Video Games That Are Banned Around The World

You might not know much about the Football Manager series, but your one British friend can probably bore you to death with tales of staying up all night, making shrewd signings, and taking Middlesbrough F.C. to Champions League glory. Unlike other soccer games, in Football Manager you literally — as the name implies — manage a football club. We're talking about reading emails, analyzing financial spreadsheets, dealing with player training, and all the other boring parts you usually simulate in FIFA. And yet, the 2005 version of this game somehow managed to go and get itself banned.

The Ministry of Culture in China decided this management sim wasn't going to wreak any havoc and banned the game on the grounds that it posed "harm to the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity." You see, Football Manager 2005 had the audacity to recognize Taipei of Taiwan, the Hong Kong-Macao region, and Tibet as independent countries — a fact China found very uncool.

Getting your hands on an illegal copy was certainly nothing to joke about. The Ministry of Culture ordered an investigation into the illegal dissemination of the game and levied fines up to $3,600 on those caught distributing the game. Business licenses could also be revoked, and internet service providers who failed to prevent the downloading or installation of the game risked being shut down for good. Chinese gamers weren't happy, and the Ministry reported "strong protests." FOOTBALL MANAGER! FOOTBALL MANAGER!

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