Video game controversy

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Video games have been the subject of debate and censorship, due to the depiction of graphic violence, sexual themes,^[1] consumption of illegal drugs, consumption of alcohol or tobacco, or profanity in some games. Critics of video games sometimes include parents' groups, politicians, organized religion groups, and other special interest groups. In recent years, particularly notable controversy was generated with the discovery of a downloadable modification that unlocked a sexually explicit minigame in the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

"Video game censorship" is defined as use of state or group power to control the playing, distribution, purchase, or sale of video games or computer games based on an evaluation of the game's content. Video game censorship is a polarizing subject, with both proponents and opponents of censorship displaying passion for their views.

Contents 1 Brief history 2 History of notable criticism 3 Causes of controversy 3.1 Criticism of crime and violence in video games 3.2 Criticism related to psychology and children's social development 3.3 Criticism from religious organizations 3.4 Criticism for alleged racism in video games 3.5 Uninteresting/Uncreative games 3.6 Publicized incidents 3.7 Counter-criticism by proponents of video games 4 Video game legislation around the world 4.1 Argentina 4.2 Australia 4.3 Brazil 4.4 Canada 4.5 China 4.6 Germany 4.7 Greece 4.8 Italy 4.9 Japan 4.10 New Zealand 4.11 Oman 4.12 Poland 4.13 South Korea 4.14 United Kingdom 4.15 United States 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Brief history

Historically, this type of controversy and criticism is not unique to video games. The same situation has been applied to comic books; music (particularly, hip hop, heavy metal, jazz), and films. The age of the art medium also plays a role in the level of controversy since the longer an art medium exists the more likely it is to have generated broader public acceptance. In the aforementioned examples, attempts at censorship in the United States were struck down as a violation of First Amendment rights, and they have all gone on to become integrated facets of society.

In June 2007, the American Medical Association considered a proposal to designate video game addiction as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. They recommended that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) consider the change when it revises the next diagnostic manual in 2012.^[2]

[edit] History of notable criticism

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

In 1976, Death Race became one of the first controversial video games; based on the film Death Race 2000, it allowed players to drive around in a car, in order to run down zombies. Nevertheless, critics inferred that the game actually simulated vehicular homicide—particularly considering that the game's original title was Pedestrian. Also, the film consists of racers running over pedestrians in order to score "points". However, this did not earn quite as much controversy as the game.

[edit] Causes of controversy

[edit] Criticism of crime and violence in video games

Video and computer games are periodically criticized in the media. Examples include Mortal Kombat, Doom, and Grand Theft Auto. Proponents of video game censorship believe that "it is particularly disturbing to some that some video games allow players to act out crimes, and reward them for doing so." A frequently-cited example is the extremely popular Grand Theft Auto III by Rockstar Games, in which a principal game activity is carjacking. It should be noted, however, that any activity of this sort in the game is done completely by choice and players are punished for committing crimes by the police. Considering this game allows one to freely choose, it could also be noted that the game is similar to real life. On the other hand, A later game in the series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas goes a step further, with levels that require the gamer to murder corrupt police characters before the game will advance.

The game's predecessor, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City came under similar criticism, also for implying allegedly racist hate crimes: the game, taking place in "Vice City" (a fictional Miami) in 1986, involves a gang war between Haitians and Cuban refugees, and the player often serves both gangs to plot against one another. Haitian and Cuban anti-defamation groups highly criticized the game for these actions, including using phrases such as "kill the Haitian dickheads" (a phrase used in the game, actually referring to the Haitian gang with which the character is having a shoot-out). After the threat of being sued by the Haitian-American Coalition, Rockstar removed the word "Haitians" from this phrase in the game's subtitles.

These concerns have led to voluntary rating systems adopted by the industry, such as the ESRB rating system in the United States and the PEGI rating system in Europe, that are aimed at informing parents about the types of games their children are playing (or are asking to play). Certain game publishers’ decision to have controversial games rated shows that they are not targeted at young children. They are ESRB rated as "Mature" or "Adults Only" in the US, or given BBFC ratings of 15 or 18 in the UK. The packaging notes that these games should not be sold to children. In the US, ESRB ratings are not legally binding, but many retailers take it upon themselves to refuse the sale of these games to minors. In the UK, the BBFC ratings are backed up by law, so it is actually illegal to sell the game to anyone under the indicated age, and many UK retailers go beyond that and also enforce the PEGI ratings, which are not backed up by law.

Lt. Col. David Grossman, a former West Point psychology professor, has written several books that pertain to the subject of violence in the media, including On Killing and Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill. During heights of video game controversy he has been interviewed on the content of his books, and has repeatedly used the term "murder simulator" to describe first-person shooter games. He argues that video game publishers unethically train children in the use of weapons and, more importantly, harden them emotionally to the act of murder by simulating the killing of hundreds or thousands of opponents in a single typical video game.

