I certainly don’t mind violent video games (just beat Resident Evil 4 today, in fact), but this Sony-hosted event is way over the top:

Electronics giant Sony has sparked a major row over animal cruelty and the ethics of the computer industry by using a freshly slaughtered goat to promote a violent video game.

The corpse of the decapitated animal was the centrepiece of a party to celebrate the launch of the God Of War II game for the company’s PlayStation 2 console.

Guests at the event were even invited to reach inside the goat’s still-warm carcass to eat offal from its stomach.

Sickening images of the party have appeared in the company’s official PlayStation magazine – but after being contacted by The Mail on Sunday, Sony issued an apology for the gruesome stunt and promised to recall the entire print run.

…

At the event, guests competed to see who could eat the most offal – procured elsewhere and intended to resemble the goat’s intestines – from its stomach.

They also threw knives at targets and pulled live snakes from a pit with their bare hands.

Topless girls added to the louche atmosphere by dipping grapes into guests’ mouths, while a male model portraying Kratos, the game’s warrior hero, handed out garlands.

I’m about as anti-PETA as they come (love hunting), but even I draw the line at slaughtering an animal just to watch it bleed.

Also, the game is targeted to adults (M rating here, 18 rating there), but it’s not good for a major corporation to have its name on a promotion like this.

In fact, it’s hardly believable. It is Europe, though.

Blog: Robert VerBruggen