If you listen to Turkish media, a Minecraft ban in that country is right around the corner.
The Turkish Family and Social Policy Ministry has found that Minecraft is too violent and might lead kids to be violent to animal, plus finding it might cause social isolation and expose kids to online bullying. And media reports say it has started proceedings to get Minecraft banned.
But according to a recent report, that might not be what happens. The ministry can’t ban Minecraft itself, it would have to convince a court to do it. And some see that as very unlikely.
Fatih Oke, a spokesman for the Turkish Embassy in Washington DC, said a ban was “out of the question,” but the game might be edited to remove killable mobs.
Mr Oke told The Christian Science Monitor: “There will be no ban.
“The game is not banned and is not going to be banned,” Oke said.
“I understand that this is what has been said in the Turkish media, but it is incorrect. The ministry can only work with complaints. In this case, I am told there were numerous complaints from parents about Minecraft and its influence on children. The function of this ministry is to raise awareness,” Oke said.
“The reports showed that Minecraft has some negative items which can influence a child’s psychology in some ways, in just some parts of the game. The ministry will now contact the production company of the game [Microsoft] and ask that those negative items be removed from the game.”
“If there is a mode in which it can just be used to work peacefully and creatively then that will be the only version they would want,” he said.
Mojang refused to comment on the controversy, but it did send a statement pointing out that if you don’t want violence in Minecraft, it doesn’t have to be there.
“If people find this level of fantasy conflict upsetting, we would encourage them to play in Creative Mode, or to enable the Peaceful setting. Both of these options will prevent monsters from appearing in the world,” Mojang said.
It seems like that might be the only way to play Minecraft in Turkey in the future, however. We have to admit this story is becoming increasingly conflicting and confusing, so we’ll keep following it to see how it all shakes out.
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