German Bundesrat passes censorship law - Video games, internet sites and movies to be restricted

By John Daly @ Friday, June 13, 2008 12:23 PM

Section - PCs/Software

The German Federal Assembly has passed a new law designed to prevent youths from laying their pubescent paws on video games with shocking content.

The new, revised law for the protection of the young also covers movies and internet sites of questionable content.

According to Heise Online, age certificates now have to be featured more prominently on video games and movies, and video games featuring 'highly realistic, cruel and lurid scenes of violence and death, which dominate the events as an end in itself' are more or less going to be banned.

Video game developers are going to run into difficulties marketing, advertising and distributing their products.
Conservative minister for family affairs, senior citizens, women and youth, Ursula van der Leyen, has even considered regulating internet cafés.

Germany has a history of strong regulation of content deemed not to be healthy to the population's mindset. The German-Turkish founders of Crytek, the developer responsible for smash hits Far Cry and Crysis, can sing a song of such antics. The company considered leaving Germany in July last year whilst Ministers, who have never seen nor played the games they were discussing, were considering making the development of first person shooters a criminal offence. X

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Heise Online