Manhunt 2 banned in the UK

[stokeriño]

Censors ban 'brutal' video game

British censors have banned a violent video game from the UK for the first time in a decade.

The video game Manhunt 2 was banned for its "unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying", the British Board of Film Classification said.

It means the Manhunt sequel cannot be legally supplied anywhere in the UK.

The parents of a Leicester schoolboy who blamed the original game for the murder of their 14-year-old son said they were "absolutely elated".

The original Manhunt game was given an 18 classification in 2003.

Manhunt 2, for PS2 and Nintendo Wii consoles, is made by Rockstar Games.

The company has six weeks to submit an appeal.

The last game to be refused classification was Carmageddon in 1997.

David Cooke, director of the BBFC, said: "Manhunt 2 is distinguishable from recent high-end video games by its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone.

"There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game."

'Morally irresponsible'

The original Manhunt game caused huge controversy and was blamed for the murder of Stefan Pakeerah.

The boy was stabbed and beaten to death in Leicester in February 2004.

His parents believe the killer, Warren LeBlanc, 17, was inspired by the game.

Stefan's mother, Giselle Pakeerah, had condemned the sequel, branding the gaming industry "morally irresponsible".

"We have been campaigning against these games for a long time and the BBFC made the right decision," she said.

Police said robbery was the motive behind the attack on Stefan in Stokes Wood Park on 26 February 2004 - and not the video game blamed by Stefan's parents.

Manhunt's maker Rockstar North has always insisted its games are geared towards mature audiences and are marketed responsibly.

BBC.co.uk

I actually find myself mildly surprised that it's the first one in a decade - though if one were to be picked out as potentially bannable material, the Manhunt series does stand out somewhat (more than the likes of GTA at least). I suspect it wouldn't have been were it not for the Leicester death, but that's the way these things go.

Edited June 19, 2007 by stokeriño

[MalaCloudy Black]

Do you think it'll honestly keep people from buying it, though? Surely, you could order from out of country and the like, right?

[Dingle]

That's fucking ridiculous. Firstly, whilst I don't enjoy playing Manhunt, the game is for over 18's and if kids UNDER the age of 18 are being influenced then it lies in the parents fault. Then again, at that age, hell even whn I got GTA III when I was around 14 or maybe younger, It never had an influence on me. To go even more extreme, my girlfriends brother is 7, and whilst I disagree with it, he plays San Andreas and never once has he got the idea to use anything on the game and he's one of the most easily swayed kids I know.

To me it's stupid to ban a game for the reasons stated even with what Manhunt is all about.

[Maxx]

What? You expect parents to actually be parents and monitor what their kids are doing?

Thats madness.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Also this has no place here but looking up the features of Manhunt II holy shit, this is going to surpass Manhunt in so many ways.

[Chris the Human]

I never got a chance to play the original Manhunt, but I remember it got a lot of negative press down here. Saw a mate choking someone out with a plastic bag once and thought it looked a little brutal. But it's a game for over eighteens and it's still a game - I don't get where government agencies get off telling people what they can and can't look at. It's fine to put restrictions into place to protect children, but adults should be able to make their own decisions when it comes to stuff like this.

That doesn't mean I'm advocating legalised snuff videos

[TOG]

Manhunt 2 getting banned so early is just like free advertising anyway.

[Scott McFly]

From what I gathered about the original, it was pretty brutal stuff. Not just wanton violence and killing a la GTA, but the whole atmosphere and setting gave off a very disturbing vibe. From what I understand there's no one thing about Manhunt 2 that's caused it to get banned, it's the package as a whole. I'm surprised to hear it's effectively been banned, but if any game was gonna do it, it's this one. I don't think the whole 'kids were playing the game' comes into effect to be honest, as apparantly the first game was only borderline accepted, and if the sequel takes it one step further, then that's gonna push it over the line.

[Iain76er]

I'm actually going to take the BBFC's side on this. This months Edge had a preview on it, and on the Wii it sounded like it had the potential to be a fun game. I then checked on the Gamefaqs messageboard, and there were loads of people who seemed excited at the possibility of doing some of the gruesome things avaliable, such as ripping off people's testicles (apparently this was confirmed by IGN, I'd heard nothing about it before). That just sits very strangely with me. Hopefully by banning it, Rockstar can tone it down a bit. Decapitations in video games get banned a lot over here (e.g. Ninja Gaiden), and one of the things you can do is attach heads to your belt, so I don't really know why Rockstar expected to get away with such extreme content.

