Vodstok
02-05-2007, 05:37 AM
Germany, ever mindful of its troubled history, keeps as close an eye on its past as it does its present and future. And that may spell trouble for certain video games.
Politicians are pushing new legislation that would ban games deemed violent or that incite hatred. Not only that, this decidedly pacifist nation is lobbying the European Union to impose continent-wide censorship of especially inflammatory games.
Nonviolence and pacifism form the cornerstone of modern German society, where the memories of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich are still vivid, and the price for transgressors can be steep. A person caught distributing or possessing Nazi regalia, for example, can face five years of jail time for a repeat offense.
"My parents, who were born after World War II, received a very strong anti-violence education from their parents, and they handed it over to me," said sociologist Matthias Richter, a professor at Bielefeld University. "So the whole society became aware of what violence is and what violence causes, and this was set out in laws in Germany."
Germany's dilemma is how to reconcile its determination to apply the lessons of the past to educating and protecting its youth, while remaining a free and open society as set down in its version of the U.S. Constitution, the Basic Law. And this is where the makers of violent video games are running into trouble.
Some German officials link these games to an increase in violence among the young and cite at least one instance where a gamer applied the lessons learned from a first-person shooter to a real-life murderous rampage. Remove the connection, they argue, and you prevent further violence.
Germany has a lot of gamers, but the violence found in many of these games is widely criticized there. It has some of the strictest video-game censorship laws in the Western world. For example, laws prohibit the sale of Counter-Strike and other titles with blood-depicting graphics switched on. But for many politicians, the laws don't go far enough.
"The media and conservative politicians see that (violent video games) do not fit with our society," Richter said.
Pacifist themes form the core of textbooks read by German school children. A major part of the primary education curriculum focuses on teaching children the hard lessons learned during World War II, particularly regarding the Holocaust.
But while there's a determination to teach "about the past and to not let it happen again," restricting video games is not the right solution, either, said Ingrid Engert, a colleague of Richter's at Bielefeld University.
"Just having one more law is not enough," said Engert, no fan of violent video games herself. "You have to tackle the sources of what has happened in the past. It is too simplistic. Forbidding one thing is good enough for politicians, but not for educators."
Despite the furor, Germany is home to a thriving gaming culture and is one of the world's largest markets for video games, according to Euromonitor. LAN parties are regularly scheduled around the country, which hosts Europe's largest gaming trade show, the Games Convention in Leipzig.
Many German gamers think their politicians' gaming crusade shows a lack of understanding about a subculture that has a beneficial side to it, according to Frank Sliwka, chairman of Deutscher eSport-Bund, an electronic sports association that serves as a mouthpiece for that community.
"Politicians are merely playing on voters' fear and ignorance of the gaming genre," Sliwka said. "While films have existed for over a century, video games are a comparatively new genre, and are not yet fully understood by the general public."
Indeed, the medium has become a scapegoat for legislators, said Alexander Mueller, manager of SK Gaming, a successful team that plays on the international gaming circuit.
"German politicians only look at gaming in one (way)," Mueller said. "When a (societal) problem occurs, it is easy to find just one argument and you then have someone to blame, and you don't have to go any deeper."
But many Germans feel violent video games should never get into the hands of someone like Sebastian Bosse. The 18-year-old spent endless hours playing Counter-Strike then shot three dozen people at a high school in Emsdetten. Bosse's rampage, which ended with his suicide, was followed by a chilling video-game forum post containing an open threat to commit murder in another German school.
After those incidents, some politicians suggested outlawing the sale and distribution of video games deemed violent, with penalties from fines to jail sentences. A spokesman for Günther Beckstein, the state of Bavaria's interior minister, confirmed that Beckstein petitioned the Bundesrat, Germany's national upper house of parliament, to outlaw games if a link is established between violent behavior and violent gaming.
Representatives for German ministers contacted by Wired News said they thought it was unlikely violent video games could be banned in Germany, but said other measures would be discussed during the coming months. Proposals range from tightening the video-game rating system to more vigorously enforcing the existing law.
"It is not good for our children that they should play (violent video games)," said a Ministry of Justice spokesman. "The state has a duty to also protect our children and adults from violence."
German politicians are lobbying against video-game violence in the European Union. In January, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble asked European justice and interior ministers to seek more pan-European restrictions on violent video-game titles.
A European Commission spokesman confirmed that EC officials are weighing whether member states should regulate the production and distribution of certain violent games -- Manhunt, for example, has been deemed bad for society. EC ministers will convene in perhaps a month to decide what course of action to take, the spokesman said.
But the majority of Germans are opposed to video-game violence, said Major Andreas Fess, a director of the Polizeiliche Kriminalprävention der Länder und des Bundes, Germany's federal crime prevention unit. According to Fess, most Germans tie last year's school shooting to video gaming and some kind of restriction is generally considered desirable.
"When you allow these games to be bought by adults, the kids can play these games as well, and we don't want kids to play these games," Fess said. "So we must also forbid it for adults as well."
