List of banned video games:

This is a list of video games that had been censored or banned. Governments have been criticized for banning games for many reasons, in that such bans violate rights, increase piracy, inhibit business opportunities, and that users can still order/download such games online.^[1]

Australia

Video games in Australia cannot be rated R18+ as the rating only exists for film. This has led many games to be edited (to obtain an MA15+ rating) or refused classification. There is currently a debate over the need for the introduction of an R18+ rating in video games fueled by research that indicates the average age of the Australian video gamer to be 30 years old.^[2]

Brazil

In December 1999, citing a man who killed three and injured eight, Brazil banned six games. Vendors were required to surrender the games to police or face a fine equal to about $11,000 USD a day.^[7]

Canada

No games have been banned in Canada. However, there has been controversy surrounding the game industry and certain games, much like the controversy in the United States. Games such as Manhunt and Soldier of Fortune have been given "Restricted" film ratings, thereby preventing them from being purchased by any person under the age of eighteen in Ontario and British Columbia respectively.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13] As in the United States, games receiving an "Adults Only" rating from the ESRB have been edited for re-classification.

People's Republic of China

Germany

A game can be considered banned in Germany if it has been confiscated by court order because it violates a section of the Strafgesetzbuch (criminal code). Private possession (and thus playing it) and acquisition (such as downloading a demo from the Internet) is still legal, but any dissemination is not. The seller would break the law if a sale took place, not the buyer. On December 10, 2002, however, one German court (Oberlandesgericht Hamm) decided that a single sale of a single copy does not qualify as dissemination.^[17] Unlike indexing by the BPjM, which restricts the sale of all content-equal versions, the versions that are confiscated are enumerated in the court order. Being put on the index by the BPjM or, since April 1, 2003, being refused a rating by the USK does not equal a ban. Rather, it imposes strict trade restrictions on the title. While only very few games have been confiscated, the list of indexed games is very long.^[18]

In December 2006, Bavaria and Lower Saxony proposed legislation, to be presented to the national parliament, that would make even playing games that feature "cruel violence on humans or human-looking characters" an offense punishable with fines or jail time of up to 12 months.^[19]^[20]^[21]

§ 86a outlaws the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations, § 130 Volksverhetzung (agitation of the people), and § 131 instructions for crimes. In the official lists, these three sections are always bundled, so that action games where the object is to kill Nazis (and thus contain swastika flags or portraits of Adolf Hitler) are listed alongside racist propaganda pieces.

§ 131 outlaws representation of violence in media "which describe cruel or otherwise inhuman acts of violence against human beings in a manner which expresses a glorification or rendering harmless of such acts of violence or which represents the cruel or inhuman aspects of the event in a manner which injures human dignity."^[22]

Gears of War and Dead Rising were refused rating by the USK. Gears of War EU version was put on the Index (part A) on November 26, 2006, and therefore cannot be advertised nor disseminated to minors. Dead Rising was put on the Index (part B) and confiscated by Hamburg County Court's decision of June 11, 2007. Microsoft refrained from publishing them in Germany. In a recent announcement, Sega has confirmed that recently announced The House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld will not be distributed in Germany.^[25]

Greece

In 2002, the Greek government banned all electronic games in an attempt to fight illegal gambling. See Greek electronic game ban.

Ireland

Japan

Games are very rarely banned in Japan, as it holds a place as one of the top producers of video games in the world.^[27]

Mexico

New Zealand

In New Zealand, games are classified by the Office of Film and Literature Classification. If they are dubbed "objectionable" in all cases, then they are considered banned. In this case, the game in question is not only illegal to sell, but illegal to own, possess, or import.

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

South Korea

South Korea will typically ban any game that mentions a fictional war between North and South Korea in order to avoid tensions between the two countries. However, in December 2006, Korea announced that the games will no longer be banned because of "freedom of expression. However, Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Manhunt, and Manhunt 2 are still banned because of violence and cruelty." In addition, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction was also banned.^[37]

United Kingdom

Games in the UK only usually receive a ban when they contain extreme and gratuitous violence; sex and nudity are not the main concern. Games are not 'banned' but are refused classification (RC) by the BBFC. It is illegal to sell (although not illegal to buy and play) a game that has not been classified by the BBFC in the UK. This only applies to games stored on physical media, not to downloadable media.^[38]

Carmageddon and Manhunt 2 are among the games that have been refused classification by the BBFC. Both bans were later overturned.

United States

No games have been "banned" in the United States because of freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, although several have been refused a rating below Adults Only by the ESRB, forcing a sort of self-censoring to obtain a lower rating. Kakuto Chojin was pulled off the shelves in early 2003 for offensive religious content, namely that it had verses from the Quran being chanted as part of the background sound effects. It was later re-released with the offending content removed. A rare game called Thrill Kill for the PlayStation was canceled shortly before its release, although with a mod chip a few select people still acquired the game. EA Games refused to release the game once a public outcry made it to the media because it was "senselessly violent".

List of banned video games

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