Are you happy about this move?
I want to have at HOI the historical correct Avatars, flags and all stuff that are provided for all other nations.
Not because i like Hitler or anything like that, only because i want play it historical correct and without censorship.
I want all other nations flags, Avatars and stuff the same way /when anything is changed/cutted out).
I don't think that the ultra right ones have anything big from the fact that they can play HOI then with a flag or Avatars they are "fans" of.
And to be correct... in the usa give it, as example, much more ultra right ones then in germany and they can live that side in the usa much more then in germany.
And that ones can play HOI at each time without any restrictions.
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True about Hearts of Iron but usually it's just strategy games so it's not like there's any ideology associated with playing as German forces. Day of Infamy does have a German campaign but again, no ideology involved
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On the plus side Hitler looks a lot better without that stupid mustache.
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They removed the mustache because they altered the story a little bit. So you are not fighting against Nazis, just fighting against a other Regime where Heiler (not Hilter) is the leader.
Still stupid, but that is the reason for that.
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RAID also had to make Hitler just a generic general, so yeah I think it wasn't allowed to portray him in games in Germany either.
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That's not even the first time that's been done! It was done in the SNES version of Wolf3D!
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Necro'd :D
I think they had multiplayer on some of the older ones back in the day, where you could play online and be Nazis.. Still, it doesn't make sense to me either. It is fantasy, and meant to be considered as such - at least compared to whatever one's own interpretation/perception of reality actually is...
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The ban itself was just another example of politicians failing to fully comprehend the medium they were policing.
I think most of us agree that it was an antiquated, if well-meaning, attempt toward "the greater good."
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Not really, it wasn't about policing or understanding the medium. It never was anyone's intention to specifically limit video games, but nobody bothered to make the same exception from a general law that is applied for other forms of art.
So there was nothing antiquated, no failure, misunderstanding or whatever, it just was politics being slow.
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antiquated
that's the word. i would add something like... problematic.
was shower-thinking Italian government banning all the things... mafia. so, may be also something "very German", regarding their approach at history and so on...
still, really glad for them, and this is always a good news.
edit: btw, hot fuzz is awesome to watch at least three times in a row
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Finally Germans are stopping with a paternalistic state. A bit win.
Edit: let's celebrate 3+
Give me a C
Give me a x
Give me a Y
Give me a C
Give me a S
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First:
I don't have read the article (too sleepy right now).
Second:
Wow, i never thought i will see this happen.
Right move. And a lot of games that were blocked in the steam store will become available (when nothing moves wrong^^).
Make it easier to buy and play how i want it.
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And a lot of games that were blocked in the steam store will become available (when nothing moves wrong^^).
Make it easier to buy and play how i want it.
The publishers have to request a new check by the USK first. And in the past, not every publisher did this for older games (e.g. when a game was censored due to depiction of violence a few years ago, but isn't seen as that bad anymore). But there's hoping that the still good selling AAAs of the last years will be graded again (Wolfenstein e.g.).
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About time. I mean for all the good that did, when you see the results of the latest elections...
And it's not as if games like Wolfenstein promoted Nazism. Usually in games they're the enemy, right?
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I guess that makes Australia officially the country with most bullshit bans for games.
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Lol, Australia is not even the top 1 for most bullshit bans :D
https://gamerant.com/left-4-dead-3-uzbekistan-ban/
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Glad to hear about it, this ban was totally absurd, using historical symbols in historical context is obviously not the same as supporting fascism.
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Mostly because they don't appear in letters like XOXOX[swastika] sending hugs, kisses and idk, goodness/peace/fortune . but with military organizations, racist messages and such. The symbol is "demonized" because it literally only appears in the nazi context, except the graffities that also unlikely to be good-wishes from nice people :P
In Bleach [there was a sword with basically a swastika for hilt]https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pIw-_FmoEUw/hqdefault.jpg) but as the anime doesn't involve nazis and stuff, it keeps it's original intent that I'm not 100% sure what it is, because some comments say it's a sign with pronunciation sameish as the technique in the anime.
Context matters, but I still have to see or hear about a game that wants/twanted to use a swastika and wasn't about WW2 era Germany.
