It's really easy to make Nazi references about the German government, but when its ministers seem so intent on repressing the freedom of media, it's hard not to wonder if fascism in German politics died with ol' Addy H. Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann is one such Reichstag candidate, who has recently called for the banning of what he calls Killerspiele (Killer Games.)
The interview is contained after the jump, and provides a disturbing glimpse into this minister's mind. That he believes games should be banned on the basis of nothing more than perceived, unproven threats is worrying, not to mention his fear of what he called "American aberrations of society."
ZEIT ONLINE: Mr. Herrmann, which "Killergames" have you played to come to the belief that they must be banned?
Joachim Herrmann: I personally don't play, but I have watched them [being played] extensively. I am shocked how the player is driven towards gruesome violence. He, so to speak, becomes a criminal himself and kills others to obtain money or to collect points. The more gruesome the killing the higher the score. We don't need something like this. Such games are unbearable.
ZEIT ONLINE: Obviously you are talking about the GTA-Series. The most recent GTA is rated 18. Why shouldn't adults be allowed to play these games?
Herrmann: From a cinema-owner I can expect that he actually only lets people over 18 years in. But if we're talking about Computer games its different. If an 18-year-old has a game, the next day he'll pass it to 17-, 16- and 15-year-olds. I don't believe that there's an entitlement for these games in our liberal society. The protection of children and the youth must be a priority. Its not about the playing [of these games] alone. There are numerous studies that explicitly prove: the more intensive teenagers engage themselves in these games, the higher the danger of them imitating this [behavior] in reality.
ZEIT ONLINE: Media-scientists haven't found common ground on that issue, though.
Herrmann: The criminologist Christian Pfeiffer provided corresponding evidence from his studies at our expert-round in Berlin. Of course not every player becomes a violent criminal. But even if games only cause a rise of a certain percentage in youth-violence it is reason enough to outlaw them. In other fields we also have clear bans, I'm thinking of child pornography.
ZEIT ONLINE: Still, the problem isn't that these games exist, but that children can still acquire them in spite of the German age-restrictions.
Herrmann: That is one of the problems. But the bigger the danger of such games getting to the hands of children and teenagers the more the state has to intervene. It is also forbidden for everyone to trivialize the crimes of the national-socialists.
ZEIT ONLINE: However the [indexing] that exists today is in fact equivalent to a ban. For example indexed games can't be advertised.
Herrmann: That's not enough. Games that glorify brutal violence must generally be banned in penal law.
ZEIT ONLINE: The penal law already outlaws glorification of violence. A Bavarian draft for a new paragraph didn't find consent in Bundestag [German parliament, a bit similar to the House of Reps]. Also after six years of discussion the youth-protection-law was changed – and some say it wasn't even tightened. Do you really think a ban is possible?
Herrmann: We won't peg away at that, we want to continue this discussion. With the totally insufficient changes of the youth-protection-law this isn't concluded for us.
ZEIT ONLINE: The games-industry would call such a ban unconstitutional.
Herrmann: I'm very much hoping for a change of opinion there. Even today there are manufacturers that completely abandon the violence field. They want to make intelligent games, educational games, and many other fascinating things.
ZEIT ONLINE: But a number of manufacturers earn their money with games containing violence.
Herrmann: There's massive pressure from U.S. manufacturers. But we also do not have a different weapons law than America for no reason – over here not everybody can walk around at will with a firearm. We mustn't let certain aberrations of American society gain influence here.
Contest:
5:27 PM on 09.08.2008
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Nazi jokes ftw...
You'll never see bill gates rob a 7/11 because he's starving to death.
Although I suppose when all these old-farts are dead in 20 or so years and the new and informed generation is in power hopefully the ignorant idiocy won't be perpetuated.
What if a Parent decides a child is fit to be prostituted?
does the state have a right to engineer society to make that illegal?
But are you seriously comparing that to this? They want to stop everyone, repeat EVERYONE from playing these games because of a POSSIBLE threat to children and only children. And the only evidence that is used is evidence that agrees with them, when there are mountains of us gamers that grew up playing violent games and have yet to harm anyone at all.
