Germany is looking to its fellow EU neighbors to further regulate violent video games. A violent outbreak from an 18-year old at a high school in Emsdetten, Germany, which resulted in 37 injured, was attributed to the youth playing “Counter-Strike,” according to Police. The proposed law would place a ban on video games that involve violence to human characters.
From an article at Infoworld: “A certain degree of linkage between the growing violence among the younger generation and the growing diffusion of violent games exists,” said Franco Frattini, the European Justice commissioner, at a meeting of the justice ministers in Dresden, Germany, on Tuesday.
The Commission also wants to harmonize national rules in the 27 countries in the Union. “Protection of children cannot have borders,” Frattini said. The Commission wants to see a combination of outright bans on the most violent games, together with minimum age rules on other titles.”
Several Xbox 360 games have faced a unrated review, preventing them from being sold or advertised to the public. German gamers are able to import from neighbors, or find at several shops within the country by asking for the unrated games. Million-seller games such as Gears of War and Dead Rising, to games such as Condemned: Criminal Origins have been given the non-rating, blocking advertising and retail distribution in Germany. Not only are the games barred from sale, but also other media related to the game, such as Gears of War Faceplates and Dashboard Themes from the Xbox Live Marketplace.
The Interactive Software Federation of Europe has opposed bans in the past, but it may consider the ban in the case of children being exposed to violence.
Read more at Infoworld.com.
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