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Proof that politicians the world over just dont get it. It wont be too long before the people playing these games are old enough to be in office. Maybe then we'll se an end to this kind of scapegoating. morons.
Politicians are pushing new legislation that would ban games deemed violent or that incite hatred. Not only that, this decidedly pacifist nation is lobbying the European Union to impose continent-wide censorship of especially inflammatory games.
Nonviolence and pacifism form the cornerstone of modern German society, where the memories of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich are still vivid, and the price for transgressors can be steep. A person caught distributing or possessing Nazi regalia, for example, can face five years of jail time for a repeat offense.
"My parents, who were born after World War II, received a very strong anti-violence education from their parents, and they handed it over to me," said sociologist Matthias Richter, a professor at Bielefeld University. "So the whole society became aware of what violence is and what violence causes, and this was set out in laws in Germany."
Germany's dilemma is how to reconcile its determination to apply the lessons of the past to educating and protecting its youth, while remaining a free and open society as set down in its version of the U.S. Constitution, the Basic Law. And this is where the makers of violent video games are running into trouble.
Some German officials link these games to an increase in violence among the young and cite at least one instance where a gamer applied the lessons learned from a first-person shooter to a real-life murderous rampage. Remove the connection, they argue, and you prevent further violence.
Germany has a lot of gamers, but the violence found in many of these games is widely criticized there. It has some of the strictest video-game censorship laws in the Western world. For example, laws prohibit the sale of Counter-Strike and other titles with blood-depicting graphics switched on. But for many politicians, the laws don't go far enough.
"The media and conservative politicians see that (violent video games) do not fit with our society," Richter said.
Pacifist themes form the core of textbooks read by German school children. A major part of the primary education curriculum focuses on teaching children the hard lessons learned during World War II, particularly regarding the Holocaust.
But while there's a determination to teach "about the past and to not let it happen again," restricting video games is not the right solution, either, said Ingrid Engert, a colleague of Richter's at Bielefeld University.
"Just having one more law is not enough," said Engert, no fan of violent video games herself. "You have to tackle the sources of what has happened in the past. It is too simplistic. Forbidding one thing is good enough for politicians, but not for educators."
Despite the furor, Germany is home to a thriving gaming culture and is one of the world's largest markets for video games, according to Euromonitor. LAN parties are regularly scheduled around the country, which hosts Europe's largest gaming trade show, the Games Convention in Leipzig.
Many German gamers think their politicians' gaming crusade shows a lack of understanding about a subculture that has a beneficial side to it, according to Frank Sliwka, chairman of Deutscher eSport-Bund, an electronic sports association that serves as a mouthpiece for that community.
"Politicians are merely playing on voters' fear and ignorance of the gaming genre," Sliwka said. "While films have existed for over a century, video games are a comparatively new genre, and are not yet fully understood by the general public."
Indeed, the medium has become a scapegoat for legislators, said Alexander Mueller, manager of SK Gaming, a successful team that plays on the international gaming circuit.
"German politicians only look at gaming in one (way)," Mueller said. "When a (societal) problem occurs, it is easy to find just one argument and you then have someone to blame, and you don't have to go any deeper."
But many Germans feel violent video games should never get into the hands of someone like Sebastian Bosse. The 18-year-old spent endless hours playing Counter-Strike then shot three dozen people at a high school in Emsdetten. Bosse's rampage, which ended with his suicide, was followed by a chilling video-game forum post containing an open threat to commit murder in another German school.
After those incidents, some politicians suggested outlawing the sale and distribution of video games deemed violent, with penalties from fines to jail sentences. A spokesman for Günther Beckstein, the state of Bavaria's interior minister, confirmed that Beckstein petitioned the Bundesrat, Germany's national upper house of parliament, to outlaw games if a link is established between violent behavior and violent gaming.
Representatives for German ministers contacted by Wired News said they thought it was unlikely violent video games could be banned in Germany, but said other measures would be discussed during the coming months. Proposals range from tightening the video-game rating system to more vigorously enforcing the existing law.
"It is not good for our children that they should play (violent video games)," said a Ministry of Justice spokesman. "The state has a duty to also protect our children and adults from violence."
German politicians are lobbying against video-game violence in the European Union. In January, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble asked European justice and interior ministers to seek more pan-European restrictions on violent video-game titles.
A European Commission spokesman confirmed that EC officials are weighing whether member states should regulate the production and distribution of certain violent games -- Manhunt, for example, has been deemed bad for society. EC ministers will convene in perhaps a month to decide what course of action to take, the spokesman said.
But the majority of Germans are opposed to video-game violence, said Major Andreas Fess, a director of the Polizeiliche Kriminalprävention der Länder und des Bundes, Germany's federal crime prevention unit. According to Fess, most Germans tie last year's school shooting to video gaming and some kind of restriction is generally considered desirable.
"When you allow these games to be bought by adults, the kids can play these games as well, and we don't want kids to play these games," Fess said. "So we must also forbid it for adults as well."
____________________________________________
Proof that politicians the world over just dont get it. It wont be too long before the people playing these games are old enough to be in office. Maybe then we'll se an end to this kind of scapegoating. morons.