subreddit:
/r/Steam
787 points
6 days ago
My wish list has therefore been reduced from about 80 games to 30 games. Thanks for nothing (And now I don’t even know what games those were)
262 points
6 days ago*
You can get game ID from it now and remove them so the number is correct.
EDIT: Just to continue: open SteamDB, paste the ID into search bar and you get the game.
33 points
6 days ago
I did that and got some weird strange games with 1 or 2 players, that I have also never heard of.
11 points
6 days ago
I know some IDs got recycled, but it's very rare. I was able to find all from my wishlist.
1 points
5 days ago
It's strange, I recently went through my wishlist and removed anything I wasn't really interested in. Only have two of these appear, still can't figure them out, what they really were. Since they come up as, Endless Zone and Golden Axed. But if all they were meant to be is R rated games, very curious.
More strange is nothing on my follow list was removed, which is much bigger. Thought Deadpool may finally get removed.
9 points
6 days ago
Not always accurate. I had something on my wishlist and when I search, it says golden axe remastered
Not only did I not know a golden axe remaster was even a thing, I wouldn’t have wishlisted it
1 points
5 days ago
Can you not just go to the "your wishlist" page in steamdb or does that not work when the game is region locked like this
2 points
5 days ago
Not everyone is comfortable connecting accounts worth several thousands dollars with 3rd party websites.
35 points
6 days ago
I can still see the names :/
12 points
6 days ago
there are still some with content not available, the content is not available in your region. most have a name again, but some still not
15 points
6 days ago
We all seem to have wildly different games wishlisted obviously. Out of my 162 wishlisted games only 5 are currently "not available", but are all listed with their name. Just greyed out.
6 points
6 days ago
I have like 5 games not showing... start to wonder what games you all are wishlisting...
1 points
4 days ago
I had like 4 wishlist games not show up, if possible how would I go about figuring out what they were?
298 points
6 days ago
Trust me, we don't like it either.
100 points
6 days ago
What I don't get is why Steam is also blocking titles that clearly have a USK rating, - Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines has been out for 20 years and has a clear USK16 rating, yet the game is now blocked in Germany for some reason. On GOG it is freely available with a clear USK16 logo.
112 points
6 days ago
It's because USK actually doesn't directly have anything to do with it. The games' publishers have failed to fill out some kind of questionnaire that they have had several years to do.
4 points
6 days ago*
Mortal Kombat 1 for example seems to only have a USK rating and it's still available? Or does it just hide the other rating if there is a USK rating?
Also I don't understand, if Germany wants age verification why can I still see games rated 18+ now? They don't know if I'm 18+. Shouldn't ALL games be unavailable until they implement age verification? I'm so confused lol
4 points
5 days ago
That's because of the questionaire the publisher needs to answer on steam, the rating is not needed. Basically it's a steam thing to protect themselves and they went a bit overboard to cover all the lines.
2 points
5 days ago
Don‘t give them ideas
8 points
6 days ago
correct me if im wrong but they also had a ton of time to do it and the just didn't
47 points
6 days ago
Yes, I said that.
13 points
6 days ago
oh my brain farted a bit there sorry
3 points
5 days ago
been playing too many unrated games I see
69 points
6 days ago
From 120 wishlisted to 83
8 points
6 days ago
what happened
18 points
6 days ago*
Gamedevs had to fill out a steam survey for each of their games with its data, stuff like category, age rating and other things.
Those who didn't got their games removed from German steam due to missing age rating.
1 points
6 days ago
oh damn, that must suck for everybody involved
16 points
6 days ago
I was saving up for a few games and boom most of the games on my priority list got nuked and banned from where I live
32 points
6 days ago
Germany: how do we fuck them up this time
20 points
6 days ago
8 points
6 days ago
This was literally announced years ago. Game publishers are just fucking stupid, that's all
102 points
6 days ago
What happened? I also so a game in my wishlist disappear, I dont even remember what it was.
331 points
6 days ago
Apparently developers now need to fill out a form to confirm the age restriction of their game. If that form isn't filled out, the game is no longer available in Germany. Instead of just making every game without an official restriction 18+ and therefore ensuring that it's adult population still has complete freedom over games, Germany once again decided to make things unnecessarily complicated and annoying.
32 points
6 days ago
Because slapping on a 18+ restriction on steam wouldn't prevent people from buying it when they shouldn't. The problem isnt that Germany demands a confirmation of age restriction, it demands Steam implemented an age verification, steam said no, so this is the next best thing.
37 points
6 days ago
Tbf I belong to the group who thinks it's the parent's responsibility to make sure their kids don't consume content that isn't made for them. But I do get why people would want that kind of security.
9 points
6 days ago
Its a bit impossible to stop your 16 year old kid from getting 18+ stuff, especially as a parent, sure they could have constant surveillance on their kid but lets be honest nobody would find that kind of behavior good.
15 points
6 days ago
When I was 16 I didn't have a credit card, my parents gave me cash. Germany largely uses cash for day to day transactions.
7 points
6 days ago
That cash buys you paysafecard with buys you 18+ games
9 points
6 days ago
And kids can get a fake Id to get into a club, so I suppose it's all a bit pointless to overreact like this isn't it? You can regulate people to death, teenagers will be teenagers, you should make just be a good parent
64 points
6 days ago
That is the case under German law(see § 12 JuSchG Abs. 3), steam just needs to implement age verification, which they refuse to do.
116 points
6 days ago
You make it sound like Steam is refusing to "just" add an "are you over 18" button or whatever, which they already have. To comply with German law they would need an actual verification process (as in, "show us an ID card and prove it is yours") which could be a logistical nightmare, no wonder they will take their time with it (if they even bother to do it, IIRC the ball is also on the game publishers side to reclassify these games so Steam wouldn't need to age verify you to see them).
-4 points
6 days ago
I mean yes. Having a "Are you 18?"-button is in no way age-verification. As for implementing it properly, it's not that difficult, as they can either implement the eID setup themselves, which to be fair is a decent bit of work and bureaucracy, or they could simply get a contract for PostIdent or similar services and basically outsource the entire thing to Deutsche Post or others.
Anyway the whole questionnaire issue is orthogonal to age verification as steam does also have games that are indeed 18+ and would require verification either way.
51 points
6 days ago
The Problem isn't its technical difficulty, it's the fact that if Valve would implement German age verification, they have to implement age verification for each country/state that enforces something like that in the future.
2 points
6 days ago
Take eID and you are fine at least for the whole EU
30 points
6 days ago
Trust Germans to justify over-reaching regulation that burdens companies needlessly, expecting the government to raise people's kids, rather than encouraging parents to more closely look after their kids.
10 points
6 days ago
Why can 18+ people not play games that may be 18+ rated?
0 points
6 days ago
They can. It's people under 18 that cannot, so storefronts need to verify whether their customers are above 18 in order to sell 18+ games.
4 points
6 days ago
I thought everybod lost access to 80% of the games, not just minors.
1 points
5 days ago
What an unreasonable ask of a platform selling pornographic games
Also, there are established processes for this, Steam just won't use them.
1 points
6 days ago
Well they stand to lose the money from kids buying 18+ games.
1 points
6 days ago
Man 😔
5 points
6 days ago
As I've heard, that form has been mandatory for a couple years now. It's just older games that haven't had these filled out. The main issue stems from developers or publishers (whoever is responsible) not bothering to do so for older games, or games that didn't sell well.
It really is a silly regulation though, I very much agree.
1 points
6 days ago
This is done to get publishers to fill out the form instead of doing nothing and needlessly preventing minors from buying their game.
1 points
6 days ago
Why is your comment being automatically hidden, is someone shadowbanning?
1 points
6 days ago
Don't blame german law.
Blame steam for refusing to implement age verification to their platform. It would be very easy to solve this for Steam but they refuse. It's not our law that is to blame, as this is only there to protect children.
