9 Bizarre Reasons Why Popular Video Games Were Banned

Sometimes it’s very easy to see why certain video games get banned. It could be their over-abundance of violence, their approach to sexual situations, or just having more foul language than a Roy Chubby Brown show about a stubbed toe.

However, there are a few games that have been pulled from shelves for reasons you wouldn’t immediately be able to identify.

From misinterpreted death threats to worries over street art, these are the times that offence was caused for seemingly trivial reasons. Didn't anyone think of the children?

9. Football Manager 2005

We begin with a game which, on paper, looks like the least offensive title you could think of. Firstly, it’s football, and the only truly violent thing about the beautiful game is its fans. But they’re not a particular factor in the Football Manager series. Sure, they pay the wages, but you don’t really see them louting about.

In all other areas this game is basically Microsoft Excel with tactics and a transfer market. In fact, there's not a lot of actual football going on in it at all.

Sounds like a laugh riot, right? Well apparently China didn’t get the joke, as they banned the game outright with a lovely statement saying that the game was a “harm to the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

How did things get so (ahem) Messi? It’s because the game treats Tibet, Taiwan, and Hong Kong as independent countries, and that’s a no fly zone for the Chinese government. Therefore, they claimed independence from Football Manager 2005 and anyone found with a copy was fined thousands of pounds. Things were smoothed over when a revised version with Tibet back under Chinese rule was released and the nation eventually relented.