German ‘violent games’ ban on hold
p2pnet news view | P2P | Games| Politics:- Have we mentioned the net is the Great Equaliser giving people a voice The Powers The Used To Be have to pay attention to?
Further proof comes from Germany where government plans to ban violent videogames, “will have to be put on hold, after a successful internet petition by German gamers,” says The Guardian.
When we went for a look at 9:46 am Pacific, it’d clocked up 67,979 signatures, going well beyond the 50,000 needed to, “force a government review,” says the story, continuing »»»
Last month the country’s 16 interior ministers asked the Bundestag to ban the creation and distribution of games involving violent acts against human or human-like characters. Government criticism of videogames had been growing since a school shooting in March was linked to online-shooter Counter-Strike.
One of the games in question was Ubisoft’s Far Cry2.
In March, Tim Kretschmer, 17, shot and killed 15 people at his former high school in Winnenden, Germany.
The night before the murders, Kretschmer had been playing Far Cry2, a game in which the player takes on the role of the killer, said The Australian, going on »»»
But the ban may still go ahead, says The Guardian, adding, “Last month a petition against internet censorship reached 130,000 signatures, but the law still passed in a modified form. If the videogame ban shares a similar fate it could force German-based developers such as Crytek, creators of Far Cry and Crysis, to leave the country.”
Stay tuned.
shot and killed – Was German school killer Far Cry2 fan?, March 16, 2009
The Australian - German killings linked to video game, March 16, 2009
July, 2009
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July 29th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
The absolute worst ‘genre’ has got to be the RAPE games, and one called Rapelay is so disturbing even hardened rape-game enthusiasts might be shocked at the content.
http://www.somethingawful.com/d/hentai-game-reviews/rapelay.php
“Finally, there is wee Manaka Kiryuu. She looks about ten and you get to rape her in her gigantic bed while teddy bears look on. This was certainly the most disconcerting of the rapes. Not only does she look like a child, not only does her room looks like a child’s room, but Manaka visibly cries.”
July 29th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
HBO’s Penn and Tellers Bullshit covered video game violence recently. It is a fact (according to penn) statistics show school football fatalities between 1931 -2007 was approx 665 deaths in the united states. Yet people claim in the US that violent video game are the cause of high school massacres. This of course is bullshit and for more interesting info on what these fools believe do a quick search on disbarred lawyer Jack Thomson or youtube his news appearances. The guy campaigned against the release of Grand Theft Auto. People like this believe violent video games are “murder simulators” they would even go as far and have on national television (see youtube: jackthomson) that these video games teach children how to effectively utilize a weapon to kill. Penn and Teller took this misinformation and put in action. A retired military gamer was asked to take a 9 yr old gamer to a gun range to test out his skills with an AR-15. The kid having never shot a gun before, was given safety tips and given the chance to shoot. He took 1 shot (terrible shot you might have guessed) , put the gun down and ran away crying. If that isn’t evidence this is bullshit I dont know what is.
Its absurd to believe you cant trust other people to play video games and not go commit a crime so therefore the game must be banned or limit its use. 0_o
July 29th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
woops Showtime not hbo
July 29th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
I do not believe violent games create violent offenders. People don’t just wake up one day a killer simply because they played a video game. No, it takes just the right accumulation of life experiences while growing up to create the kind of mind that may snap one day. Chemical imbalances must also be taken into consideration as well as parental guidance on morality, something which must be taught (yet rarely is). On the other hand I do believe a video game can be a trigger for someone who is already mentally unstable, but then pretty much anything can if it pushes your buttons and makes you angry enough. This can just as easily be puzzle games or racing games, you name it. The only reason people begin to believe crap the likes of Jack Thompson peddle is because video games are being singled out, sensationalized and completely taken out of context by the media. There is no scientific evidence as far as I know of that can link a violent video game as the sole contributor to the acts of a violent person. In fact, I’m betting you’re just as likely to see someone commit a violent act after playing Tetris as you are Far Cry 2. You only hear about the latter because a) the former isn’t nearly as interesting and b) the latter helps to further the cause of all the religious nut jobs out there, of which there seem to be WAY too many.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I just rented Far Cry 2 earlier today and am about to play it. Hope it’s good lol.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
School shootings are a terrible thing. We should do every sacrifice possible to avoid them. Ban video games, ban heavy metal, ban the internet.
But guns are ok.
July 30th, 2009 at 5:08 am
Why do these idiots never consider that the link goes the other way? That people who are already prone to violence will like playing violent games.