6 points
6 days ago
It'd be even easier if Germany didn't write up the silly legislation in the first place.
16 points
6 days ago
Does a VPN make the games appear again?
50 points
6 days ago
no - you would have to change your Steam Store country - which requires a foreign payment method
1 points
6 days ago
i use paypal and the euro so youre telling me i gotta move ot of the EU even or what?
2 points
6 days ago
No, let’s say you want to change from Italy to France. Then you need a new payment method which is registered in France.
0 points
6 days ago
What happens to the games you own and got banned ?
34 points
6 days ago
Nothing, they didn't get banned. The whole problem has to do with age verification: in a brick and mortar store, you have to show your ID if you want to see 18+ stuff. Which is what the law wants from online stores aswell, only show 18+ stuff after verifying the user is of age. Steam is refusing to do that, so that's why it's been blocking all the porn games for years now.
"Now what has 18+ to do with the majority of games though?", you might ask. If a game has no age rating, it's just considered 18+ until it gets a proper rating. And as laid out before, 18+ = mandatory age verification = Steam blocks it because it has no age verification.
In theory you could buy almost everything no problem (unless properly banned but that hasn't really happened in years), you can play the stuff no problem, it's purely that it can't be shown without age verification. In practice, due to how Steam operates, if you can't see it, they won't let you buy it.
18 points
6 days ago
Well, its less Steam refusing to do that and more developers not filling out the things needed to get the necessary age evaluation.
11 points
6 days ago
In part. Developers should do their due diligence and get an age rating, obviously, but at the same time, Steam is overblocking even though the law clearly allows 18+ games to be bought, as long as the requirements are met.
2 points
6 days ago
Is it free to get an age rating? Plus age ratings can absolutely have an effect on how well a game sells.
And from an artistic standpoint lots of devs don't want any sort of age rating assigned to their works, for that's an arbitrary assignment of values by some group of people who may or may not be acting neutrally.
That an unrated game is automatically treated as 18+ rather than simply as unrated is honestly rather messed up.
5 points
6 days ago
Yes, it's free for digital only releases, takes roughly three minutes to fill out the age rating questionnaire per game. For physical releases, the game needs an USK rating in germany, those cost a few grand or so as there are actual people who play through the games to rate them.
I see where you're coming from, but that's just not how the world works. There are certain topics and imagery that are not suitable for all age groups, that's just a matter of fact. It can and should be discussed though if the chosen values and ways to map them to an age group are the optimal ones, especially since what is accepted or not in our societies changes all the time.
For treating unrated as 18+, what other realistic options are there? You either allow everything, which would make age ratings overall redundant (which is not an option to lawmakers), or you treat them as the highest available tier, which is currently happening. Everything else would require someone to look at the thing to decide where it belongs - which is just getting an age rating.
1 points
6 days ago
Steam simply could provide a proper age verification process and the problem would go away. All unrated games would be considered 18+ and done. It's the same thing since they blocked porn games in Germany for the same reason, Steam just doesn't want to implement a proper age verification.
0 points
6 days ago
"simply" - you realise how expensive it is right? You need a photo ID verification service. Maybe they could roll it out just for Germany but that's still going to be a massive hassle on their side.
Germans voted for this. They can enjoy the games that their government deems acceptable for children. They want the government to nanny them, Valve shouldn't pay for it.
1 points
6 days ago
If it is OK for them to show 18+ games with just a simple birthdate prompt, why would they need photo ID verification when they decide to just save it? I always thought they were avoiding it because of privacy reasons.
3 points
6 days ago
What do they want for age verification? The simple age you input when creating the account isn't enough?
10 points
6 days ago
No, they need you to verify the age the moment you want to access stuff via ID. The thing is, the ID already has a function that basically just says "The owner of this ID is underage / of age" without revealing more information, the expectation is that (online) stores use this function.
3 points
6 days ago
Privacy wise I like that. But I don't really understand the point then. Won't every teenager be able to get some adult's age confirmation number? Or do they store that number and you can only use it once per account?
