By Tom Ivan
The president of the Universal Society of Hinduism has called on Sony to withdraw newly released PS2 title Hanuman: Boy Warrior from sale in India.
The game, which was developed by Aurora Technologies and is playable in Hindi and English, released in India on March 25 as the first of a number of planned "regional language games” Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s Indian division views as key to spearheading continued growth in the country.
It achieved first day retailer sales of 10,000 copies, according to Atindriya Bose, SCE’s India country manager, but has drawn strong criticism from the Universal Society of Hinduism.
In a press release, the group’s president, Rajan Zed, said that the game “trivialises the highly revered deity of Hinduism” and called for its withdrawal from sale.
“Controlling and manipulating Lord Hanuman with a joystick/ button/keyboard/mouse was denigration. Lord Hanuman was not meant to be reduced to just a “character” in a video game to solidify company/products base in the growing economy of India.”
Hindu statesman Zed went on to compare the game to America's 10 Most Wanted, Bad Boys, Barbie, Jackass and Scooby Doo.
He also called for the formation of a national content rating organization for games in India, like the one that operates for the film industry.
