Call of Duty: Black Ops Censored in Germany

[Staskala]

To be honest with you I find Germany disturbing.

On one hand they go through great lengths to try and convince you they are ashamed of the whole Nazi thing. On the other hand the method they choose to demonstrate this point with is the censorship of foreign products, including things that they somehow feel are "anti-constitutional symbols" which smacks of the kind of hyper-patriotism they claim to be over...

Anti-constitutional as in "forbidden by the constitution". All use of "Nazi symbolics" are illegal by law, safe for educational purposes (which Black Ops doesn't fall under, obviously). In this case censorship is not an option, but a must.
Well, so much for the sense-making part of German censorship, let's move on.

I'll also go so far as to point out that a lot of this seems to be grand standing for the rest of the world, because despite the job done on wiping out the Nazi idealogy, I have in the past hung out with a number of people into music generes like "Death Metal" who would swear up and down about how the Germans are so much better at it than everyone else, while demonstrating how they spliced the screams of Nazi concentration camp victims into the music, or added them in subliminally. I've remained intentionally ignorant of the specific bands that were doing this kind of thing, but the bottom line is that it make quite an impression on me at the time. If you have Germany producing this kind of thing domestically, not to mention garden variety heavy metal which can get far worse than "The Rolling Stones" has ever been, I can't take their censorship of foreign products on these grounds as anything but a political publicity stunt, or more disturbingly attempts to filter outside ideas justified by only the thinnest veneer of logic

Censorship is a bad thig in general, and if there is any country I have problems with exercising any kind of information control at all it's Germany. My referances are pretty vague (and I admit that) but I'm pretty sure if someone really wanted to examine this kind of thing under a microscope, and compared domestically generated products compared to their censorship of ones coming in from outside, they would be revealed as hypocrits of the worst kind.

Nope, everything, domestic product or not, gets that shit.

Some guy made an (actually pretty clever) game about the DDR (GDR) in which you play as a East German soldier stationed at the Berlin wall. You can use violence, but shooting people gets you a shiny medal by the East German government (!) and an instant game over, teleporting you to the present as part of the trials against the Mauerschuetzen ("wall shooters").
So what do politicians and the media make of this?
Oh noes, you get rewarded with a medal for killing civilians!!1!1 How disgusting!
Now it's uncertain if the game will ever even be released.

The German government - or rather certain people in certain institutions (I'm looking at you, Mr. Pfeiffer!) - has an awful habit of censoring violence in video games.
If you ever thought your controversy about video game violence after a school massacre was ridiculous, you really don't want to listen to the shit that's going on over here.
Gore is always removed, I don't know of any exception. Same thing for "extreme violence" as in everything worse than getting cut on a piece of paper.

Well, at least they stopped coloring blood and turning people into robots...
When I played the Amerian version of Half-Life for the first time, I was shocked to find out that the marines were actually humans and not cyborgs, as depicted in the German version. They did a fine job altering the models, now that I think about it. Just checked, and no, they really did not.

No idea why they cut out "Sympathy for the Devil", as the song was never part of any controversy beyond the typical "omg Satanism" it was everywhere else.


By the way, Therumancer, you do realize that the German game and movie industry is pretty much non-existant these days, so I don't get your point about favoring domestic products (there are none).
Besides, Germany is rather "Americanized", more so than a lot of other countries. The extend and the reasons are something I don't want to discuss here, it's not really on topic.

 

[wildpeaks]

I think it's good that they censored it.

I'll always prefer having the choice than let the state dictate what I should or should not play. Also, games often have a "less gore" option for that same reason.

 

[Blind Sight]

They took out a song because it contains references to WWII? What about Sabaton? Fairly sure they aren't censored over in Deustchland.

Come to think of it, what about history textbooks?

"NOTHING HAPPENED BETWEEN 1933 AND 1945 IN GERMANY, EVERYONE WAS FINE, THE HISTORIANS WERE JUST ALL ON VACATION."

