Over the last few days, leaders from SikhNet, SMART, Sikh Communications Council, Sikh Coalition and SCORE spoke with corporate executives from EidosInteractive, the company responsible for creating the Hitman 2 Video which features brutal scenes of turbaned Sikhs being killed inside a Gurdwara. After several conversations, EidosInteractive executives ordered the removal of objectionable images and words from the website which promotes the video (www.hitman2.com). However, citing economic concerns, the company has declined to take any further action.
Already, television commercials advertising the game have been seen on TV and, within the commercial, is a brief shot of the Sixth Level of the game, which shows a Sikh character in a turban and beard being stabbed to death. On Sunday, October 20th, an on-line petition was launched to put pressure on the company to recall the video game and remove the images that are offensive to Sikhs. The petition currently has over 40 organizations listed as co-sponsors.
SikhNet, SMART, Sikh Communications Council, Sikh Coalition and SCORE are continuing to work closely together, exploring other channels for putting pressure on the company to voluntarily recall the game and alter the offensive material. SikhNet will update the Sikh community about events as they unfold.
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