Most studies, however, reach the conclusion that violence in video games is not causally linked with aggressive tendencies. This was the conclusion of a 1999 study by the U.S. government, prompting Surgeon General David Satcher to say, "We clearly associate media violence to aggressive behavior. But the impact was very small compared to other things. Some may not be happy with that, but that’s where the science is."^[3] A meta-analysis by psychologist Jonathan Freedman, who reviewed over 200 published studies and found that the majority did not find a causal link, also reached this conclusion.^[4]

Controversy of speeding and evading the authority in racing games has surfaced when a copy of Need for Speed: Most Wanted found on one of the street racer's car in Toronto in January 19, 2006, when two street, named Alexander Ryazanov and Wang-Piao Dumani Rossracers, both aged 18 were involved in an accident resulting in a taxi-driver's death, named Tahir Khan. Nevertheless, the police did not find any connection between the game and the incident.^[5]

[edit] Criticism related to psychology and children's social development

Over two hundred studies have been published which examine the effects of violence in entertainment media and which at least partially focus on violence in video games in particular. Some psychological studies^[6] have shown a correlation between children playing violent video games and suffering psychological effects, though the vast majority stop short of claiming behavioral causation.

The American Psychological Association summarizes the issue as "Psychological research confirms that violent video games can increase children's aggression, but that parents moderate the negative effects."^[7] Craig A. Anderson has testified before the U.S. Senate on the issue, and his meta-analysis of these studies has shown five consistent effects: "increased aggressive behavior, thoughts, and affect; increased physiological arousal; and decreased prosocial (helping) behavior".^[8] Nevertheless, some studies explicitly deny that such a connection exists, most notably Anderson and Ford (1986), Winkel et al. (1987), Scott (1995), Ballard and Lineberger (1999), and Jonathan Freedman (2002).^[9] More recently, Block and Crain (2007) claim that in a critical paper by Anderson (and his co-author, Bushman), data was improperly calculated and produced fallacious results.^[10]

On March 6, 2005, the American television news program 60 Minutes took on the case of an 18-year old murderer (named Devin Moore), wherein plaintiffs have argued Grand Theft Auto: Vice City inspired him to kill three police officers that came to arrest him for stealing a car. In October 2005, a judge sentenced the convicted killer to death by lethal injection.

[edit] Criticism from religious organizations

See also: Censorship by organized religion

Such content found in video games are often criticized by religious groups of specific denominations. Games such as Breath of Fire II, La Pucelle Tactics, Xenogears / Xenosaga, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy X, Castlevania,^[11] Tales of Symphonia, Grandia II and Shin Megami Tensei contain religious themes that some might find offensive. Often, RPGs in particular make use of a corrupt and powerful church as the game’s antagonist.

In response to potential criticism, religious content has been censored in some Western releases of Japanese-origin video games. Nintendo in particular censored many of its U.S. releases back in the NES and SNES era. Castlevania, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and other games containing such references as crosses, the words "holy," "monk," and names of biblical figures were censored for their U.S. release. One trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Tamagon, was locked out of the U.S. release of the game, possibly due to religious reference and the title of the game in which he originally appeared (Devil World). The trophy can be obtained via hacking, but the name of the game has been changed to "Demon World" in the description.

Members of the Sikh came in action against the 2002 game Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, starting a petition that urged publisher Eidos to recall the game, because of a level in the game where the player was instructed to kill a group of "fanatical believers", which bore quite a resemblance to the Sikh. A couple of months after it's release however, the initial fervor and writer Jasvinder Singh Gulati stated that "after playing the version of the game released for PlayStation 2, I believe that us Sikhs totally overreacted."

In 2002, the Xbox fighting game Kakuto Chojin offended many Muslims with the use of religious chanting in background music. The Saudi Arabian government made a formal protest, and Microsoft pulled the game internationally in early 2003.^[12]

Many Muslims were also offended by the Nintendo 64 game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In one of the game's dungeons, Muslim chanting can be heard in the background music. This was changed by Nintendo in later versions of the game, with the older versions being discontinued.^[13] A prominent symbol in the game was the star and crescent, which is usually interpreted as a symbol of Islam. This was also replaced in later versions of the game, with a different symbol.

[edit] Criticism for alleged racism in video games

There have been a number of incidents in which a certain racial group felt their rights were violated by the racist depiction in a certain video game.

At least one video game, 2002's Ethnic Cleansing, has been based on an explicitly racist premise.

A number of games have been criticized purely for their settings, such as Total Overdose in Mexico, or Resident Evil 5 in the African continent.

Nintendo was criticized for the design of the Pokémon Jynx, who according to children's book author Carole Boston Weatherford bore a striking resemblance to blackface actors, a racist image from America's past. Due to this complaint, Nintendo ended up slightly changing the colors in the Pokémon's design.

In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, one of the instructions that the player is given is to "kill all the Haitians", referring to the Haitian gang in the game. The group "Haitian-Americans for Human Rights"staged a protest outside of New York's City Hall, claiming the game was teaching children to be racist.

Loco Roco was criticized by a gaming journalist who said that the similarities between the game's black Moja-characters and the 19th century Goliwogg dolls, was a "product of unchecked institutional racism".

The 2006-game GUN was the target of controversy when the Association of American Indian Development attempted to have it's release banned, because they felt that the game was being racist against Indians.

[edit] Uninteresting/Uncreative games

Some critics of film and literature look down on video gaming as an inferior form of entertainment.^[14] The majority of criticism of video games from within the video-gaming community also relates to quality. This may stem from early early video games, which tended to have had either simple or entirely linear story structures with little regard to plot development. However, an equal or possibly higher amount of games within the past few years have more commonly featured complex plots with alternate endings based on the player actions, often aided with intense social commentary or emotional content in the plot (even in some children's game series). A frequent counterargument is that this is like complaining that a game of football does not contain much plot or character development, and that although most video games contain a narrative, it serves only to propel the player's actions in and against a virtual world, which is not primarily based upon passively seeing and hearing. Another point of view compares video games to the movies, which during the silent era were also considered mere entertainment.

