Russia wants to ban popular games with "hidden inserts" that are affecting young minds

[midian182]

WTF?! Russia appears to be following in China's footsteps by tightening its control over the video games industry. The country wants to protect its youth from the "negative influence" of games, and hopes to create a banned list of popular titles that use "hidden inserts" to "affect the conscious and subconscious mind."

Russian publication Kommersant (via PCGamer) reports that the Russian government has instructed the Prosecutor General's Office and its ministries to introduce restrictions on video games within the country. A commission under the council of legislators made the strange claims of unnamed popular titles influencing the conscious and subconscious minds of players. They also contain "malicious and prohibited content," apparently.

The commission wants to create a list of approved and banned games, as well as a catalog of approved online titles that will work like Russia's RuStore, a Google Play/App Store alternative. It also suggests that any titles set for release in the county be checked by the Competence Centre for Import Substitution in the ICT Sphere (TsKIKT) for objectionable content.

Will Russia approve of Red Alert 3?

Another suggestion is for all PCs sold in the Russian Federation to come pre-installed with parental control software.

These "hidden inserts" could refer to many things. Were it somewhere other than Russia, one would automatically imagine it's the practice of subtly (or unsubtly) convincing players to spend money on microtransactions like loot boxes. That could be the case here, but it might also be perceived pro-Western themes in games.

There are concerns over what impact such rules would have on a video game industry already struggling in the sanction-hit country. Alexander Malakhov, director of the Center for Digital Development at the Center for Strategic Research, also noted that as there are no Russian patriotic products available yet, which would definitely limit the number of approved games.

Even if these measures are introduced, Russian gamers will likely find ways around them using the likes of torrents and VPNs. Valve, for example, stopped users living in Russia from buying games via Steam last year, but that hasn't prevented people in the country from bypassing the restrictions.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/97412-russia-wants-ban-popular-games-hidden-inserts-affecting.html

 

[Thatsdisgusting]

Will Russia approve of Red Alert 3?

OFC! It's only there, besides their dreams, they are bombing statue of liberty with vacuum imploders and portraited "stronk!" by the capitalistic dogs.

 

[Timoo]

LoL
Russia cannot even follow in the footsteps of China, even if they magically wanted to. That's comparing 1.4bln people to 144mln, whereas the landsize of Russia is 3x that of China (my guess). Which means culture sharing between areas is severely limited, on top.

Putin is doing his best to bring back the USSR-times of control, though.
And boy, will hé fail...

 

[VitalyT]

LoL
Russia cannot even follow in the footsteps of China, even if they magically wanted to. That's comparing 1.4bln people to 144mln, whereas the landsize of Russia is 3x that of China (my guess). Which means culture sharing between areas is severely limited, on top.

Putin is doing his best to bring back the USSR-times of control, though.
And boy, will hé fail...

This is seriously demented. Russia does not want to follow China, never has, never will. You know nothing about Russian culture, you just came here to show your ignorance and to troll Putin. They are doing the right thing, banning games with embedded western propaganda and zombifying youth into spending more, on loot boxes and crap like that.

 

[Beerfloat]

It’s fine by me what they do inside their own borders. Sadly, Russia keeps trying to export its misery. Close it off and lose the key.

 

[dangh]

Maybe they should focus on actually promote growth ... 30 pct population don't have running water and waste network, but yeah... Vodka is enough, and constant war with neighbours. This nation is destroyed by hundreds of years under tyrannical leaders and brainwashed to think world cares about their inner bs.

 

[Nobina]

Truth be told, they are seen as the bad guys in almost every western movie and video game while the west is always ****ing things up for a good cause. They are not making things better by escalating the war, that's for sure. This should be way down on their list of priorities considering the situation they got themselves in.

 

[m4a4]

This is seriously demented. Russia does not want to follow China, never has, never will. You know nothing about Russian culture, you just came here to show your ignorance and to troll Putin. They are doing the right thing, banning games with embedded western propaganda and zombifying youth into spending more, on loot boxes and crap like that.

Yes komrad, let our government censor freely choose what we don't need to see. It's just a waste of time for us as we fight for the motherland!

 

[Jaabaaar]

Yes komrad, let our government censor freely choose what we don't need to see. It's just a waste of time for us as we fight for the motherland!

See how China limits TikTok to under 14s. Have intelligent are western kids vis a vis Chinese or Russians for that matter. Or Indians. Seriously Brits and Americans are well behind from what I’ve seen at age 18 at universities.

Never mind video games— Peppa pig is seriously damaging to kids eg unshaven, silly and lazy dad.

Generations will be at loss. Western hegemony is gone now.

 

[scavengerspc]

Sometimes a nation screws things up so horribly that their only way to show any strength at all is to take it out on its own people.

That's why Russian contribution to the planet will continue to be limited to Brides by mail, Vodka and Tetris.

Western hegemony is gone now.

