Serious question for the German members: are plastic model plane kits of a BF 109 or FW 190 sold in Germany? If
so, do they come with historically accurate decals? Just curious.
They are sold but not with swastikas.
You can watch Hogan's Heros here or any other
movie that displays swastikas because it plays
in that period.
Toys and games are considered by the authorities
as a different thing than movies.
There is a national authority that has the
power to put games "on the index", i.e.
they must not be sold to anyone under the
age of 18 (in Germany you are legally adult
at 18, not at 21).
Unlike video rental stores, almost no software
store has an "over 18" section with limeted
access. So game producers design games for
the german market with the intention
not to be put on the index because they
wouldn't be able to get a place on the shelf.
It isn't really censorship because the
responsible authority only examins games after
any youth-authority filed a complaint about
a specific game and if you are over 18, you
are free to buy the game.
If you think that this is in the tradition
of Nazi Germany I might remind you about
the discussion in the US after the several
shootings in US High-Schools and how they
are related to computer games.
These are the facts. Now for my personal
oppinion: Generally I think it's good to
such an authority to protect minors.
However, the fact that games are "dumbed
down" (or not even released) as described
above make it impossible for me as an adult
to play what I want, which sucks. Luckily
I can order the original games on the internet
so there is a work-around. Not having swastikas
on plastic-kits is ridiculous, IMHO.
Dancer out.
PS: the dubbing/translation for german
localized versions sucks in 90% of all
games and movies so I'm buying the original
anyway (go and ask a german about the dubbing
of the Star Trek series
)
