14 DAY TRIAL // Video games have been blamed for a lot of things over the years, especially those that featured violence as they were believed to influence young people and teach them that violence was actually fun and could be sustained in real life, not only in the virtual realm.
Even though studies have infirmed such things, it seems that the recent rampage of a 17-year-old high school student in the German city of Winnenden, on March 11, has taken a considerable toll on video games in the public spotlight of the German people.
After a rampage against violent video games made by newspapers and TV stations, it seems that the Interior Ministers of Germany's 16 states have unanimously decided to ask the Bundestag, which is the country's equivalent to Parliament, to ban the production and distribution of violent video games.
This initiative, which is backed up by a lot of people, wants to be turned into a law and enforced by the authorities before the new elections take place in the European country on September 27. Whether or not it will be supported by the members of the Bundestag is still unknown, but as politicians usually want to do anything that might make them look good in the media, some of them will back it up.
If such a proposal is voted and enforced by the authorities in Germany, reputed game developers such as Crytek, which is responsible for violent titles such as Far Cry or Crysis, might be forced to change their activity or relocate in another country that has kinder laws concerning this subject.
If such a thing were to happen, the economy of the country might lose an important sector, as creating video games brings a lot of profit for the government of the countries that are hosting the studios.
Do you believe that banning the development and distribution of violent video games in Germany will see its crime rates drop? Or will it have no effect and it won't even be made a law? Leave us a comment below.