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Steam blocks all Adult Only games in Germany now
- Thread starter Chairmanchuck (另一个我)
- Start date
They should implement proper age checks. Like seriously. This shit has been ridiculous forever.
So much wierd stuff because of stupid laws here. We have to pay cents to get "free" stuff on PSN. We have the ugliest box arts ever.
Remember when we got German Versions of certain games? Like Half Life (1) with robots?
Remember when we got German Versions of certain games? Like Half Life (1) with robots?
Wait, Steam has actual porn games?
That's news to me.
*make alternate account and vpn
Yeah they allowed them a couple of years ago. You just need to enable the ability to see them I believe.
This has always been the case with indexed games by the way.
Like, as an adult, I'm legally allowed to buy these games, but they are blocked entirely because these store fronts do not implement proper age verification methods.
You know, maybe children not being able to access adult only games is Good Actually, and the fact that there aren't any proper systems in place to deal with that is the actual thing that is ridiculous here.
Like, as an adult, I'm legally allowed to buy these games, but they are blocked entirely because these store fronts do not implement proper age verification methods.
You know, maybe children not being able to access adult only games is Good Actually, and the fact that there aren't any proper systems in place to deal with that is the actual thing that is ridiculous here.
Was honestly surprised when the allowed that stuff on the store in the first place some time back.
Well, one step forward, two steps back.
Edit: Funny how they (regulators) always home in on games but other media is basically free-for-all.
Well, one step forward, two steps back.
Edit: Funny how they (regulators) always home in on games but other media is basically free-for-all.
Or it is on digital storefronts that aren't capable of doing the necessary checks.
I'd rather not scan my passport like some sites demand nowadays for verification purposes, so I'm totally ok with it.
What is "strong" age verification? I feel like every site I can think of just asks "Are you 18+?" with a Yes or No button
OP
OP
There are still ways to get them, but I wonder if Reddit is at one point just openly posting the few loopholes and they also get fixed.
What is up with this wave of puritanical nonsense lately? Do governments really have nothing more important to do right now??
That's what they do on the ps store... like we have to put our id number to buy games 16 and up. it is only on ps. Don't have to on Xbox or nintendo systems!
Sony already requires us germans to input our id number. Unfortunately, again and again, for every single purchase.
Pretty sure a lot of german operating 18+ services do exactly that, ID checks. I wonder why Pornhub didn't get into problems yet honestly, but I guess there might be difference between straight up porn services and child-friendly game sites who also have porn sections? I have no idea, honestly.
I can't imagine people giving out personally identifiable government ID or credit card info to every site containing porn they ever might want to access. Surely that can't be how it works, right? Like you can't even trust Sony with your info, let alone some random porn site.
Christ. My condolences, that sounds really stupid, annoying, and a complete waste of time.
Not to mention the dangers of leaving Sony of all companies to have that kind of info -- yeah, I'll never forget the big PSN hack where they had passwords and credit cards unencrypted.
Why are they necessary, though. That is the thing. You're (seemingly) operating from the presumption that these types of "accountable" age checks are actually necessary. Cause they aren't.
Germany's obsession with regulating age gates to content and mandating age labels that nobody (obvious hyperbole for emphasis) understands(!) (based on anecdotal personal experiences) on products is my issue. it's utterly pointless. I'm not saying don't have content warnings or don't suggest appropriate age limits but this insistence on MINORS MUST NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE BE ABLE TO PURCHASE THIS CONTENT (despite being able to see this exact content with a 5 second google search) is stupid.
Parents buy GTA for their 10 year olds anyway. Porn is free and a fingertip away if you want it to or not. These legal restrictions making it harder or more expensive (hey mandatory 5€ shipping fee for in-person signed delivery with ID check) are the problem.
I simply got beef with this entire system they thought up because scared parents were scared and media was evil.
There goes my HuniePop 2.
Steam needs an age check, period. There are a lot of system available in Germany since forever. Valve should make use of them. German institutions are very adamant in protecting the youth and sometimes the general public. This doesn't only apply to pornographic material but to all age restricted material. A mainstream Assassins Creed game is not to be sold to a person below the recommended age and retailers have to make sure that this is not the case. So technically Valve is still on thin ice, even when they restrict the sale of pornographic maeterial.
Steam needs an age check, period. There are a lot of system available in Germany since forever. Valve should make use of them. German institutions are very adamant in protecting the youth and sometimes the general public. This doesn't only apply to pornographic material but to all age restricted material. A mainstream Assassins Creed game is not to be sold to a person below the recommended age and retailers have to make sure that this is not the case. So technically Valve is still on thin ice, even when they restrict the sale of pornographic maeterial.
Soldier of Fortune 2. "In parallel universe..." my ass.
Are we back in the 90s and have to crack and patch our games again?
How about our fucking government give some money to the care and education sector so that children and teenagers and young adults get the serious help they need? How come that a child has to wait six years until the youth care department grants their mother support with raising the child that has several medical conditions. It's a fucking joke.
Good thing I grabbed a good VPN deal on black friday and I already use an Austrian account on PSN.
As of lately I'm heavily annoyed by our government and many of their actions that is only to be considered blind aktionismus.
I mean this has been a known issue for ever basically and Valve just didn't give a fuck despite knowing that what they're doing is technically illegal. It's not just about porn games, it's about every game rated USK 18, including massive AAA titles like RDR2 that for some reason have not been affected for now, Valve really needs to get their ass up, otherwise major publishers will be affected by not being able to sell their games in europes biggest market on PC, And I doubt Rockstar, EA etc. are happy about that.
That said, these laws here in Germany are stupid as fuck, made even more stupid by the fact that nobody has been enforcing them in any understandable way.
So far it seems Valve only blocked games with no USK rating, so even porn games with USK18 rating, as rare as they are, are still available, making this change completely pointless for solving the legal issue.
That said, these laws here in Germany are stupid as fuck, made even more stupid by the fact that nobody has been enforcing them in any understandable way.
So far it seems Valve only blocked games with no USK rating, so even porn games with USK18 rating, as rare as they are, are still available, making this change completely pointless for solving the legal issue.
No
Yes
The laws itself are fine. No thirteen year old should be able to buy porn, violent games or even nazi garbage. What's stupid about it, is that the internet makes the entire law completely irrevelant, because US sites (and others) don't give a fuck and care about sales only, to a point where they are actively ignoring actual law (including all actual communication and pleading by German government and policing bureaus) because they can do whatever the fuck they want, and german legislative can do fuck all about it. Except massive censorship, which actually no one really wants (except the goddamn CDU/CSU of course)
And CyberPunk one would assume.
Doesn't it have an age check already? Adult content is also opt-in.
You think it's fine for children to access adult content by simply faking their date of birth? Uhhh...
If Sony are able to verify IDs then it should be doable for Steam too.