Germany Removes Doom Sales Ban After 17 Years
A German commission that evaluates potentially harmful media to youths (BPjM) decided that the historical value of the FPS Doom is greater that its potential negative effects that may promote violence in teenagers.
While media, including video games, can only be removed from the "potentially harmful games index" after 10 years and only upon request, the commission also concluded that the original evaluation that resulted in a sales ban in Germany may have been flawed.
As a result of the decision, Doom (released in 1993) and Doom 2 (1994) can now be freely distributed. The U.S. version of Doom 2 - Hell on Earth was excluded from the decisions as it includes two levels of Wolfenstein 3D, which includes "unconstitutional" symbols such as the swastika used by the Nazis. Wolfenstein 3D is listed as a "confiscated" video game in Germany.
According to the commission, the graphics and animations in Doom and Doom 2 are considered antiquated and not realistic. As the game has been generally considered as one of the most significant game titles in video game history and the U.S. Library of Congress decided to accept that game in its catalog of historically important media, the German commission argued that the game is historically significant.
The opinion that Doom and Doom 2 glorify violence by using realistic graphics and sound effects is no longer supported by the commission. They argued that neither the setting in an extraterrestrial world nor enemies that do not resemble realistic opponents promote violence. Strangely enough, the commission now argues that the task of saving humans from hostile extraterrestrials may reflect the opposite of thoughtless violence.
Wolfenstein 3D is unlikely to be removed from Germany's "index" at this time. According to German law, the index on a title will automatically be lifted 25 years after its ordered ban - which means that Wolfenstein 3D's ban will be lifted in 2017.
At the same time,
Which means that they can play it at 1000fps with 32x super-sampling AA on a 1080p screen. \m/
Hmmm... so it seems the world can unban porn magazines after 17yrs cause by then it's historical value would supercede its harmful effects. Sounds so sensible to me.
6 billion people would be affected, making it unenforcable.
At the same time,
Which means that they can play it at 1000fps with 32x super-sampling AA on a 1080p screen. \m/
Or did u mean that with sarcasm...
Not sure if you are serious.
Germans cause WWII and if they would have gotten away with their evil intentions we would be in a very different world right now.
As for Doom, I never cared for that game, it was VERY unrealistic to me even then, now Wolfestein 3D that was and still is the only FPS game that I have liked. (still play sometimes)
After WW1 we made them pay war reparations, which they were able to fund because of huge loans from America. Hitler tried to grab power once and was thrown in prison for being a loony. Of course when the Great Depression hit in the USA the loans stopped and all money for rebuilding and war reparations dropped off to nothing.
Hitler grabbed for power again but this time was able to point at a weak administration coupled with scapegoating immigrants and Jews.
Anger against the Government, setting up the Communists and rigging some votes got him in power.
The rest is history, so to speak.
The short version is that Hitler would have been thrown in prison a second time if the Government hadn't been undercut by the USA, so really youy could say that in terms of setting up dominoes to fall the second world war was caused by the Great Depression in the USA.
I expect to be heavily thumbed down, but before you do think for a second about why you now pump so much money into nation building after wars finish in places like Iraq, to try and avoid trouble flaring up again a few years later which ultimately would start another war which would cost more money and lives than the first one.
I think you need to take another look at the world. What happened in Germany has happened many times since, in many different parts of the world. The western world often chooses to not see, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened.
Speaking of "evil", those antisemitic and racist ideas were not unique to Germany at the time. They existed throughout Europe and the US. Nazi Germany might as well have been Nazi Hungary or Nazi USA, under the right (wrong) circumstances.
That's not true either, all the Western nations had big lucrative oil contracts and had been buying relatively cheap oil from Libya for decades even after they blew up people over Lockerbie and shot Police officers dead in the streets of London.
After Gaddafi has gone we will still buy oil for Libya, but now we are all down a few billion dollars for the effort.
Not exactly a smash and grab is it...