[url]http://uk.videogames.games.yahoo.com/blog/article/26801/doom-unbanned-in-germany.html[/url]
[quote]Seventeen years after the classic shoot ‘em up ‘Doom’ was summarily banned from sale in Germany and the authorities have decided to repeal their decision.
Doom was originally deemed to be too violent and potentially harmful for Germany’s youth. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge in the intervening years, of course – not to mention several generations of gaming hardware – and Doom now looks delightfully quaint compared to the likes of, say, the ‘Call of Duty’ series.
That seems to be the nub of the case made by Bethesda Softworks, the current owner of ID Software which made the game back in 1993. In a presentation to Germany’s ‘Bundesprufstelle’ – the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons – the company argued that Doom’s primitive graphics have been exceeded by many modern titles and that any violence depicted has far less of an impact as result.
In relaxing its restrictions on the game the Bundesprufstelle explained that its decision was not made on visual terms alone, but concurred that many contemporary mobile games boasted more realistic images. Furthermore, it qualified its original judgment on the grounds that the scenes of “bloody and sadistic” violence were not balanced elsewhere in the game.
As a Bundesprufstelle spokesperson tells the BBC: "If the game then does not contain any real alternative scenes which might on the whole 'neutralise' the violent parts, then the game is likely to be found to have a harmful effect on minors."
As things now stand Doom and its sequel Doom II: Hell on Earth are considered safe because they are “mainly of historical interest”, thus will have little appeal to younger gamers. This isn’t a complete victory for Bethesda, though – the US version of Doom II remains banned due to its inclusion of two levels of ‘Wolfenstein 3D’, with its depictions of Nazis and the infamous swastika.
[img]http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ukvideogames__5/ukvideogames-18028031-1314901084.jpg?ymdBWlFDTRIeOfZX[/img]
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Well shit. How long until they get normal TF2?
Great news!
Still a little too violent for my taste though.
Doom was never banned in Germany. Stores were even allowed to sell the games. They just weren't allowed to advertise them (by putting them on the shelves). Stop saying "banned"!
Also, late.
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