The Glade 4.0 :: View topic - Wolfenstein Removed from German stores

Nazi imagery is a big nein-nein in Germany, and the localized version of Wolfenstein was supposed to have removed all of it. A small swastika slipped through, and Activision is said to be recalling the game from shelves there.

The news, sourced back to 4players.de (translation) attributes a statement to Activision saying that "although it is not a conspicuous element in the normal game ... we have decided to take this game immediately from the German market."

Whether that means the content isn't in the game but is on the PC version for modders to exploit, or if it's a swastika as part of a background somewhere, who knows.

Planet Wolfenstein notes that the Wolfenstein teams from Endrant and Raven already have been laid off, putting a revised localization into doubt. Update: Raven's workforce reductions were across the board, not specifically targeting the Wolfenstein team.

Update: Via twitter, Kotaku reader Spunior pointed me back to one of the sites also linking to 4player.de. Schnitterbericht has a ton of screenshots showing differences in the U.S. and German versions of Wolfenstein. The final one (scroll alllllll the way down) shows a faint swastika at the bottom of a poster. If that really triggered a voluntary recall, Mein Gott in himmel!

We've emailed Activision for comment. Should any be provided, it'll be updated here.

Author:	Mookhow [ Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:01 pm ]
Post subject:	Wolfenstein Removed from German stores
http://kotaku.com/5365155/swastika-gets ... an-shelves Quote: Nazi imagery is a big nein-nein in Germany, and the localized version of Wolfenstein was supposed to have removed all of it. A small swastika slipped through, and Activision is said to be recalling the game from shelves there. The news, sourced back to 4players.de (translation) attributes a statement to Activision saying that "although it is not a conspicuous element in the normal game ... we have decided to take this game immediately from the German market." Whether that means the content isn't in the game but is on the PC version for modders to exploit, or if it's a swastika as part of a background somewhere, who knows. Planet Wolfenstein notes that the Wolfenstein teams from Endrant and Raven already have been laid off, putting a revised localization into doubt. Update: Raven's workforce reductions were across the board, not specifically targeting the Wolfenstein team. Update: Via twitter, Kotaku reader Spunior pointed me back to one of the sites also linking to 4player.de. Schnitterbericht has a ton of screenshots showing differences in the U.S. and German versions of Wolfenstein. The final one (scroll alllllll the way down) shows a faint swastika at the bottom of a poster. If that really triggered a voluntary recall, Mein Gott in himmel! We've emailed Activision for comment. Should any be provided, it'll be updated here.

Author:	Aizle [ Thu Sep 24, 2009 9:56 am ]
Post subject:
Godwin's on the first post! /tease

Author:	Diamondeye [ Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:14 am ]
Post subject:
Godwin's doesn't apply when the topic actually IS Nazis, Hitler, or WWII.

Author:	Stathol [ Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:50 am ]
Post subject:
Corollary #3 of Godwin's Law: In a topic which is actually about Nazis or Hitler, the quality of discussion is inversely proportional to the number of posts made following the first post that doesn't mention Nazis.

Author:	Aizle [ Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:29 am ]
Post subject:
Heh. Yeah Germany is very rabid on squashing anything Nazi within their country these days. It was a source of a lot of frustration in City of Heroes, as the 5th column was an awesome villian force of Nazi's. It just wasn't the same when they changed them to The Council so they could sell the game in Germany.

The Glade 4.0 https://gladerebooted.net/

Wolfenstein Removed from German stores https://gladerebooted.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=287	Page 1 of 1

Author:	Raltar [ Thu Sep 24, 2009 2:16 pm ]
Post subject:
I understand that Nazi Germany is a very dark point in their history, but come on. You can't hide it. Everyone knows what happened and nothing is going to change what happened. Get over it.

Author:	Loki [ Thu Sep 24, 2009 3:16 pm ]
Post subject:
This is really weird, pretty much every German I've talked to here has been okay with talking about the Nazi's and Weltkrieg II. My professors even incorporated it into our German lessons here, so learning both the language and history. Although, displaying of Nazi symbols and other paraphernalia is a HUGE no-no.

