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Wolfenstein Being Recalled In Germany
D1gital_Prob3 tips news that Activision's recently-released shooter, Wolfenstein, is being recalled in Germany due to the appearance of swastikas in the game. Such symbols are banned in Germany, and the German version of the game went through heavy editing to remove them. Apparently, they missed some. Activision said, "Although it is not a conspicuous element in the normal game ... we have decided to take this game immediately from the German market." Reader eldavojohn points out a review that has screenshot comparisons between the two versions of the game.
Here's a huge list of screenshots of differences between uncensored and german version
Some of the changes I found a little fun too, like the hand.
It's also interesting that the game is 18+ and germans are still not allowed to see any blood.
Here's the texture they apparently forgot to modify.
Seeing how many changes to the game and to the textures they've had to do, I'm not that surprised something that small slipped in.
The interesting thing now is if they're gonna remove that texture, remaster, repackage and send the new ones to all stores again, even more so because the game is over an month old now and the best sales are already gone.
Game companies don't give up a market like Germany for a game like Wolfenstein without being pressured. And the people applying the pressure made a mistake. I looked at all the screen shots. Activision did a DamnFine (tm) job of removing the smallest traces of the Nazi insignia (not just the swastikas) all over the game. And they missed a small seal, on a plaque on the wall I'd be too busy wasting Nazis to read.
Good job Activision! Shame the anti-Nazi folk couldn't give you a break on your Nazi-Killing-Bloodbath game, but governments are like blood, irony rich.
Apparently this is the reason that it has to be pulled from the market. I don't know about you but I find the rationale for this type of censorship to be utterly absurd. So much for free speech.....
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
This game was already a huge flop. I don't think they really needed this, LOL.
So just release a modified version of Wolfenstein that focuses on commies rather than nazis called "Trotskydoom" wherein the objective is to blow away all of the Bolsheviks that are confiscating food from the farmers to impose the famine of 1921 on rural Russians. I mean, come on, there isn't anywhere in the world the hammer and sickle are outlawed and the commies killed far more than the nazis did so it should be even more fun than Wolfenstein!
Seastead this.
who notices the absurdity of this?
The pics shown in the examples are a veritable gorefest and that is OK, but the invisible-to-my-eye Swastikas are not?
Krazy Krauts!
It's been over 60 years, Germany. You don't have to worry about symbolism bringing back the Nazi party; most of them are dead. Your reasons for denying the existence of history are over now. It's time to give free speech a try.
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
...the fact that it went through censorship makes the game even more noteworthy. I may give it a try, the uncensored version of course, looks delightfully gory.
Didn't this happen to the first Wolfenstein also?
I wonder what actually happens to a German person if they ever catch a glimpse of a swastika. I assume it's something terrible, if their government goes to such great lengths to protect them from setting eyes on the symbol, even in fictional game. Does it flip some sort of switch that makes them slobbering monsters? I wonder... Somebody should try flashing swastikas at Germans and recording their horrendous transformations for science.
Stuff like this is one reason out of many I'm very wary of social progressives. Germany is a socially progressive state, and I don't think it's at all a coincidence that such censorship exists. Of course the social progressives are going to come out of the woodwork to justify it by scaring people up about the possibility of Nazis arising again and so on and so forth, but I guess sacrificing freedom in order to protect it is just a necessity to them. Individual freedom is on the down-and-out world-wide in the name of social consensus and thus niche groups (including nerds and gamers) suffer the most.
I'm glad so many American soldiers died in World War II to bring true prosperity and freedom to the German people... bwahha. Sorry, couldn't keep a straight face. My nuts to Angela Merkel and her repressive fascist government. If I were a German, I'd keep a Nazi flag in my window for the sole purpose of causing trouble, not because I agree with it or anything. Freedom of speech is for EVERYBODY, not just upper middle class suburbanites without a single contrarian opinion or brain in their heads. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dogs-nazi-salute-lands-owner-in-jail-for-five-months-766438.html Heil-ing dog owner gets five years in jail. What a waste of taxpayer money. What are the chances of this dude being LESS Nazi-loving when he gets out of jail? Now he's a persecuted minority.
When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.
The Swastika didn't kill anyone.
A bunch of jackasses did. Why don't you just outlaw people planning to kill other people?
