Manhunt 2 banned in the UK

[Vincent K. McMahon]

I've preordered Manhunt II on Play, will I still get it?

[King Ellis]

And so the story goes that Law and Order has been effectively banned too now. Funny how for four years absolutely nothing has been said about it but all of sudden after the various newspapers start branding it sick it gets hit with the bandzooka.

Thanks media outlets, we eagerly await your next scapegoat when crime fails to taken a sudden downturn despite the feverent action in outlawing these evil games.

Also, the original Manhunt is now out of stock on Play.com. Any publicity is good publicity.

Edited June 21, 2007 by Richard Ellis-Bextor

[therockbox]

I thought the Law and Order had been pulled from sale voluntarily, because of the inevitable uproar for using the Jamie Bulger killing as a clue?

[ZJ Penn]

I can understand the Law and Order one due to the poor taste and everything that goes with it, but the Manhunt banning is bullshit. It's one of those things that pisses me off more everytime I think about it.

[King Ellis]

Gamecentral used words to the effect that it had been banned. At least that is my recollection, it was about 6.20am when I read it so my mind has probably filled in the blanks.

Need to find an online story to clarify.

A day after the BBFC refused to give a rating to Manhunt 2, budget publisher GSP has withdrawn obscure PC TV licence Law & Order: Double Or Nothing.

Apparently the game, originally released in 2003 and sporting a 12+ age rating, features a picture of 1982 murder victim James Bulger.

Reports vary as to whether the photo is referenced by the game's script. Anyone that knows for sure please write in.

Whoops.

Edited June 21, 2007 by Richard Ellis-Bextor

[therockbox]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1271314,00.html

From that, it looks like they did it of their own accord.

[TheArsenal]

And so the story goes that Law and Order has been effectively banned too now. Funny how for four years absolutely nothing has been said about it but all of sudden after the various newspapers start branding it sick it gets hit with the bandzooka.

Thanks media outlets, we eagerly await your next scapegoat when crime fails to taken a sudden downturn despite the feverent action in outlawing these evil games.

Also, the original Manhunt is now out of stock on Play.com. Any publicity is good publicity.

Edited June 21, 2007 by TheArsenal

[therockbox]

The original Manhunt hasn't been banned, has it? I was in Virgin a week or so ago, and I'm sure I saw it with the PS2 games.

[TheArsenal]

The original Manhunt hasn't been banned, has it? I was in Virgin a week or so ago, and I'm sure I saw it with the PS2 games.

[Cactus Drags]

No, Manhunt 2 was banned, he was talking about the original Manhunt. Learn to read.

I'm surprised that the game has been banned, but only because there hasn't been a banning in so long. If I were asked what game I'd expected to be banned, Manhunt 2 would certainly top my list.

I enjoyed the original Manhunt, I can't really explain its appeal. It is a bit sick, but I guess it's no worse than watching horror films.

I was looking forward to Manhunt 2, maybe it'll end up like Thrill Kill and some pirate versionw ill end up available. I hope they find a way to release it uncut, though it seems unlikely.

EDIT: Bah, I was referring to TheArsenal, no one else had posted when I started to.

Edited June 21, 2007 by Dragsy 7-0

[The Kraig]

For anyone asking why there's a fanbase for games like Manhunt: I get a huge adrenaline rush sneaking around and fighting for my life against ridiculous odds. Even if it is just a game, you still feel like you're in danger. Manhunt provides that, it pretty much puts you into a horror film. Not to mention it had a cool storyline.

[stokeriño]

Banned video game is 'fine art'

The US publishers of a video game banned in the UK and Ireland have described it as a "fine piece of art".

Full article

Stretching it a bit there, lads.

Edited June 21, 2007 by stokeriño

[zero]

And the release is "suspended." How long until "canceled?"

From Yahoo!

Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. said Thursday it was temporarily suspending the release of the violent title "Manhunt 2" because of an ongoing ratings controversy in the United States and a ban in Britain and Ireland.

The New York-based company said in a statement that it needed time to "reviews its options" but would "continue to stand behind this extraordinary game."

"We believe in freedom of creative expression, as well as responsible marketing, both of which are essential to our business of making great entertainment," the company said.

"Manhunt 2," had been scheduled for a July 10 release in the United States on both Nintendo Co.'s Wii and the PlayStation 2 from Sony Corp.

