The modern gaming industry is one of the major success stories of recent times and is now in great shape on a global scale. This means gaming as a whole now generates multi-billions per annum, and it offers a diverse range of choices to players.
This has helped the sector to engage a much wider audience and broaden its appeal. Video games, naturally, remain at its center, for example, but iGaming has also started to take off worldwide.
One of the best countries to highlight this is Germany. As well as a strong video gaming segment, it also has a variety of casinos to register with online. For more details of the best German casinos, CasinoTopsOnline is a good source of information.
Strict regulation is a feature of gaming in general across Germany and this is especially true for video gamers. But what censorship rules does the country have for these games and why are they so strict?
What are the German Censorship Laws for Video Games?
Globally, the censorship rules for video games in Germany are some of the toughest and, arguably, are the harshest in Europe. They are looked after by Germany’s Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons and include
- A specific special age rating system for games
- Asking developers to edit/censor games for the German market
- Bans on games deemed unacceptable to German censors
- Bans on advertising games deemed unacceptable to German censors
- Extensive changes for WWII/war-themed games
- No Nazi themes or imagery in video games
- Limits on how much graphic content/blood is allowed
Although this is not an extensive list of every video game censorship law for Germans, it does give an idea of how strict they are compared to other countries. The US, for example, has a far more lenient approach to death, blood, and graphic content in titles.
Which Games Have Fallen Foul of Germany’s Tough Video Game Rules?
As you might expect, there have been many video games that have been hit by the harsh censorship rules in Germany.
Titles that needed editing before being allowed for sale include Contra (for containing human characters transforming into robots) and Call of Duy: Black Ops (for Nazi imagery and certain overly graphic scenes). Games that were banned altogether include Manhunt 1 & 2, Wolfenstein 3D, and Mortal Kombat.
Why Does Germany Have Ultra-strict Censorship for Video Games?
Although checking out the best of the headlines in global entertainment news is lots of fun, niches within it all operate to set rules. This can be both global laws, which govern sectors like music, and domestic laws, which sanction industries like video gaming.
On the face of it, the German rules around video game censorship might appear heavy-handed and purely put in place to stop people from having fun. For the lawmakers in Germany though, there are some very sensible reasons to take such an approach.
One of these is hoping to reduce the amount of blood, suffering, and graphic content that German citizens are exposed to in video games. This could be through requesting edits on certain games pre-launch or outright banning games that are just too extreme.
By doing this, German authorities hope to reduce the harmful effect that exposure to such content/games may have on people’s mental health and the society around them. With fears that playing graphic games could potentially lead to more aggressive behavior in real life, this seems a wise route to take.
Why Else are Video Game Censorship Laws so Harsh in Germany?
German officials hope that censorship of Nazi imagery in video games will avoid far-right ideology from gaining exposure with modern Germans. It’s crucial to remember that this is a nation that is still painfully aware of its past in this regard, and it takes great lengths to avoid a repeat of Hitler’s rise to power.
Are There any Downsides to Germany’s Strict Video Game Laws?
The major negatives with the country’s approach to video game content lie with the impact they have on the players’ experiences. German gamers, for example, are not able to try out the same titles as friends in other nations and experience less freedom when choosing what to play.
Even if German gamers can get their hands on the same titles as people in other countries, they are likely to be heavily cut versions that miss out vital gameplay elements.
Video Game Censorship in Germany
It’s easy to see why the laws around video game content in Germany are regarded as some of the toughest globally.
This becomes even clearer when you start to dig deeper into what they cover and the kind of impact they have on players’ experiences. However, it must be remembered that German lawmakers will argue these rules exist only to protect people and make society a less aggressive place.
