Sony: LBP delay was about 'respect'

UK MD says it was the 'right move', apologises to fans.

The LittleBigPlanet delay was about "respect", Sony has said.

Speaking to VideoGamer.com at the Games 3.0 conference in London earlier this week, Sony Computer Entertainment UK managing director Ray Maguire said that the decision to delay the release of the Media Molecule developed game was the "right move".

LittleBigPlanet, which will be released in the UK on November 5, has suffered a torrid time in the run up to its release. Last week it was recalled after Sony learnt that one of the background music tracks licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Qur'an.

And earlier this week Media Molecule announced it was turning its servers off to fix glitching issues some players had reported.

Maguire told VideoGamer.com that the delay was "disruptive in terms of marketing plans and getting things sorted... we had to shift some TV", and added: "In the end I think for those people who have been waiting for the product it's a frustration. It's only a couple of weeks of a frustration but nevertheless it's a frustration. You can do nothing other than say, 'sorry about that'. And I hope the wait is worth it, and I believe it will be."

When asked if Sony considered releasing the game despite the fact that it contained expressions from the Qur'an, Maguire replied: "I just think it's about respect. We weren't to know that a product (the track removed from the soundtrack) that's been in the marketplace since 2006 by a Grammy award-winning artist would have this kind of effect. But I don't want to see anyone upset by something that we've done and we have to put it right so we did put it right. I think it was the right move."

Do you think it was the right move? Let us know in the comments section below.