Do you think not having a Swastika will prevent a dictator or demagogue from choosing a different symbol to hide behind?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Just replace all swastika's with pink and yellow happy faces. Done.
Table-ized A.I.
If it's so bad, why the hell do they censor it when the point of the game is to lay waste to everything it stands for?
Of course, rationality is far too much to expect from a censorship board.
Witness the USA's own B Obama and the renewed, continuing, supported powers under the Patriot Act and patriot Act II. There, fixed that for ya.
As long as the game doesn't include a map to Poland, we should be ok.
for free speech. Oh, wait. Never mind. Comment withdrawn.
You can create a metaphasic interplexing censoring shield by having the entire game online, and allowing third-party linking of individual textures. A given texture that is controversial will be linked to on Slashdot and made unavailable.
Will they replace all the swastikas with walkie-talkie's? I always maintained in the bunker with Hitler and Eva, Hitler shot first. Did that get changed, too? And is the blood still green?
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Don't mention the war. I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it. So it's all forgotten now and let's hear no more about it. So that's two egg mayonnaise, a prawn Goebbels, a Herman Goering and four Colditz salads....no, wait a minute...I got confused because everyone keeps mentioning the war. -- Basil Fawlty
It is after all, in its "right" rotation, an ancient symbol for well-being that existed thousands of years before the nazis, who depict it in a 45 degree angle.
Do they "moral panic" over the real ones as well, despite their positive meaning?
someone mod this guy troll. Spare us the clichéd rant against Bush. You'd have to be pretty ignorant of history to label Bush a fascist compared to guys like Hitler. Spare us the kool aid induced hyperbole. The guy is no longer in office. Take the 20 bumper stickers of your car and give it a rest already.
why in the world would I try to kill them? Damn Germans, still the same insensitive clods they were back in '37-'45.
Symbols do empower. And the weak and narrow-minded get all threatened-like. Swastikas, Crosses, Pentagrams, Joker-Faces -- none have power inherently, except that which the Already Scared and Uncertain impart to them.
It's freaking history. The U.S. didn't respond to the history of the civil war by banning any and all rebel markings. The symbols of Germany's history will always exist. Making it so that people don't see it as often changes nothing. But the existence of law that outlaws particular symbols or words are harmful. The next step is outlawing thoughts and feelings.
It's called freedom of speech...you might have heard of it
Does anyone else find it interesting that Germans would want to play a game where the main goal is to waste Germans, regardless of their terrible ideological stance? I find it odd that it's just the swastikas they are objecting to...But then, it's just a game, right?
On a side note (don't have a linky), I had a friend stationed in Germany that talked about the pet ownership laws. Depending on the breed of dog, there are building codes for the exact size of dog house required for the breed, which are part of the licensing and inspection process. Guess the moral of the story is the Germans sure like their laws.
You obviously never played Rush'n Attack comrade!
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
Basil Fawlty: Is something wrong ?
4th German: Will you please stop talking about the war ?
Basil Fawlty: Me ? You started it !
4th German: We did not start it.
Basil Fawlty: Yes you did, you invaded Poland.
Germany wants to ban Nazi symbols...so then people will forget what they look like...in another generation or two, the symbolism of swastikas could conceivably be forgotten and a whole new generation of young, impressionable Germans will be reintroduced to cliched, over-the-top shooters featuring plenty of Nazi regalia because no one will known what it looks like or be able to recognize it, therefore no one will know to ban it.
slavery =/= genocide.
Not everyone that few Dixie was a slave owner. Personally, I fly the Gadsden.
Everyone that wore a Swastika had Nazi ideals, or at least claimed to agree with them to get cool uniforms.
"And yet here in the US we still allow the Dixie Flag to be flown. Once you have lost the war you should not be able to continue using your flag."
Yep - and we can burn our official flag, too. Although nobody does it anymore - once it was declared legal the act lost all of its shock value.
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
I don't know. I'd much rather idiotic bigotry be obvious than hidden. Someone with the "Stars and Bars" flying proudly makes it that much easier for me to know that I ought to avoid them.
I see you are in favor of censorship. How un-American of you.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
Just wanted to thank eldavojohn for the review link. Apparently the site is blocked due to adult/pornographic content on my work network. Which is always a nice message to see pop up in your browser...
The cancel button is your friend. Do not hesitate to use it.
