German petition against violent video game ban should now be heard in parliament

Now that the petition against a ban on all violent video games in Germany has surpassed 50,000 signatures, the petition should be heard on the floor of the German parliament.

Good news German gamers! A couple of weeks back we reported that a petition on the official German governmental website to stop the ban on the development and sale of violent video games in the country had be signed by over 30,000 individuals.

The number of petitioners has now reached a massive 64,824, making it the most popular contemporary e-petition brought to the German government.

However, the milestone is important for another reason. When an e-petition in Germany reaches over 50,000 signatures Gamezine understands that a public hearing is advised. Though this doesn't ensure that the bill won't be passed, such as with the internet censorship bill (the petition reached 130,000 signatures) this is still incredibly promising.

In June ministers of all sixteen German federal states agreed to forbid the production and distribution of all video games "where the main part is to realistically play the killing of people or other cruel or un-human acts of violence against humans or manlike characters." The ban was hoped to go into effect this September. You can read more about the minister's opinions on violent video games after this link.

And there's even more good news. Since the petition ends on the 19th August, there's still a whole month to boost the number of signatures, so get signing!

Read the petition's requests in English here.