Germany To Ban Violent Video Games

[Dark River]

Saw this news article on tomshardware.com

http://www.twitchguru.com/2006/12/18/mmr/

Just thought what the rest of you might think?

Personally I think it's really sad when a country can't see it's own social problems.

[sidetwo]

I think it's easy for them to point blame on something else rather then sit down and really look into the problem.

[Maddieman]

I suppose this school shooting prompted it, but I'm not surprised - Germany has always been characteristically tough on games with violence or connection to WWII. I'm not sure how it's been lately, but in the past most violent or gory games either got banned or heavily censored (Carmageddon being a good example, where the pedestrians where transformed into green-blooded Zombies, then dinosaurs [if they're already extinct, they can't be killed, right?] and then robots).

[-JLN-]

The video game laws in Germany were already beyond a joke. Now you can get JAIL TIME for violence on [i]human looking characters[i]?!

Just frickin bizarre.

And who exactly defines what a "human looking character" is? Would graphical realism impact this? Would it be fine to shoot the shit out of enemies in an old game like Doom, but totally illegal to shoot the shit out of enemies in Gears of War?

Bizarre.

[Raveness]

Hmm, a poorly thought out reactionary response from Germany? No, it can't be :suspect:

It's obvious they are not looking at the root problem because it is a lot easier to focus blame on a specific industry or group of people rather than systemically on the average citizen and the negligence of their familial or societal institutions. You have to feel for the intelligentsia of the country who must bow to the harping voices of the vacuous populous

[AlianAnt]

10 bucks says Jack Tompson is saying this is a victory for him.

[jared14]

It seems rather contradicting for Germany to be banning violent cartoon games considering their history...

[Gothmog]

Maybe that's the very reason that they're having such a reaction. A lot of their government is likely made up of a relatively older generation, probably one that can remember some of the more bloody aspect of their past. On another of the sites that I post on, I recall several Germans uttering their discontents regarding the removal of dismemberment from the game.

I personally don't see what's to be gained from removing violence from games, I know that my entertainment doesn't effect my outlook and reaction to tactile situations, and I certainly don't feel the need to murder and mame after playing a video game. Of course I can't speak for everyone, though.

As soon as I play Alan Wake, I've decided that I'm going to buy a Maglite and take massive amounts of amphetamine. :p

[magnus]

In the 12th Century they blamed books... and when the printing press came and every day people could print and bring down the literal monopoly of the bourgeios, then it was aaall chaos... Natural progression, people, computer games are deemed untill they invent the new drug of the decade.