The same should apply to U.S. fiascoes in Iraq and Afghan-Pakistan wars.
Yours In Zelenodolsk,
K. Trout
Retards. Hiding the past doesn't make the it go away. It can only make it more appealing to the weak minded.
Wow are you ignorant. (Statement, not question). The Dixie flag stands for more than just a nation, or a war, or racism. It stands for a way of life, a heritage that was handed down generation to generation, and a symbol of rebellion against big government. Does taxation without representation ring a bell? The ONLY reason I DON'T fly one is because of jack asses like yourself who would probably key my car because you think I'm a racist (of which I am definitely not).
Why not? Is there a Lost Book of Rules somewhere that you've dug up that says when a war is over, the culture that began it must be suppressed? Good luck even getting the world to agree on who started any given war.
BTW, I highly approve of people being allowed to fly the Confederate Battle Flag and the Nazi flag. People flying flags makes it easier to tell which people are the enemy.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
Yep - and we can burn our official flag, too. Although nobody does it anymore - once it was declared legal the act lost all of its shock value.
People still do it. The news just doesn't have an orgasm about it.
http://blog.dailycal.org/photo/2009/09/14/flag-burning/
http://www.inlandnewstoday.com/story.php?s=10259
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2009/09/flag_burning_at_westlake.php
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
You simply have no idea of the significance of Nazi symbols in Europe; the US was never invaded, and the US Government took good care not to expose US citizens to the truth about the Allied invasion of Europe, concealing (for instance) the horrors of D-Day and the Bulge. Your Government takes good care that you don't know what war is like, especially since public reaction ended the ground war in Vietnam.
When you emerge from your bedrooms and basements, try visiting Germany and the east and actually learning some real history. Then you might understand why, to much of Europe, the use of Nazi symbols in a game is highly inappropriate. But, until you are grown up and actually know something about the world other than soundbites and games, shut the fuck up about civil liberties in a country about which you clearly know less than nothing. And yes, you do make me cross. Go talk to some of the American survivors of WW2, they might tell you a thing or two.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
Errors occur when trying to load any of the review pages at schnittberichte.com, PHP codes indicating too many connections
For example, the NPD (National Democratic Party) has had representatives in the national government for years now
Sorry -- the NPD only has seats on parliaments at the state level, not representatives in federal parliament. My mistake. But I know from friends in Germany that they have been really fighting for greater national recognition, and lots of people are worried about it.
Actually, it's fortunate that the "Stars and Bars" isn't often recognized as the flag of the Confederacy. Most people see the 1863 Navy Jack as the "Confederate flag" which mean I can use the Stars and Bars in a display of the Six Flags of Texas and not be attacked as "racist" for showing a piece of history.
Seriously, fuck you. And get back to me when you can say that on American television; until then, continue denying that anyone in America ever fucked.
-- Language is a virus from outer space.
No one will comment about this? Did I miss the comment?
In PHP one should use pconnect() to connect to MySQL
Funny...I thought the Nazis lost...
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
How far does this ban go? For example: the good Indiana Jones movies have a lot of Nazis and swastikas in them. Did they have to be editted for this ban?
How is this a troll?
Bush #2 looked like a moron because he was a terrible public speaker. He either was a moron, or was smart and a dick.
Obama looks good and people love him, but all his actions are pointing to him being inept. He's too concerned with his own appearances (camera whore), and too afraid of his party turning on him after they lose seats in the midterm election.
None of the promised changes have taken place, despite the "YES WE CAN!" rally cries of the plebes who support him. Instead, we have continued on the path of erosion of rights and freedoms, massive debt, public takeover of private sectors, lack of transparency, pork and lobbying, kindergarten-level discourse, and in general, shitty, shitty government.
Obama is a politician through and through, not a leader.
Short of shooting anyone who looks remotely like a Hitler lover
The German government some years back discovered that method wasn't very cost effective. Instead, they could load such people onto railway cars, and systematically ship them to locations with hardware designed to eliminate them in a quick, efficient manner.
Could California declare "no more swastikas" and force Activision to edit California editions of Wolfenstein, or would the U.S. overrule that decision?
I'm not sure how serious you were, but (sorry in advance for a car analogy) California already requires stricter emissions rules than most other states, and car makers of all kinds (US and imports) must comply in order to have their cars sold in that state.
