R E L A T E D C O N T E N T

Fat Princess game condemned

Children's health groups and feminists call for Sony game to be withdrawn

Andrea-Marie Vassou, Computeract!ve 08 Oct 2008

A game in which people must rescue a 'fat princess' has been condemned by children’s health groups and feminists.

The Child Growth Foundation and feminist blogger, Shakespeare’s Sister, have called for the Fat Princess game to be withdrawn, claiming they are “uncomfortable” with the content.

Fat Princess will be available on the Playstation 3 (PS3) games console later this year. It is described by its creators as a "comic medieval battle".

Players are required to rescue a princess from an enemy dungeon. However, there’s a catch: “Your adversary has been stuffing her with food to fatten her up and it’s going to take most of your army working together to carry her back across the battlefield,” Sony says in the description.

Melissa McEwan, who founded the Shakespeare's Sister feminist website, attacked Sony for publishing a game that she claimed would help create "a new generation of fat-hating" young people.

"I can't figure out why anyone would want to rescue a fat princess in the first place, since everyone knows that fat girls are unlovable human garbage at whom any sensible bloke would sooner hurl invective than cast a longing glance, " she wrote in a post on her blog.

Tam Fry, of the Child Growth Foundation, a charity for young people with growth disorders, said: "I am uncomfortable with the concept of the game and I certainly would not encourage anyone to play it."

However, Sony said it had not set out to offend anyone.

David Wilson, a representative for the company said: “We do not condone bullying or any of the other misdemeanours this game has been accused of.

“Fat Princess is very much a tongue-in-cheek fantasy game featuring cartoon graphics and keeps in with many comedic treatments of medieval fantasy, and the stereotypical characters found in traditional fairy tales or more contemporary versions such as Shrek.”

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