Nintendo Europe has explained that it’s a German law that’s to blame for the blocking of adult content on the Wii U eShop before 11pm. Because Nintendo Europe is based in Germany, the Nintendo eShop is complying with German youth protection regulation. Under German law, content rated 18+ must be made available only at night.
“At Nintendo we always aim to provide a safe gaming experience for fans of all ages and ensure that we comply with applicable legal age restriction requirements across Europe.”
“Legal age restriction requirements vary across a number of European countries. Since Nintendo of Europe is based in Germany, Nintendo eShop is complying with German youth protection regulation which therefore applies to all our European markets. Under German law, content rated 18+ must be made available only at night.”
That is a bunch of SHIT
Quite frankly, I respect that law to the nth degree.
it’s about time people were told for their own good what is and isn’t suitable for them at the right time.
agreed. Complying with the law in the country their base is in is the right thing to do!
And thats how the Paris riots started.
No it’s not LOL. It’s about time Adults were told they have to stay up to 11pm to download ZombiU ? That’s fucking Ridiculous. They should just have better child locking controlls on the E-shop.
This ”LAW” is stupid. And definitely something that’s unusual for the UK and other EU countries. None of us give a crap that posh ass Germany is so strict…
and UK courts demand from ISPs to censor the internet.. yeah that’s a lot better
There’s nothing wrong with my internet. It’s raw and in ya face.
try to access sites affiliated with thepiratebay then
good luck
^thank you, if people don’t like it then buy the damn retail instead you damn Europeans.
But that doesn’t do any good when you get the deluxe digital promotion… Might as well utilize it and get free money back while it’s good.
nintendo have the Parental Control app to do this so why are we all affected by this? there is no need for the law
Seems like a fair decision to me, doesnt bother me at all. And it also seems like majority of people who it does bother, are actually under 18, so I can see why it is in place.
Ok. But doesn’t it mean that the people who are over 18 can’t download M rated content before 11pm ? That seems kinda stupid.
”Sorry son , Dady has to stay awake tonight to download ZombiU”
yea thats exactly what it means. but yea, germany has some very stupid laws in that regard…
Nintendo shouldn’t of allowed this ”boot camp” law to be passed.
All it needs is the ability for parents to lock the eshop away from kids altogether. And the kids have to ask their parents to use their credit cards on the eshop to buy them games.
Makes more sense right? So when you set up it says ”Parental Lock E-shop”, You then have to type a password just to open the E-shop.
But someone like me can just Leave it unlocked permanently.
Problem solved.
and who says they aren’t working on somtehing just like that? bureaucratic are slow so it may take some time until a feature is implemented that allows parental control, or age verification on the eshop
Indeed. That’s all it needs. It’s outrageous that I have to wait till 11PM just to START a 16GB download such as AC3.
It doesn’t affect me at all because I buy my retail games physically. I only download smaller and Indie games.
But considering Nintendo is pushing Digital , they shot theirselves in the foot with this one.
You’re not even 18, so why does it concern you so much?
You shouldn’t be giving a shit about this.
And it is not stupid. Is it that hard to turn on the WiiU before going to sleep and download the games? No. It’s not like many people aged <18 go to sleep earlier than 11pm.
Im 21 you cheeky cunt.
Can’t blame him, you sure sound mature (almost).
AHAHAHA Sure.
Max. 14, I’d say.
If that’s what you wish to believe then so be it. But the fact remains I am 21 , lol.
Our age is completely irrelivant on the internet anyway.
Trying to act all mature now won’t change any of your immature comments you’ve made previously.
And no, it is not. Especially in this issue.
Poo off poop breathe .
Thank you for proving my point. Have a nice day.
No, the majority of people who it does bother are over 18, because those under 18 shouldn’t buy that stuff anyways.
Riiiiiight, because its the governments job to tell people how to raise their kids.
Tyrants. ALL OF THEM! May they suffocate in their own tyranny!