Unless a state law is somehow challenged and found to be unconstitutional, it would stand. One would guess that the display of swastikas would be protected speech (and thus laws against it unconstitutional). However, given the attention to "hate crimes" apparently gaining a lot of focus, you never know.
Does anyone know if the German laws make exceptions based on religious beliefs?
Genuine curiosity.
sudo apt-get lost
The fact that activision recalls the game does _not_ mean it would be censored otherwise. It just means Activision doesn't want to get bad press or other kinds of trouble. Reading Â86 of the German StGB, it is pretty clear that not every case of showing a swastika constitutes a crime. On the contrary, only its use for propaganda is illegal (simplifying somewhat here). Whether this is the case is at least questionable. IANAL
The usual "lol germany u suck 4 censurship nazi symbols r ok!!!1!" kneejerk reaction by non-Germans.
Graduate of the LeRoy Funkified Badass School of Soul.
Karma Whore
Millions of innocent jews and others were tortured and killed by members of the Nazi party. It was evil, and it should be condemned.
But it happened. It's part of reality, and it's something we should learn from. Denying its existence (or acknowledging it in a way) by censoring it seems counterproductive to me. Let's no stick our heads in the sand. There are lots of "symbols of evil" that the Germans do not ban. People see them and are told they represent evil, and they can be taught a lesson about evil.
And let's not forget that the swastika was an ancient Hindu religious symbol that had very positive connotations. People should be taught its original meaning and how the Nazis desecrated it.
WWII happened in the 1940's. The Germans are good people. As a culture, they have always been inventive and industrious. And, like every other nation on earth, they have a sense of superiority. And a long time ago, some people took that sense of superiority too far. In a very Microsoft-like way, they dealt with their "competitors" by crushing them, rather than trying to a better job. (Note that I don't think Microsoft are nearly as evil as the Nazis. Bill Gates is excessively competitive, but he's also a philanthropist and deserves recognition for it.) The Germans and everyone else in the world have to grow up and get past this fear of the past.
If you're a white American, and your ancestors owned slaves, should you be ashamed of yourself? No. You can be ashamed of your ancestors, and you can be ashamed of all of the cruelty and torture that went along with it. But you yourself know that slavery was wrong. You're not responsible for it. You can get past it without pretending it didn't happen.
But that's just my opinion.
It really is sad to see soo many modern countries imposing nonsense on their people. It won't change history or the seemingly never ending stream of Nazi jokes directed at our German friends.
If a hot German girl asks if you want to take a shower with her I would think twice about accepting.
Why don't you just outlaw people planning to kill other people?
I believe that is called something like "Conspiracy to commit murder", and I do believe that generally that is considered illegal.
The Swastika didn't kill anyone.
Actually, German law doesn't accuse swastika of any crimes, nor does it ban the symbol outright.
But it does ban the use of swastika as a symbol of the Nazi Party.
Considering their 20th century history, the law is quite sensible.
It is people who lack the actual knowledge of the law that are creating issues, like the cases where they've equated it's use as a anti-Nazi symbol to that of a Nazi symbol. (see link above)
But hey...
At least they didn't ban snow globes or made the entire world take of their shoes before they are allowed to enter the plane. Right?
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
brilliant response. You, my friend, are a word-smith.
... but unfortunately it is nearly impossible to remove something that stupid from our
Grundgesetz (especially since it at a different place states "Zensur findet nicht statt" (there is no censorship). No politician will even try out of fear to be denounced as a Nazi.
On the other hand, we have got a lot more pressing concerns like the tendency to introduce more and more oppressive and anti freedom laws in the name of fighting against terror and child porn. Yes, the German government isn't any better in that respect than the US or UK. And the general German populace doesn't care either, just like in the US and UK.
Now having heard that social progressives are more into censorship .. than others etc..
I want to state some facts about germany and the background, and in the end my own opinion:
The swastika, also the posing in the public
doing the "Nazi salute", and public saying of "Heil Hitler" with a non-documentary or historic background are prohibitted.
If you do a historic documentation about the NAZIs the use of the Swastika is allowed.
But also building up organizitions and naming them
after their Nazi counterparts is prohibitted,
like
- "NSDAP" the Party also known as the "NAZI"-party
- "HJ" (Young Hitlericans(male))
- "BDM" (Young Hitlericans(female)
- "SS" (Sturm Staffel)
or stating that the holocaust never happend,
also known as "Holocaust Luege" - holocaust lie.
b.) Are there Nazis still in Germany active ?
