Scarface could be banned!Developing or even playing video games in Germany could lead to imprisonment if a bill before the parliament there is passed.
The bill under debate, in the wake of a public outcry in Germany about reported links between gaming and violence, would outlaw the depiction of violent acts committed against human characters. It would apply to any video title played or distributed on German soil. The legislation could effectively put a ban on most first-person shooter, action and real-time strategy titles.
The law would mean many Hollywood franchise titles distributed in Europe's largest vidgame market could be banned as well.
Popular movie franchise titles falling under the violent category, such as the "Star-Trek" series, "The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II;" and "Scarface: The World Is Yours," would likely be outlawed.
Already, Germany has some of the world's strictest laws limiting violence in vidgames. Under present statutes, for example, games cannot be distributed unless depictions of blood or bloodletting are switched off.
Ironically, Germany's gaming scene plays host to major video tournaments where "Counter-Strike," "Quake" or other titles are played in arenas attended by thousands of spectators. But the large screens at what is seen as a major spectator sport in Germany cannot depict bloodletting during "Counter-Strike" or other first-person shooter battles.
The bill was introduced late last year after 18-year-old Sebastian Bosse shot up a high school in Emsdetten, Germany, injuring 37 before fatally turning the gun on himself. According to reports and police officials, the shooting was carried out methodically, as if Bosse were trying to advance to the next level in a vidgame. The investigation that followed revealed Bosse spent most his waking hours playing "Counter-Strike."
The incident was followed by a post on a videogame forum in which a death threat was made. According to police officials, a threat was made by someone who said he wanted to murder school pupils. The perpetrator remains at large.
For German politicians who drafted the legislation, the incidents were seen as a last straw. Since Bosse was reportedly addicted to vidgames and spent his waking hours gaming, the violent link is clear, German politicians and officials say.
According to Andreas Fess, a major in the German crime prevention unit of the Bund police department, which is lobbying for the legislation, a public survey found that most Germans feel that violent vidgaming and the school shooting were linked, and support banning the titles.
"It is always young men who commit these kinds of crimes, and it is always young men who play these kinds of games," Fess said. "They play more videogames than they watch TV or films."
So why not outlaw other media, such as violent movies with the German equivalent of R ratings, or gangster hip hop music? The difference, Fess said, is that vidgames cross the line because the player is pulling the trigger.
"In a film, you only watch the scenes," Fess said.
Frank Sliwka, chairman of Deutscher eSport-Bund, a German electronic sports association, claims vidgames are being unjustly singled out.
"Politicians have to do something, so they say ‘Let's have stronger laws for games,' " Sliwka said. "No one asked: ‘Where did Bosse get the gun in the first place?"
Violent vidgames are attracting attention by European politicians outside of Germany's borders as well. The European Commission has begun an investigation of violent videogames and their alleged ill effects. The EC study is backed by British EC parliament member Michael Cashman, who seeks to create a European-wide game rating system.
But Sliwka says politicians are merely playing on voters' fear and ignorance of the gaming genre. While films have existed for over a century, videogames are a comparatively new genre, and are not yet fully understood by the general public, he said.
"Videogames are new and the politicians don't know what they are," Sliwka said. "They have never played the games."
Source: "Variety"