BioWare’s Mass Effect banned in Singapore due to offensive content

It looks like it’s official – the strict city-state of Singapore has added yet another ban to its list of prohibited games to reach the country. BioWare‘s Mass Effect, a Mature rated game based on the ESRB for the Xbox 360 won’t be getting a release in Singapore due to its offensive content according to a representative from the local Board of Film Censors.

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It looks like it’s official – the strict city-state of Singapore has added yet another ban to its list of prohibited games to reach the country. BioWare‘s Mass Effect, a Mature rated game based on the ESRB for the Xbox 360 won’t be getting a release in Singapore due to its offensive content according to a representative from the local Board of Film Censors.

The deputy director specifically cited the love scene between the human and alien female characters in the game and as such the game has been disallowed. The official also stated that video games in Singapore cannot “feature exploitative or gratuitous sex and violence, or denigrate any race or religion.”

Microsoft, the publishers of the game, respected Singapore’s media organization and its decision. In a response email sent to AFP, Microsoft said: “We strictly adhere to the laws, regulations and norms of the markets we operate in”.

Mass Effect joins the ranks of God of War II and The Darkness as one of the games which did not reach Singapore soil due to their infraction to the media censor’s regulations. However, the Media Development Authority will be introducing a new video game classification system next year which might possibly allow the release of titles such as Mass Effect to be passed and classified properly.