That’s ridiculous (Meaning the german law, not Nintendo complying with it, although it begs the question of why they’ve never had to do this before) surely you should be able to verify your age somehow. E.g. with Sky TV in the uk you have a PIN for parental controls, and different ratings can only be watched after a certain time-unless you have the PIN to unlock it. It’s a bit pointless to force people to stay up until 11pm to view content. And why couldn’t they enforce these restrictions separately so they only apply in Germany. Obviously all the consoles in Europe are the same, but it wouldn’t be impossible to implement
they’ve never had to deal with this before, because they never really had “M” rated downloadable titles.
Ah okay that makes sense…Hmm yeah I’d say Nintendo isn’t at fault here, they’re just complying with the law, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying…
chances are that they will eventually implement a feature to allow you to verify your age
this looks like a temporary solution to me
This is germany, welcome. :( We get censored 18 rated games, we have to import such games uncut. Sometimes it is different (Black Ops 2, Gears of War 3, Dead Space 2), but this is SHIT.
true story
you don’t have to import them.. you can get any unrated game as long as it hasn’t been confiscated.. and few games ever have been
thing is that stores are not allowed to put up advertising for unrated games or put them in the shelves along with all the other games, which is why many people don’t know about it
yea you can buy uncut games in germany because those stores are doing the importing for you. those uncut games aren’t the german version, but the austrian one (or rather: not the USK Version made for Germany, but the PEGI Version made for other german speaking countries)
Can’t just they don’t allow kids to play games like cod etc which are 18+?Come on!
I support this. I mean, if your 17 and below, you really shouldn’t play 18+ games. Except, now today, 7-11 year olds that think they know-it-all, play these games. Also, 18+, usually stay up past 11pm.
It’s not the governments business to tell people what is and is not appropriate. It’s called tyranny. No wonder you stupid Europeans allowed someone like Hitler to take over.
Just because one country influenced negatively,doesn’t mean Europeans are stupid,you piece of troll.Their tyranny doesn’t make Europeans be stupid either.Nintendo of Europe are stupid because they implemented this.
Well, it IS a video game console. Adult content should never even be seen on a video game console.
Exactly what kind of “adult content” would people be trying to access on a Wii U anyways?
games like ZombiU and Assassin’s Creed are 18+, thus not available
Who cares…If I want to watch hot gay porn I turn on my computer.
if U mean “gay” as in lesbian then yeah i agree with you. plus has anyone curious if wii u can get virus?
LOL you insecure about gay man sex? Gay porn is gay porn, if he meant lesbians i think he would of typed that. Besides i love me some gay porn, watched some last night actually.
Just about any programmable computing device can get affected by malware, consoles are protected a lot heavier than Windows PC’s generally but it is still possible. In order for malware to affect the Wii U it has to be written. As of now no unsigned code has been able to run in Wii U mode. Malware writers don’t have interest or enough documentation to go through the trouble so i am sure we will be fine. I have yet to hear of any Wii malware so doubt we will be seeing Wii U ones.
You guys are stupid…. 18+ in germany means 17+ in the united states.. so no zombie u, assassins creed 3, and all those block buster titles to 11 pm
It isn’t restricted in the states, so the fact that 17+ is 18+ in Germany makes no difference. Nothing is restricted anywhere else.
Good damn it Germany -_- I think it should only appeal to Wii U owners in Germany, not the WHOLE OF EUROPE.
thing is that these consoles come all with the same software
Generally I have no problem with this. Although it could lead to unnescessary waiting time, when a you really want a game but can not download it until late at night. ;)
My real problem with this is, that it just isn’t true. 18+ content is not restricted on PSN for example. You have a age verification with your user account, and that’s it. The seem to use the TV regulations for the eshop, but I doubt that this is really the reason. I mean.. this is Nintendo we#re talking about. ;-)
I think they will have the game in the eshop till 3 am. And I think you can still buy adult content at three am.
