Apart from the illegal symbology, is the Collector's Edition manual actually useful? :DL

The UK version has a printed manual and it's more useful than the PDF version, as the graphics are higher resolution - the PDF is just awfully blurry. The actual 'content' is the same, so not really useful no :DL. No idea what the strategy guide contains... I heard it's not so good.

So how do they do in Germany with pictures from WW2 ?

Pretend it did not happen ? That flags were just red with a white
circle ?

This is close to the red line of rewriting history...

Denying history and truth is not a step in the direction of
intellectual and moral rightness.

What matters is stuff to be historically correct. I really feel
uneasy when some people (a minority) comes and tells you
what you can say/write/show about something, a part of
history. There's something wrong there. You wonder what
will be under control next.

Actual historical archives I believe are exempt from the law. It has to do with selling items that may include the symbology - aka - making money now off of something with a connection to the symbol.

Skybird or another of our german friends could probably clarify for us.

Guten Abend,

page 15 of the German CE "Bible".....

http://german-freelancer-club.de/files/Swastika.JPG


UBISOFT called back all Collectors Edition from the stores here in Germany......and a lot of people used this opportunity to get their money back. :D

Actually everybody is searching for a swastika in Assassins Creed II... :har:

The Swastika is a so called "anticonstitutional symbol" and therefore prohibited. It's allwed to show it in coherence with "social or historical reconnaissance".

Ahoi,

i just came home to Wilhelmshaven from Trondheim, sailing with the german Collectors-Edition in germany :cool:

So i still can play that version in germany. Haven't got any EMail from Ubisoft yet but Amazon (where i bought it) sent me an EMail: I can send the game back for money refund if i want.
Also Amazon gave me a 5Eur gift coupon for that embarrassing circumstances :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strafgesetzbuch_%C2%A7_86a

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbotsgesetz_1947

The restriction of swastikas in public were imposed upon us by the Allied Control Council in 1945 and had to be included in the new republic laws.

exceptions:
Im Germany, the display of swastikas is allowed for civic education, in art or science, research and reporting regarding historical events, or history.

Computer games are categorized here as a toys and therefore not fall under these exceptions.

As for topic:
Ubisoft did not deactivate any german copy of the game.
They have stopped only the distribution of the CE in Germany and offers the customers who have already purchased this CE, to return this version and get money refund if they wish.

IIRC, history books in Germany have swastikas for educational purposes. If they start removing them from everywhere, it would be like using 1984 as an instruction manual.

So, swastikas in any form in games are forbidden in Germany, like the blue swastika finnish air force used during WWII and which had nothing to do with nazis?

yes i am in Germany

i have the Collector's Edition

and that Ubisoft just deactivate all german copies of SH5 is abosluty not true and big nonsens !

i have the game from amazon and received this letter....

this letter say that you can give back the game if you like it...and then you received a Coupon therfore....

thats all....

maybe you can read/translate the letter....



Lieber Amazon Kunde,

Amazon hat eine wichtige Nachricht zu einem von Ihnen bestellten Produkt:

Sie haben bei uns das Spiel 'Silent Hunter 5 - Collector's Edition' (ASIN xxxxxx) gekauft (Bestellnummer siehe Betreff).

Dazu hat uns der Hersteller des Artikels 'Silent Hunter 5 - Collector's Edition' (ASIN xxxxxxx) folgendes mitgeteilt:

Es kam bei diesem Titel zu einem Produktionsfehler. Aufgrund dieses Fehlers enthält die ausgelieferte Version verfassungsfeindliche Symbole, die in Deutschland nicht verbreitet werden dürfen. Wir bedauern diese Unannehmlichkeit außerordentlich und bieten Ihnen an, Ihr Exemplar gegen Gutschrift an uns zurück zu senden. Leider können wir Ihnen keinen Austausch anbieten, da der Artikel aktuell nicht mehr produziert wird. Wenn der Artikel ein Geschenk war, bitten wir Sie, den Beschenkten darüber zu informieren.

Sobald Ihre Rücksendung bei uns eingebucht ist, senden wir Ihnen eine E-Mail, in der wir Ihnen die Gutschrift über den Warenwert und das Rückporto bestätigen.

Für die entstandene Unannehmlichkeit möchten wir uns außerdem mit einem Gutschein von Amazon in Höhe von 5 € entschuldigen, den Sie bis 31.12.2010 einlösen können. Sie finden den Gutschein weiter unten in dieser E-Mail.

Bitte benutzen Sie unser Online-Rücksendezentrum:

http://www.amazon.de/ruecksendezentrum

Dort leiten wir Sie Schritt für Schritt durch den Rückgabeprozess. Sie finden im Online-Rücksendezentrum auch eine ausdruckbare Rücksendungsübersicht, die Sie bitte Ihrer Sendung beilegen.

************************************************** *****************

Und hier ist Ihr Gutscheincode:
Einlösungscode: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(Für die Bestellung erforderlich!)

Betrag pro Gutschein: EUR 5,00
gültig bis: 31.12.2010
Produktgruppen: Software und Videogames
NICHT gültig für Bestellungen bei Amazon.de Marketplace!

