BioWare, and its owner EA Games, have been the targets of more than one email campaign by organizations that are outraged that same-sex romantic relationship are available in some of their games. In the past few years, games like the Dragon Age series, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Mass Effect 3 have had these possibilities.
"Star Wars videogames are for children," a letter on the FFA's website states, despite the fact that The Old Republic comes with a "T" rating. "An overwhelmed percentage of the 1.7 million games sold are being used by children who do not need to be exposed to this propaganda."
"Anti-LGBT campaigns are falling into a pretty consistent pattern these days, in which messages of hate directed at our allies are met with an overwhelming outpouring of support for our allies in response. Following Starbucks' announcing public support for marriage equality, 25,000 people signed a 'Dump Starbucks' campaign, which in turn inspired more than 600,000 people to sign on to a 'Thank Starbucks' campaign."
Last month, the Florida Family Association (FFA) protested The Old Republic, pelting EA and BioWare with emails like the following excerpt:
Organizations like the FFA and the Family Research Council have sent "several thousand" emails and threatened to boycott games that include those possibilities. Jeff Brown, Vice President of Corporate Communications at EA, has responded by stating that there are no plans to change or censor anything in the future.
"Every one of EA's games includes ESRB content descriptors so it's hard to believe anyone is surprised by the content.," Brown told GamesIndustry. "This isn't about protecting children, it's about political harassment."
"EA has not been pressured by any groups to include LGBT characters in our games," Brown added, addressing concerns in some of the email complaints. "However, we have met with LGBT 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."
GamesIndustry also spoke with Matt Kane, the Associate Director of Entertainment Media at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, who had this to say:
"Anti-LGBT campaigns are falling into a pretty consistent pattern these days, in which messages of hate directed at our allies are met with an overwhelming outpouring of support for our allies in response. Following Starbucks' announcing public support for marriage equality, 25,000 people signed a 'Dump Starbucks' campaign, which in turn inspired more than 600,000 people to sign on to a 'Thank Starbucks' campaign."
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is currently composing such a petition, "so that EA hears from the majority of fair-minded Americans who welcome their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender family and friends."
Michael Cole-Schwartz, Director of Communications there, stated that "those of us who work toward LGBT equality are pleased with the fair-minded stance EA's taken. EA should be commended for their inclusive approach that reflects the diversity of our communities."
"As in all media, there remains work to do in order for more people to feel represented and included," Cole-Schwartz added. "This is true for video games and for LGBT people. EA's step in this instance is indicative of a continuing cultural shift toward greater inclusion."
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