SCEE isn’t based in Germany so the law would not apply to PSN.
But it is content made available in Germany to german people with german restrictions. Otherwise I could purchase uncut games on PSN via my german account. I can NOT: So same rules apply here… I really believe it is just an excuse.. That’s symply NOE.
looks like a temporary solution.. i’m sure they’ll introduce age verification eventually
will the games download throughout till the morning if it takes a long time to download or will you have to wait until night again?
I think you are really overthinking about that.
Another proof that world wide free speech in 30% or more is a scam.
To me the TRUE FREE SPEECH IS NO CENSURSHIP OF ANY KIND, NOTHING NOT EVEN RAPE AND SNUFF SHOULD BE CENSURED, PERIOD. OR IS IT HARD TO UNDERSTAND?
Snuff isn’t censored in Norway and Sweden :P
so if i defame my neighbour publicly in the worst way possible is that free speech to you aswell?
the state has an obligation to protect its citizens, especially underaged ones, from influences such as these and it applies to all of them whether you like it or not
Germany: Repressing people’s right to have fun since 1933.
THIS a 1000 times.
Those who trade security for freedom deserve neither.
This is complete BS, I do not live in Germany and should not be subject to their idiotic laws.
yeah but Nintendo of Europe is Germany, they have to follow the law of German.
Although I completely respect nintendo’s stance on this it’s hugely draconian. The wii u itself has a number of safeguards for age protection (as well as you know actual parenting skills?? ) . If Nintendo truly wants to compete with the big boys this console generation they really need to look at their online infrastructure and start to compete more aggressively with Xbox live and the PSN. Not one significant update to the estore since both respective launch dates. Time to open your eyes Nintendo.
if you can convince the German government to let Nintendo get a free pass to break the German law, then bio-means be my guess, other than that fuck off.
It’s BY ALL MEANS and BE MY GUEST.
English not your first language?
Glad they explained why. There were some people bashing Nintendo after this news first broke. However, I’m sure those regular Nintendo bashes will find another reason. Real gamer supports ALL consoles. If they succeed, we ALL benefit.
To be honest the name Gamer means you enjoy GAMING no matter what platform, whether it be on your mobile, handheld, tablet, console, PC or (and dare I say it) a Mac you are still classified as a Gamer.
I love games and I have to say even though I’m not a huge fan of Microsoft or the Xbox 360, the games are fun to play. Gaming is a hobby, a right and most all a way to escape from the real world.
These so called “real gamer” will find a way to bash Nintendo, i feel like im the only one that play games on any platform and enjoy it to android phones, PC, and even Nintendo.
I think they should only use this type of law on the eShop in Germany because really different countries in Europe have different rules, including the UK.
Nintendo, get your brains into gear and only let this be something for the GERMAN mark because we don’t follow by German laws
It just is a lot harder to implement. For example, the Wii U asks what country you are in. So if you live in Germany, you can put the UK then get around it (or any other country). Same thing with their current age thing. All you have to do is insert a valid year. A 10 year old can do the math and make the year correct, what’s why you have people under age on Facebook. Unless they have some sort of GPS (to know where actually you are) or have some way to scan you; they need to be as restrictive as possible.
Don’t know what everyones problem with this restriction is. If you don’t want to wait until 11pm to download it just buy a hard copy somewhere. You don’t even have to leave the house you can just buy it online.
It’s a restriction so teens under 18 have more of a hard time to get games they aren’t aloud to play. It may be a little annoying but it’s no reason to cry about.
I agree with you there but really they are saying we all have to obey a GERMAN law which doesn’t apply to any other Country in Europe and UK.
Yeah that’s true. Didn’t quite get it at first while reading the comments because that law applies to me anyway because I live in Germany. But if it was some other country I wouldn’t be that happy too, I agree.
I would also be happier if they have age restriction for downloadable content then there wouldn’t be a problem.
