Activision’s upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops has undergone a few changes in order to appease German censors.
According to CODFeed (via The Escapist), the game, which is set in various locations between 1960 and 2010, will have the following changes implemented for the German market:
• A scene where an enemy is shot in slow motion with copious amounts of gore has been toned down for the German release.
• A torture scene involving a prisoner has been completely eliminated from the German version.
• The song Sympathy for the Devil by Mick Jagger has been removed.
• No explosions that lead to limb loss.
• Removal of what Germany deems ‘anti-constitutional symbols’.
The last term, “anti-constitutional symbols,” most likely refers to any Nazi-themed imagery in the game, while the removal of the Rolling Stones song was probably due to the mention of the term “blitzkrieg,” in the song’s lyrics:
I rode a tank
Held a general's rank
When the Blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
The song was actually co-written by Jagger and Keith Richards.
Comments
Re: German Censors Have No Sympathy for COD: Black Ops
Wait, the word Blitzkrieg is enough to get media censored in Germany?
(shudder) I hope it never gets that far in America.
Re: German Censors Have No Sympathy for COD: Black Ops
The country that refers to the brave souls who fought in WWII as the "Greatest Generation"? Don't bet on it.
Seriously, as far as political-correctness has been taken, as often as the Freedom of Speech is challenged, censorship really hasn't progressed much in America. In fact, people get away with a lot more in television, movies, music, and yes, even games, than ever before. Just look at shows like Dexter, which never would've been given the greenlight some twenty years ago.
Germany's just being way too uptight about anything remotely referring to Nazis, especially in games, mainly because they're so popular. The more people enjoy a medium, the more they stick noses in it to sniff out the mustard gas. Freakin' ridiculous if you ask me.
Re: German Censors Have No Sympathy for COD: Black Ops
...Dexter runs on Showtime, not network TV. The government has absolutely no control over its content.
George Carlin was performing his entire 7 Words routine on HBO 30 years ago. Premium cable is an entirely different animal from broadcast TV.
Re: German Censors Have No Sympathy for COD: Black Ops
I stand corrected on that bit. But still, I don't see it going as far as the poster above fears.
Re: German Censors Have No Sympathy for COD: Black Ops
My heart goes out to my German bretheren, Sympathy for the Devil is a great song. I just don't see it as bad enough to remove due to one word, but there isn't much I can do here.
Re: German Censors Have No Sympathy for COD: Black Ops
Germany really wants to forget that WWII ever happened, don't they? Not that I blame them for wanting to cleanse themselves of Hitler's stain, but a much better way to do that in my eyes would be by letting developers make their games they way they want and not censoring them like, well, Nazis.
Re: German Censors Have No Sympathy for COD: Black Ops
Re: German Censors Have No Sympathy for COD: Black Ops
There's also the old saying "Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it"
Re: German Censors Have No Sympathy for COD: Black Ops
In Brazil noone can sell to you, but you can buy.
So, we sorta smuggle stuff.
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Maurício Gomes
twitter.com/agfgames
Re: German Censors Have No Sympathy for COD: Black Ops
German gamers can still import the game from different Europe countries right?
http://www.magicinkgaming.com/