Other criticisms include unrealistic aspects of graphics or gameplay, games that are simply not fun to play, a perceived lack of games that appeal to women and girls, and a strong and increasing tendency of video game publishers to avoid risks and originality by only funding games which have clear promise to succeed financially. For example, the use of violence in games is sometimes seen as a crutch for creativity by critics; it is alleged that if a developer cannot invent an original, fun activity for the player, he will end up giving the player the time-honored task of shooting a monster. In particular, there has been a perceived increase in:

• sequels to, prequels to, and enhanced remakes of previously successful games.
• games which use a licensed intellectual property (in the sense of a copyright and trademark portfolio related to a specific brand) from some other medium, often movies, comic books, television shows, or books;
• games whose game play is more or less copied directly from previously published games that were successful. It is generally agreed that in the early days of video games there seemed to be an explosion of creativity with genuinely new types of game play appearing in some new game every month, and now a new type of game play is seen only a couple of times per year. The Grand Theft Auto series is one of the most notorious for having copy-cat games made (see GTA Clone).

It should be noted that such complaints are legitimate across all mediums.

[edit] Publicized incidents

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Several incidents speculated to be caused by video games in recent decades have helped fuel controversy.

• On December 1, 1997, 14-year old American Michael Carneal had killed 3 and injured 5 others in the Heath High School shooting after playing Doom, Quake, Castle Wolfenstein, Redneck Rampage, Nightmare Creatures, MechWarrior, and Resident Evil, and accessing some pornographic sites. Carneal also owned The Basketball Diaries, a film which includes a high school student dreaming about shooting his teacher and some classmates, which sparked many debates on internet forums about whether the film about killing classmates, or the game where a character shoots aliens is more at fault.
• On April 20, 1999, American high school students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 people and themselves in the Columbine High School massacre. The pair had been fans of Doom, claimed their mothers; however, later investigations by the FBI revealed that Harris' plan was originally to blow up the school. He started shooting when his bombs did not go off.
• In November 2001, 21-year-old American Shawn Woolley committed suicide after what his mother claimed was an addiction to EverQuest. Woolley's mother stated, "I think the way the game is written is that when you first start playing it, it is fun, and you make great accomplishments. And then the further you get into it, the higher level you get, the longer you have to stay on it to move onward, and then it isn't fun anymore. But by then you're addicted, and you can't leave it." It should be noted there is no proof Woolley's mother ever played the game.^[15]
• In February, 2003, 16-year-old American Dustin Lynch was charged with aggravated murder and made an insanity defense that he was "obsessed" with Grand Theft Auto III. Long time video game opponent and attorney Jack Thompson encouraged the father of victim JoLynn Mishne to pass a note to the judge that said "the attorneys had better tell the jury about the violent video game that trained this kid [and] showed him how to kill our daughter, JoLynn. If they don't, I will."^[16] Lynch later retracted his insanity plea, and his mother Jerrilyn Thomas commented, "It has nothing to do with video games or Paxil, and my son's no murderer."^[17]
• On June 7, 2003, 18-year-old American Devin Moore shot and killed two policemen and a dispatcher after grabbing one of the officers' weapons following an arrest for the possession of a stolen vehicle. At trial, the defense claimed that Moore had been inspired by the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City,^[18] although some have later pointed out that the defender would have said anything to avoid blame.
• On June 25, 2003, two American step brothers, Joshua and William Buckner, aged 14 and 16, respectively, used a rifle to fire at vehicles on Interstate 40 in Tennessee, killing a 45-year-old man and wounding a 19-year-old woman. The two shooters told investigators they had been inspired by Grand Theft Auto III.^[19]
• On February 27, 2004 in Leicester, UK, 17-year-old Warren Leblanc lured 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah into a park and murdered him by stabbing him repeatedly with a claw hammer and knife. Leblanc was reportedly obsessed with Manhunt. The victim's mother Giselle Pakeerah has been campaigning against violent video games in the UK ever since.^[20] The police investigating the case have dismissed any link, as discussed in the relevant articles.
• In July 5, 2004, Cody Posey killed and buried his parents after supposedly being inspired by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, despite at no point in the game does the main character bury someone he has killed, nor does anyone in the game kill their parents.
• In October 2004, a 41-year-old Chinese man named Qiu Chengwei stabbed 26-year-old Zhu Caoyuan to death over a dispute regarding the sale of a virtual weapon the two had jointly won in the game Legend of Mir 3.^[21]
• On May 24, 2005, the four-month-old daughter of a South Korean couple died of suffocation after being left unattended for five hours while her parents played World of Warcraft at an Internet cafe.^[22]
• In August 2005, 28-year-old South Korean Lee Seung Seop died after playing Starcraft for 50 hours straight.^[23]
• In September 2007, a Chinese man in Guangzhou, China, died after playing Internet video games for three consecutive days in an Internet cafe.^[24][25]
• In December 2007, a Russian man was beaten to death over an argument in the MMORPG Lineage II. The man was killed when his guild and a rival guild challenged each other to a brawl in the real world.^[26]

