Simpsons Game GTA parody capped?

When Electronic Arts announced it had acquired the game license for The Simpsons, many worried the result would be games of lower caliber than 2003's well-regarded The Simpsons: Hit and Run. However, attendees at EA's Studio Showcase event last month were delighted by the bevy of game parody levels including in the megapublisher's The Simpsons Game, which included "Medal of Homer" (pictured) and "Sitar Hero" featuring convenience-store owner Apu singing "Pour Some Curry On Me."

Unfortunately, the publisher of one of the games the Simpsons sends up wasn't laughing--and took some serious action. Speaking with Computer & Video Games, Simpsons lead designer Greg Rizzer said that his team had to edit the level "Grand Theft Scratchy" at the request of EA rival Take-Two Interactive, whose Rockstar Games division publishes the Grand Theft Auto series.

"I was always under the impression that when you do parody, it's a sign of respect," Rizzer told the UK-based site. "If we make fun of Grand Theft Auto, we're not going to hurt the sales of Grand Theft Auto. But yeah, we've definitely had some reactions--we've had to pull stuff from the game." The Simpsons will ship for the DS, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable later this month.