9 Video Games Banned For Ridiculous Reasons
It's not the questionable content, it's the baffling ban that counts.
Manhunt 2 isn't on this list. The logic behind banning that murderfest makes sense.
There has never been any hard proof that violent video games can cause antisocial behaviour. Lack of evidence hasn't stopped people from claiming the release of overly violent or sexual material leads to a degraded society.
It's called a social panic. The media loves a good social panic and so do developers, because nothing sells like controversy.
Whether or not you believe that controversial material can have an effect on people (remember there's no hard proof), it's worth playing devil's advocate when material gets banned. When you do, you can sometimes see the logic behind removing something for general consumption.
Sometimes though, the ban makes no sense.
The following don't follow a simple pattern of motives. Occasionally there is a wider political reason for a ban and at times the context behind the prohibition is not sound.
We all have different lines on what we deem acceptable. No one item or argument is likely to change your views. But you can at least agree that there is a lack of sense in the reasons for outlawing the following.
9. Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure Banned In Australia For Graffiti
Marc Eckō is an American fashion designer. Already that phrase being involved with a video game should cause a certain amount of apprehension.
To its credit, Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (just 'Getting Up' from this point) is actually a pretty solid game. It's a kind of Grand Theft Auto meets Jet Set Radio with a really decent soundtrack.
The game follows the story of Trane as he uncovers a city-wide conspiracy concerning gentrification (this came out in 2006, mind) and involves quite a bit of 'tagging'. There is a lot of graffiti-focused plot in this game and that was a problem for the Australian government.
The Federal Classification Review Board claimed the game contained real life graffiti artists and showed kids how to commit the crime (once again, a major plot point involves gentrification and death squads). Like in most countries, graffiti is illegal in Australia. Unlike most countries, the game was effectively banned down under.
Australia is actually surprisingly conservative when it comes to video games.
Not to throw too much logic here but surely it would be better for kids to tag in a game than in real life?