[edit] Counter-criticism by proponents of video games

The most common argument against video games is that they promote violence. A counter-argument commonly expressed in the video game community is that playing these games does not motivate players to actually commit acts of violence in reality; playing a first person shooter does not cause most people to commit murder. A US Secret Service study found that only 12 percent of those involved in school shootings were attracted to violent video games, while 24 percent read violent books and 27 percent were attracted to violent films.^[27] An Australian study found that only children already predisposed to violence were affected by violent games.^[28]

Many gamers accuse critics of overreacting and imagining effects. As with Fredric Wertham's widely publicized crusade against comic books in the 1950s, the association of video gaming with youth crime can be at best seen as a correlation; because a very high percentage of adolescents and young adults play video games (analogous to youth readership of comic books in the 1950s), it would not be surprising that these video games show up in the possession of young violent criminals as well.

Within the video game industry itself, there is not much self-criticism about excessive sexuality or violence, as it is generally agreed that video games are for a wide range of ages, as with films and books, and are not always toys for children. The industry also argues that video game publishers have as much right to explore adult-oriented, mature themes as do movie studios or book publishers. Some developers and publishers find some of this type of content distasteful and do not produce it, but in general there is not much agitation to set limits on adult content for the industry as a whole. Nolan Bushnell once said in a documentary that violent video games, for the video game industry, are similar to what porn films represent for the film industry.

A tongue-in-cheek parody of a GTA clone was featured on a sketch on popular Adult Swim stop-motion sketch show Robot Chicken. The sketch, which is set out in the form of an ad, points out some exaggerated features that are commonly associated with violent video games, such as the ability for the protagonist to shoot his parents, urinate on homeless people, run people over with a school bus, and date-rape an intellectually disabled person. But at the end of the ad, a voice says, "Rated E for Everyone".

A similar parody was in season 8, episode 16 of MADtv, with a "Grand Theft Auto" game show, exaggerating all of the controversial features: Frequent killings (two of the contestants, portrayed by Bobby Lee and Paul Vogt get "killed"); drugs; and prostitutes (though there was only one on the show.) The show ended with an apology for the excessive violence in the sketch, and a reminder to go and buy "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City".

Currently, some educators have begun to address "the controversy over the effects of violent gameplay on gamers" and have also discussed ways in which teachers might incorporate video games into their classrooms, as is the subject of the book Playing to Learn: Video Games in the Classroom written by a Ph.D. at Brock University.^[29]

After conducting a two-year study of more than 1,200 middle-school children about their attitudes towards video games, Harvard Medical School researchers Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson found out that playing video games did not have a particularly negative affect on the researched group.^[30]

[edit] Video game legislation around the world

[edit] Argentina

In Argentina, federal legislation (Law No. 26.043) states that Manufacturers and/or importers of video games are required to display the warning "Overexposure is harmful to health" on the packaging in which such products are marketed. The rating "Suitable for all ages", "Suitable for persons aged 13 or over" or "Suitable for persons aged 18 or over", as applicable, must also be displayed.

[edit] Australia

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In Australia video games are rated by the Office of Film and Literature Classification, which also rates other media. Unlike movies however, no R18+ or X18+ category exists for video games, and as such if they do not fit into the MA15+ category (suitable for 15 year olds and over), they are refused classification and effectively banned, because video games can not be sold in Australia without a rating from the OFLC, unless that video game applies for, and receives, exemption from being rated.^[31] This fact means that games deemed unsuitable for 15 year olds are banned entirely from sale and distribution within the country, even for use by adults. This situation has been a point of much debate for many years now, as the video gaming community view this as restrictive and archaic. Recently the Victorian government has announced plans to try and get an R18+ category introduced.^{[citation needed]} A comprehensive list of games that have been banned in Australia can be found at Refused-Classification. The "argument for" states that adults are allowed to see and hear whatever they like. Much of the controversy seems to be caused by the perception that video games are only targeted at children.

In 1996, Duke Nukem 3D was refused classification because of the presence of minor nudity in a section of the game. It was modified so that it was sold with the parental lock on, removing the nudity, but a mix-up meant that the unlocked content was sold on the game's disc. This led to the majority of the Australian player base gaining access to, and playing, the banned version of the game. The OFLC attempted to have the game recalled, since the version that was being sold was functionally the version that was refused classification. The OFLC was unsuccessful, however, because the distributor had notified them that the uncensored content was on the disc when the modified version was classified. Six months later, the unmodified version of the game was officially reclassified as MA15+, and was allowed for sale throughout Australia.

In 2002, Australia banned Grand Theft Auto III for allowing certain actions against virtual prostitutes; the game was later reinstated when this action was removed. Specifically, the player could solicit services from a virtual prostitute, and then kill her. The ability to solicit sex from prostitutes in the game was the action that was removed, but the player could still violently murder them. The sequel, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was also modified for the same reasons, and in the same way for release in the Australian market. Similarly, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was banned in July 2005 following the revelation that sex scenes were included in the content files on the game's disk. Ordinarily, one could not access these scenes, but third party modification, known as the Hot Coffee mod, allowed the player to access these scenes within the game itself. The inclusion of the scenes on the game disk took the game outside the MA15+ category. The MA15+ rating was re-instated after a modified version was released by Rockstar Games, omitting the content files for the sex scenes. In 2005 the game 50 Cent: Bulletproof was banned for encouraging gang violence (a version without the game's Arcade Mode and excessive gore, and with an automatic Game Over for killing innocents was later submitted and given an MA15+ rating), and Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure was also banned for glorifying illegal graffiti tagging. Reservoir Dogs was banned because the Australian government disliked the fact that the player was able to shoot the heads off of hostages during a bank heist.

