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Kotaku
Following a spate of sensationalist, reactionary and decidedly anti-gaming scandals in Europe recently (*cough* Rule of Rose *cough*), some senior figures in European politics are cobbling together a plan aimed at curbing the sale of violent games to minors.
EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries had a two-day pow-wow on the subject, and came away with a pledge to "prevent, to ban violent video games", because "The protection of children cannot have borders".
Hold up. Put the pitchforks down. Take a deep breath. They don't want to ban violent games outright. The report that came out of the talks proposes a far less drastic step: an EU-wide set of ratings and classification standards, which would serve to restrict the sale of violent games to minors.
Me, I got no qualms with this; we already have a setup like that here in Australia (our ratings are now universal, so a film and game use the same classifications), and I don't hear anyone complaining. Of course, we don't have retailers that refuse to carry adult-oriented stock, either. That can change things.
EU Investigates Unified Violent Game Restrictions [Gamasutra]
