'Minecraft' Could Be Banned In Turkey Pending Investigation Into Its 'Violent' Nature

Coders Rest In The Office Of Swedish Company Mojang In Stockholm — Coders rest in the Mojang company office in Stockholm January 21, 2013. A pool table, a pinball machine, board games and Lego dot the offices of Mojang, the small Swedish company behind the wildly popular Minecraft video game, and one of its founders is wearing a tuxedo and purple tie on a recent "formal Friday". The atmosphere reflects the independent spirit that has contributed to the raw identity of the game that has just sold 20 million copies. The founders want to keep it that way. Mojang, the Swedish word for gadget, has so far resisted selling to a bigger player or listing on the stock market even though that could mean monster payoffs for the 25-person staff and funding to expand dramatically its games. Picture taken January 21, 2013. Reuters/Ints Kalnins

Of all the games that could potentially get docked for being violent, "Minecraft" usually won't make it to anyone's top-ten list by any stretch of imagination. The game, after all, is a benign sandbox game with enough creative and educational merit to be recommended for children as young as seven in Europe. However, the game just might be too violent for the tastes of the Turkish administration. Apparently, the government of Turkey is investigating whether "Minecraft" is too violent for Turkish children.

According to a BBC report, Turkey's Family and Social Policies Minister, Aysenur Islam, has ordered an inquiry into violence-related allegations against the game. The governmental action was set off after the minister was informed about the game's alleged violent nature by a videogame journalist. The scribe told Islam the game rewards players for murdering other players, which includes women. The journalist then asked her what the ministry intended to do about children supposedly exposed to violence by the game.

However, journalists from other publications in Turkey don't agree with that notion. Kaan Gezer from Leadergamer is one such journalist who believes the Turkish government doesn't have a valid reason to be worried for the country's children.

"I have never seen a kid grabbing a sword and attacking people because of Minecraft," says Gezer, according to an excerpt from the website transcribed by BBC. "Stories like this cause the video game industry in Turkey to stall or even deteriorate."

According to VG247, the Turkish gaming website managed to obtain the opinions of the three psychologists on whether the governmental investigation into the risks posed by "Minecraft" to the mental well-being of children is warranted. One of the experts, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Professor Dr Emine Sword Zinner, described the sandbox title as a survival game in the vein of popular reality television series "Survivor." Dr Zinner, however, didn't "see a thing wrong" with the game.

The other two psychologists didn't agree with Dr Zinner's opinion. Clinical Psychologist Alanur Ozalp, who was also on the panel, concluded games such as "Minecraft" have a negative impact on children. The final panel member, Koç University Professor Dr Cigdem Kagitcibasi, too believes such games teach violence and aggression to children.

Turkey's ongoing investigation into "Minecraft" comes as a surprise because elsewhere in the world the game is, in fact, used as a teaching aid. It is believed the game could face a nationwide ban in Turkey if the investigation successfully links it to violence in children.

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