Two other games banned in Australia are the highly violent (and controversial) Postal and Postal² from Running With Scissors.

The most recent video game of the Grand Theft Auto series, Grand Theft Auto IV, has also prompted editing in the Australian (PAL) version. In the American release, sexual encounters with prostitutes occur inside the player's vehicle and the player has the ability to rotate the camera for clearer view of what transpires. This ability is absent in the Australian version in which the camera is fixed behind the vehicle.^[32]

It was recently announced that an R18+ rating for video games was in the works,^[33] though South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson has stated he will fight against this plan. Atkinson is solely responsible for maintaining Austalia's status of being the only developed democracy without an adults only rating for video games, despite overwhelming demand for such a rating.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Brazil

Around the 1990s, Brazil did not have a video game rating system, such as ESRB, but some games such as Carmageddon, Postal and Grand Theft Auto were banned in the whole Brazilian territory via juridical decision.^[34] Due to a gunman's rampage through a movie theatre in Brazil,^[35] Duke Nukem 3D was also banned in that country along with Quake, Doom and several other violent first-person shooters. The Brazil rampage (named Mateus da Costa Meira) was allegedly inspired by Duke Nukem 3D's opening level "Hollywood Holocaust" (Episode 1, Mission 1), where a firefight with aliens takes place inside a cinema. Despite this ban, Duke Nukem 3D was subsequently being published in a computer magazine (Revista Senha), and other titles such as Quake and Doom are still sold openly in Brazil.

On January 18, 2008, the Brazilian justice banned the games Counter-Strike and Everquest. Counter-Strike was banned due to cs_rio — a map which simulates a favela in Rio de Janeiro.^[34][36]

In April 10, 2008, the game Bully ^[37] was also banned by Brazilian justice claiming "The aggravating factor is that everything in Bully takes place inside a school.".

[edit] Canada

Canada (including French-speaking Quebec) uses the same ESRB rating system as the United States. However, in British Columbia and Ontario, their respective provincial governments re-rated the video games Soldier of Fortune and Manhunt as R (Canadian film rating), which unlike the United States' R rating, these games are restricted to those 18 and over for their depictions of graphic violence.^[38]

[edit] China

Main article: Video games in the People's Republic of China

Through new laws the Chinese government has said it plans to restrict gamers to three hours of consecutive play, using a “fatigue technique” in games. Children and teenagers are strongly encouraged to play online games no more than 3 hours per day through this method. After 3 hours their character abilities will be limited. Gamers who spend more than five hours will have the abilities of their in-game character severely limited. Players will be forced to take a five-hour break before they can return to a game with the character back to full capacity. In some cases further playing is locked down through their IP identification number or account with the online game vendor. The operators face little choice as they need government approval to offer online gaming.^[39]

The MMO genre of games is big business in China since subscription based games avoid software piracy, and most gamers use Internet cafes as they do not own a personal computer. The company that runs the popular World of Warcraft in China, The9, is listed on the NASDAQ market exchange so they must release an annual report which includes much information on how MMORPGs work in China. Abbreviated versions of the sources have been published.^[40][41]

China has also banned certain video games for their content. Foreign Internet games are subject to content examinations by the Ministry of Culture before being allowed to enter the Chinese market. Games such as Hearts of Iron, I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike,^[42] and Command & Conquer have all been banned for offenses such as "distorting history and damaging China's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and "smearing the image of China and the Chinese army".(However, it should be noted that Command and Conquer: Generals portrays China as a protagonist, aiding the U.S. in destroying a fictional terrorist cell.)^[43]

[edit] Germany

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In Germany, video games, as with other media, are subject to censorship, or "decency standards", that are strict by the standards of other European nations. For video games there is the index, which is a list of video games, films and other media considered a bad influence on children and therefore unsuited for anyone under 18. Articles not suited for anyone under 18 cannot be easily sold through mail order in Germany. There are a few specialized companies that sell such games, but require a photocopy of the buyers' ID card as age verification, and the package is only handed over to the buyer personally. Certain institutions can request that a game be examined by the BPjM (Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien). In some cases it is then placed on the index, usually because it is deemed to glorify violence, at which point it becomes illegal to advertise the games or even review them in an age-unrestricted medium, display them on store shelves, or sell them to anyone under 18. This dramatically affects sales, so most video game companies selling games in Germany elect to create a special German version that narrowly avoids the index by changing the graphics. Instead of red blood, green blood is shown, implying that aliens are being killed and not humans; or gears and springs are shown coming out of the wound, implying that the victims are robots. For example, the Contra series, known as Probotector in Europe, repeatedly replaced the heroes and many enemies throughout the series with robots. In Half-Life, the marines that are fought by the player are replaced by robots. The scientists also cannot be killed in Half-Life, they just sit down and shake their heads.

The problem with the index is that games cannot be examined by the BPjM prior to their release, even if requested by the manufacturers, as that would be considered censorship by German standards, which is illegal under the German constitution.^[44] However, this has led to many publishers thinking with "scissors in their hands" and removing more content than would have been necessary.