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There is no real meaning of it, maybe original, but that's also contextual, as both left and right-facing swastika were used in various parts of Asia. It's hard not to have something ingrained into society after having a multiple year old war with highest casualties ever, a totalitarian state killing people because of their heritage and/or diseases, while the asian symbolism got popular in the west with the New Age stuff in the seventies, well after the nazi swastika was more than infamous.
And no, the pentagon doesn't have a swastika shape in it at all, unless we look for a swastika's sibling that got run over by a truck and got bent and twisted. :P
Though this bathroom tiling does have swastika in it if you look closely
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That' a very comfy way of forgetting and reforging history. At least we will have the wolfenatein games, splattered with goodwishes on flags and armbands.
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Ah, on that note - I absolutely agree. Context is super important when it comes to symbols.
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btw I didn't meant my latest reply as patronizing or something. I'm just super tired and snappish because of the weather, and I had almost no mental fortitude left by the end of the week. Just as you added info to your reply explaining it, it's possible that I also misinterpreted it while I read it in my break.
Better to be sure, I'm not really feeling like myself most of the week.
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sorry to interrupt you, guys, but
letters like XOXOX[swastika] sending hugs
i think this is just an attempt at destroying my already labile mental health
<3
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even older than that. the origin of the symbol are vedic, hinduism inherited it after some aryan (of caucasian if the therm makes you feel uncomfortable) tribes migrated towards india and later on even asia, bringing with them some reminiscences of their original religion. the same thing happened with the kurgan when they moved toward western europe (see kurgan hypothesis). there through time they spread across the continent and diversified linguistically, ethnically, culturally and eventually spiritually. the swastika can be found synce the neolithic age in almost any of the pre christian european religions, from the celts, to the italic, to the norse[1,2,3,4]. suprisingly enough, the meaning of the symbol has remained unchanged (a majestic thor smashing the giants with mjollnir, zoom on the belt)... untill today
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his cause and the meaning and origin of the symbol are related. he knew, they all knew what they were doing.
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equally bad? in the early post-war i'm pretty sure german civillians, especially women, would like to disagree over there...
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But what about older games?
Meanwhile, it is uncertain what will happen to games that, due to their symbolism, had no chance of being released and therefore appeared censored in Germany. A „simple patch“ does not seem to be possible, since one had to confirm so far not to use symbols of unconstitutional symbols. In addition, the USK insists on a case-by-case basis before an age rating is granted.
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A good step forward to see unmodified games for the german market.
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If you try to erase the past, you are doomed to repeat it.
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That was never the intention. In German schools you are encountering this part of history several times, documentations, books, movies and TV shows aren't censored. Only glorification and demagoguery are forbidden.
But games still aren't considered as art by the whole society and the stronger immersion in this media might have been feared.
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Germany lifts ban on swastikas in videogames
Not exactly. Untill now - USK refused to give rating to any game with swastikas. Right now - they will check each game separately - so now it's up to them :D
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Censorship is the cancer of freedom. Suppressing history will only hasten the process of repeating its mistakes.
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I guess every gamer in germany, is kind of happy right now! :)
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I joined that group chat once and left in embarrassment once I realized it's not a group for users who demand to have their foreskin back.
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German here. It never was about closing the eyes about anything. Germany in fact does a lot to let this dark part of our history not be forgotten, so that it will (hoefully) never happen again.
It is/ was more about honoring the victims of the nazis by preventing to let the 3rd Reich be used to make "jokes". What I mean is, and thats how I would explain the ban, a game could not make sure, that it did not use the nazis as "joke material" or that it in fact delivered a deeper meaning. That was probably the thinking behind this ban until now. But games changed and thats why they will look at every game for its own now. Nazi symbolism is not automaticly allowed in germany now in games, but games get a seperate look now and THEN it will be decided whether they are allowed or not allowed to use the symbols.
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It is about time and was ridiculous; stupid censorship in the BRD.
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That's great. A nice step into people taking video games more seriously!
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that's very nice, censoring stuff like this (because removing icons and moustachesmade everyone stop being nazis in the last 70 years! :O ) is pretty stupid. ^^
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This sucks. I guess in near future I will have to find a different illegal hobby.
On topic: I would not be too enthusistic. We will see if it will have any effect on region locks and behaviour of digital distribution platforms at all.
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Article here
I also wonder if this means certain region locks will eventually go away for older games?
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