there are other cultures out there who find this sort of thing innappropriate, and think that their own culture is the culture that should encompass the world.

In fact, the reality is that a lot of residents of the UAE feel that the government is becoming a bit too relaxed on certain issues such as Alcohol, and that they are catering to tourists more than they are catering to the residents and locals themselves.

9a3eedi

I'm not certain if everyone is going to the article so I'm posting it even though it probably won't increase the amount of readers that greatly. :(

Crackdown against banned videogame

By Mariam M. Al Serkaland Wafa Issa, Staff Reporters
Published: April 17, 2008, 00:15

Sharjah: Sharjah municipality has launched a crackdown against the distribution of a controversial video game which has been banned.

Several residents complained about the game as it contains material offensive to religion, values and social norms.

The 18-rated video game God of War is based on Greek mythology that encourages players to kill different "gods" to reach the next level of the game. It contained sexual scenes.

A UAE national said he was one of the people who was shocked to discover that the game was distributed in commercial areas, including the Central Souq, Al Rolla and sports shops in Nuammiya. "I knew that it was banned, but many of my friends were able to buy pirated copies from Dh5 to Dh10. I was shocked to see how much it contradicted Islamic values," said Khalid Bin Deemas, adding that it was dangerous as the video game was popular among children.

The permanent fatwa committee has instructed all concerned government departments to forbid the sale of such games and to confiscate them.

A Sharjah Municipality official confirmed that they continue to confiscate all video games that contain language and scenes that offend the religion, values and traditions of the country, including God of War. The games were confiscated during recent inspections.

Have Your Say
Have you noticed increased bad behaviour in a child that could be attributed to violent video games? Tell us about it. Are there enough regulations to check the sale of video games to minors? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com

GrrArgh

I am not certain if everyone has gone to the source material so I'll just post it on the forum even though the amount of readers may not increase that greatly. :(

Crackdown against banned videogame

By Mariam M. Al Serkaland Wafa Issa, Staff Reporters
Published: April 17, 2008, 00:15

Sharjah: Sharjah municipality has launched a crackdown against the distribution of a controversial video game which has been banned.

Several residents complained about the game as it contains material offensive to religion, values and social norms.

The 18-rated video game God of War is based on Greek mythology that encourages players to kill different "gods" to reach the next level of the game. It contained sexual scenes.

A UAE national said he was one of the people who was shocked to discover that the game was distributed in commercial areas, including the Central Souq, Al Rolla and sports shops in Nuammiya. "I knew that it was banned, but many of my friends were able to buy pirated copies from Dh5 to Dh10. I was shocked to see how much it contradicted Islamic values," said Khalid Bin Deemas, adding that it was dangerous as the video game was popular among children.

The permanent fatwa committee has instructed all concerned government departments to forbid the sale of such games and to confiscate them.

A Sharjah Municipality official confirmed that they continue to confiscate all video games that contain language and scenes that offend the religion, values and traditions of the country, including God of War. The games were confiscated during recent inspections.

Have Your Say
Have you noticed increased bad behaviour in a child that could be attributed to violent video games? Tell us about it. Are there enough regulations to check the sale of video games to minors? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com

GrrArgh

I find it odd that the game goes as they say "contradicted Islamic values" when the Greek Mythology has been around a bit longer.

StealthMaster86