PS3 ads banned in South Africa for being “violent”

South African authorities have recently barred Sony PlayStation 3 advertisers from exhibiting an ad that has a couple of PS3 units tagged with a line that reads “Stocks are limited. Things could get ugly.”

The authorities reasoned that the ad is a reference to past violent incidents related to gaming console launches in the US and Europe where muggings have led to injuries and fatalities.

Fans of the console and some blogs, however, argued that such incidents aren’t likely to happen because of the slow sales and relatively low demand of the product in the region.

This ban follows a long list of other game related bans, such as that of the public transportation ban on advertisements for the game Grand Theft Auto IV.

South African authorities have recently barred Sony PlayStation 3 advertisers from exhibiting an ad that has a couple of PS3 units tagged with a line that reads “Stocks are limited. Things could get ugly.”

The authorities reasoned that the ad is a reference to past violent incidents related to gaming console launches in the US and Europe where muggings have led to injuries and fatalities.

Fans of the console and some blogs, however, argued that such incidents aren’t likely to happen because of the slow sales and relatively low demand of the product in the region.

This ban follows a long list of other game related bans, such as that of the public transportation ban on advertisements for the game Grand Theft Auto IV.