Why is it not available in Germany?

[Schiller]

What's the reason? Germany is the third largest market for Steam games and one of the biggest markets for video games overall. So why? Guess I'll have to go with Hitman...

[Liz Shaw]

It'll be released on the European market at the same time as the PC version (March 11). The game will also have German subtitles, or at least that's what it says on the Steam page.

[Schiller]

Liz Shaw a écrit :

It'll be released on the European market at the same time as the PC version (March 11). The game will also have German subtitles, or at least that's what it says on the Steam page.

So I'll be able to activate Steam keys or gifts on my account?

[Liz Shaw]

I don't really know much about buying stuff on Steam myself. It should be available on Steam uncensored in all countries, as far as I know.

[owN77]

Noooo not again :(

[Liz Shaw]

It's not just Nazi stuff that has to be changed, but blood as well. There's a reason why MoT never came out in Germany.

[Patient Zero Balisong]

I wish I knew more about the whole censorship subject, I'd like to write an article on it.. so games are censored in Germany and others?

[Sinrag]

Wait wait, you're telling me I've been waiting years for this game and now I can't acess the store page and buy it because of swastikas? Jesus christ just alter the symbol a tiny bit, mirror it or whatever.

I want to spent money on this ffs.

[Liz Shaw]

So you're saying that German Steam users cannot buy the game whatsoever?

[Sinrag]

Liz Shaw a écrit :

So you're saying that German Steam users cannot buy the game whatsoever?

Yup, I can buy Death to Spies and Moment of truth, if I didn't have this game in my wishlist I wouldn't even be able to enter this discussion.

Alekhine's Gun store page is hidden behind a region restriction for me.

[Liz Shaw]

Maybe you should wait till the release date and try again. Or find a retail version online if there's still one. I guess this implies the European console versions will be uncensored too, and therefore they'll never come out in Germany.

[Shellshock]

If you live in Germany, you can purchase the game from a UK retailer (they have boxed PC copies), or visit an online shop like Greenmangaming and purchase the game from there. If they block it as well, you could still try key sites such as G2A, Kinguin etc.

And yes, games that contain historical symbols used by Nazi Germany during World War II, are banned in Germany (an example would be Wolfenstein 3D, or generally the Wolfenstein franchise; the New Order and the Old Blood were only released in an altered, German language only version).

[Liz Shaw]

Blood also has to be removed if you want to avoid or maintain an 18+ rating in Germany.

[Patient Zero Balisong]

thats kind of same in USA, it's 18+ if violent / bloody

[MagneticJerk]

Liz Shaw a écrit :

Blood also has to be removed if you want to avoid or maintain an 18+ rating in Germany.

That's not really true. There are plenty of games showing blood that are 16+ in Germany (GTA San Andreas for example). Even some that are 12+ (which are mostly RTS games where the blood is hard to see anways) It's a little more complicated, and since the rating is done by voluntary committees that don't consist of the same people every time it's not entirely consistent either. It's often also more about the intent behind the violence (which can be entirely bloodless but still be rated 18+). Silent Assassin for example is a lot less bloody than GTA San Andreas, yet GTA is 16+ and Silent Assassin is 18+

That said, it doesn't matter anyways because whether it'd be 16+ or 18+, it would be available to buy, which it isn't. This is entirely about the swastikas.

[Liz Shaw]

Blood was removed and the Nazi stuff censored in the international versions of the original Death to Spies. I'm not talking just about the swastikas, I'm talking about SS logo, eagles, pictures of Hitler. That's very interesting to know about how the USK operates. People are just so damn picky about content. Violence is violence, that was what my parents taught me as a teenager.

Perhaps you'd be surprised to learn that in Australia you can still advertise R18+ rated games on buses and billboards? At least, in Sydney.