List of Banned Video Games - Germany

Germany

A game can be banned in Germany if it has been confiscated by court order because it violates a section of the Strafgesetzbuch (criminal code). Private possession (and thus playing it) and acquisition (such as downloading a demo from the Internet) is still legal, but any dissemination is not. The seller would break the law if a sale took place, not the buyer. On December 10, 2002, however, one German court (Oberlandesgericht Hamm) decided that a single sale of a single copy does not qualify as dissemination. Unlike indexing by the BPjM, which restricts the sale of all content-equal versions, the versions that are confiscated are enumerated in the court order. Being put on the index by the BPjM or, since April 1, 2003, being refused a rating by the USK does not equal a ban. Rather, it imposes strict trade restrictions on the title. While only very few games have been confiscated, the list of indexed games is very long.

In December 2006, Bavaria and Lower Saxony proposed legislation, to be presented to the national parliament, that would make even playing games that feature "cruel violence on humans or human-looking characters" an offense punishable with fines or jail time of up to 12 months.

§ 86a outlaws the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations, § 130 Volksverhetzung (agitation of the people), and § 131 instructions for crimes. In the official lists, these three sections are always bundled, so any action game that contains swastika flags and/or any depiction of Adolf Hitler) is listed alongside racist propaganda pieces.

§ 131 outlaws representation of violence in media "which describe cruel or otherwise inhuman acts of violence against human beings in a manner which expresses a glorification or rendering harmless of such acts of violence or which represents the cruel or inhuman aspects of the event in a manner which injures human dignity."

§ 130 and § 131 make it to a criminal offense to do following with corresponding scriptures:

1. distributing / selling
2. issuing in public, demonstrating or otherwise making available
3. leaving it to a person under the age of 18
4. producing, buying, delivering, storing, offering, announcing, praising, importing or exporting to use them within the meaning of the letters 1 to 3.

This means, that the import or purchase and the possession for personal use are still legal for persons over 18 years.

In a recent announcement, Sega has confirmed that the recently announced The House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld will not be released in Germany. Sega will also not be distributing Aliens vs. Predator as well.

After 10 years a "Beschlagnahmung" (ban) expires. The ban of the following titles dates back more than 10 years and so their bans have been automatically revoked: