Nearly 20 years after its release, classic first person shooter Doom has been given a USK16+ rating in Germany and has been removed from the country’s ‘List of Media Harmful to Young People.’
Doom, along with Doom 2, was removed from the list after an appeal was filed by copyright owner ZeniMax Media. Zenimax Media also owns game development company Bethesda Softworks.
“We are obviously very pleased with their decision,” said Pete Hines, vice president of PR and Marketing at Bethesda Softworks. “Can’t give you details yet on when they will be available in Germany. We’ll let everyone know as soon as we know.”
Hines said that an appeal of indexing is only allowed after 10 years, with Doom and its sequel, Doom 2, having been released in 1993 and 1994. Bethesda Softworks, who in 2009 acquired the games’ original developer id Software, figured it would take the shot.
The Doom games’ listing on the country’s index meant that the titles could not be sold, advertized or displayed to minors in the country. Other video games that have been included in the index are Quake and Wolfenstein 3D, as well as Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Manhunt, Command and Conquer and House of the Dead.
The country’s Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle ratings board gave an 19 rating to the Gears of Wars 3, which is a first for the franchise. The first two Gears of Wars games were indexed by German officials.
via: Ubergizmo
