Top 10 Video Games That Were BANNED

Top 10 Video Games That Were BANNED

Growing up, I saw the birth of the modern video game, and had every Nintendo system that there was

from NES to N64 and up. And since then, the video game market has become a 93 billion dollar market, so to say it's competitive would be an understatement.

And because of that, game makers are always looking for new and exciting and controversial ways to sell games. And the topics of some games have gone a little too far, so far in fact, that they were actually banned from store shelves.

In this article that's exactly what we're going to talk about, those games that are going to make you say, that actually existed? So let's jump right into it, These are 10 video games that were banned.

Number one : RapeLay

RapeLay was released on April 21st, 2006, for PC, and was created by Japanese game developers, 

Illusion Soft. 

The main goal of the game is to stalk and engage in forced sexual encounters with a mother and her two daughters, with a variety of options and locations at the player's disposal.

Oh this one's just full of all kinds of cringe.

Shockingly, the game has been banned in many countries, including Argentina, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia, just to name some, and basically just because it's a gross and distasteful game play premise.

Illusion Soft has obviously since then removed all trace of the game from their website, and has completely ended distribution, while Japan has since banned, obviously, all rape games.

You know, the Japanese culture is into some really bizarre, weird stuff, so if this game is too much for them, you know it's bad.

Number two Wolfenstein 3D

Originally released May fifth of 1992 for PC, Wolfenstein 3D was actually banned in Germany for its inclusion of the Nazi army as the game's main enemies. That, alongside the Nazi Party's anthem as the game's musical theme, and a cyborg version of Adolf Hitler as the final boss.

A Super Nintendo Version of this game was released in 1994, but was drastically edited to remove any themes, visuals, or references of the Nazi party, including removing Hitler's little mustache, and renaming the boss character to Staatmeister.

I see the insensitivity in all of this, because, you know, Germany and the Nazi, I get it, but you're fighting Hitler. It's not like you're fighting Gandhi, Hitler was a bad guy, let's take out the digital version of him, why not?

Number three Manhunt 2

Manhunt 2 was released on October 29th, 2007, for the PS2, PSP, and Wii, and was banned in several countries, including South Korea, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Germany, for its over the top gory murders.

The game allows players to kill enemies using a variety of gruesome weapons or objects leading to a very, very graphic, gory, and horrific death. Like, really over the top.

Many countries didn't like the idea of teaching young kids how to kill someone with a plastic bag, or razor wire, or a sledgehammer, or a shotgun, or hedge trimmers. Just to name a few. So, they banned it.

Number four : The Pokemon Trading Card Game

Wait, Pokemon? Yeah, I know.

Released for the Game Boy Color on April 10th, 2000, the Pokemon Trading Card Game was immediately banned in Saudi Arabia by top religious authorities.

They stated that the game resembles a game of gambling. They went on to say that certain cards carried religious symbolism such as the Star of David, which he thought connected to international Zionism, and Israel's national emblem. That, along with cards that depicted the cross for Christians, and triangles for the Free Masons, just was a no-no there.

Yo, Saudi Arabia, you need to chill man. Take a little chill pill, it is a trading card game, it's not gonna burn your house down, it's not gonna bring the apocalypse, it's gonna bring Charizard and Squirtle.

Number five : Homefront

Released on March 15th, 2011, for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, Homefront depicts the United States under forced occupation from Kim Jong Il and a highly advanced version of the North Korean military forces.

The game, for fairly obvious reasons, immediately was banned from South Korea, mostly because of the strained relationship between North and South Korea. 

In North America, however, we are more tolerant of these things because it's just a game, But to this day, games involving actions against the North are immediately banned in the South, since North Korea tends to, kind of over react to issues, just a little bit.

Well we all saw what happened after the movie The Interview, so, I wouldn't be surprised if a video game made him just lose his mind.

Number six : Fallout 3

Released on October 28th, 2008, for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, Fallout 3 is set in a post nuclear war

apocalypse version of Washington DC. 

The game includes a significant side mission in which a player must decide to either disarm or detonate a live atomic bomb which sits in the middle of a small community of settlers. 

There's a mini nuke launcher weapon named The Fat Man in the game, which was the name of the nuke that blew up Nagasaki in World War II. For this reason, this caused the original game to be banned in Japan, and only an edited version was allowed to be sold there.

The game was also banned in India due to the inclusion of mutated two-headed cows, called Brahmin,

similar to the cow breed in India called Brahman, which are held in deep respect by Hindus.

Number seven : Football Manager 2005

Football Manager 2005, despite its terrible name, was released on November 4th, 2004, for the PC, and is a game all about managing a soccer team in a mostly text and number-based interface without any real ability to play as the team. Pretty simple game, except that it was banned in China, because it included Tibet and Taiwan as independent countries and not a part of China.

However, in a twist, the ban caused the game to be heavily pirated in China, and become popular in the underground market. A Chinese version of the game was ultimately released with country edits.

Number eight : Mass Effect

Mass Effect was released on November 20th, 2007, for the Xbox 360, and was promptly banned in Singapore due to the ability to engage in sexual activities with the same gender and with an alien.

Whoa, what you got against alien sex, man? Don't knock it till you try it.

The player's character can choose to play as either gender, and during the story, encounters an alien female named Liara, as the story progresses the player can then romance Liara. Ultimately, Singapore decided to lift the ban by labeling the box with an 18 or older rating. But the game and its sequels are still currently banned in the United Arab Emirates.

If all of that surprises you, keep in mind Singapore is the same country that has a $1000 fine if you walk around your own home naked. So yeah, they're a little conservative.

Number nine : Mortal Kombat

The modern reboot of the classic 1992 fighting game, Mortal Kombat, was released on April 19th, 2011 for the Xbox 360 and PS3. As the ninth game in the series, the game stays true to its gory roots,

but adds to the brutal violence with greatly improved graphics and new features.

New features, like what Matt? Oh, you know, new features, like extra gruesome fatal finishing moves which sees fighters being dismembered, dissolved, bashed, impaled, and even sawed in half from the groin up.

The excessive violence got the game banned in Australia, Germany, and South Korea.

All of these finishing moves are on YouTube, look it up at your own discretion.

And number 10 : Postal 2

Released on April 13th, 2003, Postal 2 gives the player a variety of lethal weapons in a small American trailer park town filled with innocent civilians, and includes extremely gory effects, as well as the ability to pee on the deceased and living characters.

In 2004, the game was banned in New Zealand, and anyone caught purchasing or in possession of the game faced charges of up to 10 years in prison or $50,000 in fines.

The developers, Running With Scissors, which is just such an appropriate name, tried to get around the extreme controversy by stating that the story could be completed without violence but failed to mention that it is quite difficult to do so.

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