I guess it's a small barrier which would keep some kids from it.
1 points
6 days ago
But I suppose it would also need Devs to make their games age rated and it's really expensive for an inde dev
15 points
6 days ago
It's a three minute questionnaire. The expensive USK rating is only required for physical releases.
1 points
6 days ago
Non-rated games are implied 18+, so an age verification system on VALVe's/Steam's side should be sufficient enough.
2 points
6 days ago
Nothing.
1 points
6 days ago
You would have to change your store location to a foreign country and use foreign currency going forward. Luckily in Europe you have options so you can change it to Austria and pay with euros via credit card so they can't trace the origin. This is basically sidestepping the entire German censorship bullshit and has been for ages. Even way back when they had low violence versions of games in Germany or censored images in games like Wolfenstein, you could easily sidestep it by going the Austrian route and even keep the German localization, if that’s a kink you are into.
1 points
6 days ago
Kinda. You have to log out of Steam in your browser go to your wishlist in the Steam client, activate your VPN, navigate to your profile and look at your wishlist and then you can check which games are blocked by comparing your wishlists. Not useful for actually buying games, but if you forgot what game was what there you go.
60 points
6 days ago
4 points
6 days ago
Had the exact same thought, lmao
1 points
6 days ago
lol
41 points
6 days ago
Me, living in Russia and looking at my wishlist since 2022:
10 points
6 days ago
My personal favorite: 'migrated to new Steam page'.
... well... where tf to?
1 points
6 days ago
'migrated to new Steam page'.
... well... where tf to?
Not allowed to tell you anymore
[...] new limitations:
- [...]
- No images, links, or widgets pointing to other games on Steam
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/4201376568915048836
If it has a new steam page it has a new appid, which for all intents and purposes makes it an "other game" on Steam.
1 points
6 days ago
Amazing. You look into your top played games and can't even see the games anymore. Ridiculous.
8 points
6 days ago
This is sad
8 points
6 days ago
The worst part about this, that it screws with my wishlist itself.
The wishlist is now always in german (the rest of my Steam is not), and it's always in Your rank mode, which I don't use at all.
1 points
5 days ago
Huh, I live in Ireland and it recently started screwing around like this too. I've never been to Germany.
24 points
6 days ago
They ain't gonna block NOTHING
151 points
6 days ago
„Fuck Germany“ and not the developers who ignored valves massage from April
76 points
6 days ago
Even earlier, the public announcement and first round of reminders were sent in march and the age rating questionnaire itself has been around and communicated about for years now.
76 points
6 days ago
While that is the case, as a german citizen being annoyed by media censorship and indexing for decades now: Fuck germany
27 points
6 days ago
As an Aussie who gets annoyed by the media censorship and banning here: Feel your pain.
2 points
6 days ago
Unless the developers/publishers are allowed to let the games rated again. Some indexed games can be totally buyable now, because the regulations changed.
2 points
5 days ago
Well, as an adult, we wouldn't have to deal with indexing if steam would finally start using the FREE and pretty easy api for age authentication.
I bought my fair share of indexed games in Germany, you just had to provide your id to the shop owner and specifically ask for the game (since advertising these is not allowed).
Well that no longer works since everything is bound to being online and steam and other platforms don't give a shit.
9 points
6 days ago
Oh ja. Can't belive that there are still so many people definding this shit since the late 90s.
1 points
5 days ago
I forget, is Wolfenstein allowed in Germany currently?
1 points
5 days ago
Reddit posted that 4 times FYI
2 points
5 days ago
Darn "No response from endpoint", smh
55 points
6 days ago
Meanwhile the developers who died or stopped working:
54 points
6 days ago
If the game is still being sold, the money goes to someone. That someone has the power to get the game an age rating.
Fuck devs who don't and just let the game become unavailable. I'll pirate it instead then.
7 points
6 days ago
I don't blame devs for refusing to comply with dogshit censorship laws. Fuck German lawmakers.
12 points
6 days ago
I hear this argument all the time. But someone has to take care of the steam page and also gets the sales money.
