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In a move that is stirring a controversy in gaming circles, the much anticipated role-playing game Dragon Age: Inquisition has been pulled from the Indian market even before its release by EA Games due to the country’s obscenity laws.
In an official statement on a forum on EA’s site, the company said:
In order to avoid a breach of local content laws, Electronic Arts has withdrawn Dragon Age: Inquisition from sale in India. Unfortunately, that means we’re unable to fulfil your Origin order.
· All affected purchases for Dragon Age: Inquisition will be refunded. This applies regardless of payment method or date of purchase.
· Dragon Age: Inquisition may still temporarily appear in your Origin library, but it will be removed before its launch date.
· Dragon Age: Inquisition may still temporarily appear in your Origin library, but it will be removed before its launch date.
The news broke on gaming forums following outrage within the gaming community in India. Many have argued that the reason of the move was due to the inclusion of homosexual sex scenes in the game.
The game has received a ‘MATURE’ content rating by The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) which states, “Content is generally suitable for ages 17 and up. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.”
In the past, many games containing explicit content have been sold in the country. Rockstar Games has a huge fan base in India for their extremely popular, and controversial, Grand Theft Auto. Of course, GTA has always been criticized for its content, not just in India but also in the West. Games like God Of War which include adult content have also been hugely popular in India.
Milestone Interactive, the India distributor for Dragon Age: Inquisition, declined to comment, only saying that it hasn’t yet received any official communication from EA on the issue.
However, according to NDTV, Milestone Interactive has said, “… this refers to the game's homosexual sex scenes. Rather than face the wrath of some of India's more prudish segments of society, EA have pre-emptively decided to make the game unavailable in India, without confirming or commenting on which local laws were being breached.”
This move again highlights the issue censorship of content in games ranging from objectification of women to glorification of crime and violence and the hypocrisy of the gaming Industry which maintains indifference on such issues.
EA Game’s apprehension regarding India’s obscenity laws, though, seems bizarre considering the kind of games with explicit content that have released without a hitch. By making an impulsive descision in pulling the sales of the game the move is likely to escalate piracy sales of the game.
