EA defends itself against thousands of anti-gay letters

EA is standing up for same sex relationships in games despite outrage from some
Electronic Arts

www.ea.com

EA has been inundated in recent weeks with whatGamesIndustry International understands to be "several thousand" letters and emails protesting the inclusion of same sex or LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) content in its video games, most notably Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. When asked, EA confirmed that this has indeed been occurring, and unsurprisingly, EA has no plans to censor any of its games.
"Every one of EA's games includes ESRB content descriptors so it's hard to believe anyone is surprised by the content. This isn't about protecting children, it's about political harassment," Jeff Brown, VP of corporate communications told us.
The letters have been directed to EA's executive team, creative heads, its board of directors and just about anyone at a high level. Many of them threaten to boycott EA's titles if the publisher refuses to remove same-sex relationship content.
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The letters also infer that EA was pressured by LGBT groups to include homosexual content in its games, and that this content is somehow forced upon children, exposing them to LGBT themes. Of course, those of you reading this already know how ludicrous this is. The games are not for children, nor do they force LGBT content on a player - it's merely an option for gamers who wish to replicate their real-life sexual orientation.
Some of the letters also complain that EA is deliberately deleting posts against LGBT issues on its official forum, which is true when the comments happen to violate discussion rules on hate speech.
"Trying to rally the Americans around messages rooted in hate is a losing proposition"
Matt Kane, GLAAD

"EA has not been pressured by any groups to include LGBT characters in our games. However, we have met with LBGT groups and sponsored industry forums to discuss content and harassment of players in online forums. In short, we do put options for same-sex relationships in our games; we don't tolerate hate speech on our forums," Brown added.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ti-gay-letters