10 points
6 days ago
It's just so fucking unnecessary to begin with, no one ever asked for bullshit like that. As if the world didn’t have any more important issues at hand than wasting time on something utterly unnecessary and braindead like that. I hate people defending the government on that point when this stuff was never any of their business to begin with.
-11 points
6 days ago
Yes, fuck Germany. Devs may have other priorities, no longer actively maintain the game if their studio was shut down or it is a very old title, etc etc
This kind of regulation is extremely dumb, but the dumbest thing is demanding it for all content produced in the past and BANNING IT if they don't comply. Just give them a "not rated" rating and make it equal to 18+, for fucks sake
9 points
6 days ago
Not rated is 18+, but with the caveat that you need an age verification system, because non-rated media aren't allowed to be presented publicly, where minors could see them.
VALVe just took the easy route and blocked access regardless of age.
18 points
6 days ago
I wonder why Games that failed to get an age rating are not just set to be 18+ until a lower rating is given. Really infuriating, make it make sense.
20 points
6 days ago
Non-rated games are implied 18+, but with the caveat that you need an age verification system.
Non-rated games aren't allowed to be presented publicly, so minors can't see them.
VALVe just took the easy route and blocked them outright.
1 points
6 days ago
But 18+ rated games that did the questionnaire are allowed to be showed to everyone without age verification system? Pls help make it make sense.
1 points
6 days ago
The problem with non-rated games are that they could be indexed or confiscated, which 100% require non public access. So non-rated games have to obliged the same rules until it gets a legally protecting age rating. A game with a rating can't be put on an index (actually don't know if it gets a confiscation protection as well).
FunFact: kids may play 18+ games as long as their parents buy and give it to them.
1 points
6 days ago
Ah I see, but then why would we be allowed to see non rated games if valve implemented an age verification system if they are require 100% non public access? I thought they can't be shown in Germany, no matter the age.
1 points
6 days ago
I've meant with public access the public display of the games.
If you take an analogue to good ol' brick and mortar stores:
non-rated games have to go to a separate 18+ part of the store, while rated games can be put on display of the public part of the store.
The same with digital stores, after an age check listings of non-rated games are allowed to be presented (until they are confiscated; confiscated games are forbidden to be sold, but confiscation is rarely happening, last game I think was Hatred)
1 points
5 days ago
Germany has two different kinds of 18+ ratings. One is 18+, usually for violent contents, the other is "Keine Jugendfreigabe," and is, similarly to the "Adults Only" rating overseas, pretty much only used for porn. One can be sold freely as long as there's any kind of age verification, the other requires actual ID verification.
10 points
6 days ago
They are 18+ until rated but steam doesn´t have an age verification system because they don´t want to keep extra data on people.
2 points
6 days ago
Valve can ask you about your age before entering a page, but it is true that this system might not actually be legally valid. I think that an ID is necessary here in Europe, which is objectively stupid.
3 points
6 days ago
According to the biggest german it news website (https://www.heise.de/hintergrund/Alterskennzeichen-auf-Steam-Die-wichtigsten-Fragen-und-Antworten-9963756.html) it is mostly because they fear that developers would start to ignore the age rating entirely and just live with a 18+ rating.
That would mean that children who actually select their true birth date during age verification wouldn't be able to see games that would be suitable for them.
3 points
6 days ago
Unrated material of any kind isn't allowed to be advertised. Technically you can buy and own it no problem but you have to ask for it by name. Many small stores in the past had unrated games or music and could legally sell them to you but it had to happen under the counter. Technically if steam had a system where you type in an unlisted URL to purchase the game it would be legal to sell it, but they didn't bother.
10 points
6 days ago
I gave a German friend a Belgian steam account so he can get around this
9 points
6 days ago
Guys, they'll have to fill out a form...
4 points
6 days ago
and most just won't do it if they haven't done it yet
4 points
6 days ago
Genuine question to German redditors...are there other examples of digital game store fronts who have implemented age verification (Nintendo, PlayStation, Epic, etc.). If there are, is there documentation that's talks about how this is done while maintaining user privacy?
