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Ubbax
Village Dweller
Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 20
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| Germany to abolish violent games?? |
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I was wasting some free time "link-hopping" when I ran across the article shown below.
I've read & seen attempts to restrict the selling of certain types of games in the US & Canada, China implementing age restrictions on playing PvP games as well as enforcing constraints on the amount of online play time, but this is the first I've heard of a Nations Government proposing an outright abolition of violent games.
I would imagine Germans employed in the Gaming Industry, as well as gamers, would find this article of particular interest. Since I've had trouble reaching the article a few times, I'll also post the text as well as the link.
Please take note:
At the very bottom of the page the article resides on is a link requesting feedback on the subject matter contained in the story.
quote:
Violent Video Games Under Coalition Fire
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Simulated killings are causing a bit of a stir
It's a given that plenty of people will find source for complaint in the new government's plans for the coming four years. Computer games enthusiasts could be among those doing the moaning.
The coalition has grand plans for the future of Germany's youngsters, who they say should grow up in a society without violence. That naturally means looking at ways of reducing child neglect and abuse, but the government wants to take its vision of harmony several steps further and has proposed the abolition of games which simulate brutal killings.
Games like "Counterstrike" have in been on the hit list of titles to be removed from gaming shop shelves ever since a pupil at a school in the German town of Erfurt ran amok, shooting 16 people before turning his weapon on himself.
It's a long, slow burning issue. As with films, computer and video games are already certificated based on the age group to which they are suited, but that is not enough for the new lawmakers.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Kid's stuff?
Andreas Scheuer, a member of parliament for the conservative Christian Social Union, who is in charge of youth protection, told the online version of Der Spiegel magazine that violent killing games "have no place in Germany's bedrooms."
He said that parents should take responsibility for the games their children play, but that the government should do its bit to help less media-competent adults by introducing a "complete ban."
Industry opposition
But with access to pretty much any software little more than a mouse-click away, it is hard to imagine exactly how such a ban should, or could be enforced. And nobody is talking about that just now.
Understandably, the industry is opposed to the abolition of some of its best-sellers.
Olaf Wolters, manager of the German interactive entertainment software association told Spiegel that they wanted to work in close connection with the incoming government, adding that there was some unfortunate vocabulary in the coalition pact.
"As far as we are concerned, there are no such things as killer games, but adult games," he said.
DW staff (tkw)
Ubbax
"If you have tears, prepare to shed them now." -William Shakespeare |
Sun Nov 20, 2005 4:37 am |
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Val
Risen From Ashes
Joined: 18 Feb 2002
Posts: 14724
Location: Utah, USA |
So, since some people aren't parenting their children, others want the government to do it for them? Lovely.
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Sun Nov 20, 2005 9:34 pm |
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Kamahl
King of Spam
Joined: 29 Apr 2005
Posts: 1668
Location: Slovenia-Ljubljana |
ofcourse its mutch easier to put the worries after ur kids on someone else then to take care fo them and parent then urself.Its a prefect get away for parents 
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Sun Nov 20, 2005 10:12 pm |
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Dez
King of the Realms
Joined: 08 Jan 2003
Posts: 455
Location: Fortress of Tell Halaf |
I hope this law proposal never passes through. It is at the same very sad and disturbing to see goverments restricting what sort of entertaiment is accepted.
I do understand that not everything must be accepted, but forbidding violence in general, thats a whole lot of horseshit.I wonder when do they comprehend that games are a common form of entertaiment, just like movies or books.
Because game-business is still a young arts compared to the literature, music and films. Poliricians don't seem to know how take a stand to games, because majority of them has never been a gamer. Its easier to judge things you don't understand. Almost no politician today goes demanding that films must be cercored, but when there are some adult themes in games like sex, violence or drug-use, the fuss begins. Why on earth is it for them so hard to understand that games are not made for kids only or that parents should be held responssible for their own children.
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The focused mind can pierce through stone |
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Mon Nov 21, 2005 7:46 pm |
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Hindukönig
Guards Lieutenant
Joined: 27 Feb 2004
Posts: 170
Location: Halle (Saale) / Nuremberg [Germany] |
| Re: Germany to abolish violent games?? |
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quote:
Originally posted by Ubbax
I would imagine Germans employed in the Gaming Industry, as well as gamers, would find this article of particular interest.
Hehe. Germans read this everywhere in the (game related) news since somebody noticed that tiny little sentence "Verbot von Killerspielen".
I'd say there won't be a ban of "Killergames", as some politician even said that they meant only RL games like gotcha. And even these will be hard to ban. Nichts wird so heiß gegessen wie es gekocht wird. |
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Mon Nov 21, 2005 8:32 pm |
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X-dANGEr
Unknown Destiny
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 2383
Location: The X place |
Maybe I should say a Project with no Hope?? I really don't think it will be accepted. As I see even a huge precent of 'adult' people play gamesm, and I don't think that an adult would like the goverment to prevent him from any game he wants to play..
