Information AboutUnterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT UNTERHALTUNGSSOFTWARE SELBSTKONTROLLE | |
| video game organizations | |
| video game content ratings systems | |
| organisations based in germany | |
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Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle ( German ''Voluntary Monitoring Organisation of Entertainment Software'') or '''USK''', is Germany's Software rating organisation. Since the modification of the '' Jugendschutzgesetz '' (''Youth Protection Law'') in 2003, it is now compulsory for all titles that are to be sold to the wider public to carry a USK mark. RATINGS Software can receive one of the following ratings: THE INDEX Games that are refused classification are referred to the '' Bundesprüfstelle Für Jugendgefährdende Medien '' (''Federal Verification Office for Youth-Endangering Media'') and placed on the '' Index '' (a process known in German as ''Indizierung''), upon which the titles may only be sold on request to adults over the 18, and are not to be advertised in retail stores or other media. It is permitted to use these titles in private but not to supply them to minors. Games that are on the index are marked with ''JK/SPIO-Gutachten''. CENSORING AND BANNING Games with a USK 18 rating or those placed on the index are not necessarily uncut, although as a general rule they are, with a number of exceptions. It is still possible for games to be banned in Germany - as is the case with titles such as '' Manhunt '' (violence) and the English version of '' Wolfenstein 3D '' ( Nazi symbols), which are not even available "under the counter" per the Index. The ban on endorsing Nazism or displaying Swastika s outside of a historical context applies to all titles. To avoid legal issues, many developers remove the reference to swastikas altogether, altogether the symbol of the Bundeswehr in the 3rd Reich is still permitted. It is also permitted to feature a function in which one can assume the role of the German army in World War II as in games such as '' Sudden Strike '' and '' Axis And Allies '', although this is a subject of controversy. SEE ALSO
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