Germans are now free to buy the classic video game Doom after a ban imposed way back in 1994 was lifted on Wednesday. Anyone over the age of 16 can now purchase the title and its sequel Doom II Hell On Earth. Violent video games have always suffered in Germany as, like with pornography, sales of most violent games were limited to adult-only stores. The original title was deemed harmful by the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (Bundesprufstelle) and was placed on an index on controlled titles due to its bloody and sadistic nature that could harm the nations youth. Maybe they were thinking the game would start a Nazi uprising, I don't know. Alas, the 17 year ban officially expired on August 31st following an appeal by the games owners, Bethesda Softworks, who questioned the bans effectiveness, noting the game's crude graphics had been surpassed by many modern titles and, as a result, the violence it depicted had far less of an impact. The Bundesprufstelle originally decision was not decided by the graphics, no matter how crude, instead citing the main reason for banning Doom because of its relentless use of gunplay and intense violence was not balanced by other scenes. In an email to the BBC, a Bundesprufstelle representative explains that the key factor behind the games original decision was the "drastic portrayals of violence directed against human or human-like beings... If the game then does not contain any real alternative scenes which might on the whole 'neutralise' the violent parts, then the game is likely to be found to have a harmful effect on minors. Concluding that Doom indeed now lacks the prominence it once had arguably due to the sheer availability of visually stunning/adult natured games the Bundesprufstelle state the game is now mainly of historical interest.