Ubisoft’s DS Scrabble: 2007 Edition contains questionable language for kids, including “tits” and “f*ckers,” that one British mom discourages parents from supporting.
Thirty-six year-old Tonya Carrington bought her eight year-old son Ethan the innocent digital board-game conversion of Scrabble only to discover that its vocabulary was more vulgar than expected.
Carrington tested the game herself and was appalled when her computer opponent tried to use “tits” as an answer with the definition “a garden bird” or “an informal word for female breasts.” Soon she found “f*ckers” (“a slang word for chavs”) and toke (“a draw on a cannabis cigarette”) to also be featured.
“Ethan is doing really well with English at school, so I decided to get this to help boost his vocabulary – but obviously not like that,” said the concerned mother.
She continued, “The worst thing is that there’s an age rating of 3+ on the box and no advisory warning about adult language on the packaging at all. It’s disgraceful. Scrabble is a game for families, but I’ve had to ban Ethan from playing this version because of the horrible words it uses. It’s such a shame for him, because he loves Scrabble.”
A Ubisoft spokesperson stated, “We are sorry the game has caused concern, but it includes a ‘junior’ option that stops it using unusual or offensive words.”
Carrington replied, “I read the booklet that came with it, and there was no mention of a junior version. It should be made much clearer.”
The Ubisoft representative might’ve meant the Junior Scrabble 2007 edition which was attacked last year for similar lesbian references in its gameplay. A note for any publisher offering potentially child-friendly titles: a quick run-through should be able to spot any of these potential adult issues if a mother can discover it and turn it into a potential public relations nightmare.
Source: Daily Mail
Published: Dec 8, 2008 10:35 pm