Thread: Germany banned violent games

The online edition of German news magazine Der Spiegel has revealed that interior ministers urged against ‘Killerspiele' (killer games) during a conference held last Friday. Although details are only being shared in English via online translations such as this, it seems clear that German ministers are now serious about preventing another incident like Winnenden on 11 March where a 17-year-old shot 15 people. The previous evening the shooter had been playing the game "Far Cry 2".

Spiegel Online details that the ministers have appealed for "an explicit production and dissemination ban as soon as possible", preventing the development and distribution of all games considered to be violent within Germany.

The Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK) software ratings board already stands in the way of many violent games being released in Germany. The blockbuster "Gears of War" series for Xbox 360 is among them. However the key issue with the latest appeal to the Bundestag, the German equivalent of the British Parliament, is that violent videogames may not be produced on German soil. This would be hard on German based developer Crytek, coincidentally responsible for the original "Far Cry".

Winnenden isn't the first tragedy to move government officials against violent games, and especially those that involve shooting other people. The Columbine High School massacre of 1999 brought that same year's E3 videogame convention under US government scrutiny, forcing first-person-shooters - in particular ultra-realistic ‘simulation' Soldier of Fortune - behind closed doors, viewable by appointment only. In the case of Columbine it was id Software's "Doom" held responsible.

What do you think about this decision of banning the violent games?
Please reply.

I don't think this will go thru though, politicians are always trying look like heroes.

Its just to get them into limelight I suppose..its crazy..many people do thousands of crazy stuff daily..consider the news of a guy having sex with a park bench (don't ask me how is it possible..i read it in the paper)..in that case the minister should ban sex..lol

Video games, movies, music, anything media, play a big role in our generation. Media and technology influence society a great deal, we watch TV, are on the computer, and for some, we play video games every day. Children are very impressionable, and if they are allowed to watch violence every day, they start to think that it's acceptable, because they watch it on TV, or in a video game.

Germany is just one of the many countries these days that are banning violent games. But it should also be the responsibility of the parents and teachers to teach their kids moral values. Also depends a lot on the upbringing of the kids and their daily surroundings.

Video games dont kill people, people kill people. Though impressional youth should wait until later years to play games that could set bad examples, but if someone went at shot 17 people in cold blood they had to have some predispostion for it. (They arent all together upstairs.)

I think it might go through but it's nonsense ... adult's should be allowed to get whatever game they want to get.

As far as I know it's like that right now that they may sell those games but not advertise or present them in their shops - that's ridiculous already ...

Some people have psychological issues and some are affected more than others by games. If a person shows mental instability, then that person shouldn't be playing violent games... but, as most said, I don't think this will go through.

There are ill people, which have a certain psychological problem. Violent games just let the desease out and they start doing terrible things to other people. Banning the violent games won't help, because there will always be psychos and the society will always find something to blame. At the same time, there are millions of normal people, who play the same violent game and don't get crazy. Vice versa, they get rid of the daily stress etc... So I think, if the government (of Germany or any other country) wants to take care about the gamers, they should try something else before they simply ban the violent game.

Totally agree ... parential control in terms of "controlling the parents" for example ... rather than just banning certain games for people who'd just draw fun from them. I just played through Assassin's Creed II and - oh wonder - I still don't feel like stabbing people. Wow.