I'm not sure what Germany is thinking, messing with a country that spawned a man who can take down a Predator, a Terminator and be twin brothers with Danny DeVito, but Germany doesn't make sense on many levels so they're going for it. It seems the Commission for the Protection of Young Persons in Germany (name conveniently translated) wants to ban the sale of all Austrian online games. They've requested that the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons take this step immediately, though how to go about this still seems a bit up in the air.
See some games are banned in Germany -- which is seriously looking like a worse and worse place to live over the past few months -- but people keep downloading them from Austrian sites because they aren't illegal there. The right wing of the German government doesn't like this, and thus wants to put an end to it in order to protect the youth from “social-ethical disorientation”, “brutalisation of young adults” and “lasting empathy loss." If you don't find this troubling, I suggest you click over to the story's source and read up on how frickin restrictive it is there (yes, all your information about the world should come from gaming blogs). Hopefully the FDMHYP doesn't pass this law as free speech is kind of awesome no matter where you live.
Matthew Razak is Destructoid's Associate editor and co-founder of film site
Flixist. He began as community member "cowzilla" and was since sequestered to write brainy features material. He lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife.
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Contest:
8:00 AM on 06.20.2009
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THE GERMAN VERISON:
Dang those conservative Badds.
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Next thing you know they'll want to shut off the airports to stop the harmful "foreign people" from coming in and then round up the remaining "foreign people" by putting them in a camp to concentrate them into a fine powder.
FUUCCCKKKK YOUUUUUU!!
Mit lieben Gruesen aus Oestrerreich
Banned?
I'm just sayin'....
I was just stating the obvious incidentary stuff.
Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons
All I have to say is ya censorship isn't part of a dictatorship for nothing. You control what people think, whether though a dictator or some form of assembly is wrong. The people have a right to import "knowledge" in whatever form they please. Tight ass puckered up about to implode mother freakers can jump off a bridge.
Once again I'm so ashamed of my government.
Just so you know: there's quite the opposition to the whole "banning" and "internet filtering" stuff here at the moment, the politicians just don't seem to have caught up with reality yet. I voted for the German Pirate-Party during the recent elections for the European parliament, and so did a lot of others.
Please don't view these actions as typical for the general German population. There's a superb gaming-scene here (mainly PC-centered) and CS and TF2 are really, reaaaallllly big around these parts.
Not that I care, but for stuff like SnakeDudes post people really hate America.
@Trunxkam45
I know man but everyone's so afraid of imigrants and muslims (Muslims are the new Jews) the BNP gets more popular every moment thanks to so many people's stupid opinions. How did someone work out the logic that if your born in a country you don't deserve as many rights as someone who's been born at the same time as you because your family haven't been in there long enough?
I would like to point out it was not the EU that voted in that fascist cocks or even The Scots or Irish, it was the English.
1 in 10 voters in the Midlands voted in their - criminally convicted - racist leader to a position of power and the other seat was from the North of England. All the English, nobody else.
i live in canada where our government just yells at each other on top of a hill and nothing really ever changes.
@ Mr Wrighty 987:
i am laughing at your expense.
"How did someone work out the logic that if your born in a country you don't deserve as many rights as someone who's been born at the same time as you because your family haven't been in there long enough?"
Restrict the freedoms of imigrants? Jesus, what kind of imigration politics does the BNP plan on doing!? Isn't it enough to just restrict the amount of imigrants that gets to stay in the country?
I wish I were joking but the BNP would have any non-white and non-british banned from the country. You have no idea how bad they are but yet the English are content to vote them into power. Sad times indeed, the sooner Scotland becomes totally independent the better.
An independent Scotland would be an utter joke. 'Yay! INDEPENDENCE' 'OH CRAP WE'RE REALLY POOR NOW'
Not to be getting too political on a games site but what a load of shit. Funny how Ireland manage fine isn't it? We would be poor? Considering all the oil is in the North Sea, that's a bizarre way of looking at it.
In fact, take OUR oil away and add the mess YOUR -I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess your English - government put the country in and it would be interesting to see who would be saying they were poor.
Anywat stop being a retard and STFUAJPG
Anyway, the funny thing is: Even if this stunningly ludicrous ban request should be successful (which I strongly doubt, to be honest), there would be no palpable legal consequences. Obviously, Austrian retailers are not subject to German jurisdiction, so they really couldn't be stopped from shipping items to Germany; neither would it become punishable for German customers to continue procuring game imports from Austria. Nothing would have been achieved, perhaps with the sole exception of those online shops in question being blocked from Google Germany, and not being allowed to advertise at German partner websites anymore.
Long story short: There is no such thing as media competence to be found in German administrations, only unteachable blockheads disdaining one of the most seminal economic sectors of our time. But there are elections to be won on the back of a heated public debate, which means hasty actionism und populist incrimination. Those people are LITERALLY claiming that correlation of violence and games PROVES causation. What else is there to say about their integrity as politicians, let alone their common sense?