Video Games

While a number of Americans do not take the video games seriously, the video game industry has been regularly out grossing Hollywood. That is correct, video games are drawing more money than the juggernaut that is film. The advancement of technology, marketing, and the increased popularity of gaming has led to this trend. A lot can be said about video games, but they have come entrenched as part of pop culture within the United States and Internationally as well.

A game is an opportunity to focus our energy, with relentless optimism, at something we’re good at (or getting better at) and enjoy. In other words, gameplay is the direct emotional opposite of depression.” ― Jane McGonigal, Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World

Throughout the years numerous games have been banned throughout the world for a plethora of reasons. Some of the rationale used can be justified – while others really can cause you to scratch your head based on the logic used to censor a game. The following list was compiled after narrowing down some of the most eye popping games and the rationale for their banning. While not every game is mainstream success, a number will be familiar names in the gaming community. You will be stunned that #15 and #1 on the list were ever published in the first place!

“If only I could handle my problems like a video-game style battle against a boss. But there are no power-ups in real life. No FTW moment when I can declare total pwnage. I don’t even know who the bad guys are.” ― Kat Kruger, The Night Has Claws

Here is the list of 15 Video Games that were banned for intriguing reasons!

15. KZ Manager Millennium

According to IGN it was the 2001 “Most Unnecessary Game of the Year” with good reason. This game was banned in Germany as the player take on the role of a Nazi concentration  camp manager, where you “manage” prisoners who are either Jews or Gypsies….If that’s not enough, the game blatantly spreads white supremacist messaging on the Graphical User Interface (as if the intent wasn’t already clear enough).  The game rewards you for executions and is commonly ranked as the most offensive game of all time.

Sadly the game released numerous versions throughout the 90s with the last record release coming in the year 2000. KZ Manager will go down as a stain on the video game industry and is the most justified banning on the list, considering the human rights atrocities that were enacted at death camps throughout Europe. As expected little has been heard from the developing team since the last version of KZ Manager was released.