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Germany removes blanket ban on Nazi imagery in games
Before video games with swastikas and other Nazi symbols can be released in Germany, they have to go through some major edits to censor those images. Every Nazi eagle and swastika -- and even Adolf Hitler's moustache -- in the Wolfenstein series had to be scrubbed, for instance, even though Nazis are the villains in the game. That will no longer be the case going forward, now that German authorities have lifted the blanket ban on Nazi imagery in video games. Each title will now be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the country's Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK) and will be judged similarly to books and films.
South Park delayed in Germany, Austria over use of swastikas
South Park: The Stick of Truth was supposed to launch in Germany and Austria this week, but it's been delayed because it contains an "unconstitutional symbol." Two guesses what that symbol might be. Hint: It's a swastika. The swastika is widely known as a Nazi emblem (regardless of its origin), and is delineated in German law as the symbol of an unconstitutional organization. Public use of a swastika carries a penalty of up to three years in prison plus a fine. Ubisoft created censored versions of The Stick of Truth for the EMEA regions and Australia, and it was working on a special version for German markets. Something must have gone wrong, as The Stick of Truth's German Steam page today carries the following message: "We're sorry to inform you that we are unable to deliver your pre-ordered version of South Park: The Stick of Truth on March 6th as initially planned. The German and Austrian version of South Park: The Stick of Truth contains an unconstitutional symbol which means that we are unfortunately not able to release the game on the German and Austrian market at this time. This concerns all versions / platforms of the game. There is no need to amend or cancel your pre-order. A new release date of South Park: The Stick of Truth for the German and Austrian market will be announced shortly, and we will ensure that your order is delivered to coincide with this new date." There's only one rule, and it looks like Ubisoft broke it: Don't mention the war. [Image: Ubisoft]
Microsoft's Toulouse explains why swastikas are banned on Xbox Live
An Xbox Live user recently inquired to professional banhammer-wielder Stephen Toulouse whether or not he could use a swastika as his Call of Duty: Black Ops emblem, to which Toulouse responded, "No, of course you can't, we'll ban you." Apparently, this sparked quite a reaction from gamers who witnessed the exchange, who defended the use of a swastika as a symbol widely used throughout several Eastern religions. In a post on his personal blog, Toulouse explained why this argument doesn't hold much water with the Xbox Live moderation crew. "Let's be clear: no educated human on the planet looks at the swastika symbol ... and says 'oh, that symbol has nothing at all in any way to do with global genocide of an entire race,'" Toulouse stated, "'and, even if it did, one should totally and reasonably ignore that because it's a symbol that was stolen or coop-ted from religions.'" He succinctly adds, "If you think the swastika symbol should be re-evaluated by societies all over the Earth, I think that's great. Your Xbox Live profile or in game logo, which doesn't have the context to explain your goal, is not the right place to do that." We certainly know that every time we see someone use the swastika as their identifier on an online game, our first thought is, "Oh, how nice, they're pushing for a global re-evaluation of the meaning of the swastika." Like, that's just common sense, isn't it?
