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List of controversial video games

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This list contains video games described explicitly as "controversial" in secondary sources. Some of the video games on this list have been banned or censored.

Table of controversial games

Release date Title Platform Manufacturer Reason(s)
1976 Death Race Arcade Exidy Rejected by the public and denounced in the press due to the sound effect issued by enemies who are driven over, coupled with a grave marker which rises where they were killed.[1][2]
1982 Custer's Revenge Atari 2600 Mystique Nudity, rape, and racism[1][3][4]
1991 J.B. Harold Murder Club TurboGrafx-16 NEC Murder mystery graphic adventure game with reference to adultery and an unsolved rape.[citation needed]
1992 Mortal Kombat series Arcade Midway Violence[1][3][4][5][6][7]
1992 Night Trap Sega CD Digital Pictures Violence[1][3][5] and sexual themes.
1992 Wolfenstein 3D PC id Software Heavy amount of references to Nazism, such as high usages of the swastika in its levels and the anthem of the Nazi Party anthem and Horst-Wessel-Lied as theme music, which caused the PC version to be confiscated in Germany in 1994.
1993 Doom PC id Software Violence, gore, and satanic themes[1][4][5][6]
1996 SimCopter PC Maxis A programmer named Jacques Servin introduced unauthorized "himbo" characters into the game, who would appear on certain dates and kiss.[8]
1996 Tomb Raider series PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Xbox 360, Sega Saturn, Nintendo GameCube, Wii Eidos Sexuality.[9]
1997 Carmageddon PC, Mac, N64, PS1 SCi, Interplay Violence (against pedestrians)[10]
1997 Postal PC Ripcord Games Violence[5]
1999 Kingpin: Life of Crime PC Interplay Entertainment Violence[11]
1997-present Grand Theft Auto series PC, PS1, PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360 Rockstar Games Sexuality and extreme violence. GTA IV was referred to as a "terrorist simulator" due to Liberty City being an exact replica to an American city. This is the reason why the plane is not available.[1][3][5][12]
1998 Thrill Kill PlayStation Virgin Interactive Violence, sexuality and its graphic nature. Was never released.
2002 BMX XXX Xbox, PS2, GCN Acclaim Entertainment Nudity (censored in the PS2 version) and sexuality
2002 Ethnic Cleansing PC Resistance Records Extreme racism[13]
2002 State of Emergency PC, PS2, Xbox Rockstar Games Military-style violence including political assassinations and coup d'etats. Additionally, the game caused controversy in Washington due to the game's similarities to the World Trade Organization riots in Seattle.[14]
2003 Manhunt and Manhunt 2 PS2 Rockstar Games Violence[3][5][15]
2003 Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball Xbox Tecmo Sexuality[4]
2004 The Guy Game Playstation 2, Xbox Top Heavy Studios Nudity[3]
2004 The Sims 2 PC EA Games Nudity (with a cheat enabled, the "blur" that appears when a "sim" is naked is not there)
2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox Rockstar Games Sexuality in Hot Coffee mod, and was re-rated AO by the ESRB
2005 Super Columbine Massacre RPG! PC Danny Ledonne The game simulated the events of the Columbine High School shootings and was met with outrage.
2006 Bully PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii Rockstar Games Violence in a school setting[5]
2006 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Xbox 360, PC Bethesda Softworks Re-rated by the ESRB after a third-party mod revealed a nude topless graphic hidden in the game's data files. While the graphic did not warrant a re-rating of the game in and of itself, upon review, the ESRB noted that the game contained much more explicit violence than had been submitted to them in the original rating submission.[16]
2006 Left Behind: Eternal Forces PC Left Behind Games Former attorney and anti-video game activist Jack Thompson stated the game "is about killing people for their lack of faith in Jesus",[17] and feared that the game would be taken as proof by "radical Muslims" that the Western world is conducting a crusade against non-Christian religions.[17] Some liberal groups urged retailers such as Wal Mart not to stock the game, comparing the goals of recruiting or killing neutral parties to the Inquisition and the Crusades.[18][19] Some reviewers denied that the game contained any "convert or kill"-style gameplay.[20][21][22]
2006 Resistance: Fall of Man PS3 Insomniac Games The Church of England objected to the game's use of Manchester Cathedral's interior as a backdrop during a gun battle, and called for the game to withdrawn or for the cathedral to be removed from the game.[23] See also: Controversy over the use of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance article.
2006 Rule of Rose PS2 505 Games The mayor of Rome called for the game to be banned from Italy, saying children "have the right to be shielded from violence".[24] The then European Union justice and security commissioner wrote an open letter condemning the game for "obscene cruelty and brutality". An Italian magazine, Panorama, claimed that in order to win the game players must bury a girl alive which the game's European publisher disputed.[25] On the UK release day, the publisher announced that Rule of Rose would not be published in the UK, despite the game being approved for release by the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) and Video Standards Council regulatory bodies.[26]
