Rhyney: When will Wolfenstein 2009 be released on GoG?
There was a license issue, since it was published by Activision and the Name rights went to Bethesda, but it is both Microsoft now.
Or is it already available on GoG, just not here in Germany?
If so, it should be eligible for a removal request from the Index (for a small lawyer fee i guess), which is possible after 10 years (automatically after 25). Even the confiscated status can be undone, since a case of precedence exists since 2017.
The story, if you don't know:
- In Germany we have a law that prohibits the use of certain symbols that are associated with dehumanizing practices. Except if these are used for educational or artistic purposes.
- In 1994, a neo-nazi was prosecuted for distributing illegal copies of Wolfenstein 3D. The very old Judge did not understand what a video game is and considered it a means of propaganda (which is ridiculous since you shoot these guys, not help them). So he ruled that game to be considered confiscated.
- I addition to age-restriction, certain media that is put on index-lists has some restrictive rules in Germany. Index List A means, it may not be advertised or sold openly, while List B is basically a shortcut list for confiscation. Confiscation does not mean that the police will raid every Gamers place to take away Wolfenstein. Quite the opposite, it only means you are not allowed to sell it or hand it out within German borders, i.e. you need to keep it no matter what.
- In 2017, a German magazine website (I think it was Spiegel), created a browser-based fighting game with politicians being Mortal Kombat like characters. It featured a combo move with arms and legs being held in a positions that resembles the cross.
- Some guy who campaigned for games being treated like the art they are, used the opportunity to sue the Spiegel with referring to the precedence of 1994.
- The prosecuting attorney rejected the case, reminding that the German institute of art did declare games as a form of art about a decade earlier (while this did not affect the law yet), which made him declare the even earlier case from 1994 out-of-time.
- This event was precedence enough for the German USK (a law-binding age verification organisation) to decide that, given the context is not dehumanizing, a game that has these symbols as an artistic choice, can be verified for any age that game is appropriate otherwise.The age-verification also means it can not be put on the index and is very unlikely to be confiscated.
- The English non-altered version of Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny, The New Order, Old Blood and New Colossus were released in Germany shortly after, also no longer being geoblocked.
- I think it is time to rerelase RtCW and Wolfenstein 2009 in Germany and on GoG as well.
Wolfenstein 2009 is not on Gog or any storefront as far as I am aware do to legal issues and thus is kinda in legal limbo right now