Unsurprising really. It's easy to say there's never a good reason for censorship (attitudes like that are why America has idiots waving signs saying "God hates fags" completely unpunished)

Attitudes like that also allow me to hold up an 'I'm NOT with stupid' sign while standing right next to a Westboro Baptist Church protest. What would you rather have, a racist, homophobic bastard screaming his maxim, so we can all look up at him and say 'well, that guy's a moron'. Or should we supress comments like that, so that racist, homophobic man, if he played his cards right, could end up in a position of political power and start using that to his advantage? I'd rather have my bastards out front and center where I can keep an eye on them, instead of hiding in the shadows.

 

[Chrinik]

Well fuck them, I stopped buying my games in electronic stores a long time ago.
I buy a game in my local, small scale games shop, who imports them and sells them for LESS then the electronic stores, uncensored, untouched by the government, and totally legal.
Some of them even have german dubs...
So I´m not that phased by it anymore.
But still, I find it rediculous. But german polititians have been invited to a Lanparty in the Reichstag (it is serriously still called that way...Serriously!) to experience gaming first hand.
So maybe this will change at some point.

Anti-constitutional signs are not only nazi related...they are related to every kind of organisation that is outlawed by germany, nazis, communists, the RAF terror organisation...and so on. Hindus had to actually FIGHT to use their millenia old swastikas again...

Also there are also polititians who opt for MASS BURNING VIDEOGAMES...it failed, with 2 individual games being brought to be burned, but you know who else liked to burn media they deemed unfit?
(I give you a hint, it was the nazis.)

 

[Chrinik]

They took out a song because it contains references to WWII? What about Sabaton? Fairly sure they aren't censored over in Deustchland.

Come to think of it, what about history textbooks?

WW2, nazis symbols and other stuff is allowed for educational purposes or art...
Also, Sabaton isn´t censored, there was a concert in my neighborhood just last week, which I sadly missed. They cut back on the WW2 songs about germany a bit it seems, but not too much, they just don´t want to have the government outlaw them...that would be unfair to their german fans, whould it?
BTW Sabaton rocks.

 

[lolcatize]

seriosly whats the fucking point its like censoring porn ffs god damn ya laws

 

[Brotherofwill]

Well, at least they stopped coloring blood and turning people into robots...
When I played the Amerian version of Half-Life for the first time, I was shocked to find out that the marines were actually humans and not cyborgs, as depicted in the German version. They did a fine job altering the models, now that I think about it. Tax payer's money put to good use, I must say.

Hahaha. For me it was the opposite way round. Played the American version, then got my friend a copy, popped it in and...robots? Are you serial? Good times.

 

[Mr Shrike]

"NOTHING HAPPENED BETWEEN 1933 AND 1945 IN GERMANY, EVERYONE WAS FINE, THE HISTORIANS WERE JUST ALL ON VACATION."

And Germany was invited into Poland. Punch was served...

OT: This is pure idiocy. Yes, Germany, the Nazis were bad, we get it, but you can't deny history.

 

[Buizel91]

seriosly whats the fucking point its like censoring porn ffs god damn ya laws

You wank over Cod?

Good lord man! XD

 

[Therumancer]

Wonderful, I'm moving to Germany in two years time. Looks like I'll be doing a lot of importing if they keep this up. The world seriously needs to stop panicking about the effects of video game content on their children.

snip

Wow, my Bullshit-O-Meter's going off the scale here! I should have known that with a thread about Germany, there would come a woefully misinformed idiot with a post filled with conspiracy theories.

I keep things polite, and respect the same in return.

Now, excepting the bit about the screaming concentration camp victims in music, which is difficult for me to prove even though I've heard it personally (as opposed to someone who is acting purely out of speculation), what is a conspiricy theory. That germany is engaging in censorship? Nope, we see that happening here which is what this entire discussion is about. That Germany seems to be censoring foreign products for content far more vigorously than their own?

Pretty much for your response to mean anything, your basically trying to claim that Germany has never produced any kind of heavy metal, death metal, etc... or other products which involve violent content and let them slide. Now granted, finding the bit about the concentration camp victims is difficult (I tried and couldn't just now) however you'll find tons of stuff on German Heavy Metal.

The bottom line is that while I understand there is an instinctive reaction to want to attack anything you don't like hearing, that doesn't mean that it's incorrect. If your not going to bother to engage in serious discussion, why bother posting at all other than to try and start a flame war? Especially when you insult people.

