Germany may ban all "violent" video games

After the right-wing German government banned paintball because it "trivializes violence", one starts to wonder whether Germans wouldn't have more freedom if East Germany had subsumed the West instead of the other way around.

Now this right-wing trend of regimenting personal conduct continues, as Germany prepares to completely outlaw all video games it deems "violent."

"Violence" would be defined as a video game in which players "play the killing of people or other cruel or inhuman acts of violence against humans or manlike characters."

In other words, it means practically every video game released after 1976 except Big Bird's Counting Game.

Since the European Union makes about 95% of member nations' laws now, hopefully it'll pass a law restoring the right to play video games. Don't count on it though, judging by the way the EU has gone.

Games that would be affected would include such bestselling titles as Grand Theft Auto. By the above definition, it also seems to include classic games such as Pac-Man, Dig Dug, or even Popeye.

Halo 3 would probably have to be modified so the only weapon you get is a paper airplane with a marshmallow taped to its nose, and every player has a bubble shield they can't escape.

The new law proposed in Germany would have dire consequences for the free flow of art even outside the country's borders. That's cuz some makers of these "violent" games sold in America and around the world are based in Germany, and the law would prohibit even developing such a game.

This follows the complete debunking of bogus claims that a German school shooting was inspired by video games.

Are there any free countries left, or just corporatist dictatorships? It's amazing how - just as with American attempts to ban these games - big retailers don't even have the courage to defend the games they sell and just go along with this censorship.

(Source: http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/formats/xbox360/all-violent-video-games-be-banned-in-germany-$1301757.htm)