http://games.on.net/article/6429/German_government_bans_LAN_party_over_killer_games
German government bans LAN party over 'killer' games
By Jessica Citizen - Tue Jul 7, 2009 4:35pm
Perhaps because of the situation we're in here in Australia, we have a lot of sympathy for the Germans, who are facing some pretty extreme video game crackdowns. Following the news that various local governments are effectively banning violent video games, today we learn that a major gaming tournament, Convention-X-Treme, has been cancelled as a result.
Games to be played at CXT 14 included Counter-Strike and Warcraft, both of which are considered "killer" games under the new ruling.
The backlash at video games is a result of a high number of school shootings in the country, many of which have gone "unexplained". Many local governments, social groups and police officials have taken action to ban all "killer" games at LAN events - leading to the cancellation of multiple ESL Friday Night games, and now CXT. This is believed to be the first time a government has banned Counter-Strike to help curb the violence they're seeing.
CXT organisers and many attendees have gone on the record accusing the government and associated parties of "drastically overstepping the mark", and we hear the organisers are considering finding a new venue. At this stage, however, the event has been cancelled, and all ticket-holders will be given a full refund.
For more details, check out the Convention-X-Treme website (or, perhaps this handy Google translation), and stay tuned to Games On Net as we follow the German news closely, including updates on the various protests currently being organised by gamers affected by the bans.