 

[geierkreisen]

They took out a song because it contains references to WWII? What about Sabaton? Fairly sure they aren't censored over in Deustchland.

Come to think of it, what about history textbooks?

"NOTHING HAPPENED BETWEEN 1933 AND 1945 IN GERMANY, EVERYONE WAS FINE, THE HISTORIANS WERE JUST ALL ON VACATION."

While I don't stand behind game censorship in my country I can see the benefit of toning down graphical violence for children and teenagers. Our officials still deem computer games as child's play, even titles with mature content. Again, I hate censorship, that's why I import heavily cut games (without fuss by the way), but as a teacher I know what my pupils are playing and most of them still get what they want from their parents - even with the biggest signs saying "don't buy this for your children!"

What I don't get is all the Nazi-bla bla in this thread. Hitler's got nothing to do with this...this is all post 1968 "peace movement" politics. Jupp, the Hippies cut our games! All in the name of "Never again" and "Waffen zu Pflugscharen"! Call it overcompensation, but I would rather live in Germany than anywhere else in the world because our history gave us the slightest sense of what humans are capable of and would very much not like to do again.

Germany is the US minus the guns, plus some boobs once in a while and a general consensus that a lesson learned is not really a bad thing.

And Therumancer...censoring foreign products for some kind of gain includes producing similar goods which can profit from hindering the selling of these foreign products. Cultural dominance and that crap aside, how does Germany profit from censoring foreign computer games?! Not at all. Faulty logic served with a slice of "oh these Germans". No wonder some people here (including me) won't take in your insults and conspiracy theories without comment.

 

[VanBasten]

Did they say the Zombies would still be Nazis even though it takes place decades later?

They didn't say the zombies will still be Nazis.
They also didn't say they won't be Nazis.

 

[Staskala]

Anti-constitutional signs are not only nazi related...they are related to every kind of organisation that is outlawed by germany, nazis, communists, the RAF terror organisation...and so on. Hindus had to actually FIGHT to use their millenia old swastikas again...

Hm, but anti-contitutional symbols, as in symbols of anti-democratic organistions don't require censorships as far as I know. At least they aren't banned by the constitution itself.
Oh hell, like that shit ever made any sense.

 

[MasTerHacK]

First Medal of Honor, now this. Brace yourselves people for playing Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood where the assassinations have all been replace with big friendly hugs.

ROFL...

 

[lolcatize]

seriosly whats the fucking point its like censoring porn ffs god damn ya laws

You wank over Cod?

Good lord man! XD

FAPALICIOS xD GHAHAHAHAa

 

[Brotherofwill]

That Germany seems to be censoring foreign products for content far more vigorously than their own?

Pretty much for your response to mean anything, your basically trying to claim that Germany has never produced any kind of heavy metal, death metal, etc... or other products which involve violent content and let them slide. Now granted, finding the bit about the concentration camp victims is difficult (I tried and couldn't just now) however you'll find tons of stuff on German Heavy Metal.

I don't really get this. Can you clarify what you meant by the whole "heavy metal death screaming noises bit"? Did your friends tell and show you that the German goverment took foreign heavy metal songs, spliced them with sublimal content and then made them public for sale while denying having done so? That's what I got so far.

 

[Therumancer]

I think it's good that they censored it. Gratuitous blood is unneccesary. I used to be the kind of person that was really upset about having to shoot 'robots' in some games, but then I grew up. I would protest if I saw the violence have any form of artistic merit, but in an FPS developed for multiplayer, who are we kidding? It's the most dumbed down view of conflict. 2 sides, kill each other.

What I won't swallow however is that they cut the Stones song. What the fuck?

On one hand they go through great lengths to try and convince you they are ashamed of the whole Nazi thing. On the other hand the method they choose to demonstrate this point with is the censorship of foreign products, including things that they somehow feel are "anti-constitutional symbols" which smacks of the kind of hyper-patriotism they claim to be over...

I don't know why you keep coming back to the whole censorship of "foreign" products, like they're an alien thing or whatnot. It doesn't matter where it's from. Germany has strict guidelines about what is censored, be it local or otherwise.

