Little Big Planet release rows continue

IF IT WAS NOT bad enough that the cutesy platform game Little Big Planet was delayed because a soundtrack might possibly offend a minority of hardline Muslims, it now seems that the Sony’s moderation has got players miffed.

The key selling point of the PlayStation 3 game is that punters can share their own levels over the PlayStation Network.

Users have spent days building custom worlds, including tributes to classic games and characters such as Final Fantasy, Pac-Man, Batman, Sonic The Hedgehog, God Of War, Super Mario Bros and Indiana Jones.

However Sony has been going around and blocking such levels because they allegedly breach someone else's intellectual property. Apparently the moderation is so heavy-handed that even references to characters from other games are being censored without even telling users.

Levels are also being censored if there is any content that would be " unsuitable for users of all ages".

One user on the Sony forums said that his level was deleted because it included items related to Sonic The Hedgehog and Metal Gear Solid.

He couldn’t load load, copy, or move, his levels so lost all his will to play the game.

Another user had his level deleted because its name, Failure to Launch, was shared by a 2006 romantic comedy movie.

Game designer Media Molecule originally said players would be limited only by their imagination.

However, it has since said that it has had to become significantly more draconian, despite the fact that there does not seem to have been any word of legal threats from other game publishers.

Looks like there is proof that IP enforcement at this level really does stifle innovation. µ

L'Inq AP

theinquirer.net (c) 2010 Incisive Media