Singapore bans Mass Effect

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 due to the much publicised love scene that can occur between a female human--if the main character is set up as female--and 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 they are mono-gendered.

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).

To tell the truth I don't really care for Mass Effect but this is just bull even if it isn't America. The Target in America pulled this same stunt with Manhunt 2 and I for one say this is BULL****. Im not trying to bad mouth all the movies in the world but how the hell are you gonna lets somebody buy the Saw Trilogy out of Target but ban pixelated games in the same store the world is a crazy, unfair world to live in and if your a gamer your getting the short stick out of the bundle :(

PS:Watch when Grand Theft Auto comes out people are gonna try to get that banned too.

First, isn't singapore one of those nations with the man-woman brothels that navy men would come home with stories about? If so why ban a game for questionable sex scenes?  

I am a bit confused about the female apperance but the designation means little to the race, are they all 'female' or what? And if the alien in question is not female how exactly does a love scene work? The other question to ask is how graphic is the love scene? Is it god of war graphic? Eyes wide shut graphic? Bert and Ernie graphic? Without knowing that its impossible to say if it was banned for graphic scenes of sexuality possibly being promoted to kids or if its because of some moralistic stance on same sex relations.

"PS:Watch when Grand Theft Auto comes out people are gonna try to get that banned too. " Gonna? Isn't Jack Thompson already trying to ban it?

I don't know what a man-woman brothel is, as I have never heard of that. However, Singapore is widely known for having much more economic freedom than most of the world and at the same time, less social freedom than the average country. The nations leaders are widely known as control freaks when it comes to personal choices and this is in no way a surprise. Lots of things are banned in Singapore and this is just one more thing to add to the list.

Singapore has one of the more opressive, restrictive forms of government out there.

There are heavy fines for doing almost anything. Magazines like Playboy are banned, but so are magazines like Cosmopolitan and I think Maxim.

So seeing ME get banned isn't very odd.

Probably the latter with a heavy dose of "I don't care if you want to call it a talking ardvark, it's still a woman" mentality.

didn't Singapore cane some punk American teenager, good for them
Singapore is a strict society morally and frankly they are entitled to be,
and seriously every country can set it's own standards for what they think is acceptable material for entertainment,
just because you think something is okay doesn't mean other people have and when you think they should be forced to accept what you deem acceptable your a hypocrit as I don't see Singapore officials attempting to ban the game in the rest of the world
tolerance is a 2 way street, leave them be.

And I'd agree. For all their restrictions, Singapore is one of the most beautiful city-states in the world (if not, the). It also has a very low crude death rate, a high literacy rate, and is ranked as one of (if not the) best economies in the world.

......


Still shouldn't ban Mass Effect though ;-\

But it does prove that if your not too marxist about some things, it always isn't too bad (even if it is orwellian)

Tolerance is fine and dandy, but when a country does not respect basic human rights, it is perfectly acceptable to stand against its policies. Not only acceptable, but the noble and morally correct thing to do.

Even if a society is utopian (which it sounds woulf describe Singapore fairly well.) The problem with utopian societies is that they do not last, and a utopian society that does not support basic human rights (fair and speedy trials, some form of representative government, religious freedom, freedoms of speech and of the press) can descend from utopia to dystopia faster than Sonic running through a loop.

 Unless Hobbes' was right.  and banning the sale of some piece of entertianment isn't exactly an issue what so ever and should be equated to real human rights abuses, banning some stupid game isn't anything 

frankly Singapore  is a well educated, literate society, and frankly they're country isn't the bottom of the barrel and frankly it is more of strict than anything close oppressive

This isn't a delay. I have a bigger problem with Germany not allowing Dead Rising. This is more expected.