The government of Thailand was in an uproar after a nineteen year old man murdered a taxi driver and told police he was reenacting Grand Theft Auto. The extremely conservative Ministry of Culture has taken action by banning several video games from the country. Earlier this year the Ministry released a list of objectionable violent games which it turns out were stolen from a list put forth by a Detroit prosecutor as a warning to parents during the holiday season of 2007. Hitman, 300, Hitman: Blood Money, Killer Seven and Fifty Cent: Bulletproof have all been officially banned in Thailand, and all of these games were on that list.

What is it with conservatives and reacting without sufficient knowledge or research? The original Hitman was released in 2000, Killer Seven was released in 2005 on Gamecube, 50 Cent: Bulletproof was also released in 2005 to universally terrible reviews. Of all the games, only 300 is a recent title and had the same problem as most film tie-ins: it was terrible. Apparently Thailand’s ministries are notorious for this sort of extreme conservative backlash and rash lawmaking.