Author:	Lalaas [ Fri Sep 25, 2009 2:19 pm ]
Post subject:
I was in Köln (Cologne, Germany) last week, and there was a shop on one corner that was selling war medals and other small items. A German friend of mine was with me, and we talked about it a bit. Apparently WWII history is taught in school (we didn't get the chance to discuss what the angle/viewpoint was), but Loki's right - public display's verboten.

Author:	Dalantia [ Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:05 pm ]
Post subject:
Quote: It was a source of a lot of frustration in City of Heroes, as the 5th column was an awesome villian force of Nazi's. This is not true - the implication that that's why the Council takeover occurred. The Council takeover was always planned as the story for the Fifth, and not part of the EU release. The timing is coincidental, and that's about it.

Author:	Rafael [ Fri Sep 25, 2009 9:37 pm ]
Post subject:	Re:
Raltar wrote: I understand that Nazi Germany is a very dark point in their history, but come on. You can't hide it. Everyone knows what happened and nothing is going to change what happened. Get over it. This is the same ** garbage Japan has/is trying to pull over its actions in the early 20th century up to WWII while it occupied Korea. Honorless **.

Author:	Micheal [ Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:11 pm ]
Post subject:
Yes Rafael. but few non-asian Americans know much about it because our history books gloss over it. It is one of the topics i wish was better covered. Japan was an evil nation for a long time, not just after they bombed Pearl Harbor.

Author:	darksiege [ Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:28 pm ]
Post subject:	Re:
Micheal wrote: Yes Rafael. but few non-asian Americans know much about it because our history books gloss over it. It is one of the topics i wish was better covered. Japan was an evil nation for a long time, not just after they bombed Pearl Harbor. It is sad that they no longer would truly understand: Algren: Your highness... if you believe me to be your enemy, command me, and I will gladly take my life

Author:	Rafael [ Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:53 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Re:
Rafael wrote: Raltar wrote: I understand that Nazi Germany is a very dark point in their history, but come on. You can't hide it. Everyone knows what happened and nothing is going to change what happened. Get over it. This is the same ** garbage Japan has/is trying to pull over its actions in the early 20th century up to WWII while it occupied Korea. Honorless **. I apologize to anyone who was offended, be they Japanese or not, or have friends that are, for this comment. I did research one semester in my Modern East Asian History course on the Japanese occupation and any mention of people covering up history to paint a rosey picture sends me into a venomous rage.

Author:	Aethien [ Sat Sep 26, 2009 12:34 am ]
Post subject:
Germans don't particularly cover it up, however, in the way that Japanese do. The Germans forbid Nazi paraphernalia because they expressly don't want a resurgence that they feel a glorification of the Third Reich might promote. The Germans, starting with Ostpolitik in the late 1960s and 1970s, did a fair job of coming to grips with their past, and making amends. The Japanese, on the other hand, have never quite taken that step.

Author:	Jocificus [ Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:18 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Wolfenstein Removed from German stores
To take the topic in a slightly different direction, I find it fascinating how some "free" countries, such as Germany and Australia, quash said free speech in games by banning them, or refusing them ratings. In Australia, refusing a rating basically bans a game, as all games sold have to have a rating. While it's understandable in some extreme cases possibly, some of the games they choose to ban or refuse ratings for I find odd, to say the least. Most of the time though, this is done in the case of violence in some way or other.

Author:	Monte [ Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:24 am ]
Post subject:
It's getting better. Recently a German theater company did "The Producers". I think in a generation or two it will finally fade into history. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing to not gloss over atrocities committed in the past. I think we often are too quick to dismiss our own sins because the sinners are a little older or out of office.

Page 1 of 1	All times are UTC - 6 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group https://www.phpbb.com/

Author:	darksiege [ Sat Sep 26, 2009 2:25 am ]
Post subject:
I personally agree with you Rafael. I have a friend who is currently living in Japan working there. He is half German and Half Japanese. When he moved there he expected to find some sort of honorable culture. He was very saddened by what he found. We were talking one evening and he mentioned that based on the way things he sees are going, the majority of people there have no understanding of the honor that used to be theirs.