MADHU PATEL
CHICAGO: A large number of Indian Americans in Chicagoland and across Midwest are highly upset that Pocket Games Soft (PG Soft), a mobile game development company based in Valletta, Malta, has come out with a 3D video slot game “Ganesha Gold”, and have pitched for its immediate withdrawal
It has been contended that any inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts or symbols for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurts devotees,
The protest, led by Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism urged that PG Soft should immediately recall this slot game the showing image of Hindu deity Lord Ganesha. Associating Lord Ganesha with gambling is very insensitive, it was pointed out.
Lord Ganesha is highly revered in Hinduism and is worshipped in temples or home shrines and should not be for inducing susceptible public to online gambling for the mercantile greed of an international company.
PG Soft’s partners like Nektan, Relax Gaming, Leander, SoftGamings, and SBOBET should be sending its executives for training in religious and cultural sensitivity and do thorough homework before designing new products.
PG Soft, which claims to be “a world-class mobile games company”, has offices based in Europe, North America and Asia. Its “vision” includes revolutionizing “mobile app gamification” and it claims to “deliver unrivalled gaming entertainment for all mobile slot players”. It prides itself “to deliver immersive gaming solutions on iOS, Android, and HTML5 platforms”.