Much of the world has been saying that for 75 years. And western civilization continues to grow its dominance. Just remember, many nations people are coming to us. And not staying with you.

 

[kiwigraeme]

I have more faith in kids - than older people with the internet. yes you get the slenderman stuff that has rotted a few kids mind.
But most of the people swallowing conspiracies , going down rabbit holes are so much older.
Kids have seen all kinds of crap - lots of stuff thrown at them on Tik Tok - whatever channel they are on = they have built up natural defenses , healthy skepticism.

Hey come on to our Facebook - join our inner circle and find out the true about vaccines , our overlords.
You Sir/madam are a very smart person - not like the sheep you see - lot's of people are not like us they can't handle the truth.

Might as well say - I see you are a very spiritual person , your Aura wants to be strong , but it's conflicted with doubt - Oh you should come with us and see the Messiah - once you get rid of your guilt by offering sexual favours to who they choose and pay over lots of money - your aura will shine brightly - your chakras will be open - you minds eye will open - you have so much spiritually and energy - you can make a difference and inherent your rightful place - remember the guru likes *****style .

Too much BS to read above
tl;/dr
Kids are more immune to the internet than you think - seems mainly older people falling down rabbit holes

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Looks like Russia has more or less taken a page out of the EU handbook.

The EU votes to address loot boxes, gold farming, and gaming addiction

As per Gamesindustry.biz, the European Parliament voted to adopt a report that "highlights the positives of this pioneering industry, but also social risks we need to bear...

www.techspot.com

EU warns Musk that Twitter faces ban over content moderation -FT

The European Union has threatened Elon Musk's Twitter with a ban unless the billionaire abides by its strict rules on content moderation, setting up a regulatory battle over the future of the social media platform, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

www.reuters.com

 

[Hodor]

If they are gonna ban every game that contains political propaganda, gender propaganda or advertises drug abuse....... then I guess they'll have to ban everything except Solitaire, Sokoban, Tetris and PacMan.

 

[passwordistaco]

I'm confused, Is the goal to get more or fewer games with jiggly Soviet cleavage?

 

[Kashim]

This is seriously demented. Russia does not want to follow China, never has, never will. You know nothing about Russian culture, you just came here to show your ignorance and to troll Putin. They are doing the right thing, banning games with embedded western propaganda and zombifying youth into spending more, on loot boxes and crap like that.

Yes, of course, it should be up to the government to decide what games you can and cannot play, because that's what freedom is all about... oh wait.

Don't even get me started on propaganda. Russian citizens are steeped in daily propaganda, but it's fine because the government knows what's best for you. Oh a game contains something YOU perceive as Western propaganda?! Well, we can't have that! No dictator wants anything resembling outside "propaganda" to compete with their own propaganda.

Why don't you tell us your opinion on the Ukraine wa... erm, I mean "special military operation" too? Let me guess, Russia is not the aggressor, they're just defending themselves against those evil Westerners out to destroy the motherland, right?

 

[Tantor]

This is seriously demented. Russia does not want to follow China, never has, never will. You know nothing about Russian culture, you just came here to show your ignorance and to troll Putin. They are doing the right thing, banning games with embedded western propaganda and zombifying youth into spending more, on loot boxes and crap like that.

Very true. Russia has a 1000 year cultural history and does not have any intention to follow China. Russia does not want to follow the West either. Russians regard much of Western influence as highly immoral and manipulative. Especially the anti-family and anti-traditional values.

The West is somewhat hypocritical. They have no problem banning 'hate speech' in the West but become outraged when Russia dares to apply their own moral standards to their own society. Sorry, Westerners do not get to dictate moral standards to other great nations.

Putin addressed this in a recent speech when he said that Western hegemony is coming to an end. He meant not only military hegemony or the dollar as world reserve currency, but also Western cultural hegemony. That includes Western export of radical anti-family and anti-traditional values to other nations. Gaming software has been just one conduit of such promotion.

 

[Tantor]

Yes, of course, it should be up to the government to decide what games you can and cannot play, because that's what freedom is all about... oh wait.

Don't even get me started on propaganda. Russian citizens are steeped in daily propaganda, but it's fine because the government knows what's best for you. Oh a game contains something YOU perceive as Western propaganda?! Well, we can't have that! No dictator wants anything resembling outside "propaganda" to compete with their own propaganda.

Why don't you tell us your opinion on the Ukraine wa... erm, I mean "special military operation" too? Let me guess, Russia is not the aggressor, they're just defending themselves against those evil Westerners out to destroy the motherland, right?

I don't know where you live, but it's obvious that Western governments are heavily invested in propaganda. Propaganda is basically the promotion of terms, information, or material to sway people's opinions. For example, the West developed terms such as 'hate speech' and 'denier' that are widely used to shame people into obedience. US schools have something called Critical Race Theory. The US government openly discriminates against its own patriotic founding stock, calling them 'white nationalists'. That would be like Rwanda or Nigeria deriding patriotic citizens for being 'black nationalists'. What sane nation does that to its own people, let alone its founding stock? Russia has no such terms. What's more, Russia does not discriminate or promote hate against its own founding stock.

