Thailand cracks down: bans sales of five violent video games

In what can only be seen as a natural course of events, considering the conservative nature of the country, Thailand has tightened its grip on video games by banning five games from being sold in the country.

This decision was made by the Ministry of Culture at a 90 days conference that was pulled together to address violent video games.

The current aggression towards video games was sparked by a Grand Theft Auto IV copycat crime in the country, when a teenager robbed and killed a taxi driver to "find out if it was as easy in real life." The force of their video game crackdown has been hammering down ever since.

The 90 day conference, aimed to eliminate the "dangers" of violent video games, have banned the following games, which comprise half of their "10 violent games to avoid" list (which was allegedly stolen from a list made by Detroit prosecutor Kym Worthy):

• Hitman
• 300
• Killer Seven
• Hitman: Blood Money
• Fifty Cent: Bullet Proof

Aside from that, the conference has written up a list of (rather vague) tactics to further address the problem:

1. Keeping an eye out and taking care of Thai youths so they are safe from dangerous games.
2. Encourage all involved to take care of Thai youths and keep them away from dangerous games and games which are deemed "unwanted".
3. Encourage the development of games and gaming stores as an educational outlet for youths.
4. Regulate (CONTROL!!!!!!!!), inspect/enforce dangerous games and gaming stores.
5. Educate Thai youths on the dangers of dangerous games.

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• Thailand's list of 10 violent games to avoid filched from Detroit list
• Thai official wants to prosecute game makers for copycat crimes
• Bangkok Post editorial criticizes Thai government's game crackdown