Censors lift ban on sci-fi game with same-sex scene

Nov 17, 2007, 2:28 GMT

Singapore - Censors have lifted a ban on an Xbox video game for buyers 18 and older, reversing an earlier decision to impose a total ban over sex scenes between a woman and a female alien, news reports said Saturday.

The role-playing space adventure from Microsoft will be sold with an M-18 label, the first time a console or computer game has been issued a rating in the city-state.

In a statement published in The Straits Times, Singapore's Board of Film Censors (BFC) said it would 'selectively use games ratings to enable highly anticipated games to be launched in Singapore' before an official ratings system was due to take effect in January.

A video-game classification system will provide more choice for adults while protecting youths, the BFC said.

The ban was announced last week because of a scene depicting the human-alien couple in a brief love scene, which ends with the alien saying, 'By the Gods, that was incredible, Commander.'

Homosexual acts are criminal in Singapore and rarely depicted in films or other works.

The earlier ban triggered a furore among gamers in the city-state and internationally. Singapore was the only country to ban the game ahead of its release.

Gamers and Microsoft welcomed the decision to rate and release Mass Effect.

'We will continue to work with MDA on promoting responsible gaming here,' said Ian Tan, Xbox 360 marketing communications manager for South-East Asia.

Microsoft submitted Mass Effect last week to the MDA as part of a routine procedure to get the game distributed.