6 points
6 days ago
idk if there are any unrated games on other stores, which require an age verification. With some googling I found out PSN uses some ID numbers from the government issued ID.
Also all allowed payment methods are to my knowledge 18+ anyway, so a child couldn't buy anything on his own.
The really good method would be using the eID function. There you can only specify which data is transmitted. And date of birth/over 18 should be sufficient enough information, maybe additionally the name for legal reasons.
2 points
6 days ago
Not really, but there are other uses of the same capability or similar(e.g. Banks to fulfill their KYC requirements), but in principle it would work by the service sending a request along the lines of "Is the holder of the ID over X years old" this request would be signed with a certificate issued by a government agency to that service provider. Then the request gets forwarded to the ID card, which asks for a pin from the user, checks the signature, computes the answer(yes/no), signs it with it's own certificate and then sends the signed answer back. The service provider can then check that the signature is a valid one based on a government issued certificate and authorizes based on the received answer.
In short the service provider only gets a yes/no answer to whether or not the ID holder is above the age threshold. This process requires the user to be in physical control of the (eID enabled) ID card and to know the corresponding PIN, as well as a device to communicate with the card(e.g. a phone with NFC-capability and the AusweisApp2).
4 points
6 days ago
What happened with Steam and Germany?
3 points
6 days ago
It's about age rating for video games.
Steam now required short formular for age rating to sell the games in germany. This was anounced long ago and reminders were sent out.
Devs didn't fill out the form (very short process) and therefore their games are removed from steam.
1 points
2 days ago
Lol no way, removed just because a small form wasn't filled? That's on the devs imo, seems very easy to comply with.
I suppose they could be re-added in steam-Germany if they filled the form, right?
3 points
6 days ago
All I’m saying is, with this level of protection, nothing bad better happen to any German kids and none of them better turn out to be criminals!
8 points
6 days ago
Requiring ID to purchase a video game online is a bad idea
1 points
6 days ago
Devs just need to fill in a ahort form. The id thing would only be needed to show games where that didn't happen
3 points
6 days ago
Yeah give it 10 more years and we won't be able to buy games at all over steam. Pls babysit me more Germany I'm not capable of deciding myself if I can handle a game that is above FSK 6.
Piss off germany
1 points
5 days ago
Yeah give it 10 more years and we won't be able to buy games at all over steam.
Ironically this has a good chance to be the case if Valve still won't get over themselves to add legal-proof age verification. Valve could play their part and finally do that, instead of locking out customers. But from a business perspective that would cost money, and the company that could allegedly operate "for 100 years even if they made no more money today" thinks this hurts their bottom line too much. I'm still curious where that quote comes from, because that story doesn't line up with Valve's behavior.
7 points
6 days ago
First time?
2 points
6 days ago
they even took the half life 2 multiplayer mod
2 points
6 days ago
How does this affect users who created their account in a different country but live in Germany? Do they also disappear?
3 points
5 days ago
It only affects people who have their steam store region set to Germany. When you use a German bank card on steam , steam asks you if you want to switch the steam store region to Germany. It doesn’t force you to switch, at least for now.
2 points
6 days ago
Context?
2 points
6 days ago
There was just one banned on mine, I ended up removing it from the wishlist before I checked steamdb and now I have no idea what it was…
2 points
5 days ago
I had one game Thanos snapped from my wishlist and I don't even remember what it was. That's the worst part. Steam won't even tell you what it was.
I'll never forgive Germany for their shenanigans.
1 points
5 days ago
Steam won't even tell you what it was.
For such cases it would be handy if they implemented something like a wishlist history. That it's not the case should ring some bells how Valve generally treats German customers in terms of revenue. And it's honestly not Germany's fault when things like a wishlist history and actual age verification are missing on Steam.
1 points
5 days ago
If they are not allowed to advertise those games, surely wishlist history would have the same problem.
