Publisher Activision has reportedly pulled Wolfenstein from sale in Germany after the localised version of Raven Software's shooter was found to contain a swastika.
Nazi symbols such as swastikas are banned from appearing in games released in Germany. Previous casualties include Wolfenstein 3D, which was barred from sale in 1994 because it featured Nazi imagery.
Wolfenstein
Official trailer
3:37Behind the scenes trailer
Wolfenstein
Official trailer
3:37Behind the scenes trailer
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"Although it is not a conspicuous element in the normal game... we have decided to take this game immediately from the German market," Activision said in a translated statement reported by 4players.de (via Kotaku).
Schnitterbericht has posted a number of screenshots showing the differences between the US and German versions of Wolfenstein - which is available for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC - including one shot featuring a small swastika.
Sirini is right; both out of respect and due to a sense of national shame that lingers to this day in Germany. Personally I don't think the young Germans of today need, nor should, carry around that burden - it's not theirs to bear and if they are going to be held responsible for the sins of their fathers then we are all in trouble if you look back upon history.
That said, I think this is a pretty lame censorship decision. A big thumbs down!
That's right Germany lets pretend that the 12 year rise and occupation of Nazism in Germany didn't happen; "everyone was on vacation"
They really are two truly dumb quotes made in poor taste. They did not ban the swastika because it makes them 'feel a bit bad', it was out of respect for all the victims of the war. KFD is right, the youth of Germany do not deserve to have an ugly historical stain hindering them, as it was not their choice. Do you have any idea what c**ts we, the English were throughout history? Grow up, seriously.
So, I guess this means games like COD:WAW had to be specially edited for Germany, it must be a real pain in the bottom.
It probably has been, yeah.
It's not just specifically war related, Germany has a very strict policy concerning violence in video games. It's only really Australia who's censorship system is stricter in the main democratic countries.
I'm curious if there are any German gamers who can answer this question for me? Do you guys get your games from Austria or Lichtenstein, or do you tend to order them from other countries?
That's right Germany lets pretend that the 12 year rise and occupation of Nazism in Germany didn't happen; "everyone was on vacation"
They really are two truly dumb quotes made in poor taste. They did not ban the swastika because it makes them 'feel a bit bad', it was out of respect for all the victims of the war. KFD is right, the youth of Germany do not deserve to have an ugly historical stain hindering them, as it was not their choice. Do you have any idea what c**ts we, the English were throughout history? Grow up, seriously.
The English were bad but they were nowhere near as bad as the nazis, The main difference in all this is that most sensible people don't blame the German people of today for what the scummy Nazis did, whereas loads of idiots blame the English (or more predominantly the British)for the past i.e the Brits still get s**t for black slavery even though the Arabs and egyptians had black slaves long before the Europeans or the Americans did. I can understand why the Germans censor this kind of thing but instead of totally banning it in games they should maybe educate the public better (something the British should do too, I find a disgrace that kids aren't taught about the holocaust in school nowadays) maybe the Germans do, if they do good on them but this is still going a bit far.
I'm curious if there are any German gamers who can answer this question for me? Do you guys get your games from Austria or Lichtenstein, or do you tend to order them from other countries?
I'm not german, but live in Germany. I get my games from the UK as the german voice-overs are horrible.
I think you'll find pulling a game from sale or having a censored version done to remove symbols costs quite a lot of money.
This is a very serious issue to Germans, and in a way whilst I oppose censorship, you've got to respect the reasons they have it...
And please don't say the English are saintly but still get blamed for s**t... I think you'll find modern Germans get blamed for a lot of s**t they had nothing to do with.
If anything you should look at Americans' very casual almost funny inability to distinguish patriotism for content that can come across as offensive to the rest of the world! It's not like Germans go round celebrating the holocaust, Brits celebrate colonialism or Russians celebrate Stalin's purges!
It didn't get banned for being an FPS then? Shocking. Even Perfect Dark on the N64 was banned in Germany, and I'm pretty sure that featured neither nazi regalia nor swastikas.
its coz they got there asses kiked in both world wars
I suggest you revisit your history books. The German military machine during WWI actually managed to defeat the Italians, the rebellious elements in the Austria-Hungarian Empire (primarily Serbia), Romania and Russia - granted, Germany probably had some help from it's allies in the form of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. Germany lost WWI not because of superior training or equipment on behalf of the Western Allies. Germany lost because WWI was a war of attrition and once the US actively joined in the war with France and Britain, the Germans simply couldn't keep on absorbing the death toll the way the Allies were able to.
Incidentally, while far, far more French and British troops died in WWI than American troops, there is good reason to suspect that had fresh troops and a near endless supply of raw materials (at the time,) not arrived from the US, WWI might have ended with an armistice and no clear victor. The German military was never actually beaten in the traditional sense which was one of the main reasons that would eventually lead to the rise of the Nazis and WWII (i.e. many Germans, especially the German military, felt they were unfairly humiliated during the end of WWI despite not being conquered nor invaded by the Allies at the time, and they wanted revenge for this perceived slight).
