Iran prohibits sales of Battlefield 3

If you just so happen to be a game shop owner in Iran, you better get EA's first-person shooter off your shelves pronto: The country has banned the game's sale.

Apparently, Iran isn't flattered by the missions in Battlefield 3 that take place near the Iraq-Iran border and in the country's capital, Tehran. So if you just so happen to be a game shop owner in Iran, you better get EA's first-person shooter off your shelves pronto: The country has banned the sale of the game, according to a report in Lebanon's The Daily Star.

One shop owner who spoke to the Star claimed police had already raided shops and arrested owners who were selling the game secretly -- even before the ban became public.

While the catalyst for the ban is unknown, the Star also reported on an online petition led by a group of "Iranian youths," who had this statement to make: "We understand that the story of a videogame is hypothetical ... [but] we believe the game is purposely released at a time when the U.S. is pushing the international community into fearing Iran."

What's kind of funny about all this: Battlefield 3 isn't even legally available in Iran in the first place. So, in other words, Iran has banned the selling of illegal copies of BF3 -- which makes EA kind of happy.

"In that Battlefield 3 is not available for purchase in Iran, we can only hope the ban will help prevent pirated copies reaching consumers there," the company told Industry Gamers.

Last we checked, BF3 has sold quite a few copies anyway.

Staff article by Jonathan Davila (November 29, 2011) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this news article, you can update your bio from the Settings page.