Recently, the index has become a little redundant regarding video games, as the USK's (Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle) ratings have been made obligatory and only games that did not receive a rating can be placed on the index. Before 2003-04-01 these ratings had been merely suggestions for gamers and the index was the only way to control sales. Now violent games which received an 18+ rating can be sold openly in stores, but the stores are responsible for checking the buyers' age. The self-censorship described above has also decreased because of that. Companies still employ it because a 16+ rating can improve sales, but it is not as excessive as it used to be.

Moreover, because of Germany's law banning public displays of Nazism and the swastika,^[45] some games have been banned for using these symbols, even though the rationale behind their use is clearly critical of the Nazi philosophy. Games such as Wolfenstein 3D or Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, which involve Allied soldiers on missions to kill Nazi soldiers, are banned. Although a censored version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein was released in Germany, the original Wolfenstein 3D remains illegal. It should be noted that confiscations of video games based on this law are not common, and most of the confiscated games are openly racist homebrews like KZ Manager.

The display of Nazi symbols in an accurate historical context is permitted. This applies especially to World War II films, which are classified as art and thus exempt from this ban. Video games however are denied being art. There are few World War II video games that are deemed to be historically accurate, but the backgrounds of titles such as Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Call of Duty and Commandos: Beyond The Call of Duty do operate on a historically true background, even if the stories central to the games are exaggerated or fictional. Nonetheless, the symbols were removed, although all other references to the Nazis were kept.

In September 2006, due to its graphic violence, the USK has refused to rate the Xbox 360 game Dead Rising. Microsoft does not allow unrated games to be published for the Xbox 360, effectively halting the production of a German version of the game. The game is available as an import to players of legal age. The same fate occurred to Gears of War as well as Crackdown.^[46]

[edit] Greece

In July 2002, the Greek Parliament passed Greek Law Number 3037, entirely outlawing electronic gaming. This controversial law has been frowned upon, not only in Greece, but elsewhere in Europe and in the United States, and petitions were made against it. In December 2003 it was restricted to only affect Internet cafes in accordance with a letter from the European Union.

[edit] Italy

In Italy some sporadic attempts at video game censorship have been made. The game Carmageddon was censored when first released, showing zombies instead of people and green blood. This censorship was not applied to the sequels, and apparently even the first game was re-released into its original form after some time; When Resident Evil 2 was released in 1998, it was banned from stores after a protest made by a group of conservative mothers, but it reappeared after few days following the ruling of a judge. In November 2006 Italian politicians inaccurately attacked Rule of Rose for alleged violence against children perpetrated by the player.^[47]

[edit] Japan

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Violent games are tolerated, as demonstrated in the Japanese created game series Biohazard (known as Resident Evil outside of Japan), Devil May Cry, God Hand, Samurai Spirits (also known as Samurai Shodown, which was censored in the US), and Dead Rising (Though Dead Rising was made with US audiences in mind). However, games in which depictions of violence and gore are deemed unnecessary, extravagant, and unethical are censored, such as Mortal Kombat. Consequently, Japanese critics tend to focus instead on pornography found in some adult Japanese computer games, which have generally not been released outside of Japan. Since 2002, a non-governmental organization, CERO, is reviewing games and issuing an age recommendation for all products that have been submitted.

Violently pornographic games came to national attention in Japan in 1986 with the release by dB-soft of 177, a game where the player takes the role of a rapist. (The game's title originates from the number of the Japanese law criminalizing rape.) 177 was not the first game designed around this premise, but it was unusually explicit for that time. The game caused debate in the Japanese parliament and was eventually recalled and re-released with the most controversial scenes removed. The controversy was ignited again in late 1991, when a junior high school student stole Saori: the House of Beautiful Girls. The game included scenes of abduction, incest and homosexuality. In 1992 the pornographic game industry formed the "Ethics Organization for Computer Software", setting industry guidelines for acceptable content and packaging. Those games deemed inappropriate by this organization for minors are released only to people 18 years or older.

See also: Bishōjo game and Hentai game

[edit] New Zealand

The relevant law for New Zealand is the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993. Apart from age restrictions, a publication can be declared objectionable:

For the purposes of this Act, a publication is objectionable if it describes, depicts, expresses, or otherwise deals with matters such as sex, horror, crime, cruelty, or violence in such a manner that the availability of the publication is likely to be injurious to the public good.^[48]

Objectionable publications can be seized any time by an Inspector from the Department of Internal Affairs, a Customs officer or a member of the police,^[49] and mere possession is an offense, punishable with up to five years imprisonment for an individual.^[50] Supply, distribution, display, or exhibition to any other person, or possession for this purpose, can be punished with up to ten years in jail under certain conditions.^[51]

Manhunt, Reservoir Dogs, Postal and Postal² were dubbed "objectionable" under this law.

[edit] Oman

The games Call Of Duty 4 and Assassin's Creed are banned in Oman.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Poland

Poland uses the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) rating system. In early 2006, it was announced that there will be a rating system unique to Poland.^[52] Law project probably will be presented with the end of 2007.^[53] Additionally, former Polish Minister of Education Roman Giertych stated that his “No tolerance for violence in school” ("Zero tolerancji dla przemocy w szkole") project will also apply as a ban on distributing violent video games.^[54] The project has been suspended by his successor, Ryszard Legutko, on August 14, 2007.

