The Media Development Authority of Singapore, responsible for censoring film, television, radio and other forms of media in the nation, has reversed its decision to ban BioWare’s new RPG, Mass Effect.
The agency had originally decided that the inclusion of an alien lesbian sex scene in the game made the game unsuitable for Singaporean audiences and refused to allow its release. Singapore was the only country in the world to ban the game, and the decision caused a minor uproar among gamers, according to the Straits Times news website.
The Board of Film Censors has now issued a new statement, saying the game will be released with an M18 rating, and that it will selectively use movie ratings to “enable highly anticipated games to be launched in Singapore” until a full game classification system is in place in January.
“This will allow such games to enter the market with immediacy and give the industry and members of the public a better understanding of the benefits of the proposed games classification system,” the BFC said in a statement released today. Mass Effect is set for release on November 20 in North America, with a worldwide release following on November 22.
