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Moo! India Fallout 3 canceled by Microsoft due to "cultural insensitivities"; Brahmin to blame?

Posted Oct 22, 2008 at 5:51PM EST by Mabie A.

Listed in: PS3, Xbox 360 Tags: Bethesda, India, Microsoft, Sony

Looks like Sony isn't the only gaming company that's feeling a tad too careful with hurting cultural sensitivities via their games. Microsoft too is being reported as pulling out one of its banner titles due to cultural sensitivities.

The Xbox 360 version of Bethesda's Fallout 3 was originally slated for an October 28 release, with Microsoft being the assigned distributor for the game. However, it's been announced by Microsoft India today that the game won't be coming to the land of spice and everything nice any longer.

According to their official statement:

Microsoft constantly endeavors to bring the best games to Indian consumers in sync with their international release. However, in light of cultural sensitivities in India, we have made the business decision not to bring Fallout 3 into the country.

Now we're not too sure what it is in the game that would make it "culturally insensitive" to Indian gamers - we doubt it's the drug content, though. GTA IV is also distributed in the area and this apparently is not cause for a game's pullout.

So we've been throwing around our ideas here at the humble QJ offices. Not that we're nosy (okay, so we are, actually), but it really is quite curious to have a big anticipated game like Fallout 3 suddenly pulled out from a territory without specifics this close to the release date. And voila. We remembered that in the original Fallout game, there's this creature called the Brahmin, a two-headed cow mutated by radiation.

If you are not that familiar with Indian culture, cows are considered sacred animals to them because they are believed to be vehicles of several deities. Kamadhenu, for example, is a wish-fulfilling cow, according to Hindu mythologies.

Of course we're only theorizing here. It could be anybody's guess, really. But given this tangent, it's pretty feasible, don't you think? What it does show is that gaming giants (spearheaded by the giants, no less) are beginning to tread more carefully into territories that are beyond their own.

Hopefully, though, this won't keep them from creating games that are progressive. We don't want them getting all too uptight and perpetually walking on non-existent eggshells. Cause you know, we can always get those at Easter.

The PlayStation 3 and PC versions of Fallout 3 were never slated for an Indian release.

Related Fallout 3 Articles:

Via Gaming Indians

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Seriously. Microsoft does know that "Indian" people living in "India" eat cows right? Not all of them. Not talking about the people that think it's sacred or whatever. Talking about the ones that don't. Like all the millions of Muslims living there and many Hindus as well. Microsoft does realize that they slaughter and eat the cows every day?

How dumb can you be?

# status quo — Guest 2008-10-22 19:20

yes, that's correct. many ethnic communities do eat beef in India, and of course, as well as non-Brahmin Indian communities (Roman Catholics, Anglo-Indians too, for example).

that's why it's just a guess we're positing. it's not entirely a wild guess, imo, seeing as how the act of slaughtering cows is still banned in several states as it is offensive to some Hindus.

essentially, this boils down to two things: 1) guess: it's the mutated cows that caused the cancellation of release, and 2) fact: there still remain some Hindu sectors that recognize cows as holy and thus should be afforded respect.

so i think ms just chose to take the safer route rather than suffer from a backlash later on.

# Ugh. — Sinborn 2008-10-22 20:00

A bit of dystopian iconoclasm adds flavor when the bombs have been dropping, but I guess listening to PR about how it can potentially offend someone is clearly more important than that. Granted, it's smart in the business sense, but it reeks of classic cowardice.

Put a s*****ful of cement in your coffee and toughen-the-*****-up, MS. That's what Troika would have done, and no, that's not why they're dead either.

# Hmmm? — CHUCKINGROCKSATSPACESHIPS 2008-10-22 23:37

My local AM/PM minute mart sales hamburgers and the place is owned by Indians! I never gave it much though what is actually in the burgers. Yikes! I hope it's not rat or something!

# ... — MADMAN-_-zZ 2008-10-23 01:32

maybe because LittleBigPlanet got so much (News) free advertising for their cultural pull out Microsoft tried the same thing with whatever they could think of (cows) for the advertising that they wish they had, this only came up now because of littlebigplanet , why else would they have only thought about this now...

# Yeah — Datnizzle 2008-10-23 04:32

The reaction to that delay was so overwhelmingly positive, why wouldn't M$ want a piece of the action?

# cha — hush404 2008-10-23 04:33

Jump on the band wagon and all is good eh?

# LOL — emcp 2008-10-23 05:38

lol microsoft is probably wanting the press, but then again theyre pulling out of a huge territory the gain maybe me smaller than the loss, unles next month they make a statement fallout 3 is now coming to india

anyway couldnt help but point this out

"MYTHologies"

also cows are killing the world

# I just so happen to be indian — PR Disaster 2008-10-23 17:11

And I can back this article very well. People in India worship cows. Period. Don't believe me? Look up Christian persecution in India. Supposedly someone had cut a cow with a knife, and now the entire Hindu population has raised an outcry. On a worldwide stage, this happens to be a small problem, BUT IT IS NOT. Take some beef to a Jain or revered Hindu house, and a mob will form, no doubts. Don't be surprised if the police join the mob.

Enlighten yourself.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman_cattle

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism

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Moo! India Fallout 3 canceled by Microsoft due to "cultural insensitivities"; Brahmin to blame?

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