This could be really useful. If this was done by other big content sites (Youtube for example) then a search bot could build up an index of banned resources. A repository of burned books.
Did they not want to be associated with blatant censorship? That sounds pejorative but I mean it literally.
It is blatant censorship, but it's either that or the German government closing down you operations in Germany.
But you might be right that it's about advertising the product.
Makes me wonder if we should have a robots.txt per locale.
Edit: The law actually clearly states that a shop must not have the game on display anywhere a minor could see it
You are by the way the way totally allowed to sell these games. Without any advertising that is. In a classic shop that meant you keep it under the counter and if someone over 18 asks for it by name, you sell it. No idea how that would translate to an online shop.
But long story short: It seems very hard to interpret returning 451 to a url the user already has to know in advance as advertising.
I am pretty sure that if a minor asks for that game in a store you are also allowed to say "no, you are too young for this" and are not required to lie "what, no, never heard of that" ^^.
Wouldn't allowing users to search for the game by name be equivalent?
That would translate to using the age verification of the eID ;)
For a webshop that effectively a ban isn't it?
PayPal, EC Cards, and the eID system can do 18yo verification online.
Fucking GEMA.