But critics said they were concerned with the game's content, which depicts the escape of an amnesiac scientist and a psychotic killer from an asylum and their subsequent killing spree. In the Wii version, the console's motion-sensitive remote is waved around to control a virtual murder weapon.

The suspension was a setback for creator Rockstar Games, which has come under fire for its popular "Grand Theft Auto" series of urban crime games, and Take-Two, which earlier this year underwent a shareholder coup that ousted its chief executive and nearly all of its board.

A spokesman for Rockstar said he was unable to comment on the suspension. Earlier Thursday, Take-Two had issued a statement saying it was determined to bring the title to market regardless of criticism.

In the United States, the video game industry's self-regulated ratings board gave a preliminary version of "Manhunt 2" an "adults only" rating instead of the more lenient, and far more popular, "mature" rating for ages 17 and up.

Slapping "Manhunt 2" with the Entertainment Software Rating Board's most stringent rating would likely doom sales. Large retailers including Best Buy Co., Target Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. won't stock AO-rated games.

At the same time, Nintendo and Sony said their policies bar any AO-rated content on their systems. Microsoft Corp. has a similar policy, but "Manhunt 2" wasn't planned for its Xbox 360. There are no such restrictions on games for personal computers.

Rockstar was given 30 days after receiving the ESRB's suggested rating to present an appeal or make changes to the game. On Thursday evening, the official Web site for "Manhunt 2" still said "coming July 2007."

After Britain and Ireland banned the game Tuesday, Italian Communications Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Thursday that he would seek to have the sale of the game canceled there as well. In a statement he called the game "cruel and sadistic, with a squalid environment and a continuous, insistent encouragement to violence and murder."

Rockstar and Take-Two have long been a focal point for debate over the effect of video-game violence on children.

Rockstar's "Grand Theft Auto" series features characters who develop underworld careers through bank robberies, assassinations, drug-dealing, pimping and other crime. Two years ago, Rockstar was forced to replace its first edition of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" after a hacker discovered a password-protected game inside it that involved a sexual encounter.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Banned video game is 'fine art'

The US publishers of a video game banned in the UK and Ireland have described it as a "fine piece of art".

Full article

Stretching it a bit there, lads.

That's some sensational writing. <_>

[King Ellis]

Video game outrage number...something.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6253688.stm

A video game which uses a term abusive to people with disabilities is being pulled by its manufacturer.

MindQuiz, a brain training game for the Nintendo DS handheld console, was released in the UK by French software giant Ubisoft in March 2007.

However, poor performance in one section sees the player labelled in an offensive manner.

The company has apologised "to anyone who was offended by the game" and said it will withdraw it.

"As soon as we were made aware of the issue we stopped distribution of the product and are now working with retailers to pull the game off the market," a spokesperson said.

"The game was developed in Japan, and we unfortunately did not pick up on the offending word in our quality assurance. We are currently working with the developer to find a way to rectify the issue."

The problem emerged after a Belfast woman contacted BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show.

Nicola told the show she had been playing the game - aimed at ages three and above - to pass the time while in hospital giving birth to her baby son, Austin, four weeks ago.

It was a fraught time for the young mother, who had lost her other son, Logan, just before Christmas.

The three-year-old - who suffered from cerebral palsy and was severely brain damaged - passed away after contracting pneumonia.

Nicola was shocked when she had performed poorly at one part of the game and it rated her efforts in a manner derogatory to the disabled.

"I thought it was absolutely appalling that a word like this should be used to describe someone who has not achieved very well," she said.

"My daddy also has cerebral palsy and he is in his mid-50s and this is a word that really offends my dad."

It is thought the word used is 'spastic'. I think you'll find it's scope.

[therockbox]

That's retarded.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

....Which would be the reason why we had to take it off our shelves today.

[VerbalPuke]

Christ, people need to develop thicker skin and quit getting bent out of shape over bullshit.

[Cactus Drags]

The game came out in fucking March. You'd think if it offended people, it would've done it earlier.

[King Ellis]

....Which would be the reason why we had to take it off our shelves today.

eBay those suckers!

"SUPER RARE OFFENSIVE GAME! BRAND NEW + SEALED! SPASTICS! L@@K!"

Also, does anyone have the poster for that Burnout game that got banned? Wouldn't mind seeing what the fuss is about on that one.

Edited July 1, 2007 by Richard Ellis-Bextor