Video games over the past few years it has witnessed so much traction that today, it is a one big industries today. From video games on generic computers to video games at big arenas on high-end computers, the industry is creating an incredible amount of opportunities to all the video game enthusiasts.

But just like every other industry, the video game industry has its dark side too. While many video games have successfully got the interest of people across the world, there are many other games that couldn’t successfully conquer the market in many regions and got banned.

Censorship is a touchy and critical aspect of every video game. Many developers feel that the content such as intense violence, graphic adult content, or unsavoury themes would suit the millennial gaming community; but sometimes the same content act as a knife to the heart to many gamers. Further, it is not only censorship that gets a video game, but there are also some weird reasons.

Here Is A List Of 5 Games That Couldn’t Make The Cut In Some Specific Markets

Manhunt 2

Published by Rockstar Games and developed by Rockstar London for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2, Manhunt 2 is a psychological horror stealth video game. With a high level of brutality as an integral part of the experience along with the stealth elements of Splinter Cell, Manhunt 2 was focused on adult gamers. But sadly, the game couldn’t leave a mark in the market — British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has rejected the game.

This is not the first time that Rockstar made such a move — the first part of the Manhunt was also pushed back New Zealand, and with the second part, the game went one more step ahead with brutal scenes and had to face some of the serious consequences. The game was also banned in Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, as well as South Korea.

Pokémon Trading Card Game

The Pokémon Trading Card Game — also known as PTCG or Pokémon TCG, is a simple collectable card game. And even this game has made to the list of banned games. But have you ever wondered why would a game of animals battling each other be banned? So, there are few reasons such as unfair in competitive play, censoring controversial art for Western audiences, promoting gambling and others, that actually got the game banned (more specifically in Saudi Arabia) and altered (not the entire game, to be precise, but some of the cards).

One of the examples is the Jynx,  a humanoid Pokémon. Every Pokémon fan would definitely know this character. It drew widespread criticism for being a racist caricature, and to sort things out, the colour of the character was officially changed from black to purple.

Grand Theft Auto

Every video game fanatic would agree that GTA is one of the most popular video games that they played. Developed by Rockstar Games, GTA is full of violence and mayhem. But it is not just popularity that the game has gained over the years, it has become an all-time pushback target. While many nations have only been talking and blaming, Thailand has taken an action against GTA after an incident that happened in 2008.  

A young man named Polwat Chino, who was travelling in a taxi in Bangkok, stabbed the driver to death when it was time to fare. When cops arrested Chino and interrogated, he said killing seemed easy in the game (GTA), and also Chino needed the play to play it. This was nothing less than a shock to the nation and the government banned all of the GTA games.

Call Of Duty

Published by Activision, Call of duty is one of the most popular first-person shooter video game. The game is developed to let players feel the war zone environment. However, it also introduced gamers to modern -day conflict. Even after being one of the most-liked games, COD ended up hurting sentiments of some nations. It is banned in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and restricted in Russia and Cuba.

COD4: Modern Warfare has a character that kills Islamic soldiers, and this definitely hurt the sentiments of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which led to the banning of the game. Another example of COD ban is the Modern Warfare 2 — the game has a Russian character that is portrayed as somewhat terroristic, so Russia had banned the console version and forced edits in the PC and Steam versions. Talking about the an in Cuba, the game COD: Black Ops has special forces trying to kill a young Fidel Castro.

Bully

Known for brutality, bloodshed, Rockstar Games seems to be the most rebellious game company. It is not just GTA and Manhunt that is on the list, Bully, a tale of an English schoolboy who tries to navigate the social structures of boarding school, is also one of the games by Rockstar. But as soon as the game was released, immediately cited by activists, anti-bullying organisations and politicians as they believed the game would promote bullying and violence.  The game is banned in the US, UK and Brazil.