Jail time for FPSers in Germany
<div class="IPBDescription">Urged by the German minister</div><a href="http://gamepolitics.com/2006/12/06/in-wake-of-rampage-german-minister-wants-jail-time-for-violent-game-creators-and-distributors/" target="_blank">Article</a>
Along with Germany's very strict rules concerning video game violence, now there is a movement to put violent game developers, publishers, and <i>players</i> in jail.
Along with Germany's very strict rules concerning video game violence, now there is a movement to put violent game developers, publishers, and <i>players</i> in jail.
Comments
Thats just insane, I read the german article. To be more precise they want this:
"If you sell, produce, publish or receive (as in buying a game) a "interactive" software, where the main or second goal is it to act in a inhuman way against human or creatures similiar to human, you can be put into jail for up to one year."
That makes every gamer in germany a criminal. Gratulations Germany.
Germany doing something stupid with regards to censorship! My goodness, nobody could have seen this coming!
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I like how, in their struggle to protect against the social environment that permitted the holocaust, they're perpetrating a number of the ethical, legal and social fallacies that epitomised the third reich. Sweet.
Germany starting a war that killed 62 million people before video games ever existed? Priceless.
Germany trying to ban "violent" video games? Amusing.
Germany starting a war that killed 62 million people before video games ever existed? Priceless.
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I feel as if Godwin's Law is in effect.
I'm most concerned about about the "similar to humans" bit from Tyrain's post. I know that Germany always had strict video game laws, but people always worked around that by making the baddies zombies, or aliens, or robots. Does this new ban mean that even those games are implicated?
Violent video games are less violent than violent movies or TV shows IMO, but they still allow those around(right?).
Some 'medical experts' say that some people do not have the ability to separate reality from a video game, the player might kill people.
I'd say only insane or retarded(<i>literally retarded disorder</i>) people will have that problem, and it'd be easy to not let those types of people play violent video games.
It also has nothing to do with World War Two. Stay topical, folks. "Germany killed jews lolz" doesn't really belong here.
Germany starting a war that killed 62 million people before video games ever existed? Priceless. <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Jesus christ people SHUT UP. It's no longer the 3rd Reich there. It's a country like any other. It's not like there haven't been bans on violent media before. If it happens in Germany, thou, it's all "LOL WHERE THEY BURN BOOKS THEY WILL SOON BURN PEOPLE". It's history. Imagine an article "Australia's PM not satisfied with inflation" LOL SHOULNT HAEV BEEN CONVICTS IN TEH PAST NOW HUH? It's very immature, insulting and irrelevant.
(Not German)
I like how, in their struggle to protect against the social environment that permitted the holocaust, they're perpetrating a number of the ethical, legal and social fallacies that epitomised the third reich. Sweet.
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Yeah, their turning into their WW2 counterpart again.
but yeah, ww2 was over 60 years ago nubcaeks, get over it.
Then again, with the country's full on denial of what happened(call it what you want, but restricting even the emblem of a swastika in the country is either denial or pent up guilt, take your pick), and restricting freedoms is just another road to persecution, whether it be Jews, or people with the will to think outside of cultural norms.
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Ummmm the point is that they're NOT denying it, they're going into full guilt-trip mode about it. Holocaust Guilt is a major part of the education system over there, and holocaust deniers are regularly jailed. The problem is that in order to protect against the social mindframe and ignorance that allowed the holocaust to happen, they're perpetuating it, just on the opposite level.
I bet the killer read books too. We should ban those just incase. You can darn well bet he watched TV... BANT! Infact I think the killer may have breathed oxygen; I propose they ban air in germany incase it leads to violence... starting with a room containing the Prime Minister <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
"oh look! the killer played counterstrike! it was the GAMES!!! OMGBANJAILLOL"
I bet the killer read books too. We should ban those just incase. You can darn well bet he watched TV... BANT! Infact I think the killer may have breathed oxygen; I propose they ban air in germany incase it leads to violence... starting with a room containing the Prime Minister <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
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Most serial killers read books. Now if only we could somehow destroy all the books in Germany... possibly through burning.... well, there's your final solution. To the serial killer problem, I mean.
oh, wait...
<img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
I'm just saying that isn't a German problem. the difference is that this sort of thing didn't happen "back in the day" and thus the scape goat of "those damn kids and their video games", will be used.
Of course it doesn't help that video games are being touted all over TV as a military training solution, or that the American press revels in the depiction of war through a video screen. Honestly, how many times have you seen someone show a tank getting hit with missile thought grainy night vision scope? compare that to the number of times you see an actual marine with an m16 firing at the enemy.
<!--QuoteBegin-Joystiq.com+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Joystiq.com)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Despite complaints by German gamers, 59 percent of Germans at large support such a ban, according to a poll cited by the Financial Times.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Source: <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/07/german-states-mull-violent-game-ban/" target="_blank">http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/07/german-s...olent-game-ban/</a>
Democracy can be a ###### to the uninformed masses.
It's not all of Germany, though - it's two of the sixteen states, or one eighth of Germany, the ones that are most comparable to the U.S. bible belt. And I hope that bill gets shot down.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Germany has states? And a bible belt?
Ya learn something new every day eh?
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" target="_blank">Germany on Wiki.</a>
How many people died <i>because of people who played violent video games</i> (according to the media, it's the fault of video games) in the past few years? ~100? (too lazy to do a detailed check on recent school-shootings etc.)
How many people drive cars? Hundreds of Millions of people.
How many people died because of people driving cars? Hundreds of people EVERY DAY.
<!--sizeo:7--><span style="font-size:36pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b><!--coloro:red--><span style="color:red"><!--/coloro-->BAN CARS<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
Uh, nobody died because of violent video games.
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Try explaining that to the German Media. good luck.
If computers didn't exist it would be blamed on something else, because it's a lot easier than saying "we are horrible parents who not only didn't know our kids were pyschotic murderers but also let them get access to guns."
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<b>Yes, Yes, <!--coloro:red--><span style="color:red"><!--/coloro--><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->YES!!!!!<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--><!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></b>
It's always the parents fault.
Who buys kids violent video games? Parents
Who are too lazy to read to their kids or play with them, and then just let them do whatever? Parents
Who are impatient parents that give their kids <i>everything</i> the kids want because they can't stand the whining and crying? Parents.
Who's fault is it for letting a kid get picked on, bullied, then finally the kid plans a school massacre and comes with a gang of other people similar to themselves and then kills many many people? It's the school's fault for not hitting bad-bad kids with sticks and enforcing rules.
Anyway, it's rarely ever a violent video game, a book, a movie, music, etc. It's almost always the parents/guardians fault.
Quaunaut, with all due respect, you have no clue what you are talking about. The swastika ban has nothing to do with denial of the past. Denying the past is exactly what the german people has NOT done, and you demean yourself and us by postulating this when you have obviously not made the slightest effort to actually research the matter.
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This is going to be a very long thread if you get indignant every time an American is ignorant about another country. In fact it's going to be a very long decade.