German Social Affairs Minister suggests making 'addictive' games available to adults only

by Alexander Sliwinski on Mar 19th 2009 12:05AM

The German Minister for Social Affairs in Lower Saxony, Mechthild Ross-Luttmann, says she will ask for an investigation into the sale of inappropriate games to minors and may request a general age restriction for "addictive computer games." Welt Online reports that, for example, the drug known as World of Warcraft, currently available to minors, may only be sold to adults in the future. We wonder if Ross-Luttmann would classify Peggle in the same category? This war on games comes following a recent school shooting in the country.

Although Ross-Luttmann believes that computer games are the "potential danger" that exists in children's bedrooms, Andreas Rosenfelder, author of Digital Paradise, sees little connection between "digital role playing games like World of Warcraft and shooting sprees." Restricting "addictive" games to adults inevitably leads to the question: Who decides what's addictive?

[Via Massively, Game Culture]

Source

Tags: germany, mechthild-ross-luttmann

Reader Comments (40)

Game....too fun.....too....addictive....must...regulate.

I want to be the guy who's job this would be.

I deem this game addicting.

This one isn't.

This game is very addicting. I'll take my lunch break now.

PEGGLE NOOOOOO!!!!

What the heck, is there no punishments now indays? I mean kids are addicted to everything that is why you giveth and taketh away. That's how kids are controlled. It's like money for children.

Peggle is fine. Really any internet game should be mature. Playing with random people is not for kids

yes, how DARE my child have "friends" who he "talks to". Did you know that the Columbine students were "friends"? Its obvious to me that anyone who has these "friends" is a threat to themselves and others

Of course WOW is addicting. I by my month cards from a guy named Leo on the corner of 12th and Main!

Step 1: Addictive games banned to all but adults
Step 2: Declare all M rated games addictive
Step 3: ?
Step 4: Profit

Step 3 is commence mass bottling of all gamer's tears into a super powered mountain dewyish caffeine taurine carbonated powered up double espresso beverage.

Gamerspresso! 4 teh gamerz!

LOL Markez, +1

Finally we would be able to play online games without 12-year-old fuckers screaming into their mics and playing music.

Please, Germany. Make this a UN declaration or something.

The irony is that without the money that comes from 12 year olds, no more mature rated games would be made. Not on the 100 million+ dollar budget scale anyway.

What sort of litmus test would you apply to determine whether a game is addictive or not? It'd be wholly subjective and all, but I don't know how you can come up with any sort of consistent standard to make this kind of determination. They mention WoW, so maybe just MMOs? Or because of Canada's unfortune, all FPS' because of the Crisp tragedy? Or all puzzlish games because someone, somewhere has a grandma who has gone loony because of a Peggle addiction?

I dont see how you could connect shooting sprees with the methodical pacing and enlightenment era firearms

sorry didnt mean to reply, that was also about WoW

Clearly, commenting is addictive and unhealthy, driven you nutso and made you unstable. No more commenting for you.

well, i probably should lay off the whole Batman thing....

But I can never stop until Gotham is safe!

Two words. Terry McGuiness.

Problem solved.

Markez

There have never been words that were more true than those that seeped out of your fingers and onto the interwebs like a soaring eagle. Bravo!

OK, while I have you all here in this long line of replies and seeing as how you all have profile pix, how do I upload one? It's darn near impossible.

Click on your name in a comment, and it takes to you a profile page. Sign in, and it's one of the options. Doesn't always work, and it's inconsistent. But, if you upload two, they will randomly alternate, which is kind of fun!

What is "addictive?" Some people don't like TF2, but I've wasted a huge chunk of my life on it. Some people spend forever on WoW, but I've never saw the game's grind-tastic appeal. It's all subjective and impossible to enforce.

Besides, studies have proven games aren't addictive. Game "addicts" have other problems that make then hide with their games all day.

OH! This reminds me of the guy next to me at the apple store today. He was watching Street Fighter videos on Youtube and involuntarily rocking back and forth on his feet for about 30 minutes. It was kind of sad cause he did have issues.

*Glosses over fact that it was probably Markez*

I can't until generation X & Y are in positions or power. It just seems like all these people (Jack Thompson, this guy etc etc) don't understand what gaming is about. They use gaming as a pedestal for their own political careers.

Oh Germany.

ya im so addicted to Little Big Planet and Barbie Horse Adventure right now, its gonna suck for kids at school tomorrow hehehe

...I think it's past your bedtime.

Scheisse nein! What's she's doing is censorscheisse, and nothing else!

An addiction develops when you have no self control, give that to someone with the resources of an adult and you have a recipe for disaster.

Stop the freaking regulations on stupid freaking *games* of all things.

Seriously... I can't believe that officials across the globe are so hung up on regulating games these days.

Yeah, bring out the banhammer once more.

Never mind that WoW (for instance, but it's pegged as one of the worst offenders) has a parental control system that allows parents to set up a schedule during which their kids can play. Don't burden parents with responsibility for what their kids do!

Damn it. You Germans should worry more about your elderly, incestuous dungeon owners and less about your entertaining video games.

Since elderly, incestuous dungeon owners are already heavily regulated in Germany, they turn to Austria for business and pleasure. Just as we gamers do when we need some GORE. Austria, ich liebe dich!

Why don't they just put a mature rating on them?
They get to think they are actually doing something, while minors will still get their hands on them.

Common Sense Minister suggests parents attempt responsible parenting, and the use of common sense. Industries surrounding artistic mediums saved much needless bother.

ManekiNeko:

That's AUSTRIANS. Check your geography next time, ok?

On topic:
It's so typical, every time some hollow-brained idiot deceides to take out his frustrations with a gun, our politicians try to look for the easiest culprit. And since the school shooting in Erfurt a couple years back it's computer and video gaming. Most german politicians never touched a gamepad, but you should hear the crap they're spouting about "torturing fleeing innocents" in Counter-Strike.

This story is just one of the ripples the latest school shooting caused. And not to forget, it's election year, so go figure.

This reminded me of that Audio Gamer song about Peggle being the housewives dark sin: http://www.gamepeople.co.uk/audio_ds_peggle.htm

Maybe she was closer to the truth than she realised.

The day that someone throws from a high place 10 deadly balls that bounces the people to kill them and in the last one the guy screams "EXTREME FEVEEEEEER!!!" this day Peggle will be banned from everywhere...

With this issues about adictive games... oh.. give us a break... if they want to ban adictive games then they would have to remove Solitaire from Windows OS... I had a friend that spends almost 12 hours playing this card game... not adictive? hahahaha!!!

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German Social Affairs Minister suggests making 'addictive' games available to adults only

Reader Comments (40)

Posted: Mar 19th 2009 12:13AM (Unverified) said

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