I bet not half of the people who are complaining above aren’t even 18 yet. Digital Distribution is the perfect way for underaged kids to get stuff they’re not supposed to get. This law just makes sure, they don’t. So what’s idiotic about that? In my opinion Germany is just the only country, who was smart enough to pass such a law. As if adults were sleeping by 11pm…
It doesn’t matter. Parents are parents and should parent. It’s not the German governments job to police your living room.
I don’t agree with this shit. Consoles must have freedom, no restrictions what to play and what can’t we play. Let the gamers decide.
i am all for not having children look at adult content. but i don’t see why the uk and other eu member states should be sujected to German law. why not just make the eshop login through a user account which has the persons age so they can only access age apropiate material. i hate nannying people it is up to the perant to stop aduld material
Because even a child knows how to lie about their age. User accounts aren’t rocket science. Most parents would rather not touch the thing and set it up for them.
About time people realized this. Microsoft has to follow the same regulations for Xbox Live, from what I recall…
No they don’t. Their Euro HQ is located in the UK so they are not required to follow German regulations.
I have not grabbed a Wii U yet, but can’t you change the time so it says it is 11 PM?
You know when I first read this news I thought they were saying you could only PLAY 18+games at this time, but if its content for download time thats a whole nother story. Its not that big of a deal if you have to wait to download the game. Now people if you take a look at the online infrastructure the Nintendo Network has not been implemented yet, so quit complaining about the online infrastructure when all they have IS THE ESHOP and Miiverse. I mean the internet and the interface is a hell of a lot better on the Wii U than it is on any other console to date. Now shut up and get a clue about whats relevant and what isnt, not everything is an “issue”
Honestly, if you can’t stay up until 11, set an alarm to wake to at 11, or get your but to a store to buy it when you are awake, you are just too lazy to play the game anyway!
Okay, I still don’t see how that needs to restrict the content for everyone.
If by “everyone” you mean the rest of Europe, it may be unnecessary, but on the bright side, they really aren’t “everyone.”
You Europeans and your nanny state. I fear America is not too far behind.
it wouldn’t matter if there was any build in age restriction, that law would still exist
its the same with ea origin, you can verify your age before 11pm with your id wich is way to complicated and anoying for the average consumer to be a worth while solution
NO THE LAW IS FOR TV AND MOVIES. DIGITAL distribution is not. Nintendo is just doing it because they’re afraid they’d get in trouble. Cause sure as hell Sony and Microsoft don’t do it.
They don’t have to because their HQ’s are listed in the UK which has no such regulations and they’re not apart of the European Union. Nintendo of Europe is located in German. THAT’S why they are doing this.
Every Nintendo Gamer should realise that this is for the good of all. Wonder why there is a large number of single moms in the US? Had someone taught and raised the tail end of generation X correctly things like this would be at a minimal. Great law at least germany for the third time, behind Benz and BMW-Porsche is doing something good.
Oh my word. Some full-of-shit comments on here, some peole should be ashamed of themselves.
I long for the day when snot-nosed little bastards can be stopped from playing ANYTHING rated above their age, then perhaps I might be able to enjoy going on-line again. But seriously, if I EVER see another retailer hand over an 18+ rated game to a baseball cap wearing 12 year old, they are being reported.
If I want to download a game of that size, it will be getting done in sleep mode and most likely overnight anyway.
Seriously, overentitled gamers are ruining the industry, not silly things like this.
I can see the people in here who should never have kids since they find the law useless…
I am German and grateful for this law… enough kids get nightmares from playing games that are not made for their little ages.
What a disgusting attitude. Do your fucking job as a parent and WATCH WHAT YOUR KIDS ARE PLAYING. Don’t expect the government / videogame companies to raise your child for you.
Damn nanny state bedwetters who don’t take responsibility… utterly pathetic. Glad I’m from the UK- for all its failings, at least we understand that parents need to do the parenting.
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