************************************************** *****************

(Dies ist eine automatisch versendete E-Mail. Bitte antworten Sie nicht auf dieses Schreiben, da die E-Mail-Adresse nur zum Versenden, nicht aber zum Empfang von E-Mails eingerichtet ist.)

Freundliche Grüße

Kundenservice Amazon.de

Translation:

Dear Amazon Customer,

Amazon has an important message for you regarding one of our products you ordered: You have purchased from us the game 'Silent Hunter 5 - Collector's Edition' (see invoice for order number).
Regarding this, the manufacturer of the item 'Silent Hunter 5 - Collector's Edition' has provided the following information:
This title has suffered a production error. Because of this error, the delivered version contains unconstitutional symbols which may not be distributed in Germany.
We regret this inconvenience severely, and offer you the option of returning your copy in return for a balance in your favor. Unfortunately, we cannot offer you a replacement, as the item is no longer being produced. If the item was a present, we ask that you inform the giver of this.
As soon as we have registered your return of the item, we will send you an e-mail in which we will state the amount of balance in your favor, amounting to the value of the item plus shipping costs incurred.
In return for this inconvenience, we present you with an additional voucher with a value of 5 Euro, which will be valid until 12/31/2010. You will find your voucher further below in this mail.

Please use the online returns center:
http://www.amazon.de/ruecksendezentrum

There, we'll lead you step by step through the return process. In the online returns center, you will also find a printable overview of your return to help you keep track of your return.

***********

And here is your voucher:
Redeem code: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
(used during ordering)

Value of voucher: 5 Euro.
Valid until 12/31/2010
Product group: Software and videogames.
NOT valid for orders on the Amazon.de marketplace.

***********

(This E-Mail was automatically sent. Please do not reply to this message, as the E-Mail address is only used for sending, not for reception of E-Mail.)

Friendly Greetings

Customer service Amazon.de

More or less :)

Yet another example of UbiSoft's brilliant planning::yeah:

First they screw up the game itself :06:

Then they irritate their most loyal repeat-purchase demographic :damn:

Then they screw up the server support :o

Now they run afoul of German law about swastikas. You'd think that was something with which Europeans would be intimately familiar. :down:


These are career-ending mistakes at most businesses. :up:

Unconstitutional symbols...:har:

Yea I know its a translation but it just struck me as being funny.

welcome to the dictarship of new DRM, yo pay the money but you only play when ubi wants

i think that it have another danger, if ubi don´t want give more support to the game, like servers and patches for a not very popular niche game, deciding shutting down without non DRM patch

whit this also ubi saves a lot of bandwidth in DRM serves just in a time of problems with connections.

This is beyond lame
 

Ok, I understand the stance to not promote this blot on Germany's history. But this is just lame.

Historically these symbols flew EVERYWHERE!!

Does Japan hide from their symbol of the rising sun in their games dealing with WWII? The same Japan that has a past of being VERY brutal, and killing many thousands if not millions of innocents in horrible and vicious ways. No, they just seemed to have learned to fight by putting down their swords, and picking up their briefcases.

How about America and the slavery supporting Rebel flag in Civil war games? That symbol is still around, and models of Rebel vessels have that flag as part of the kit. Yes there are those idiots that say " The south shall rise again", but so what? If I have a model of the HN Hunley, I WANT THAT FLAG ON IT'S MAST!! Not an orange flag with no other details.

Under the Union Jack, MANY atrocities took place the effects of which several countries are still feeling the effects of. Yet that flag flies proudly.

Germany, accept that your country like all countries has a history of pure evil in your past. Stop hiding. Just never ever, ever, let a scum ball like Hitler and the Nazis at the helm of your great country.

Realize that intolerance in most of its forms are evil, and do nothing for human kind.

Negating the symbol in historical games is not a way of doing this!!!

Before people say, "well the Nazis were responsible for millions of innocent deaths" Let's not forget Stalin is recorded to have killed MORE of his own people, under the Red Star. Is that symbol along with the Hammer and Sickle negated in Games in Russia? I don't believe so.

German government seems to be paying attention to the symptom rather than the problem. IMO.

Swastikas are not even an invention of the nazis. It's probably some stupid law that was imposed by the post war american protectorate and that has endured up to this time.

Here in Italy, it's against the law to promote fascism but the symbols were not removed because they do have their place in history. Besides, it would be pretty stupid because fascists just reused a lot of classic symbols which are everywhere; even the so called "roman salute" was a common way in the past to hail someone and in a less strict form it survived up to these days.

Speaking about symbols of fascism, you can even visit freely Benito Mussolini tomb: it's guarded 24/7 by volunteers in high uniform (most of them are former army members).

And I notice, except for a special few historians, people completely ignore stalins atrocities on his own people, and focus solely on the camps in Germany...

Heck, you'd get a pat on the back for wearing a murderer like Che on a t-shirt, right?

Even I think this is silly, and I won't even play a u-boat in a game cause it makes me feel creepy, lol.