Yes, they are. In Germany, we have two (bigger) extreme right wing parties:
- NPD (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands) :: Republicans)
(nationaldemocratic party germany)
- REP (Republikaner
The NPD has some MPs in east german non-federal parliaments. Some days ago they also managed to reenter one of the parliaments in a row.
That's a premiere because anytime else they entered a parliament they were out on the next election. Mostly because their members had stolen
computers, office equipment and embezzled money for themselves(it was meant for covering expenses due to political work).
Funny isn't it, for a party which stands for law and order, more order than law I guess.
So these people mostly turn out to be total boneheads, the elitebrain leaders within those parties are few.
But they are connected and involved to non-offical/underground/forbidden organizations like the "Freie Kameradschaften"
sometimes those organizations gather weapons
and explosives, for terrorist acts.
The members of these "gangs" are often young and violent, they gather in flashmobs and have
hobbies like beating up foreigners, just for being foreign, sometimes they kill, or
hunt their prey in such a threatening way that the hunted people try to get into a safehouse by kicking in a glass window, accidently cutting themselves and bleeding to death.
If you have black, dark skin or look like a gipsy
you can end up as their prey, but sometimes because you look funny or do not speak german.
And if you are jewish they demolish your property or paint graffities like "SS" or "Jude verrecke"
(this means Jew die, in an extreme unpleasant way)
onto your property, synagogues and graveyards.
And all this, happens in germany still, mostly
in eastern germany - there are dangerous hotspots
where this happens, outside of these hotspots
it's mostly safe.
The prohibitions are instated to battle those
extreme right parties.
Please keep this in mind, when discussing
those NAZI-topics.
To get things into the right perspective, for germany those violent acts are _not_ common,
most foreign visitors describe germany as a
"clean and friendly country", and to be clear most of my fellow citizens are no NAZIs and won't do any harm.
But recent studies suggest 10 percent of the allowed voters can imagine themselves to vote
for extreme right parties.
So most of us try that those new Nazis will not ever rise up again, as it happend in '33.
My personal opinion about this topic is:
I think it's wrong that the holocaust-lie is prosecuted by law, because I want to know what
idiot I face from the beginning.
Perhaps after my lines below you can imagine why this is a very sensitive spot in our history even today.
Six Million people dead - selected to live or to die, after they left the train on the basis of their condition. Those who could do work, or were technically skilled were forced to work very low on food, with no medical support, so it was death by work. Those who were weak - children, elderly
You have to understand the ban of nazi symbols in the context of the so called
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streitbare_Demokratie. The basic law has ethernal (= unchangeable) sections which guarantees all basic rights (like freedom of speech). But it also has provisions stating that these freedoms can be removed in case someone is looking to abolish those freedoms.
Concerning the allegation of denying Nazi history by some people here - LEARN MORE about the curriculum at german schools! (Google it!) If you did that you would understand that this is simply NOT true.
...of the schnittberichte article? I can get the basic gist of what's going on (blood textures, exploding heads, Nazi symbols and whatnot) but my German absolutely sucks and I know I'm missing a million things.
How does one even define a swastika fully ? It is inherent in any four square objects that meet, it must be possible to pick out swastika-like features from an aerial map of any German city. And what about stylizations like three-legged Isle of Man swastikas or curvy swastikas or rainbow-colored swastikas for gay nazi pride. I just don't see how the law can be properly enforced. Or is there a EuroNorm swastika ?
Nullius in verba
Activision is. And they have good reasons to do so: risk management. Yes, they could try and argue that the use of Nazi symbols is artistic and thus exempted from the verbot. But there remains a significant risk that the game might still be verboten, so they create a toned-down version for the german market to avoid an R-rating (which they would also get for extreme violence and splatter elements and which would mean no public advertising of the game).
Germany doesn't ban Nazi symbols in all cases, glorious basterds had no problem using them. But it does ban them when there is a chance that they are used to strengthen the elements that want to revive the thousand-year-reich...
Hitler was but a spectre projected into this dimension by his moustache.
...
