Germany to Blame for Nintendo Wii U eShop 18+ Restriction

Mature games can only be downloaded after 11 p.m. in Europe.

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Last week it emerged that Wii U players in Europe have to wait until 11 p.m. if they want to download 18+ rated games, even in households with no kids. Sounds nuts, right? Now Nintendo has confirmed that a German law is responsible for the inane restriction.

“At Nintendo we always aim to provide a safe gaming experience for fans of all ages and ensure that we comply with applicable legal age restriction requirements across Europe,” a Nintendo spokesperson told Eurogamer.

“Legal age restriction requirements vary across a number of European countries. Since Nintendo of Europe is based in Germany, Nintendo eShop is complying with German youth protection regulation which therefore applies to all our European markets. Under German law, content rated 18+ must be made available only at night.

“Therefore the accessibility of 18+ content in Nintendo eShop is limited to [11 p.m. - 3 a.m.].”

So there you have it—forget blaming Canada. It's all Germany's fault.

[via Eurogamer]

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