i stand by the post. We’re in agreement that radical fringes should be kept to the fringes. Christians face the same problem. We’re judged by others based on the actions and opinions of very vocal, very crazy minorities. Such a shame.

(Oddly enough, when considering world religions, i never hear much about radical Hindus. i’m sure they exist :)

i hear your point about Rock Band being a party game. i’m not opposed to “Man in the Box” being made available via DLC – i just question whether it was a good choice for the main game. And i don’t think that the DLC songs should be censored. They should put a content warning on DLC, and if you want to download the uncensored version of Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer”, why not? i don’t have to listen to it.

And if i were a fan, i’d probably be disappointed at paing extra money and downloading a song to find that it was censored.

i noticed that in Rock Band: The Beatles, they’ve changed the proviso at the beginning of the game to read “Online interactions AND downloadable content not rated by the ESRB” (emphasis mine). Obviously, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Beatles song with overtly questionable content (“Run For Your Life”?). i just wonder if they’re doing this so that going forward, they can offer original, uncensored songs across the Rock Band platform?

- Ryan

I think that something you’re not taking into consideration regarding the decision to remove the content is that Little Big Planet was intended to be a game everyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or religion could enjoy. A song like “Man in the Box” wouldn’t be found in Little Big Planet either. I know it’s a bit ridiculous, especially since it’s in Somalian rather than Arabic, but they were probably trying to keep the game devoid of content that would possibly cause any tension between players. If the content were actually offensive to Muslims (which is unlikely, since it’s in Somalian, and sung by a devout Muslim), and a Christian and Muslim were playing together, it would be unreasonable to mute the game.

I understand what you’re saying about Rock Band 2′s music selection not being censored, and agree that there should not be a double standard. The radical/violent Muslims in some areas are a HUGE disgrace and embarrassment to all Muslims everywhere. I personally do not think it’s right for “Man in the Box” to be in Rock Band 2, since it’s intended to be a party game to bring people together, and it would be alienating to a true practicing Christian to be forced to either stop playing or listen to something that makes them feel uncomfortable, or since it’s Rock Band, listening to A FRIEND singing it next to you. It just seems inappropriate for a party game, to me. I suppose they decided it was more important to include as many popular rock songs as possible than keep their game accessible.

I feel like I’m mostly rambling, and I’m unsure this comment will even be seen, since it’s in response to something written almost a year ago. I agree with the second of your concluding ideas. Extremist Muslims should not be allowed to shape the way the civilized world operates. I find it hard to even consider these people true Muslims at all, as they take a culture of ignorance and hatred and call it their religion, when the two are separate in reality. Most of the Muslims I know are some of the most peaceful people I’ve met. These violent people need to grow up and learn that even if they throw a temper tantrum, they won’t get their way.