I think you got the whole 'anti-constitutional' bit overdramaticised. All it means is that any Nazi sysmbol is removed. It's against the constitution to show the symbols, no matter in what context. Even Skate 2 had censorship because one of the T-shirt brand used an old S-rune (like the one found in the SS symbol). It sounds ridiculous but it really is that strict.

It's against the law.

As for hyper-patriotism: Germany is almost unparalleled in that regard. I've been to a lot of countries and lived in a few counrties and Germany isn't patriotic in the slightest. It's getting slightly more patriotic now (sort of a revcolution that was caused by our football team doing well in tournaments) and that's making me sick.

The problem with your arguement is that "Black Ops" is set during The Cold War, with the US and USSR being the key players as far as everything I've heard. There isn't any real involvement by the nazis or their symbolism.

What's more, in the past when Germany has expressed concerned over Nazi symbolism, it's been specified as such, not "anti-constitutional" which is a very vague term. While examples can (and have been) mentioned here of other things that have been censored because of vague nazi connection, I do not see anything of the sort being argued here.

On top of this, for a nation that is claiming to be so distressed over that past, I find it disturbing that they are engaging in censorship at all.

When it comes to foreign products, I mention this because Germany has been involved in a lot of things over the years related to censorship, and not all of them are nazi-centric. It seems like games developed there... things like the "Gothic" franchise which can be fairly graphic, are given a pass, yet when games from other countries are produced and coming into the country another whole set of standards applies.

While I admit I can't find the concentration-camp voices referance to prove that one (which bugs me to no end because I speak from personal experience), you can easily find tons of stuff from German Heavy Metal bands, and like you might expect from the musical genere it's pretty violent and anti-social.

The symbolism is only one issue here, the violence is also an issue, and right there your going to notice a definate dual standard being employed between domestic products, and foreign ones. To me it seems like the reasons for censorship are being used to justify actions against foreign imports in general. That might be wrong, but it's not even close to a conspiricy theory to say that it's exactly how things look from where I'm sitting. Besides, Germany doesn't rank very high on my personal "Trust O Meter" if you catch my drift.


Whether Germany is patriotic or not is something that really can't be argued. From where I'm sitting, it seems really hyper-patriotic, even if it's not engaging in the kind of stereotypical jingoism that goes along with it. You, and others, seem to disagree with me, but it largely comes down to a matter of perspective. I stand by my statement that I do indeed see this.

One of the things that feeds into that of course, is the general acceptance of this censorship going on. While the attempt at a ban against violent games in general was beaten, I do notice that there seems to ber very little resistance to censorship or heavy handed goverment actions at all going on. Or at least nothing frequently enough, or on a substantial enough level, to warrent making it into the US press every week.

 

[Staskala]

They took out a song because it contains references to WWII? What about Sabaton? Fairly sure they aren't censored over in Deustchland.

Come to think of it, what about history textbooks?

"NOTHING HAPPENED BETWEEN 1933 AND 1945 IN GERMANY, EVERYONE WAS FINE, THE HISTORIANS WERE JUST ALL ON VACATION."

If think you misunderstood something, we are constantly reminded of our own past and how evil we were and all that shit. Our own history books are more likely to depict us more negatively than foreign ones.
People cry about Hitler, Nazis or both on the slightest provocation, constantly proclaiming the next '33.

Some conservative ***** says something about how the Nazi's family model (women->kitchen, men->work(war)) is something we should reintroduce and there's an outcry, not because the idea is so fucking backwards but because she somehow said something remotely positive about Nazi Germany.

Then there's the Central Council of Jews, and apparently their only job is to cry Nazi! whenever they can, demanding politicians to resign because what they said somehow reminded them of Hitler or whatever.

I'm not saying we should ignore our past (phew!), but some of the controversy is so incredibly arbitrary, I honestly think we should give it a break sometimes.

 

[KaiRai]

Plus, where the hell are the Nazis in this game? I thought it was set in the cold war?

The USSR flag and other communist imagery is also banned there. And you can't really made a cold war game without the soviets.

Well now that's just being sore losers to be perfectly honest.