Nintendo passes on Holocaust game

A Holocaust-themed video game will not be released by in North America, but may be ready for distribution in Europe by the end of the year.

By NATHAN BURSTEIN
A Holocaust-themed video game will not be released by Nintendo in North America, but may be ready for distribution in Europe by the end of the year, the New York Times reported Monday. "At this time, there are no plans for this game to be released for any Nintendo platforms in North America," the company said in a statement, referring to a game played from the perspective of a young boy in Nazi-occupied Europe. Described by the Times as "[d]arkly illustrated and full of gruesome historical facts," the game, entitled "Imagination is No Escape," is produced by Alten8, a small British company that develops games for Nintendo UK. Luc Bernard, the game's 21-year-old creator, defended the game as educational, writing in a blog, "I hope that young children will play it," and later telling the Times, "I don't see war as a game." Bernard, whose mother is Jewish, told the American paper that his grandmother had cared for Jewish orphans after World War II. No violence is depicted by the game, and a spokeswoman for the Anti-Defamation League declined to comment because she had not seen it. Despite an online backlash against the idea - the Times quoted bloggers calling it a "disgusting concept" and "pretty creepy" - the ADL spokeswoman suggested Holocaust-themed video games could be of value. "We certainly believe that we have to find new ways of teaching lessons of the Holocaust as new technologies are being developed," she said. Although Imagination is No Escape will not appear in North America, Alten8's chief executive hopes the game will be on sale in Europe by December.