Crackdown Banned In Germany
Man, how much does it have to suck to be a gamer in Germany? Not only are they possbily going to pass legislation which could result in the imprisonment of violent game developers, distributors, and players, but they’re also banning all the fun games from even hitting the market over there. First it was Dead Rising, then it was Gears of War, now it’s Crackdown.
As detailed by GameSpot, the USK, Germany’s ratings board, has refused classification of Crackdown, which means that it cannot be sold to minors or via online orders. In addition, it cannot be displayed in stores or advertised.
Man, how glad am I that the ESRB doesn’t censor games like this?
German Government Bans “Crackdown” for Xbox 360 [GamePolitics]
Boy of Tomorrow
Posted to Video Games on 10 January 2007
· Comments (8)
Other stuff like this: crackdown, dead rising, esrb, gears of war, germany, silly little nazi politicians, USK
It’s like they are trying to create The Third Reich of Gaming
But its sale has not been banned? Just advertising, sale to minors and on line? If thats the case, wouldnt be more correct to say ‘sale has been restricted’ not banned?
I thought Fascism left Germany decades ago?
Is ir really necessary to make these comments about the Third Reich every effin’ time there’s news about Germany?
I think ‘banned’ is not quite appropriate in this case, considering that technically, the game could be sold at adult-only stores. It’s not the USK’s fault that Microsoft refuses to sell unrated games.
I also think that all this talk about the imprisonment thing is totally over the top. It was only a single politician who made the suggestion. Nobody ever talked about it again. He already tried this in 2005, and nobody cared back then, either. You guys are overreacting.
Yes it is
glad I`m a german importer… and you can get german versions of “such” games, you just have to go to the neighbors, like austria or swiss
“I think ‘banned’ is not quite appropriate in this case, considering that technically, the game could be sold at adult-only stores. It’s not the USK’s fault that Microsoft refuses to sell unrated games.”
Yeah, they can sell these games, they just can’t tell anyone they’ve got them. But don’t you worry, they’re working on that, as the December Guardian article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,,1969920,00.html tells us:
“Politicians in Bavaria and Lower Saxony have proposed a new offence that will punish “cruel violence on humans or human-looking characters” inside games. Early drafts suggest that infringers should face fines or up to 12 months’ jail for promoting or enacting in-game violence.” In other words, you kill some polygons, you might go to jail. Now, whether that actually becomes a law is questionable, but for Germans, it’s a really shitty time to be a gamer—never mind a game developer, many of whom apparently at this point find themselves lying about their occupations in polite company. (“What do you do?” “Well, I’m a game developer.” “Oh. Well, how does it feel to have blood in your hands? Excuse me, I think I see someone I should talk to.”)
Also, the reason Microsoft wouldn’t publish Gears of War in Germany after it was denied a rating was probably that they’d still have to produce a German version of the game, which is obviously not cheap, but since the game couldn’t be advertised, there’d be no guarantee that it’d actually sell enough to be financially viable. It’s kinda hard to sell something the general public doesn’t even know exists.
Anyway, having just completed Crackdown for review purposes, I have to say that it’s utterly ridiculous that GTA: San Andreas got rated, but Crackdown can’t. In terms of violence, you go around the city and shoot at people. There’s essentially no sex or drugs (though both are briefly mentioned in the cutscenes, but even then we don’t really see anything of the either). You get more explosions and the violence gets a little more physical, but does it really matter whether you shoot or kick someone in the face?
it is way depressing to be a gamer in germany. i am and i hate that evry single game is belated or net even released over here.