Some local retailers, including the Norwegian division of Co-op, have decided to stop selling "violent" video games in the aftermath of the Oslo massacre. There are 51 titles on the list, bizarrely enough including World of Warcraft.

Other titles include Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Source, Homefront and Sniper: Ghost Warrior. The rationale behind these no longer being sold is that Anders Breivik, the man responsible for the recent Oslo atrocity, cited them as games he used for "training" purposes.

Things to be clear about before the hysteria spreads. Firstly this is not a government decreed ban but rather just a move taken by the stores, as is their right to decide what they stock or don't. Not all retailers have taken the same measures and the games are still available in some stores.

The other thing to be clear about is the ban is not permanent but rather that the stores will "think carefully" about when it is appropriate to bring them back for public consumption.

While the ban might be seen as sensitive given Breivik's comments it also must be noted that given he had plagiarised most of his now infamous "manifesto", giving his comments any credence is really providing him with too much of a platform. Allowing his actions to impinge on any freedoms, even ones as trivial as this, seems to be reactionary rather than responsible.