EA defends same-sex romance in games

So Electronic Arts sucks at basic business ethics. That much we can more or less agree on. As far as basic human rights go, however, they at least seem to practice some semblance of common sense, and their support for LGBT groups is showing more and more lately.

It’s been recently revealed that EA has been receiving thousands of letters from homophobic, hyper Christian zealots protesting the inclusion of same-sex romantic relationship options in their games. Specifically, the targets are Bioware’s offerings, Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic, in which players have the option to take part in a relationship with a NPC of the same gender. Not only do these letters state that EA is somehow in the wrong for allowing these scenes to be included, they also claim that the company was pressured by LGBT groups to agree on the inclusion of homosexual characters. Which, as anyone with a working brain can tell, is a load of crock.

“Every one of EA’s games includes ESRB content descriptors so it’s hard to believe anyone is surprised by the content,” VP of corporate communications Jeff Brown said. “This isn’t about protecting children, it’s about political harassment.”

He went on to say, “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.”

With EA’s actions, they join the ranks of other large companies like Starbucks, who have recently announced their own support for marriage equality, and received a similar backlash from the crazy religious crowd. These guys tried to pass a “Dump Starbucks” petition that accrued over 25,000 signatures. Said backlash was also responded to by patrons supporting the company’s’ announcement, with over 600,000 people signing onto a “Thanks Starbucks” counter campaign.

So, major props to EA for sticking to their guns. At least you guys have one positive trait going for you. Baby steps.

Source: Gamesindustry International