Its hard being a video game fan in Germany, and it's about to get a whole lot worse. Germany is already known for its extreme censorship laws; it most recently banned the Xbox 360 title Gears of War for being too violent - a game which many would consider to be not very violent at all. Most games that get an "M for Mature" rating in the United States games aren't even rated in Germany, meaning that they are effectively "adult-only" games.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is the most recent game in the United States to receive an AO rating, and even that was only after the "Hot Coffee" mini-game was discovered hidden in the game's code. Even the zombie killing game, Dead Rising, is considered to be too violent in Germany, because zombie violence was deemed too much like real people violence.

Well things are potentially going to get a whole lot worse in Germany, as the British newspaper, The Guardian, is reporting that a law has been proposed to fine or jail those found guilty of "cruel violence on humans or human-looking characters." This applies not only to people who play the games, but also to the developers who create them and the retailers who sell the games. A guilty verdict would mean a maximum of 12 months in prison.

In November, an 18-year old student in Germany went on a shooting rampage at his school, wounding six people before eventually killing himself. Back in 2002, another German student shot 13 people at his school. The German media is blaming video games such as Counter-Strike for the shootings, despite there being no known link.

It should be noted that Crytek, developer of first-person shooters such as Far Cry and the recently delayed Crysis, currently reside in Germany. It is unknown at this time exactly how Crytek would fare if this legislation would come to pass, although the developer has already hinted at possibly relocating to a different country.