German Gamers Start Intiative Against Government
Posted by: [PM] on: 06/23/2003 03:29 PM [ Print | 4 comment(s) ] · 893 views
Many if you may know that Germany has very strict law's regarding youth protection against violence, explicit sexual content and other material in the media (TV, Movies, Games, Print etc.). However these laws prohibit games like Command & Conquer: Generals, Unreal Tournament 2003, Soldier of Fortune series, Quake series and a lot of other great games to be sold, advertised, displayed or reviewed in public. Retailers may sell the products to adults under the counter but they mostly don't, because they don't even know there's an 'uncut' original version.
The content of games in monitored by a circle of people in the Bundespruefstelle fuer jugendgefaehrdende Medien. Germany goes a seperate way in judging video games and rating them although there is a pan-european solution, ELSPA.
You can participate in the initiative against indexing video games in Germany here.
« Intel Pentium 4 With Hyper-Threading Technology Introduced At 3.2 GHz · German Gamers Start Intiative Against Government
· Official ATI Catalyst 3.5 Release Notes »
Comment
|
selenbor Unregistered |
#45043 Posted on: 06/23/2003 04:20 PM
there's the new law that makes it necessary for ANY game and ANY movie, even the videoclip on a music-CD, to have a rating for age any, 6, 12, 16, 18. For old games and videos, where no rating is available (eg. PACMAN), it is forced into "AGE 18 and above". Of course all CDs and games for 18 and above still are allowed to be offered publicly in stores - that some don't offer them that way, doesn't change that. Many people in Germany think that videos 18 and above must be sold secretly - but that's not true. What has to be hidden from open views and only exists after explicit question is the indexed stuff, like CC Generals. Of course still software and videos can be indexed!!! Even with the new law. And apart from that there are even forbidden movies such as Hitcher the Highwaykiller. Those cannot be bought at all and aren't produced uncut for Germany. For any other country, they exist. So we in Germany are thought and felt for.  |
Comment
|
EWWHWW Unregistered |
#45048 Posted on: 06/23/2003 04:55 PM
I hope they get those laws changed. I know that Castle Wolfenstein had to be changed from fighting Nazi's to fighting Aliens from another planet, LOL Most everyone alive today wasn't even born when all that was going on, so it is hard to envision anyone wanting embrace those ravings just because they play a computer game. If that were so, then we better look out. Everyone that plays GTA series will go out and steal cars and run over pedestrians. Yeah right!!!!!! |
Comment
|
Leaxim Unregistered |
#45051 Posted on: 06/23/2003 07:17 PM
first of all, I have to say that my comment has been deleted - for what reason I don't know! so here's what I said in short: It's good that the ageing on the game boxes is obligatory now, because if 18+ games can't be sold to children then they don't have to be indexed. The only problem are games that already are indexed, but as long as everybody is over 18, it's perfectly legal to make public LAN-Parties or whatever. And if you complain about games for adults not being advertised, then look at cigarettes or other stuff that isn't advertised...... [hope this won't be deleted, thank you] CU Leaxim |
Comment
|
Leaxim Unregistered |
#45052 Posted on: 06/23/2003 07:28 PM
(I think this is a reply, but my post has been deleted) Jeah I know that stuff can still be indexed! But they don't have to index as much as before because the USK-rating are obligatory... And I think most gamers know about indexed games; the problem is, that you have to check all IDs and stuff for a little LAN party or something, so the (adult) online community can't be as big as it would be and e-olympics are difficult for germany... to the movies you mentioned: well, I don't know these movies. It's just like this: here in germany violence pushes the ratings up, in USA for example it's nudity. This, and our past of course, leads to other rating-preferences. If I knew these films I could comment more... in the end, less violence is better, and you can still import stuff if you're 18... |
