10 Banned Video Games That Could've Started A War

Luckily, we have good talkers in office.

May 15, 2013

Image via Complex Original

As Americans, we tend to take for granted our shelter from spoofs and satire that entertains the rest of the world. When we do come across it, we lose our collective minds and go into defensive mode like a fat kid in a grade school joke session. Just think of how huge the "'Merica" memes—that poke fun at our obsessions with over-eating, sex and violence—here compared to elsewhere in the world. If you haven't heard of the meme, it only solidify's the point that we're awesome at dishing the snaps but horrible at taking them.

That said, it's time to take a look at these 10 Banned Video Games That Could've Started A War. The games on the list include content that are so outrageously offensive that the people targeted, went the extra mile to pass laws to have them banned. Video games like Fallout 3 made Japan catch feelings and the Pokémon Trading Card Game put a metaphorical bee in Saudi Arabia's bonnet. While some countries' responses could be perceived as hyper-sensitive overreacting, a great deal of the beefs are valid when you see it all written out. Don't just take our word for it, read it through and judge for yourself.

10. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2

Offended Country: Mexico
Cause Of Beef: Border blocking

As if Mexicans didn't have enough stereotypes to deal with, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 became a big pain in the culo with a mission where gamers had to fight Mexican rebels. Mayor Héctor Murguía Lardizábal of Ciudad Juárez, slammed the game saying that it made Mexico look like a warzone and would scare away tourists. The city of Chihuahua's governor José Reyes also chimed in saying that Warfighter 2 made Mexico and its citizens look bad as a whole. As a result, it was mandated that any copies being sold on Mexican soil were to be confiscated immediately.

9. Battlefield 3

Offended Country: Iran
Cause Of Beef: Iran-y

It's a known fact that there's been apprehension between Iran and the US for the past few years and the release of Battlefield 3 did nothing to help matters. According to Iranian police intelligence, the video game promoted a US air strike on the city of Tehran. In response, they fired off a memo to retailers saying, "All computer stores are prohibited from selling this illegal game [Battlefield 3]."

The key phrase here is "illegal game." All violent video games are illegal in Iran and the only way to get a hold of them is to purchase them on the black market. So the fact that Iran would have to ban a game that is illegal to sell to begin with is hysterical.

8. KZ Manager

Offended Country: Germany
Cause Of Beef: Concentration Camping

The Holocaust was a tragic black eye for the Germans and it must suck to be constantly associated with it, but to have a video game come out where the player runs a concentration camp has got to be the worst reminder ever. Obviously, KZ Manager was quickly banned and German officials were fast to distance the country as far away from involvement as possible. It wouldn't be far fetched to assume that if Germany got their hands on whoever created the video game (The Missonoaris) they'd build a special prison for them.

7. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Offended Country: Every country where there are Muslims
Cause Of Beef: Borrowing religious symbols and music for bad guys

The Legend of Zelda series has seen more than enough controversy during it's time but one of the most notable is the Mirror Shield used by Ganondorf that bore the Gerudo symbol. Before it was changed to replicate a diamond, it was originally the star and crescent--an image directly connected to the Islamic faith. To have an army of thieving bad guys bent on taking over the hero's homeland of Hyrule would've cracked open a can of worms Nintendo did not want to deal with. Add in the mistake of sampling the music from an Islamic prayer for the music played in the Fire Temple and you've got full-on cultural assault. The developers were able to fix everything before it got out of hand but it was certainly a close one.

6. Command and Conquer Generals

Offended Country: China
Cause Of Beef: Being a bull in a China shop

The Chinese didn't take too well to having one of the missions in Command and Conquer Generals include the destruction of the Three Gorges Dam and the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre. Even though China was portrayed as being sort of the good guys in the story, they still felt that the game as a whole cast a bad light on their army and government. Thank goodness there weren't any crude, down low race jokes or else Bill Clinton would've had some hardcore explaining to do.

5. Medal of Honor Warfighter

Offended Country: Pakistan
Cause Of Beef: Terrorist witch-hunting

Right at the opening of the game, you are tasked with destroying a cargo ship suspected of carrying weapons to arm terrorists. Pakistan took issue with that and a number of other missions that portrayed the country as the happening spot for Al Queda and Jihadists. Saleem Memon, President of the All Pakistan CD, DVD, Audio Cassette Traders and Manufacturers Association released a statement back in January saying, ""The problem is that there are things that are against Pakistan and they have included criticism of our army. They show the country in a very poor light."

Since the game's release, all copies have been yanked from store shelves in Pakistan, and trying to sell it can land you in jail or a stint of community service.

4. Call of Duty: Black Ops

Offended Country: Cuba
Cause Of Beef: Killing Castro

In a Call of Duty: Black Ops mission, the player is assigned to assassinate a young Fidel Castro. Given the long running tension between the US and Cuba, there's no wonder why Castro's administration would call foul when the video game dropped. On the Cuban government run website cubadebate.cu, a writer gave the title a thrashing saying, "The logic of this new video game is doubly perverse: on the one hand, it glorifies the illegal attacks planned so that the government of the United States against the Cuban leader Fidel has survived more than 600 -, and on the other, it stimulates sociopathic attitudes of American children and adolescents, the main consumers of these virtual games."

Don't worry, if you haven't played the first Black Ops game, we won't spoil the ending of the mission for you but it's a good thing that the Cuban missle crisis is no longer a concern.

3. Fallout 3

Offended Country: Japan
Cause Of Beef: Making an inside joke that bombed

Nothing says diplomacy like naming a weapon that fires mini-nuclear missiles in a video game after the atomic bomb that destroyed Nagasaki a little more than six decades ago. A gun called "The Fat Man" in Fallout 3 rubbed the Japanese as gently as spiked loofah and even worse, The Fat Man's projectiles looked just like the atomic bomb that was detonated. In response to the naming controversy, The Fat Man was renamed to "The Nuka Launcher" in all of the Japanese versions of the game.

2. Homefront

Offended Country: North Korea
Cause Of Beef: Kim Jong-illin'

The now defunct THQ really poured the offensive cake batter on thick when Homefront referenced Kim Jong-il and North Korea. When South Korea got wind of the title, they threw their hands up in disgust like the friend of the guy in a bar who drank too much and wants to fight everyone in sight. In the interest of keeping North Korea from flipping out, they had Homefront pulled from stores. Wise move as NK was looking for any reason to put their shiny new weapons to use.

1. Pokémon Trading Card Game

Offended Country: Saudi Arabia
Cause Of Beef: Card shuffling, Poke-Jews

Who would've thought that the adorable Pikachu would be the poster child for gambling addiction and Jewish domination of Muslims? According to authorities in Saudia Arabia, the Pokémon Trading Card Game for Nintendo's Gameboy would do just that. For one, the evolution of Pokemon creatures goes against religious beliefs of intelligent design. Also, since the object of the game is to win cards, that classifies it as gambling which is a big no-no in Islam. Finally, the energy cards that players use look too much like the Star of David, and we all know that Middle Eastern Muslims and Jews aren't the best of pals.

While the United Arab Emirates of Saudi Arabia isn't making a legal issue out of it, it's still a religious problem and thus you won't find it in any stores.