2007 BioShock Xbox 360, PC, PS3 2K An article in The Patriot Ledger, the local paper of developer Irrational Games,[27] argued that the game is "testing the limits of the ultraviolent gaming genre with a strategy that enables players to kill characters resembling young girls."[28] The game presents an ethical choice to players, whether to kill 'Little Sisters' for extra abilities or save them and receive less. 2K president Ken Levine defended the game as a piece of art, stating "we want to deal with challenging moral issues and if you want to do that, you have to go to some dark places".[29] Jack Thompson took issue with advertisements for the game appearing during WWE SmackDown's airtime, writing to the Federal Trade Commission and stating that M-rated games should not be advertised when large numbers of under-17s are watching.[30]
2007 Mass Effect Xbox 360, PC BioWare Falsely accused by evangelical blogger Kevin McCullough of containing rape and sodomy,[31] as well as by Fox News host Martha MacCallum of including "full graphic sex".[32] In actuality, the game's most explicit content is an indirect shot of a humanoid alien breast.[33]
2007 Mario Party 8 Wii Nintendo Use of the phrase "Turn the train spastic! Make this ticket tragic!" by the character Magikoopa caused controversy in the United Kingdom, where the word spastic is considered offensive. This led to a recall of the game; it was later re-released with the word changed to erratic.[34]
2008 Muslim Massacre: The Game of Modern Religious Genocide PC Eric 'Sigvatr' Vaughn The game's contents and subject have been the subject of strong negative response; a spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain, said "The makers of this 'game' and the ISPs [Internet service providers] who are hosting it should be quite ashamed of themselves. Anti-Muslim prejudice is already on the increase and needs to be challenged and not reinforced through tasteless and offensive stunts like this.".[35]
2009 MadWorld Wii Platinum Games Violence[36]
2009 Resident Evil 5 PS3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows Capcom A pre-release trailer was said to contain scenes "that dovetailed with classic racist imagery",[37] according to Newsweek journalist N’Gai Croal in an April 2008 interview. He also stated that organizations and retailers would object to the game and that it would cause controversy on release.[37]
2009 Saw PS3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows Konami Several news publishings stated that the game's only purpose was to torture and kill people in violent ways with no sense of restraint or morality. Some editorials called it "depraved and inhumane" and stated that "Konami should be ashamed"[38] It was also listed in the "Top ten most controversial games of 2009".[39]
2009 Left 4 Dead 2 Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows (Steam) Valve The cover art in the UK had to be altered due to an offensive hand gesture being depicted.[40] The game was banned in Australia for its excessive violence and gore.[41] The game's New Orleans setting so soon after Hurricane Katrina was considered "a bad call".[42] Finally, Left 4 Dead 2 was accused of being racist after incorporating black infected into the game, Valve quickly stated this was only for population diversification purposes.[43]
2009 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 Infinity Ward
Main article: Controversies surrounding Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
A level in the game entitled "No Russian" has the player assume control of a deep cover CIA agent, joining a group of Russian nationalist terrorists in enacting an airport massacre. The player is given the option to skip the level at any point.[44][45] The game was discussed briefly in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom after the issue was brought to the attention of MP Keith Vaz, a long time opponent of violence in video games, with fellow Labour politician Tom Watson arguing that the level was "no worse than scenes in many films and books" and criticising Vaz for "collaborating with the Daily Mail to create moral panic over the use of video games".[46] The mission was removed in the Russian version of the game.[47]
2010 Six Days in Fallujah PS3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh None The game was opposed by both the public and critics alike for "Glamorizing" and "Glossing over" the real-life massacre at Fallujah. This caused the former publisher, Konami, to oppose the game and stop publishing it.[48]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f David Craddock, "The Rogues Gallery: Controversial Video Games," Shacknews (Sep 29, 2005).
  2. ^ DeMaria, Rusel (2003). High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 27, 28. ISBN 0072231726. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e f ; Fecal Jesus, "The Seven Most Controversial Games and why most of them are complete crap," GamerHelp (02/14/08).
  4. ^ a b c d Kearney, Paul (2007). "Sex, lies and video games". British Journal of Educational Technology. 38 (3): 489–501. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00712.x. Retrieved 2008-07-23. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Silverman, Ben (2007-09-17). "Controversial Games: Some games push all the wrong buttons". Yahoo! Games. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  6. ^ a b Oxoby, Marc (2003). The 1990s. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 84. ISBN 0313316155. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Williams, D. (2003). "The Video Game Lightning Rod". Information, Communication and Society. 6: 541. doi:10.1080/1369118032000163240. Retrieved 2006-07-23. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ "The First Hot Coffee". PC Gamer. Future Publishing. March 2007. p. 62. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ^ Lara Croft: Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo?, Helen W. Kennedy, Game Studies, Vol. 2, Issue 2, December 2002.
