'Minecraft' for PS4 & Xbox One Gameplay: Microsoft Responds to Turkey Investigating Video Game for Violence
The Turkish government is investigating "Minecraft," which is considered one of the least violent and most creative games on the market, for depicting violence.
The popular video game has never been scrutinized for this reason before and has even been viewed as an educational tool, but it could be a recent victim in Turkey's move towards censorship.
Newsweek reports the Turkish family and policies minister, Aysenur Islam, announced his office "will examine the game and see if there is an element of violence." He told reporters this after one told him "Minecraft" depicts violence against women and could provoke aggression since it awards points for killing characters.
However, "Minecraft" is considered to be one of the safest games for kids, being available for ages 7 and up in Europe and 10 and up in the U.S. The game is also used in classrooms with "MinecraftEdu." Unlike other games like "Call of Duty" or "Halo," "Minecraft" does not depict blood and the game's blocky style does not depict gore.
"Thinking of investigating Minecraft for being violent is the equivalent of ordering an investigation into violent Lego playing," Dr Andrew Przybylski, an experimental psychologist and research fellow from the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University, told Newsweek.
BBC reports, citing the Turkish newsite Haberturk, a game deemed too violent by the government could be banned.
Microsoft, which bought "Minecraft" developer Mojang last year, released a statement concerning the accusation.
"Minecraft is enjoyed by many players in a wide variety of ways. Many enjoy the creative freedom that's presented by Minecraft and its tools, some are more interested by the opportunity to explore a landscape without boundaries and to go on exciting adventures with friends," the tech giant told GameSpot.
The statement explained the game has "genderless monsters" the player must fight against to survive, but there are options for those against them being on the game.
"If people find this level of fantasy conflict upsetting, we would encourage them to play in Creative Mode, or to enable the Peaceful setting," the company stated. "Both of these options will prevent monsters from appearing in the world."
Although the game depicts very mild action and encourages creativity, Turkey has recently increased online censorship. Al Jazeera reported last week Turkey approved a new online censorship bill. The country has even recently censored content on Facebook.
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