Latest Headlines

No Arnold for Conan

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is distancing himself from the new Conan game, GamePolitics.com is reporting.

GamePolitics cited a Contra Costa Times article saying one of Schwarzenegger’s aides said he was in no way involved with game.

The new Conan is the sword-wielding, decapitating star of a new ultra-violent video game, “Conan,” which is drawing criticism from [State Sen. Leland Yee] and warnings from [the National Institute on Media and the Family] to scratch the game off Christmas lists for children and teenagers.

Schwarzenegger has “no association with this game,” said Aaron McLear, the governor’s spokesman, who did not elaborate on how the governor feels about the character becoming a video game. Schwarzenegger is fighting for a law to restrict the sale of violent video games, and “Conan” would be among those regulated.

While Schwarzenegger has appeared in other violent video games, that didn’t make him above signing into law 2005 legislation from Sen. Leland Yee that would have criminalized the sale of M rated games to children under 18-years-old and required retailers to separate M-rated games from games for children. Though the legislation was quickly slapped down a federal judge on constitutional grounds, it’s currently under review in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Crysis Maker Crytek Considering Leaving Germany

The largest German game developer and makers of the much-anticipated upcoming title Crysis, Crytek, are considering leaving the country in anticipation of a new restrictive law.

The Conference of Interior Ministers (IMK) of the countries had unanimously decided on a production and distribution ban for violent computer games for the first time in the end of May. The responsible Federal Ministry of Family Affairs is presently working on a less drastic draft of a law for the protection of children and youth. Instead of only the previous ‘violence glorifying’ games, also the ‘violence dominated’ games should be indexed by the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (BPjM) in the future. These may then no longer be advertised and sold to youths.