Is Germany moving to completely ban PC games with violent content?

Posted Jun 8th 2009 10:00AM by John Callaham
Filed under: Culture

Germany is still one of the biggest territories to sell PC games but according to what GamePolitics is reporting the country's government may be moving to ban both the selling and the production of games with violent content. According to a number of German language news reports, all 16 of Germany's Interior Ministers have asked the country's main legislative body the Bundestag to vote to ban such games.

The story states that the move may have been prompted by a local school shooting on March 11 where a 17 year old boy killed 15 people before killing himself. News reports have linked the boy to playing games like Counter-Strike and Far Cry 2 before the shooting took place. Germany already bans a number of games with violent content from being sold in stores. However if this move was to take place it could force local game developers like Crytek to move their development out of the country.

Tags: counter-strike, crytek, far-cry-2, germany, germany-banned-games

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

i'm guessing its more because half the violent videogames out there have germany as the enemy rather then they're just violent. I've noticed germany is very "LA LA LA LA LA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!" when it comes to nazis.Posted at 10:59AM on Jun 8th 2009 by Sam

in other news, a 14 year old boy saved a life today by conducting brain surgery on the spot of a car accident. Authorities have linked this to his addiction to Trauma Center: Brain Surgeon.

^
I don't believe videogames teach you how to be violent/crazy/whatever till this happens!Posted at 11:03AM on Jun 8th 2009 by Sam

This just in, video games invented violence and are the source of all evils.Posted at 11:34AM on Jun 8th 2009 by Ihavepants

Yeah, cause violence isn't caused by the sheer number of stereotypical Testosterone-filled-and-steroid-injected action heroes that are present in most any movie, or by any show (even power rangers had some intense violence), or god forbid, read about it in any book, fictional or not.

Human history is full of violence, it didn't just pop up with Marylon Manson or Pong.

I bet you $1000 this kid was mentally unstable and had parents who did little to nothing to actually supervise what he was playing, or making sure he was capable of handling the game mentally.

I've said this before elsewhere, but age is nowhere near a determining factor of stability. I've played M-rated games since I was 10, my parents felt I was mature and stable enough mentally to handle them, and guess what, I haven't shot up a school or carved someone into itty bitty pieces.

Also, who said that games led to it. Perhaps, on top of his instability, he was picked on heavily, and his parents, on top of not regulating what he played, had guns in easy reach... big no no.Posted at 2:54PM on Jun 8th 2009 by devilsei

I am from germany and if our fu... politicians can force this new law i will never want to have to do anything with my fu... country.
They are so wrong like hell i can't explain...
We are leaded by a bunch of big fat stupid assholes called politicians.

Under the influence of alcohol there are killed a lot more people in germany every year, but the alcohol lobby is so strong here, they will never change anything or forbid this.
And we have more death of passive smoking every year than from amok runs, but smokes are not forbidden and so on and so on...

But to say no more 3D shooter is easy for the politicians, because they are old fat grandfathers who do not even know where to switch on a pc, so for them it is easy make such laws, they won't miss anything.

This kid had real guns at home from his father, had also a lot of violent movies, and the parents did not educate him, so guess what happen....
And now they say it are the games !?!?

Beside it is very democratic if you think about that at least round about 5 million 3d shooter players in germany. 1 has done killing under the influence of MANY factors.
And now 4 999 999 people are not allowed to play anymore in the future these games !?!?!?

I hope there will be more amok runs, but not in shools, instead in the bundestag, there it would be no matter who you hit, it will always be the right one !!!!

FUCK THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT AND THEIR FUCKING MINDS

Wish i would have be born in a normal country. :( :( :(Posted at 5:37PM on Jun 17th 2009 by dcToro

Let's say there are video game addicts, what's wrong with that? They even have foundations for those who needs treatments and such but has anyone bothered to check out real and alarming addictions like drugs? Is being addicted to video games worst than being addicted to drugs? I'd rather be addicted to games than to drugs and most parents would agree to that. I've also read an article: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1421576 which pointed a good effect of games in real world specially in times of crisis.Posted at 12:43PM on Jun 26th 2009 by Cranial