One of the more disturbing trends I’ve seen in worldwide gaming news lately is more and more countries banning certain games for being violent. Dead Space was the most recent big game to undergo such scrutiny, with the survival horror title being prohibited in China, Germany, and Japan. Now Gears of War 2, the upcoming sequel to one of 2006’s biggest games that’s sure to sell a bazillion copies, has also been banned in Germany and Japan, according to GamePolitics.

The Germany ban isn’t much of a surprise, given that the first Gears was also banned in that country. However, once again, the fact that Japan would outlaw Gears of War 2 is pretty shocking. Not only was the first game in the series a hit in Japan, it was one of the first 360 games to be a big seller in the country. So what’s up with the sudden conservative approach to video games, Japan? No reason has been given for the ban just yet, but there is one thing we do know: these countries are going to be missing out big time come Emergence Day 2.

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