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Tue Nov 22, 2005 2:10 pm |
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Alrik Fassbauer
Head Merchant
Joined: 25 Aug 2002
Posts: 50
Location: Germany |
Although I think it is unlikely that violent games will be banned, I do see the intention behind it.
Only yesterday, I was thinking : "Tell me ONE game that does NOT include fighting, challenging, war, or shooting."
The overall mass of current ganes includes any of these. The only games without are computer ports of board games and adventures (no, not Action-Adventures !).
And I believe that everyone would agree that because I don't like any of these, I am "uncool".
Back to the point : The German citizens have been quite shocked by the massacre at Erfurt, Before that, such massacres were believed to be tales from far far away american countries. Not Germany.
It is even worse considering that the German way of dealing with weapons is different than the amarican way : Weapons are gegerally forbidden. No-one is allowed to bear weapons, except people who have a special passport fror this. So, except of criminals, who don't follow law anyway, no-one carries a gun.
As a result, a massacre performed by a schoolboy who HAD a gun is quite irritating here - and quite shocking !
I'm one of the seemingly few ones (ha ! it will only last minutes until I have to defend myself, I guess !) who see violence in games as an influence factor. Personally, I have the opinion that for example the permanent exposition of violence (in TV, in games, anywhere) does influence humans - but mostly in their unconscious area, which in my opinion isn't able to tell reality from a monitor. in this thesis, the unconscious canot tell - and is thus influenced. The worse part is that we cannot directly contact the unconscious to wipe or clear it from such influences.
Germany is also far far away from modern considerations of video games. A report on TV once said that Germany is one of Europe's few countries (or even the only one), which doesn't support developers of video games ! I mean in the way that in many countries a vedeo game is more and more considered as a kind of "art" in a similar way a movie is "art", too. We here in Germany simply don't have a good community of game developing companies - not only because German games aren't widely sould out there in the world - but also because they aren't supported like in other countries.
Another factor is, that some magazines and the "Klatschpresse" [for example the "Bild" and the "Express"] (newspapers of maybe the same type like the British "Sun") are ONLY looking for EASY answers to problems. Everything complex is shut out.
Unfortunately, these are the mags that are most sold.
Consequently, these papers told the buying masses, that the masaacre of Erfurt was caused by violent games. Thus implying that these should be banned to top further massacres. This "club of reason" is taken out by them any time something violent happens which is only in the most vagueliest way connected to video games. They don't even TRY to perform proper journalism with correctly reserching the facts ! All they want is - an esy answer. That's what they give the masses.
And so the pressure generated by this asts on the politicians, and forces them "to do something". Since Germany is imho still rather conservatively oriented (a heritage from the Kohl reign), German politicians rather seek conservative "solutions" such these "problems".
And so they seek to ban violent games - and thus make themselves and the masses think that with that no more violence will happen caused by violent games - especially no massacres.
What they don’t give, are the actually needed answers : That violence in youths mostly comes from parents not interested in their proper education and training, and leaving them alone. Personally, I believe that violence with young people is mostly caused by the inceasing loss of social life and also the increasing rate of „coldness“ and meterialism. Overall. Not only in Germany.
Kids sit for hours alone in front of the TV in an age absolutely inappropriate for that, until both paren ts come home from work, exhaused, and therefore not having ebnough time for their children to develop a healthy social life ... that’s the worst thing that can happen to children and youths, imho. Such „abandoned“ youths take imho what they see as examples and idols - and what they see are often movies with violence. Just go and count in your TV programme afternoon movies without violence ... there won’t be too much. (And I don’t necessarily mean body violence - I also mean verbal violence !)
I recently read again a scientific study that watching too much TV with violent scenes in it inceases the possibility for violence in the watchers, too. I think there will be more studies in he future on that.
*goes out trying to find ONE game without fighting in his collection ...*
„Tell me where have the Adventures gone ...“ |
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Thu Nov 24, 2005 10:57 pm |
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Alrik Fassbauer
Head Merchant
Joined: 25 Aug 2002
Posts: 50
Location: Germany |
Ah, by the way, Germanby way sometimes banning violent games, like the early Doom games, for example.
We here in Germany usually make the quite astounding discovery that where games here are banned for their violence, games in the U.S. are banned not because of violence, but because of sexual content (like the recent GTA thing). That suprises a *lot* of Germans here, because we generally consider violence to be more violent that sexuality ...
Also, we are often shocked that even the most brutal and violent games are allowed in the U.S. ... but not if they contain even the slightest hint of sexuality ...
This is the point where one culture cannot understand another ... |
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Thu Nov 24, 2005 11:13 pm |
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