More so than any other form of media, video games have a particularly difficult position when it comes to controversy. While violent films or TV shows merely engage viewers passively, games differ in that they give direct control over the on-screen action.
What many fail to understand is that the majority of gamers have the ability to differentiate reality from fantasy. It’s for this reason that you don’t see the plumbing industry swamped with applications from gamers who were attracted to the profession by promises of gold coins and a hot princess named Peach.
Still, it’ll never stop video games from being a scapegoat for the many problems within modern society. It wasn’t long before the ugly sight of the U.K riots were blamed on video games – with an unnamed police officer quick to pinpoint the source of the entire problem as Grand Theft Auto.
Meanwhile, Noel Gallagher joined in to also lay the blame for our disenfranchised youth at TV & video games. Let’s add role models who enjoy publically feuding and swearing endlessly to the list of reasons eh Noel ?
While its true that many controversial games are shocking or disturbing in thier content, they are always aimed squarely at adults only. Despite this fact, it won’t stop the industry being criticized for targeting youngsters with violent or sexual content. The fault here isn’t always with the games themselves but with careless parents who still have an old-fashioned view of video games being aimed at kids. Join an online game of Call Of Duty and you’ll quickly see just how many parents don’t see anything inappropriate in letting their 10 year old child shoot people in the face.
Things are sadly unlikely to change. Video games will continue to come under scrutiny from the press and moral crusaders, helped in no way by the swathes of parents who give their children the ability to play games designed and created with adults in mind.
As graphics continue to become more realistic and the boundaries are pushed even further, video games will always be seen by many as a dangerous form of entertainment – single handedly capable of corrupting society’s youth.
Daily Mail readers beware……Here’s our look at some of the most controversial games of all time. Click next to start revealing the choices…
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31 Comments
Nice read. Now where can I get a copy of RapeLay? Research purposes, obviously.
I have never heard of ‘Rapelay’ until I read this article. Personally I can’t believe that the game actually exists!
Nice article. I have not-so-fond memories of ‘Night Trap’, as it seriously terrified me as a child (you would not have guessed that, looking at the video uploaded for it).
Great article, thank you. I don´t have the link at hand, but i´ve seen some about studies about violence in videogames affecting people´s behavior… i think the article is from gamespot.
I thought the “No Russian” level in Modern Warfare 2 was a worthy inclusion, with the CoD franchise famous for faceless violence (you kill hundreds of enemy soldiers through each campaign, but very few of the deaths are seen as more than just an obstacle that was necessary for progression). In “No Russian”, innocent civilians are being slaughtered all around you, and suddenly you don’t want to kill, because these deaths are given faces, they’re unnecessary and therefore they mattered, they made you think
And the comment about the Modern Warfare 2 campaign being as bad as a Michael Bay film, heavily biased and born from you’re own opinion, not the sort of thing allowed for professional publication? No?
Manhunt 2 – I’ma touch you boy.
RapeLay eh? Something tells me that game was Japanese through and through
Left 4 Dead 2 also got major controversy at Australia for it’s high amount of violence, blood, and gore. They even banned the game there too.
They also banned the new Mortal Kombat for the Finishing Moves.
Australia bans everything in gaming. It’s really weird. Their film ratings program is much more lenient than the US, and for that I thank them, but their video game program is really strict on violence, far more than Americans are. For better or for worse?
Germany is pretty hardcore on being gaming Nazi’s. Pun intended. Seriously Jack Thompson would feel home here. I remember back in 2009 there was a school shooting in Winenden(by Stutgart) and all their CNN(RTLN) showed during their coverage was loops of MW2 and GTA IV and people who were essentially anti-gamers basically scapegoating the games for the crime.
They did release Thrill Kill, sort of back in 99 or 2K, a game based rap group Wu Tang’s characters was released with it being just a reskinned Thrill Kill it was pretty decent too.
Just wanted to say your list is fantastic and well researched. The videos add a lot to them. I confess I haven’t heard of some of them, and I was shocked at the animal torture, rape, racism, and violence against civilians.
give me a break people!! I know you’re just looking out for your kids but violoence is all around us. in the news, on tv just about everywhere except the kid & family networks, step outside! It’s unavoidable. and what’s going to stop them from going someplace else for their fix. either watch what they buy or grin & bear it. Thank you!!
OMG i am hardcore fan to this game.. i cant live if this game is going to be banned
I’m glad I live in the US, just because of the simple fact is, games don’t get banned here. Only game I can think of getting banned was the guy game, and that was for having an under age girl in it, not because it was too sexy. :3
If one is so weak minded that they will kill people lik ein a video game, they should be playing them in the first place. I dont see movies getting controversy like these games.
Thrill Kill was released. I live in Australia but I picked the game up from Bali and played it on a chipped PSX. One character was a cannibal in a straight jacket (So He could only kick) and for his finishing move he hold knock his opponent down, jump on their chest and start eating their face off. My friends and I played it all the time until some butthole stole it. I also got Metal Gear Solid, Tenchu and an untranslated copy (in Japanese) of Final Fantasy 8.
Ethnic Cleansing WHAT A GAME!!!!
I know some people just go over the top when it come to things like this for me personally i think that some of the darker games can be the best i loved manhunt had a great story to it as do many horror gore type games such as resident evil the suffering silent hill and dead space
WTF GTA SA WTF
I remember my brother picking up a pirated version of Thrill Kill when I was a kid. Game was brutal! Bloody awesome though.
You missed one, Columbine, it was released about 5 or 6 years after the shooting
There was a game on the Panasonic 3DO, circa about.. 1994? Called ‘Night Hunt’ or ‘Nightwish’ or ‘”Something” Night’… I am pretty hazey. since we’re talking almost 20 yrs ago, which was banned because of its heinous violence, in many countries, one of the most graphic cinematic cut scenes, I recall, was where a typical Girl Next Door Cheer leader type co-ed wet dream gets a drill through her head. Forget the story, something about some cool kids at the hero ‘dudes’ house, his folks go away, and suddenly there pyschotic vampire ninja types all about viscerally obliterating nubile college girls at emasculating before executing cools kids and tough jocks… very very hazey, saw a played demo on a game my cousin had, we saw it at the shop, but he brought Return Fire instead… two days later due to graphic violence, sexual themes, and insinuated sexual violence it was banned in Australia.
Might be one for the list.
You got one part wrong. The VICTIM was the one that played MANHUNT, not the KILLER.
I remember my sister gave me a copy of Manhunt on the PS2 for my birthday a few years back, and she didn’t really know what it was. When I told her she insisted I gave it back to her so she could return it to the shop. Too controversial, and people get worked up over nothing. When will people learn they’re just games.
I forget exactly what its called, but theres a “Super Columbine RPG” from the makers of “JFK Reloaded”
Rapelay has got to be the most needlessly perverse game I’ve ever heard of. I would thank you for bringing it to my attention but that’s kind of weird
gta v is the best est
Doom was released in early 1994, or perhaps even 1993, as shareware.
So..How does RapeLay get a lower spot than Night Trap? Not only is RapeLay an utterly disgusting atrocity worthy of utter contempt…from the looks of the video it was a really bad game too.
Incidentally, it caused a huge stink in Japan, and even the CREATORS admitted it was a really bad idea. In fact it met with so much eye rolling and was so poorly received (even by the standards of Ero games, which contrary to popular belief, usually aren’t very popular, even in Japan) that it would have been completely forgotten had the Guardian or some other rag not dug it up and started the whole story back up again.
I’m not ashamed to say I’ve read this list twice. I love reading about controversy in video games, because it’s endlessly entertaining to me.