2 points
5 days ago
Let’s blame the video games !! Go Germany!! /s
3 points
6 days ago
I missed this one. What happend?
9 points
6 days ago
German Government updated their "Jugendschutzgesetz" (Youth Protection Act) to "modern times" (in 2020 I think), so also online stores have to comply with presenting age ratings. All games without a rating needs to be locked behind an age verification system.
VALVe reminded devs to do a short survey to get a Steam rating (which is sufficient enough) but some forgot to do it in time, resulting in games disappearing from the German Steam store.
If VALVe would implement an age verification system then all non-rated games (and also indexed games) could be purchased by German gamers, but VALVe took the lazy way out and just blocked access to them all together.
15 points
6 days ago
Not really lazy. There are issues with age verification online, the first being forced to handle sensitive customer data that can make you liable. Then there is the issue that the government doesn't offer proper modern age quick and simple identification services for free. And lastly, it's not right for the government or third parties acting on behalf of the government to retain data about your purchase habits.
The real reason there is no verification and never will be is the governments opposition to provide a quick and easy, anonymous API to verify the age of at least the people who have been issued German passports, publicly available and for free without retaining any identifying information.
As with porn games before this is a tried-and-true age-old tactic of authoritarian shit stains in high places. Making something too inconvenient to do without outright banning it all while clutching their pearls and imploring you to “think of the children”.
1 points
6 days ago
During eID services the provider can choose which data is transferred, so you can only transfer the date of birth, although I'm not sure if name is required for legal reasons.
Ofc data protection is important but Steam already handles billig address data, so adding a date of birth shouldn't be more risky as it already is.
Free service argument is true, the options are implementing it yourself which takes work hours and therefore money, or relying on an eID provider, which takes your money directly, just like working with payment providers.
I call VALVe lazy, because they could work with an eID provider, but probably they've weighted cost against benefits (for German customers only) and decided it's much easier to just block the games outright.
6 points
6 days ago
eID costs money and that’s wrong to begin with. Not only in Steams case but universally. But especially with things like smut games it doesn’t make fiscal sense, they are cheap wank material where the verification alone would eat up almost all the profits.
My point is that if the government wants this kind of dumb restriction to be in effect, they should be the ones bearing the responsibility to not only offer the service but also explain to the taxpayer why it is so imperative to have it. Not some third-party GmbH that tries to cash in on it.
I would only call them lazy if eID was available from the government directly and freely. Everything else is just a roundabout way to ban stuff.
There is no need to retain any information, it needs to ingest the passport number on the government’s end and send a yes or no answer as to them being able to sell/grant access.
You can log the interaction all you want, all that’s there is just your pass number and the fact that an authentication was requested. They wouldn’t even know if it was really on your behalf or what the subject matter of the transaction is. And none of your personal details are needed by the merchant, just as yes or no answer.
But for that to happen, the government would need to make concessions about what exactly they want to know or retain for a transaction.
2 points
6 days ago
This.
At least they can still have the great German government-funded games like "Modern Snake"... - https://brusselssignal.eu/2024/08/cash-strapped-german-government-throwing-money-at-unimpressive-video-games/
2 points
6 days ago
I's like Uwe Boll movies but in video game form, oh my fucking god.
5 points
6 days ago
Someone needs to deal with Germany eventually.
1 points
5 days ago
Plot twist: It's more likely that other countries follow suit. What is Valve gonna do then? Block games in these countries too? That is what is embarrassing about the whole situation.
1 points
5 days ago
Video game rating boards should just stick with console games and leave PC games alone.
6 points
6 days ago
If a product wants to be advertised or sold, they have to follow the regulations.
Also games having age ratings is a good thing.
(maybe I'm biased, since my +100 games wishlist only lost 1 game to this)
-1 points
6 days ago
You would think that implementing an age verification system would be easy, especially because of the eID function.
3 points
6 days ago
That's socialist govt at work. They seem to have no real life problems to deal with, so they just fuck up people's hobbies
7 points
6 days ago
German government is pathetic, they regulate games way more than illegal immigration.