All rights are socially constructed and agreed by a community, there are no such things as inalienable rights. They are not laws of physics/nature. Try demanding your right to life in a pool full of hungry sharks or on the edge of a live volcano and see if the sharks or the volcano agree to uphold your rights out of philosophical principle.
Specific societies/communities/countries may declare that within their authority there are rights that they consider inalienable/ religious/sacred/ not open for debate but step beyond that society and you will find this is no longer true.
Try telling a US judge that you come from a land of cannibals so it's your inalienable right to hunt down and eat other humans. I'm sure they would tell you "in your place maybe but not in our country, pal!"
Maybe there are beliefs you adhere to regardless of what other people think but alienable rights - philosophical rights of others that all humans, sharks, volcanos, gas giants etc must adhere to? I don't think this is so.
How about the Indiana Jones movies, etc. Are those also banned in German as well then (or edited)?
Death to Smoochy?
Anything else with that particular symbol (whether glorifying it or opposing it)?
what I want to know is, with Germany's swastika ban, how did a film like Inglorious Basterds get to do filming in Germany with all of those swastikas?
Nobody with even a tiny bit of clue orders the censored version anyway.
As with all old "cut/censored" games and even movies here in Germany, you usually either order a uncut version from somewhere else (Austria, UK, etc.), there is a patch to restore cut content, or you simply pull a English version off the net. Sometimes people even recombine a English game with German speech and text.
Game developers are aware of that, and very often, even in German versions, the Swastika-Files are still there, and you just have to patch the EXE or something similarly small.
So the whole thing is a non-issue here.
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
Explain that to the French.
They could be banning burcas or big crosses, just because they are sons of the "revolution".
Even if the revolution killed more than any burca or big cross ever has.
Earlier this year while preparing for a move I put some old Lucas Arts games up for sale on eBay.
Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max, Indiana Jones, etc...
Well the weird thing was how the Indiana Jones auctions took off and I started getting all these international bids on it. It complicated things for me since I wasn't familiar with international shipping but anyways, I checked and they were all German. HUH! Then I realized for the first time that Indiana Jones must be completely banned in Germany.
Of course with Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls it really IS for their best that it remain banned...
Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
Downfall of Grammar
www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8fbrUjjivw
German government becomes Fascist in trying to prevent a resurgence of Fascism.
Fascism is trotted out as a way to avoid rational dialog once again in a Slashdot forum (fascism, fascism, fascism).
News at 11.
Yo mean that everione that wore a Swastika agreed with national SOCIALISM?
What's up with people writing Nazi's instead of Nazis?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsNLbK8_rBY
are we the baddies?
By banning such symbols, doesn't this give them more power? I mean, a symbol, or a book, or a movie have no power in themselves, only if we fear them do they have power over us. By banning them, the government is telling us to fear them. In the case of the swastika, neo-nazis must feel empowered that their symbol is so feared. Remember "Day of the Dove" from the original Star Trek series? Until the Klingons and Feds decided not to empower the alien entity with their hatred, they were able to laugh at it and make it go away.
Anonymity whore ;)
600+ comments on /. and I don't see any deep analysis. Hundreds of philosophical/political/religious/etc books have been written on signs and symbols (even the Dan Brown novels in essence are about symbols) and since I don't have the time to read them all, I am not convinced on some issues. I'd certainly like a linguist or a semantics expert to jump in the discussion, play the game and clarify the following issues:
1. Do symbols have power? Can they affect human behaviour? Can they poison children's/teenagers' souls? Should parents, ministries or Governments be worried on the circulation and use of symbols?
2. What precisely is the power of symbols due to? Why do state and interpersonal laws give them such importance?
3. Is the depiction of the swastika in the game pro or against fascism?
4. Is the killing of Nazis in a computer game (or a movie) a true punishment or an attempt to victimize them? Especially if the game is not accompanied by a declaration of the authors stating that "all actions against Nazis depicted in this game are meant to educate the player against fascism and violence and pro democracy and peace"?
5. When bad Nazis (or serial murders or any criminals) appear in a Hollywood movie played by celebrities, what is the probability of an audience member considering them as heroes or models for their own lives? One in a thousand? One in a million?
6. Would you make love to a girl/boy having a swastika tattoo?
I know I may be considered just a troll, but IMHO nothing is as simple or innocent as it seems. And if I had kids, I'd certainly monitor what games they play on their PCs.