[edit] South Korea

Video game violence is controversial in South Korea, and "no blood" regulations apply. South Korea also regularly bans games that depict North Korea and South Korea at war, or that demonize North Koreans. Ghost Recon 2 and Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction have been banned for these reasons. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory was also banned in South Korea due to the destruction of the South Korean capital Seoul in the game; however, the ban was recently lifted in late 2006. The South Korean government banned Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Manhunt for cruelty and violence.

However, with launch of the Game Rating Board (Oct. 2007), tolerance for violence in games has been improved significantly. (Prior to GRB, Korea Media Rating Board, an organization responsible for rating various media such as theatrical movies and videos was in charge of rating video games.) With GRB in place, Korea is seeing lots of controversial games released with 18+ ratings. For example, PS2 and PC versions of GTA series were banned (by KMRB), but GTA games for PSP were released with 18+ rating (approved by GRB).

[edit] United Kingdom

The introduction of controversial games featuring photo-realistic images, such as Mortal Kombat and Night Trap, led to calls from the tabloid press for games to fall under the Video Recordings Act. The UK games publisher trade body ELSPA responded by introducing a voluntary age rating system in 1994. The ELSPA ratings were succeeded by the PEGI, in 2003. Nevertheless, although games are generally exempt from the Video Recordings Act, those depicting sexual content, or gross violence towards people or animals, must still be submitted to the BBFC for consideration. BBFC ratings are legally binding, and British law imposes stiff penalties on retailers who sell to under-aged customers.

Carmageddon, in which the gameplay involved mowing down innocent pedestrians, was the first game to be refused classification in 1997, effectively banning it. The game's publisher, SCI, had a modified version created in which the pedestrians in question were replaced by green-blooded zombies, which completed a successful appeal against the BBFC to overturn their original decision. The uncensored, unmodified version of Carmageddon was later released under an 18-certificate.

In 2002 the Io Interactive game Hitman 2: Silent Assassin was withdrawn by a number of retailers due to religious sensitivities.^[55] The area in question involved a Sikh sect that were depicted as terrorists involved in arms smuggling and assassination. It also involved a section that many Sikhs believed to closely resemble the 1984 massacre at the Amritsar temple.

In 2004, the parents of a murdered 14-year-old boy blamed Manhunt as having been "connected" to the murder. It was later found not to be, as the game was found in the victim's home, rather than the killer's.^[56] Leicestershire police "did not uncover any connections to the computer game."^[57] The accusations prompted some retailers to remove the game from their shelves.^[58] Nevertheless, following this incident the sales of the game rose due to the free publicity from newspaper headlines. The sequel, Manhunt 2, released in 2007, was banned in the UK by the BBFC. On appeal to the Video Appeals Committee this ruling was overturned^[59] however the BBFC launched a successful judicial review into the VAC's decision, forcing the VAC to reconsider its judgement.^[60] On 14th March 2008, the VAC again recommended that the game be released, a position to which the BBFC have now agreed. The game now, according to Play.com the game is now reportedly available on 29/08/2008 on all 3 consoles and is available to pre-order.

In June 2007 the PS3 game Resistance: Fall of Man was criticized for the use of Manchester cathedral as one of the games' backdrops. Sony, the publisher of the game, responded by saying "Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is aware of the concerns expressed by the Bishop of Manchester and the cathedral authorities... and we naturally take the concerns very seriously. Resistance: Fall of Man is a fantasy science fiction game and is not based on reality. We believe we have sought and received all permissions necessary for the creation of the game."

[edit] United States

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After the economic crash of the video game industry in the early 1980s, the home console industry was revived, and both Nintendo of America and Sega of America imposed censorship guidelines upon software publishers.

However, hardware manufactures never sought to impose such content censorship rules on the creators of computer games. If there was any objectionable content in a computer game, the publisher might put a generic parental advisory label on the game's packaging, while such content was often removed from a video game prior to sale.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 1990s, Sega of America, who had more liberal censorship polices, introduced the Videogame Rating Council in effort to develop a formal rating system for games sold on its Sega Genesis, Game Gear, and Sega CD. It was during this era that a second wave of controversy erupted over the content of certain video games (i.e. Doom, Mortal Kombat, Lethal Enforcers, Night Trap and Primal Rage).

The criticism came from interest groups and politicians, liberals and conservatives alike, who believed that the content of these games was too mature for children, promoted real life threats to public order and morality and, often, proposed greater government oversight of the industry. Senators Joe Lieberman, Herb Kohl and Byron Dorgan held high-profile hearings on the video game industry and instructed the industry to engage in effective self-regulation, or risk federal intervention.

The industry's response was to establish the ESRB, which would be charged with giving each video game sold within the United States a content based rating, similar to the MPAA film rating system. Initially computer game companies supported an alternative rating system, but the ESRB ratings would eventually be used for both video and computer games.

A third wave of national controversy erupted over the video game Grand Theft Auto, especially the "Hot Coffee" mod. Once this mod is downloaded it allowed the player to engage in graphic sex with a virtual girlfriend. This was not intended to be available in the game, but the code was not removed. This allowed someone to make a mod that allowed this code to run. The ESRB was not aware that this code existed, and more scrutiny was placed on the industry and its rating system.