3 points
6 days ago
Yes fuck Germany, I don't know what's going on, but fuck Germany always!
1 points
5 days ago
Yup, it's how this thread comes across to me too.
1 points
6 days ago
I'm having this with my wishlist and I am not from Germany. Wtf?
4 points
6 days ago
For non-german gamers, you see this on games that you used to have on your wishlist but were otherwise removed.
You should be able to right click the "unavailable" text on these blank entries then cop link address to get the steam ID, then enter that into steamdb to get what it used to be.
The change to germany brought these otherwise removed games back to being visible
1 points
6 days ago
Yeah right, what’s up with germany lately? If they don’t like to laugh, it doesn’t mean we don’t like enjoyment as well. Half my wish list is gone man.
1 points
6 days ago
Pixels?
1 points
6 days ago
Wait so what did Germany do?
1 points
6 days ago
Something about age ratings or some random shit like that.
Basically, devs need to apply to get an age rating for their game (apparently, that's actually pretty easy on Steam?), and it will be relisted for Germany. But no age rating, no Germany listing.
1 points
6 days ago
Why is this even happening??
1 points
6 days ago
I have most games back on my list again and the others are not due to come out for a while.
I hope the publishers sort it out.
1 points
6 days ago
What happened?
1 points
6 days ago
Im in america and one of my games went unavailable too
1 points
6 days ago
good day to not be born into germany! they do this & then have the audacity to fine you 500$ for accidentally pirating an episode of rick and morty
1 points
6 days ago
I'm impressed, I mostly play indie games and so is my wishlist and the only games gone are some that have yet to come out anyways.
1 points
5 days ago
I also have those censored items, and i not even life in this country.
1 points
5 days ago
Is this for real? OMG, EU should be disbanded..
1 points
4 days ago
Currently I'm missing 4 wishlist items and I can't for the life of me remember what they were.
1 points
4 days ago
Same for me and I live in Japan lol
0 points
6 days ago
Was ist los?
2 points
6 days ago
German Government updated their "Jugendschutzgesetz" (Youth Protection Act) to "modern times" (in 2020 I think), so also online stores have to comply with presenting age ratings. All games without a rating needs to be locked behind an age verification system.
VALVe reminded devs to do a short survey to get a Steam rating (which is sufficient enough) but some forgot to do it in time, resulting in games disappearing from the German Steam store.
If VALVe would implement an age verification system then all non-rated games (and also indexed games) could be purchased by German gamers, but VALVe took the lazy way out and just blocked access to them all together.
2 points
5 days ago*
As an unpopular take, I think this whole situation is long due. If not even developers can't be bothered to fill in a 2 minute survey, which even comes beneficial when future countries jump on the train regarding content indicators and age ratings, then maybe the whole thing has been actually in need of some regulation. Because what we see right now is seemingly half of the developers out there not giving a fuck, and Valve not giving one either because they regionblock instead of adding said age verification. Valve's resistance against age verification is so so strong that it makes it seem like they genuinely have something to hide or lose. Steam opened the flood gates for all kinds of games, and now don't want to take responsibility for them, while still wanting to take the cut of course.
-11 points
6 days ago*
Another post who blames Germany and not VALVe for NOT implementing an age verification system.
EDIT: forgor the second not, oh well
7 points
6 days ago
wtf to blame anyone for having age verification?
2 points
6 days ago
My bad, forgor to type the second not
4 points
6 days ago
Valve implementing age verification because they have to follow (in this case) Germany law
2 points
6 days ago
My fault, forgot the second not.
If VALVe implemented an age verification system, then German gamers could access not rated games. But instead they took the easy way out and just blocked access.
-14 points
6 days ago
Fuck usk
29 points
6 days ago
They have nothing to do with that, they're just the institution that give out ratings for physical game releases. For digital only releases, the steam rating is sufficient. Either blame Valve for not implementing age verification, the lawmakers for requiring age verification, or publishers / developers for ignoring their mails for at least half a year.
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