I really do hope that Rockstar do edit it to take out the worst parts and it is a good game. Obviously it will be pretty easy to get from the rest of Europe, so if its amazing and not be resubmitted I'll get it from there.

I don't think this has anything to do with the reaction from the first Manhunt. The BBFC don't fall into following undeserved controversy (video nasties was an act of parliament wasn't it?) and in the murder case Manhunt was not found to be involved whatsoever with the murder, just Daily Mail and Express hysteria, so there was no legal reason for the BBFC to be cautious.

[TOG]

I hope that they don't edit it at all; because i'm an adult who wants to play the game, and I am the target market.

[MalaCloudy Black]

such as ripping off people's testicles (apparently this was confirmed by IGN, I'd heard nothing about it before).

I haven't heard anything about this and I highly doubt it's true, but I do know that IGN confirmed that you can wear people's heads on your belt and use them as distractions or as a weapon.

[zero]

The testicles bit is true, but with graphical limitations of the Wii and PS2, I doubt you're going to see much.

Either way, I don't see how anyone can defend the banning of any form of media. That scares the shit out of me and I know it's just a matter of time before it happens over here. The idea of the government banning a piece of entertainment from being sold anywhere in the country is far more disturbing than someone wanting to fake kill someone in a video game.

[The Kraig]

I'll still get it...and it'll probably be cheaper as an import from Europe or Australia. A winner is us.

[Vilge Duin]

Banning of anything in modern Western Society (or honestly anywhere) where the virtues of freedom are extolled is borderline fascist.

It's sad, and shouldn't be done. Regardless of what people may think of the game (ratings are there for a reason, along with retailer guidelines) it shouldn't be banned. This traverses a thin line toward censoring anything that is deemed "not appropriate for public consumption".

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

As I constantly have the threat of a prison sentence and a hefty fine hanging over me for selling games to underage children this kinda thing is really important to me.

I've had parents coming in and buying Manhunt and then handing it to their 7 year old kid. It REALLY REALLY angers me and frankly such parents should be given the same punishment as I'd receive (year in prison, £6000 fine).

If you're 18 it's up to you. Irresponsible salesfolk and parents are dragging everyone down.

Still, for me Manhunt's stupid and pointless and disgusting anyway.

[TheArsenal]

As I constantly have the threat of a prison sentence and a hefty fine hanging over me for selling games to underage children this kinda thing is really important to me.

I've had parents coming in and buying Manhunt and then handing it to their 7 year old kid. It REALLY REALLY angers me and frankly such parents should be given the same punishment as I'd receive (year in prison, £6000 fine).

If you're 18 it's up to you. Irresponsible salesfolk and parents are dragging everyone down.

Still, for me Manhunt's stupid and pointless and disgusting anyway.

[therockbox]

When I worked at Argos a woman came into return GTA, because "she didn't realise it was so violent."

I told her it was an 18, and then she complained that we didn't let her know that. When I pointed out it was on the box, at least three times, she then chucked in "I don't really look for ratings."

People need to get the idea of games being for kids out of their thick skulls, it really pisses me off.

[Your Mom]

I think the point is he is angry parents would do that at all. I know I for one thought Manhunt disgusting and don't want anything to do with the sequel.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

As I constantly have the threat of a prison sentence and a hefty fine hanging over me for selling games to underage children this kinda thing is really important to me.

I've had parents coming in and buying Manhunt and then handing it to their 7 year old kid. It REALLY REALLY angers me and frankly such parents should be given the same punishment as I'd receive (year in prison, £6000 fine).

If you're 18 it's up to you. Irresponsible salesfolk and parents are dragging everyone down.

Still, for me Manhunt's stupid and pointless and disgusting anyway.

Aren't you covered byt he fact you are selling it to the parent? What they choose to do with it (whether it be keep it or hand it over to a child) is their responsibilty rathert han yours. Isn't it?

This is how it works.

7 year old child comes into the store, slaps down Manhunt on the counter. I say no chance.

7 year old child comes back into store with an adult he claims is his mother, slaps down Manhunt on the counter. I have to serve the adult. Adult immediately hands game to kid. Kid sticks his finger up at me.

Yeah it's legal but it's bloody disgraceful. Parents should step up to their responsibility and start acting as parents and not "friends".

[zero]

Regardless of that situation, if a parent feels something is appropriate for their child, then that's their decision to make. I was watching horror movies at age five and take your pick - any of those are far worse than what you'd see in Manhunt. It's a parent's decision; if they're ignorant to the material, then that's their fault as well. What bugs me is we need to regulate things like this, but we let any jackass pop out a kid.