The Swiss National Council has enacted a law that will allow it to ban violent videogames.
Last February, the Swiss government considered several resolutions regarding the restriction of game sales based on content. The first was a resolution that would ban the sale of games that do not bear the PEGI age rating and introduce stricter ID requirements. These measures had already been voluntarily presented to retailers, and would mirror the practices of many other nations. The second resolution that passed, however, was a bit more unsettling, calling for an outright ban of all adult or violent game titles in the country. And it just passed.
At the moment the exact details are still under deliberation and have not been revealed, but what is certain is the Swiss government now has the power to impose rather stringent restrictions on the gaming industry, at the very least likely banning games with a PEGI rating of 16+ or 18+. To its credit, the gaming industry lobbied for more of a self-regulatory program, but the government has shown its intent to crack down on gaming content with far greater fervor. It is truly a great blow to Swiss gamers, but at the moment there seems to be very little that can be done but hope the ban will not be as absolute as the measure implies.
Source: MCV