You can't make major legislation like that on a big fat MAYBE.
I was sold Mature games when I was in diapers though and I want to hurt things becuase of it.
@slapme7times
Great point!
point...sharp...sharp points...stabby face time!
Beeing a politician must almost be as good of a job as analyst. You know, being payed to pull stuff out of your ass, only that you need to put up some minor effort to get elected.
Every society needs more people like you.
Zee goggles, zey do nusing!!!
That would make a more sexy society...or something.
But yeah I've played games since I was 5 and I consider myself failry normal and I have yet to have any urgues to kill anything.
It's the same craziness when you show a boob on US-TV hell freezes over and in Germany you show a game that has blood in it OH MY GOODNESS THAT'S THE REAL PROBLEM?
Don't we have more pressing problems than if grown-ups play some games with violent or sexual content??
It's the same craziness when you show a boob on US-TV hell freezes over and in Germany you show a game that has blood in it OH MY GOODNESS THAT'S THE REAL PROBLEM?
Don't we have more pressing problems than if grown-ups play some games with violent or sexual content??
I don't think forcing a 5 year old to have sex with a 69 year old man with Aids should be legal.
@Spaceman: Don't make zee fun of zee germans!
These politicians are full of it. They think lacing everything in a 'protect the children' cloak will get everything their way. What they don't realise is the majority of people will surely disagree, because gaming is more popular than he actually thinks.
Time to stand up and be counted, german gamers.
@Jim: where are you from? I'm from Graz
My new favorite word, German is such a funny language.
I actually stopped reading when he mentioned the "study" by this Pfeiffer guy. He's seriously the Jack Thompson of Germany. What a twat.
It's just too comfortable to just keep importing games from the UK and Austria. Btw, thanks UK and Austria!
Did I miss something? I think that 7th slap messed you up.
Now This wouldn't bother me so much but Germans can cause havok to the UK game market and were the soul reason behind the xbox ninja gaiden getting the limb and head decapitations removed from the game.
Also I find it slightly disturbing that someone with more potential power and with a simalar agenda to Jack Thompson has emerged barely a week after his soon to be permenant disbarment.
First of all, not all germans are nazis, bla bla bla. The joke is old and tired, just let it die. It's irrelevant and no good discussion can come - wait, my bad. Never mind.
Nevertheless, this is one politician. A politician, people. He'll change his opinion faster than his underwear, and will side with whatever he wants.
Now, I understand that our government -yes, I am german - wants to protect us from influences it deems harmful, because people like you would probably be all over us, pointing and yelling "The Nazis are coming back ! They're training !". Next to that, there may or may not be an effect on the psyche -whilst I believe that tht is utter bullshit, I also know that A) you can pick up 10 new studies on every street corner (which is 65 % less than the possibility of picking up a hooker) and B) not everyone is intelligent enought to be critical at what they see and instead mindlessly cunsume their lives away.
Look at it this way, we're trying to prevent the retards from hurting the leftover useful genetics runnign around, and possibly from becoming Stepford Smiler-esque people like out Mr. Straight Mann up there.
I, personally, think that it should be the task of parents to look after their little maggots, but sadly most parents are just as idiotic as their offspring, and have little to no clue about computers or childcare.
Generally, it may suck, but at least we're don't have even more Neo-Nazis and other idealistic asshats running around moaning "Blitzkrieg !" whilst wanking off to extremistic propaganda.
As a closing remark, I think censorship should be optional. If you dislike blood and guts - I actually do in some cases - you can turn it on and watch your enemies in "Team Fortress 2" explode into several hilarious objects, such as sandviches, or you can turn it on and enjoy a gorefest to your hearts delight.
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a central IQ-profiler system that denied idiots access to the beter stuff until they've proven worthy ?
But I digress, and a total control based on IQ would probably end just as nasty.
Does anyone else notice that it's always some clown who doesn't play games, and doesn't know anything about them, that is trying to ruin it for everybody? I wonder why that is.