Due to their obvious similarity, Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann has likened playing violent games to watching child pornography and taking illegal drugs. We’re dead serious. Here is the translated press release issued by the man himself.
“…such games are one of the causes for youth violence and also for school shootings, where images from killer games become reality. More and more children are getting mired in this virtual world of violence. They have no time left for school or job training, and are lost to our society.
In regards to their harmful effects, violent games are on the same level as child pornography and illegal drugs, the ban on which rightly is unquestioned.”
Thankfully, the rest of the German government failed to be as uneducated as Mr. Herrmann. All German game associations, such as the BIU and ESB, have demanded an apology. A second German official, Thomas Jarzombek, shot back at Herrmann:
“The comparison is completely inappropriate. Anyone making such statements is unqualified to participate in any further debate [regarding the] protection of minors from harmful media.”
[Source]
