Wolfenstein Released in Germany Without Nazi References
Wolfenstein will be releasing in Germany for the first time... without Nazis.
The Wolfenstein franchise will be releasing for the first time in Germany with Machine Games's The New Order with one difference: every trace of Nazism in the game will be removed.
Wolfenstein has historically never been released in Germany because it's centered on the player fighting the Nazi regime. As a result, the game is riddled with Nazism. However, the series has never been able to set foot in Germany, because German law forbids the use of any Nazi symbolism. To prevent Wolfenstein from releasing in Germany, PC releases of the games have always been geo-locked.
"In Germany, we've removed all Nazi symbols and references. Unlike films and other works of art, video games in Germany are forbidden to use such symbols and references as they are classified in Germany as toys and not media art," states Bethesda head of PR Pete Hines.
Nazis in The New Order will be not-so-subtly replaced with The Regime.

Toys and games are things you play (with). You don't play with art or movies.
I think that that's the reasoning behind the catogarization.
I did once or twice, but I think I got away with it.
I did once or twice, but I think I got away with it.
BASIL! Behave yourself.
Germany; no kid who plays videogames really understands what a Nazi is. They will never (hopefully) see the horrors of war. Most of them grew up after the Berlin Wall fell. Just let them believe that Nazi's are some evil group of people that exist outside the laws of reality, like all North American children do.
This is NOT some kind of history revisionism or something like that. Every schoolkid in germany has multiple history lessons about naziism, the holocaust, WWI, WWII etc. The law is to prevent neonazis from using nazi paraphernalia in public. But where do you draw the line in respect to the swastika? (the law has to be somewhat strict and specific to prevent loopholes) German law says: art is ok the rest is not.
Black market, or a certain bay...
Isn't correct. Wolfenstein 3D (1991) wasn't released and then removed from the market in Germany. Subsequent games including Wolfenstein (2009) were released in Germany with the Nazi symbolism removed, including Wolfenstein 3D.
Second I'm willing to bet that most of the people on this board taking issue or making light of the subject come from the United States. This ban on displaying Nazi symbols except for limited purposes is written into the German constitution. The relevant section was written in large part by the US Army after the second World War.
And this is basically a "Well duh" article. Every video game ever released in Germany has the Nazi symbolism removed not sure why it's worth an article, look at video or screenshots of the original Medal of Honor, COD, or Battlefield 1942 from Germany.
Isn't correct. Wolfenstein 3D (1991) wasn't released and then removed from the market in Germany. Subsequent games including Wolfenstein (2009) were released in Germany with the Nazi symbolism removed, including Wolfenstein 3D.
Second I'm willing to bet that most of the people on this board taking issue or making light of the subject come from the United States. This ban on displaying Nazi symbols except for limited purposes is written into the German constitution. The relevant section was written in large part by the US Army after the second World War.
And this is basically a "Well duh" article. Every video game ever released in Germany has the Nazi symbolism removed not sure why it's worth an article, look at video or screenshots of the original Medal of Honor, COD, or Battlefield 1942 from Germany.
I wasn't aware that that little factual gem--I knew it was a long-standing, severely enforced restriction, but not that it was in the constitution.