Germany - Ban On Violent Videogames

Members of Germany's main political parties have proposed an extension to the country's already rather strict rules on videogame violence. Should these new regulations be enforced, all games that depict lethal violence would be utterly banned.

Andreas Scheuer of the Christian Social Union said that "killing games" have "no place in Germany's bedrooms." Scheuer added that while parents must take responsibility for the games their children play, the government should help less media-competent adults by bringing in a complete ban.

Grietje Bettin of the Grun party stated, however, that "The laws read in such a way as if the coalition partners are not familiar with the existing regulations at all."

Olaf Wolters, head of Germany's interactive software association, declared in an interview for Der Spiegel that "As far as we are concerned, there are no such things as killer games, but adult games."

Germany has some of the strictest laws in the world when it comes to videogames. However, many politicians claim that these laws do not go far enough after, in 2002, a 19 year old shot and killed 16 people in the town of Erfurt before turning the gun on himself. The gunman was said to be an avid fan of shooting game Counter-Strike, and the game was eventually pulled from store shelves.

The new legislation will come into effect in March 2008.

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