TASHKENT, MAY 25 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s government banned 34 computer games because it said that they were too violent and corrupted their users.

Investors and Western analysts will be concerned that the ban betrays an authoritarian streak in Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s administration but gamers in Tashkent suggested that it smacked more of a lack of understanding and incompetence.

The surprise announcement banned violent computer games such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty but also covered less aggressive games such as The Sims which focuses on parenthood.

The Uzbek government press release said that the games were a threat “to the political stability of the country, civil peace, interethnic and interreligious harmony”.

Mr Mirziyoyev has been Uzbek president since September 2016 when the authoritarian Islam Karimov, who banned pool halls, died. Mr Mirziyoyev has made a virtue of appearing less authoritarian than his predecessor, talking up the possibility of currency liberalisation and opening up to foreign investors.

In Tashkent, kiosks selling computer games continued to trade as normal with shopkeepers claiming that they hadn’t even heard of the ban. And there was also a sense in internet cafes that the government didn’t understand gaming culture.

One gamer who wished to remain anonymous said that most people download their games over the internet.

“This ban won’t have any effect,” he said. “Real gamers don’t visit internet cafes as the computers there aren’t powerful enough for the games on the banned list.”

Another gamer said the ban was “feckless” and “stupid”. He said the government had already tried and failed to ban hundreds of films as well as Valentine’s Day, Halloween and Christmas.

ENDS

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(News report from Issue No. 331, published on June 5 2017)