Several States are considering, or have already enacted, legislation that would prohibit certain games being sold to minors. The Constitutionality of such legislation remains in dispute, as the courts have yet to decide what, if any, First Amendment protection exists for video and computer games.

Senator Lieberman stated in 2002 that in his opinion, the video game industry's rating system had become the best rating system of any medium, including the film industry. However, many video game players have criticized him, citing his work as too broad and unaware of the industry as a whole. The ESRB itself has, on numerous occasions, blamed any continued problems with video games on parents. It boasts an extremely high approval rating on its ratings, and claim that the labels are there and are properly used. It says that parents need to be more aware of what their children are buying and what they are buying for their children.

In December 2004, Hal Hal, the president of the retail trade association announced that all IEMA member companies - which included every major retailer of computer and video games, including such notable names as Wal-Mart - would now have policies to check the identification of young purchasers of games rated "Mature" to ensure that the purchaser is at least 17 years old, as recommended by the "Mature" rating. The association also required its members to post ESRB signage in every store and begin training retail clerks about the ratings system in order to help parents understand the process more thoroughly.

From time to time, local officials attempt to restrict the playing or selling of violent video games. Predictably, the ESA (representing video game publishers) and the IEMA (representing game retailers) oppose the legislation and have been, to-date, victorious in overturning each bill passed. For example, the city of Indianapolis, Indiana in 2000 passed an ordinance barring children from playing arcade games with graphic violence unless parental consent was given. It was generally thought that this law was intended to target the game The House of the Dead, in which players use plastic guns to shoot at the game screen in order to kill zombies that try to kill the player. The ordinance was struck down at the appellate Federal court level, on the grounds that in the United States, video games enjoy some measure of First Amendment free speech protection because they contain real expression of ideas, and children have constitutional rights before the age of 18, and given this, the city did not demonstrate an overriding public interest in passing the ban. Recently, Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich passed a law banning the sale of "violent or sexually explicit" video games to minors under the age of 18. The new law would have taken effect on January 1, 2006, but was struck down by District Court judge Matthew Kennelly. As Kennelly so concisely put it: "In this country, the state lacks the authority to ban protected speech on the ground that it affects the listener's or observer's thoughts and attitudes." In doing so, the Judge confirmed yet again that video games are protected under the First Amendment and deserve treatment no different than film and literature. Illinois was forced to pay the ESRB legal fees, approximately 1 million dollars. About three months later, similar laws were passed by Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The California law, as California Assembly Bills 1792 & 1793, was sponsored by Leland Yee, the Speaker pro Tem of the Assembly and a child psychologist. The laws were deemed unconstitutional by Judge Ronald Whyte on December 21, 2005; preventing it from going into effect on January 1, 2006.

On 2005-11-29, Senators Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act to much criticism. The act was intended to protect children from inappropriate content found in video games. The bill expired without going to a vote. Similar bills introduced at state level were found to be unconstitutional.

It should be noted that a large reason that such legislation described above has never been enforced in the United States is because such legislation has been unanimously ruled unconstitutional in US courts. Judges across the nation agree that, if nothing else, video games are a fine art, and thus are protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution's guarantee of freedom of press (press instead of speech because video game files are more long-term than pure oral words).

[edit] See also

• First Amendment to the United States Constitution
• Game addiction
• Greek electronic game ban
• List of banned video games
• Media controversy (disambiguation page)
• Media influence
• Media violence research
• Moral panic
• Nanny state
• Video games censored by Nintendo of America

[edit] References

v • d • e Video game controversy Computer and video game law Family Entertainment Protection Act • Truth in Video Game Rating Act • Video Game Decency Act • Video Recordings Act 1984 Organizations and rating systems Active: Entertainment Software Rating Board • Pan European Game Information • Computer Entertainment Rating Organization • Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle • National Coalition Against Censorship • TIGRS • Valtion elokuvatarkastamo • Game Rating Board • British Board of Film Classification • Office of Film and Literature Classification (Australia) • Office of Film and Literature Classification (New Zealand) Defunct: Videogame Rating Council • Recreational Software Advisory Council • 3DO Rating System • Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association • Korea Media Rating Board Major figures Attorneys/Lawyers: Julia Boseman • Hillary Clinton • Sam Brownback • Herb Kohl • Joe Lieberman • Jack Thompson • Fred Upton • Keith Vaz • Leland Yee Criminals: Devin Moore • Cody Posey Genres Eroge • Adult video game • Survival horror Games Death Race • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre • Halloween • Leisure Suit Larry • NARC • Mortal Kombat series • Lethal Enforcers • Night Trap • Doom • Duke Nukem 3D • Carmageddon • Grand Theft Auto series (Grand Theft Auto III (Grand Theft Auto III controversies) - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Grand Theft Auto: Vice City controversies) - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Hot Coffee minigame controversy) - Grand Theft Auto IV (Grand Theft Auto IV controversies)) • Hitman • Conker's Bad Fur Day • Postal series (Postal - Postal² - Postal III) • The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (ESRB re-rating) • Canis Canim Edit (Bully: Scholarship Edition) • Manhunt series • Reservoir Dogs • Custer's Revenge • 50 Cent: Bulletproof • State of Emergency series (State of Emergency - State of Emergency 2)• Wolfenstein series

[edit] External links

• Tom Chatfield writes on video games culture and controversies for Prospect Magazine