10 Video Games Which Have Been Banned From Several Countries
Video gaming is a much more recent invention than the TV and movies, but its power is unquestionable- after all, a movie lasts only a few hours, but a video game immerses the player in its world for dozens of hours. However, there are multiple game titles which have been banned in certain countries or regions, some with quite reasonable causes, and others in order to serve some silly political agenda.
In today's article we will see 10 of these games- some of them were created to shock the world, but others have simply fallen into the nets of censorship.
- Mortal Kombat
- Wolfenstein 3D
- Doom
- Carmageddon
- Football Manager 2005
- Mercenaries: Playground Of Destruction
- Bully
- Heavy Rain
- Red Dead Redemption
- L.A. Noire
1. Mortal Kombat
Release Date: 1992
Banned in: Australia, Brazil, and South Korea
Ban Reason: Violence
The first Mortal Kombat game stood out for its graphics, which used images of real actors instead of painted sprites like other games (regardless if some of them, e.g. Scorpion and Sub-Zero, was the same actor with different uniform color).
But the reason thus game stayed in history was none other than fatalities, specific movements after the last round of each match, with which the winner violently murdered the loser. This excessive violence was enough for the politicians in some countries to completely ban its release.
2. Wolfenstein 3D
Release Date: 1992
Banned in: Germany
Ban Reason: Reference to the Nazis
The first FPS games (First-Person Shooter) made their first appearance in the '70s. Nevertheless, Wolfenstein 3D is considered the first truly decent game of this genre, and along with Doom they “defined” the entire field of FPS games. It is no exaggeration to say that without them, there wouldn’t be popular modern titles like Halo, Medal of Honor, or Call of Duty.
In Wolfenstein 3D, the players had the role of a spy who worked for the allied forces and tried to escape from the Wolfenstein Castle during World War II. The reference to the Nazis, however, was enough to get it banned in Germany.
3. Doom
Release Date: 1993
Banned in: Brazil
Ban Reason: Violence
With demons from hell having replaced Nazis, Doom had no ban issues in Germany. In Brazil, however, although the opponents were not even people and the graphics didn’t have the "realism" of Mortal Kombat, Doom’s violence was enough to get it bannned.
4. Carmageddon
Release Date: 1997
Banned in: Brazil, Germany, UK
Ban Reason: Violence
Inspired by the movie Death Race 2000 (1975), Carmageddon was supposed to be a racing game. But the real goal was for the player to hit as many pedestrians as possible, getting bonus points if he hit them while drifting.
In Germany and UK, the game was released censored, with pedestrians being replaced with Zombies or Robots, which had green blood and motor oil, respectively. Brazil, however, did not want to release this game even in this form, so it was completely banned in the country.
5. Football Manager 2005
Release Date: 2004
Banned in: China
Ban Reason: recognizes Tibet as an independent state
It may not contain any trace of sex, violence or anarchy, but the fact that Football Manager 2005 recognized Tibet as an independent state was sufficient for the Communist Party of China to ban its release in the country.
It’s probably the silliest reason in this list.
6. Mercenaries: Playground Of Destruction
Release Date: 2005
Banned in: South Korea
Ban Reason: Refers to the invasion of North Korea
In Mercenaries: Playground Of Destruction, the player takes the role of a mercenary who invaded North Korea in order to go into missions and make money. Even though the game didn’t cause a great sensation in the gaming community, it didn’t go unnoticed in South Korea, which banned its release.
7. Bully
Release Date: 2006
Banned in: Brazil
Ban Reason: Violence in school environment
Rockstar does like shocking people; in fact, it developed the one-third of the games in this list. The only reason that the most famous creation of the company was not included, Grand Theft Auto, is because many games of the GTA series have been banned in different countries with different motives, plus the article would become “Countries which banned Rockstar games”.
So, in Bully, the main character was a school bully, and the main theme of the game was bullying the classmates. Brazil did not want to have something like this in its stores, while in the UK the game was released under the title Canis Canem Edit (which is Latin for “Dog Eat Dog”).
8. Heavy Rain
Release Date: 2010
Banned in: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
Ban Reason: Nudity, sex scenes
Heavy Rain is more like a movie than a game, with the player influencing specific parts in the plot instead of having full control. Most countries had no problem with this, but Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were scandalized with a little bit of nudity and one sex scene which was implied, so it was banned. It seems, however, that they had no problem with Mortal Kombat’s violence.
9. Red Dead Redemption
Release Date: 2010
Banned in: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
Ban Reason: Nudity, Violence
In Red Dead Redemption, the player takes the role of a Cowboy who chases the former members of his gang.
Being a Sandbox type of game coming from Rockstar, in Red Dead Redemption the player had the ability to do anything he wanted with the cowboy under very few limitations, such dueling with other cowboys, becoming a bounty hunter, gambling, flirting, and catching women with the lasso, only to throw them on the train tracks (with the train not even bothering slowing down). Surprisingly, Brazil had no problem with any of this, but Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates continued their censorship policy.
10. L.A. Noire
Release Date: 2011
Banned in: Saudi Arabia
Ban Reason: Nudity
L.A. Noire stood out from many modern games since a new technique was used in it, which allowed the characters to have more vivid expressions on their faces, resulting in a more realistic sense. But the nudity this game had (which was very low) was still enough to scandalize Saudi Arabia.
Some of these games were created deliberately in order to receive critical praising, and perhaps if they had no elements such as excessive violence, they would not be remembered today.
Nonetheless, these are just a few of the total games which have been banned from different countries for different reasons. Stay tuned for more banned games!
