banned US games?

[ghostangelofcky]

So I jusr recently picked up the latest issue of Retro Gamer, (BTW great article ASSEMbler a must read for all collectors) and I saw that the game Thrill Kill was banned for violence.

So, I was wondering what other games were banned in the US and why?

[Blitzwing256]

legend of the ogre king is the only psx game that comes to mind.
(also called killwheel)

[tonyvortex]

i never really thought of thrill kill as being banned for violence.that just sounds so much cooler than EA not wanting to seem like such an unfamily like publisher.

[diskoboy]

I think Tony is right. Thrill Kill wasn't really banned. It was just shunned by its publisher. I believe this was around the time Mortal Kombat's violence was getting all the negative attention.

Honestly, I don't know of any game that's been outright banned in the US. Even the more controversial games (think Death Race, Custer's Revenge, or the early VCS porn games) get limited releases. Usually when a game doesn't come out - there's a reason behind it (usually by the publishers choice or the developer gives up on development). But no game has ever been outright banned.

The government has tried, but i think games were considered artistic expressions - therefore covered by the 1st amendment. Thanks for making that crystal clear by all those frivilous lawsuits, Jack!

EDIT - I think the only possible way the government could step in and ban a game is - say for example, a game is found out to cause epelictic seziures to a good majority of the gaming public, or millions of people start breaking their legs playing DDR. The government may step in for health reasons, but they would never ban a game based on it's content.

[RCM]

If a console game receives an AO it's essentially banned. A lot of retailers won't touch it and I believe Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft don't allow AO games for their new consoles.

[Blitzwing256]

isn't the new conan game spose to be adults only?

[Neil Koch]

No, they're aiming for a M rating ala God of War.

Has there ever been an AO game?

[Gamebrain]

Hentai games are not banned in the US but they usually have an AO rating which means you need to buy them from specialty shops or online.

Not my kind of thing.

Other than that, I dont really know of any games that are banned in the US.

[ghostangelofcky]

I remember hearing that the Man Game was banned due to one of the topless spring break girls turned out to be only 17.

[jajaja]

Has there ever been an AO game?

Didnt GTA:SA get that rating after the hot coffee shit? Hehe.

[Lady Jaye]

Yeah, it did get that rating temporarily.

Well, giving a game the AO rating isn't banning it outright. It's more akin to the dreaded NC-17 movie rating -- killing the potential popularity of the given title (due to policies by chains like Wal-Mart and Blockbuster). Banning it would mean that it's actually 100% illegal to sell or buy the given title (which isn't the case with the AO-rated games).

According to wikipedia, only 23 games were ever given the AO rating.

oh yeah, the GUY Game (not Man Game) was indeed banned and became a straight-to-video release instead of a videogame.

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/puzzle/t...ml?sid=6128746

[c2000]

The original Night Trap for Sega-CD

[Pantechnicon]

Diskoboy pretty much summed up everything I could say about the subject. The 1st Amendment is a pretty surefire gurarantee that a game can and never will be banned in the U.S. despite its content. I'll only add to this that its important to note that ratings boards such as the ESRB, MPAA etc are not extensions of the U.S. government but are instead supported by the respective industries for which they provide ratings. Therefore ratings systems aren't a matter of law, but rather of industry self-regulation. Thus (@RCM), while an AO rating might make a particular game difficult to obtain, it will never be the case that it is against the laws of the land for you to do so. To put it another way: You can legally own a copy of Time Magazine and you can also legally own a copy of Hustler, but there's no reason for you to expect to be able to purchase both at the same time while standing in the supermarket checkout. Talking about games being "essentially banned" only amounts to so much griping.

[Lady Jaye]

Well, as mentioned above, the Guy Game was banned after it was revealed that a minor appeared in the game.

[Vectorman0]

Well, as mentioned above, the Guy Game was banned after it was revealed that a minor appeared in the game.

Maybe, but no one takes the ban seriously and it's readily available. The fact there was "child porn" in it is also a damn good reason to ban it since it is illegal. That should be the only reason to ban a game. If the game isn't illegal when it comes out, there shouldn't be reason to make it illegal after the fact.

[TurboGenesis]

The original Night Trap for Sega-CD

I wouldn't say 'banned" but it was 'pulled' off the shelf. Later it would be released in an edited form.

Wasn't Maniac Mansion also pulled from shelves because of the hamster in the microwave thing? I remember this being big news when I was child.

[exit]

I wouldn't say 'banned" but it was 'pulled' off the shelf. Later it would be released in an edited form.

Wasn't Maniac Mansion also pulled from shelves because of the hamster in the microwave thing? I remember this being big news when I was child.

I don't remember anything about that, but I do know it was taken out in later re-versions of the game.

[Shemp]

I was working in retail when Kakuto Chojin for the Xbox was recalled by Microsoft. We were told there was some religious chant in one of the stages that some people might find offensive. No big loss, as the game wasn't very good anyway.

[tonyvortex]

I was working in retail when Kakuto Chojin for the Xbox was recalled by Microsoft. We were told there was some religious chant in one of the stages that some people might find offensive. No big loss, as the game wasn't very good anyway.

at the time i just figured that was their way of getting people to rush out and buy it like when disney puts movies in "the vault".

[UndeadKing]

I've often heard that Night Trap was rereleased in edited form but no one ever goes into detail. What exactly was edited? How can you tell if you have an "uncut" version? I've always been curious.