The gaming industry is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that has shown no sign of decline. Despite the COVID outbreak in early 2020 and the world moving towards a recession, the gaming industry has shown signs of resisting the trend. The industry has benefited from the lockdown in all earnest as people had more time at their disposal sitting at homes and trying to pass the time.
The natural trajectory of the gaming industry has always been a rising one, and recent developments paint a similar picture. Despite this rosy forecast, the gaming industry has marred with controversies and problems. Game developers have exploited employees, whereas the idea that gaming as a health risk for children who sit all day at home also gains traction.
The Culture of Banning games
The gaming industry’s meteoric rise has not been smooth by any stretch of the imagination. However, the juggernaut keeps on outperforming many other sectors as demand grows ever so higher for its products. A major drawback the gaming industry has faced over the years is the banning culture. Games get banned due to various reasons, and gamers are left frustrated at these decisions by regulatory authorities.
Games have been banned since the turn of the century and since the gaming industry got any real fan power. The ability to transform and influence lives is at the core of these decisions. Sometimes, the games get banned because of political reasons, which is becoming more and more commonplace in the present-day environment.
Blanket Bans
Gaming bans tend to be different; sometimes games get banned for gory violence while other times are contradicting the religious values of a particular section of the society. Violence and extreme violence have been the key reasons for games getting blanket bans or in other terms, getting banned globally. Since the gaming industry caters to impressionable youth, authorities try to limit extreme violence.
Political Reasoning
Another significant reason for banning games these days has been political tensions between different countries. Countries such as India and China are at the forefront of imposing such sanctions for political point-scoring and sending a message. Gamers often find these games frustrating, but the gaming industry is so vast, that they find suitable alternatives in no time.
Copyright Issues
Sometimes, the bans occur simply because of copyright issues that the game developers failed to pay heed during a game’s development. These bans are usually lifted when developers meet the requirements and make updated versions of the games. Copyright issues are quite common in the technological world and are soon resolved.
The gaming industry is a powerful one with billions in dollars of investments and outputs. The culture of banning games isn’t the most productive for developers but has become a harsh reality of the industry. Countries try to protect its population of cultural sensitivities as well as political manoeuvring and thus have to take the extreme measures of banning games sometimes.