That's right Germany lets pretend that the 12 year rise and occupation of Nazism in Germany didn't happen; "everyone was on vacation"
They really are two truly dumb quotes made in poor taste. They did not ban the swastika because it makes them 'feel a bit bad', it was out of respect for all the victims of the war. KFD is right, the youth of Germany do not deserve to have an ugly historical stain hindering them, as it was not their choice. Do you have any idea what c**ts we, the English were throughout history? Grow up, seriously.
The English were bad but they were nowhere near as bad as the nazis, The main difference in all this is that most sensible people don't blame the German people of today for what the scummy Nazis did, whereas loads of idiots blame the English (or more predominantly the British)for the past i.e the Brits still get s**t for black slavery even though the Arabs and egyptians had black slaves long before the Europeans or the Americans did. I can understand why the Germans censor this kind of thing but instead of totally banning it in games they should maybe educate the public better (something the British should do too, I find a disgrace that kids aren't taught about the holocaust in school nowadays) maybe the Germans do, if they do good on them but this is still going a bit far.
The English/British, and other powers throughout history from all corners of the world, carried out atrocious acts that mirror the barbarity of what the Nazis did. True, the scale on which the Nazis carried out their "Final Solution" was probably unequaled as they turned it into an industrial process.
That's right Germany lets pretend that the 12 year rise and occupation of Nazism in Germany didn't happen; "everyone was on vacation"
They really are two truly dumb quotes made in poor taste. They did not ban the swastika because it makes them 'feel a bit bad', it was out of respect for all the victims of the war. KFD is right, the youth of Germany do not deserve to have an ugly historical stain hindering them, as it was not their choice. Do you have any idea what c**ts we, the English were throughout history? Grow up, seriously.
I agree they shouldn't have to bear the burden but it can't be denied, if we forget the past then there's the risk of it happening again, furthermore this (Wolfenstein) is not being thrust in anyone's face anymore than a game that gets banned for being too violent. For those people who are offended by it, or just do not like seeing it, just don't play it. Are you telling me that Germany has banned classic films like The Great Escape, Stalag 17 etc etc because they have swastikas in them?
It's a very real thing. Display of the Swastika is illegal and you WILL go to jail if the police catch you wearing one.
They're not doing what China did with Tienanmen and trying to pretend it didn't happen, they're just making sure that the symbol will never again be displayed in their country. Which I think is fair enough.
We're all too young to know what it was like to be a witness to those atrocities, so we can't understand why the government of the time made that decision. History books are one thing, but living through it and watching it happen is quite another. But it was almost like a global apology, a promise that they won't let it happen again, a warning that anything like that will be severely punished.
It was either an oversight on the developers part, or it was an attempt at a publicity stunt. Either way, it was a dumb move.
Are you telling me that Germany has banned classic films like The Great Escape, Stalag 17 etc etc because they have swastikas in them?
There's probably a good chance that those films aren't considered classics in Germany. Seeing as they don't portray the German people as a nice bunch and that they were released in the 20 years after the war i'd say there's a good chance not too many American and British war films are held in high regard in that part of the world, except maybe Escape to Victory. Who doesn't like that film?
What winds me up is the immediate assumption that only the English fought for Britain during both world wars. Millions of Welsh, Scottish and Irish soldiers and civilians died giving their lives for Britain NOT England. Rant over. As far as Wolfenstein, glad to Activision have had respect for the German people and the memories of the World War and removed the game although couldn't they have perhaps patched the game or released a game without it in to begin with?
What winds me up is the immediate assumption that only the English fought for Britain during both world wars. Millions of Welsh, Scottish and Irish soldiers and civilians died giving their lives for Britain NOT England. Rant over. As far as Wolfenstein, glad to Activision have had respect for the German people and the memories of the World War and removed the game although couldn't they have perhaps patched the game or released a game without it in to begin with?
True dat.
But the English are still boo hiss baddies.
The Scots are the brave, noble underdogs, and the Irish are loveable oppressed rogues riverdancing on tables on the lower decks...
The_KFD_Case has just taken the award for greatest internet loser of all time
I'll happily accept your dubious "award" since it would imply that having a higher level of intellect, education and knowledge is something that sets me apart from you, and quite frankly, I do not care to be counted amongst the ranks of ingrate ignoramuses such as yourself.
The_KFD_Case has just taken the award for greatest internet loser of all time
I'll happily accept your dubious "award" since it would imply that having a higher level of intellect, education and knowledge is something that sets me apart from you, and quite frankly, I do not care to be counted amongst the ranks of ingrate ignoramuses such as yourself.
With KFD on this one. And I think Speciala is short for "Special Needs"...
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