The Bundestag, Germany’s Parliament, has received over 73,000 signatures on a petition that opposes the enactment of a violent games ban. The petition, started in July 2009 on the official forum of the Bundestag, has passed the required 50,000 mark and will be reviewed and discussed by the government, as German law requires such action.
The author of the petition was invited to speak before the Committee on Petitions, where they spoke of the general disdain towards the violent games ban. It was recommended that better education on the PEGI game ratings, the European counterpart to the ESRB system, take place in lieu of an outright ban. As such, Dr. Herman Kues, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Home Affairs has announced that no changes to the current criminal code would be enacted. The government has decided to make a push towards more public education. [Thanks for the translation, GamePolitics.com]
Publishers and developers alike were pleased with the news. EA Senior VP Dr. Jens Uwe Intat told GI.biz that, “The German decision is a very welcome step as we encourage policy makers to better understand the reality of today's videogame market and give games the same respect as books, films or music.”
Crytek should be thrilled with the news, since the publisher viewed the ban with contempt, and even threatened to leave Germany should the ban have been enacted.
As for similar situations across the globe, it does not seem likely that countries will move to ban games. It seems to be the position of several legislatures that regulation is the answer. The battle between free expression and regulation is an ongoing one, but it seems gamers and governments are quite content with the current regulation systems seen in PEGI and ESRB.
2 Comments
May 21, 2010
Who was this a bigger pain for? Publishers or consumers. Do German gamers really care?
May 21, 2010
Yes German gamers do care! I am one!