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Triple-word score: Scrabble DS rocks some dirty words photo

Ubisoft had to issue a statement after it was found that the Nintendo DS title Scrabble 2007 contained an offense solution word in the anagram part of game play.

An article in the Belfast Telegraph reports that a father and daughter playing Scrabble 2007 were stumped on a five-letter anagram. Stuck, they hit the "give-up" option to find that the solution was the word "lesbo," a derogatory slang term for lesbian. The father, Zachary McAdam, said that he "nearly fell out of his chair," and then proceeded to "look it up" to make sure he wasn't over-reacting.

It turns out that this title uses 277,000 approved words from the Chambers Official Scrabble Dictionary. 

A statement from Ubisoft apologized and added:

"The dictionary includes words used in the English language, but that may be considered unusual or offensive. It is for this reason that the game includes a 'junior' option which will prevent the player and computer using these 'unusual' or 'offensive' words in playing. However, 'lesbo' is not considered as offensive by the official dictionary and therefore is playable in both options."

Remind me not to invite these two to my annual Drunken Dirty Word Scrabble Tournaments. 

[Via Next-Gen


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30 comments | showing # 1 to 30

mackisawesome's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:09
mackisawesome
DALE YOU ARE OON A ROLL TODAY WITH ALL THESE POSTS!
Dale North's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:11
Dale North
back from Tokyo, ready to rock ;)
blehman's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:15
blehman
Heh,heh,heh. Lesbo. Nice find Dale
DJDuffy 's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:17
DJDuffy
Shame on you Ubisoft! That's one game I won't be supporting...as far as I'm concerned, "lesbo" is a derogatory term.
Myrmidon16's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:19
Myrmidon16
i think this makes me want to get the game. or just play real scrabble and spell dirty words that way
Snaileb 's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:25
Snaileb
Duffy don't be such a Lesbot.
needsmoretits's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:31
needsmoretits
I've got a 7 letter word for them; PUSSIES.

In all seriousness though, lesbo is pretty damn derogatory. Oh well. Like I need a DS to play Scrabble anyway.
BahamutZero's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:32
BahamutZero
I will poown anyone in scrabble. with words like "poown"
BahamutZero's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:32
BahamutZero
"ZOMG" is especially devastating
DJDuffy 's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:34
DJDuffy
@ Snaileb

damn breeders. love u too!
Lance Cardigan's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:48
Lance Cardigan
l
e
destructoid
b
o
Lance Cardigan's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:49
Lance Cardigan
damn it....didnt work.
you get it tho.
MrFudge's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 13:59
MrFudge
All I see is 'Mew'. Am I not dirty enough?
Cheeburga's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 14:12
Cheeburga
Hahah, win. :]
KamikazeTutor's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 14:14
KamikazeTutor
Lesbo? That's a word in the dictionary? Which one? The Slangonary?
TheBastardSonOfAtari's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 14:19
TheBastardSonOfAtari
I play this on my DS & you can spell CUNT, which is none too shabby if on a Triple Word Score.
brad drac's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 14:22
brad drac
Bah. Lesbo is no more offensive than queermo, and anyone offended by queermo is a faghandler.
Dale North's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 14:26
Dale North
hahah @ braddrac
deanhatescoffee's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 14:48
deanhatescoffee
LOL @ brad drac. Really though, what about "lesbo" is derogatory? Is it the term itself, or the way people use it? If the derogatoriness stems from the way it's used then I say that there should be no issue with the word "lesbo" being in Scrabble; however, if the word "lesbo" is itself offensive (as dictionary.com would lead me to believe) then what the hell are the Chambers Official Scrabble Dictionary people smoking? They should know better. We expect that kind of insolence from Destructoid, naturally, but not from a well-respected family game.
Necros's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 14:53
Necros
This! Is! Lesbos!
SourGr8pes's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 15:17
SourGr8pes
Well, what else do you call someone from the isle of Lesbos then?
MechaMonkey's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 16:23
MechaMonkey
Dictionary.com says:

les·bo /ˈlɛzboʊ/ –noun, plural -bos. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
a lesbian.

Ubisoft loses.
grrza's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 16:48
grrza
meh, if it's in the official scrabble dictionary, then shouldn't Hasboro or Mattel or whoever be the ones under fire? It's not like Ubisoft invented the rules for scrabble for jeebus sake.
Kageroth's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 18:11
Kageroth
Wow the local rag on a gaming site, things are looking up for NI :D
timmet's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 20:41
timmet
If they altered it, you guys would complain that the video game didn't follow the book.

But seriously, it's the scrabble dictionaries fault.
entropyman's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/27/2007 21:10
entropyman
I was actually playing this the other day and it let me use jizz- I won because it was a triple word score.... funny that this article came out
3dd13's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/28/2007 05:23
3dd13
Douchebag FTW
wardrox's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/28/2007 07:34
wardrox
Ha, English ftw!
Variable Gear's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/28/2007 14:57
Variable Gear
Is "Spastic" one of the 277,000 approved words from the Chambers Official Scrabble Dictionary.

I hope so!
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