Turkey’s Family Ministry launches probe into Minecraft video game

Meltem Özgenç ANKARA

Turkey’s Family and Social Policies Ministry has launched an investigation into video game “Minecraft” on grounds that it encourages violence, especially against woman.The investigation aims at inspecting whether or not the game contains motives to trigger violence in its players.Minecraft is a video game that allows the player to make designs with cubes in 2D or 3D. The game has several modes and in some of the modes, the player needs to survive in order to proceed with the game. To survive through all of the various levels one may fight with monsters, create handmade weapons and use them. If the player cannot survive and dies in any of the levels, he/she has to start the game all over again.The range of monsters the player has to fight in order to keep playing include zombies, skeletons, spiders, witches, giants, dragons, guardians and killer bunnies.In the higher levels of the game the player may need to kill women, allies and even friends for survival reasons.The ministry has received many complaints regarding the violent elements, especially against women, in the video game and thus launched an inspection.If the ministry’s investigation decides that the game encourages violence, the ministry will proceed by opening a law suit against the game for a country-wide ban.Minecraft, which had been sold to Microsoft for $2.5 billion, had also caused debate in the U.S. for containing elements of violence.