Switzerland Pursues Violent Games Ban 276
BanjoTed writes "We hear lots about the issues facing violent games in Australia, but the anti-games bandwagon is gathering pace closer to home — in Switzerland, to be precise. The Swiss government is gearing up to consider a total ban on mature games in the country."
Slipperly slope (Score:5, Insightful)
Not just unemployment (Score:2, Insightful)
Closer to home? (Score:4, Insightful)
Some of us are Australian, funnily enough.
"Mature"? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Part of a general pattern (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Part of a general pattern (Score:3, Insightful)
Can you name the "basic rights" that are being violated here? Nobody is stopping Muslims in Switzerland from practicing their religion, they are only not allowed to impose it on everyone else in the form of giant rockets (erect penises?) whose only purpose is to promote the said religion. Since they are not even being used for calling for prayer what else is their purpose?
Re:I can understand banning games (Score:5, Insightful)
Why do they not ban all films, books, and CDs with content unsuitable for children as well?
Re:I can understand banning games (Score:3, Insightful)
Wow, you've changed my life! I suppose we could say that you've souffled it! I mean, you'd know what I meant, right?
Re:Part of a general pattern (Score:5, Insightful)
Pure democracy is called "tyranny of the majority" for a reason.
Re:Part of a general pattern (Score:2, Insightful)
Usually by people who wouldn't get their own way in a true democracy. Well boo hoo, suck it up , thats what true democracy is about. But instead in the west we generally have the type of "democracy" where the elected leaders happily ignore the majority in favour of pressure groups and minorities who make lots of noise. How exactly is that anything other than the tyranny of the minority?
Re:Slipperly slope (Score:5, Insightful)
Great idea.
If it's a crime it can't be the subject of a video game.
Any super hero game is out since it encourages vigilante behaviour which is a serious crime.
Uplink should be banned because it has the player commit serious crimes like breaking into computer systems without their owners consent.
Commander keen is out since obviously he flew without a pilots liscence while underage (encouraging kids to joy ride), operated firearms without a liscence(unless 8 year olde are commonly issued liscences for powerful weapons) and murdered large numbers of animals with no consideration for proper methods of humane slaughter.
Pacman is out since it encourages kids to consume pills which haven't been proscribed to them.
Dwarf fortress is out since it allows genocide, torture, theft and flooding of populated towns with magma.
The whole point of games is that they allow you to do things which would not be allowed in real life.
I don't know about you but I wouldn't find "Accountancy: The Game" much fun.
Similarly "Complying with building code regulations" is far less fun that lego.
"Turning found large qantities of cash into the proper authorities to see if anyone claims it" is far less fun than rogue.
Why limit it to computer games.
Any children playing guns with pieces of wood should be forcibly stopped from playing games in which they act out doing illegal things like kill people.
The blocks of wood should be confiscated and replaced with math books so that they can become productive members of society.
The whole point of games is that they're not real life.
I've never stabbed anyone despite playing as an assasin in oblivion.
I've never shot anyone despite playing doom and GTA.
I've never undermined by house with tunnels depite playing digdug
Re:Slipperly slope (Score:5, Insightful)
You're changing the goalposts.
No I would not "support" any of those games.
I would however not oppose them since they do nobody an harm of any kind.
Freedom of speech is a bitch isn't it.
I don't like rape games so I don't buy them.
if I had children I'd discourage them from playing rape games.(hell I'd outright stop them)
I support minimum ages for purchasing them.
But there's zero reason to ban any of those.
Re:I can understand banning games (Score:5, Insightful)
Wouldn't it be easier to ban children directly?
Re:Part of a general pattern (Score:3, Insightful)
It's called that for a reason.
In a true democracy the majority have all the power.
If 50% of the population vote yes then they can slaughter of all gays, black people or *generic unpopular group*
I guess boo hoo, suck it up , thats what true democracy is about.
Fortunatly most democracies are constitutional democracies where the power of the majority is limited so that groups which are not a large portion of the population don't get shit upon by the majority.
Re:Part of a general pattern (Score:3, Insightful)
Can you name the "basic rights" that are being violated here? Nobody is stopping Muslims in Switzerland from practicing their religion, they are only not allowed to impose it on everyone else in the form of giant rockets (erect penises?) whose only purpose is to promote the said religion. Since they are not even being used for calling for prayer what else is their purpose?
Can you name the "basic rights" that are being violated here? Nobody is stopping Christians in Switzerland from practicing their religion, they are only not allowed to impose it on everyone else in the form of giant torture devices (lower case 't's?) whose only purpose is to promote the said religion. Since they are not even being used for crucifying people what else is their purpose?
Re:Part of a general pattern (Score:1, Insightful)
And the chances of that happening are ....
Funny you say that - sorry to Godwin the thread, but you do remember that Hitler was democratically voted in* on a platform that was less than equality based?
*before instituting powers that would allow him to take total control.