  10. ^ "The Making Of... Carmageddon". Edge Online. 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  11. ^ Video Game Maker Drawing Fire for Violent Ads. Los Angeles Times. June 29, 1999
  12. ^ Wilkinson, Cassandra (2007). Don't Panic!: Nearly Everything is Better Than You Think. Pluto Press Australia. pp. 144–147. ISBN 0980292441.
  13. ^ Julia Scheeres (2002-02-20). "Games Elevate Hate to Next Level". Wired. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  14. ^ "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly". Game Informer. 11 (100): 17. 2001. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Schiesel, Seth (2007-10-29). "Under Glare of Scrutiny, a Game Is Toned Down". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  16. ^ Zenke, Michael (2007-06-19). ""Boobies Did Not Break the Game": The ESRB Clears the Air On Oblivion". The Escapist. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  17. ^ a b Musgrove, Mike (2006-08-17). "Fire and Brimstone, Guns and Ammo". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  18. ^ Greene, Richard (2006-12-14). "Christian video game draws anger". BBC. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  19. ^ Tapper, Jake; Miller, Avery (2006-12-04). "Faith-Based Killing? Critics Rip Christian Video Game". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-09-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ IGN: Left Behind: Eternal Forces review
  21. ^ Ars Technica: Left Behind: Eternal Forces review
  22. ^ GameSpy: Left Behind: Eternal Forces review
  23. ^ Bramwell, Tom (2007-06-11). "Church of England attacks use of cathedral in PS3's Resistance". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  24. ^ Bramwell, Tom (2006-11-15). "Rome mayor wants game banned". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  25. ^ Gibson, Ellie (2006-11-17). "505 Games responds to Rule of Rose controversy". gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  26. ^ Martin, Matt (2006-11-24). "505 Games cans Rule of Rose". gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  27. ^ "BioShock draws attention for 'killing' little girls". Gamepro. 2007-08-24. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  28. ^ Orland, Kyle (2007-08-23). "BioShock's Little Sister killing gets mainstream GFDDSFDFattention". Joystiq. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  29. ^ Fahey, Mike (2007-08-25). "Killing Little Girls". Kotaku. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  30. ^ "Jack Thompson Shocked by Bioshock TV Ads". Game Politics. 2007-08-19. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  31. ^ "Blog Archive » Conservative Blogger Claims ''Mass Effect'' Offers "Customizable Sodomy"". GamePolitics.com. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  32. ^ Schiesel, Seth (2008-01-26). "Author Faults a Game, and Gamers Flame Back". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  33. ^ "Mass Effect Hits PC On May 6. Alien Sideboob Ahoy!". 2008-02-07. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
  34. ^ "'Spastic' video game is recalled". Metro.co.uk.
  35. ^ "'Muslim Massacre' computer game blasted in Britain". ABC News. 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  36. ^ "Parents horrified as most violent video game ever to launch on 'family friendly' Wii". Mail Online. 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
  37. ^ a b John, Tracey (2008-04-10). "Newsweek's N'Gai Croal On The 'Resident Evil 5′ Trailer: 'This Imagery Has A History'". MTV. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  38. ^ "Editorial: SAW Game Is Depraved And Inhumane; Konami Should Be Ashamed". Cinemablend. 2009-07-28. Retrieved 2009-09-07.
  39. ^ "Most Controversial Games of 2009". Game Daily. 2009-10-08. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  40. ^ Amrich, Dan (July 2, 2009). "Only on Xbox 360: Left 4 Dead 2". Official Xbox Magazine UK (49). Future Publishing: 43. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  41. ^ Ramadge, Andrew (2009-09-17). "Left 4 Dead 2 refused classification in Australia". News.com.au. Retrieved 2009-09-17. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  42. ^ Jefferson, Willie (2009-07-14). "Racism in video games: The new norm?". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-07-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  43. ^ Sterling, Jim (2009-07-30). "Valve responds to Left 4 Dead 2 racism accusations". Destructoid. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  44. ^ Kietzmann, Ludwig (2009-10-28). "New Modern Warfare: Airport Murder Simulator 2 video game glorifies terrorism". Joystiq.com. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
  45. ^ Crecente, Brian (2009-10-28). "Modern Warfare 2 Features Skippable Scene of Atrocities - Modern warfare 2 - Kotaku". Feeds.gawker.com. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
  46. ^ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster (2009-11-09). "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 09 Nov 2009 (pt 0002)". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2009-11-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  47. ^ "Russians ban Modern Warfare 2 console versions for 'No Russian' mission - Neoseeker Forums". Neoseeker.com. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
  48. ^ Iraq War video game branded 'crass and insensitive' by father of Red Cap killed in action

References

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