Russia started the SMO because the Ukrainian government had been shelling East Ukraine for the last 6 years, killing over 14,000. Ukraine signed the Minsk I and II accords, but then refused to abide by them. Russia literally had no choice but to step in.

 

[GodEmperorPepe]

This is seriously demented. Russia does not want to follow China, never has, never will. You know nothing about Russian culture, you just came here to show your ignorance and to troll Putin. They are doing the right thing, banning games with embedded western propaganda and zombifying youth into spending more, on loot boxes and crap like that.

Yeah, we know well that great russian culture. Executing civilians, bombing hospitals and malls, raping kids, looting (yes, why do you need loot boxes when you can loot in real life?)... Why are you here, in bad western website? Shoo to Cheburashka, russkie.

 

[GodEmperorPepe]

I don't know where you live, but it's obvious that Western governments are heavily invested in propaganda. Propaganda is basically the promotion of terms, information, or material to sway people's opinions. For example, the West developed terms such as 'hate speech' and 'denier' that are widely used to shame people into obedience. US schools have something called Critical Race Theory. The US government openly discriminates against its own patriotic founding stock, calling them 'white nationalists'. That would be like Rwanda or Nigeria deriding patriotic citizens for being 'black nationalists'. What sane nation does that to its own people, let alone its founding stock? Russia has no such terms. What's more, Russia does not discriminate or promote hate against its own founding stock.

Russia started the SMO because the Ukrainian government had been shelling East Ukraine for the last 6 years, killing over 14,000. Ukraine signed the Minsk I and II accords, but then refused to abide by them. Russia literally had no choice but to step in.

>the Ukrainian government had been shelling East Ukraine for the last 6 years, killing over 14,000.
The world would be a little smarter place if russobots could open even a wiki page and read that its total death toll including military casualties, less than 3k civilians were killed, and not by the "Ukrainian government". Most were killed by mines which russia gladly uses everywhere and from shelling from both sides(though people living there member well how "liberators" shelled them to blame Ukraine and used their artillery near civilian homes so counterattacks hit them.(there are videos of this on youtube). Also member when russia kiled 300(included in that statistic) people in 1 hit downing MH-17? Member how russians saved Mariupol from Ukrainian nahtzees by killing more that 50k people in couple month?
Fvcking ztards, man

 

[VitalyT]

>the Ukrainian government had been shelling East Ukraine for the last 6 years, killing over 14,000.
The world would be a little smarter place if russobots could open even a wiki page and read that its total death toll including military casualties, less than 3k civilians were killed, and not by the "Ukrainian government". Most were killed by mines which russia gladly uses everywhere and from shelling from both sides(though people living there member well how "liberators" shelled them to blame Ukraine and used their artillery near civilian homes so counterattacks hit them.(there are videos of this on youtube). Also member when russia kiled 300(included in that statistic) people in 1 hit downing MH-17? Member how russians saved Mariupol from Ukrainian nahtzees by killing more that 50k people in couple month?
Fvcking ztards, man

Another pro-Ukranian agitator, came here to spread hatred and take a dump on everything Russian.

@Techspot I'm I wrong, or hatred posts fall under the category of "to be removed"?

 

[Puiu]

Just parental controls is not an issue, but banning games is impossible in Russia. Few pay for them anyway and just pirate them

 

[Puiu]

I don't know where you live, but it's obvious that Western governments are heavily invested in propaganda. Propaganda is basically the promotion of terms, information, or material to sway people's opinions. For example, the West developed terms such as 'hate speech' and 'denier' that are widely used to shame people into obedience. US schools have something called Critical Race Theory. The US government openly discriminates against its own patriotic founding stock, calling them 'white nationalists'. That would be like Rwanda or Nigeria deriding patriotic citizens for being 'black nationalists'. What sane nation does that to its own people, let alone its founding stock? Russia has no such terms. What's more, Russia does not discriminate or promote hate against its own founding stock.

Russia started the SMO because the Ukrainian government had been shelling East Ukraine for the last 6 years, killing over 14,000. Ukraine signed the Minsk I and II accords, but then refused to abide by them. Russia literally had no choice but to step in.

Please stop spreading lies and russian propaganda. Unlike facebook people here are smart enough to do a little bit of research. the 14k is just a fake number spread by putin supporters, just like the whole "we are killing nazis mantra" that only *****s believe.

Entire cities have been razed to the ground with indiscriminate shelling by the russian military and here you are arguing about "moral standards"

"Sorry, Westerners do not get to dictate moral standards to other great nations." - there is nothing to dictate. russia is invading another country and killing thousands of innocent people and displacing millions from their homes. if you can't accept this simple fact then we have nothing more to discus here.