BBFC ban Manhunt 2 from UK release

[BoyBach]

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.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/6767623.stm


Only the importers will win.

 

[2nyRiggz]

Sounds like stalking fun....I'll be buying this for the PSP(portable stalking)



Bless

 

[Sky Blue]

Only the importers will win.

and with the Wii Freeloader being a sham, it's a bad week for UK Wii owners.

Importing a US Wii has always been the way to go.

 

[0098386]

Wouldn't importing a copy from France, or better still, Jersey work? AFAIK all European PAL games are pretty much the same save for the initial language settings.

*I haven't imported a game from mainland Europe.

Anyways. I want Manhunt 2 on the Wii. I bet that game is awesome is motion control

 

[MRU]

Only the importers will win.

Not on the wii they wont, damn region locked machine


In fairness the games sole purpose is to caused outrage, so it's done it. If rockstar want to keep pouring water down the hole - making gutter fodder gaming, then they are welcome to it.. but seeing as they aren't doing too well financially at the moment - they might want to actually start making 'games' rather than slasher crap.

 

[Fearless Leader]

If only this had happened 2 months ago, I would have had an excellent English final.

I dislike this banning business, any what so ever. Is this one much different from the first?

 

[pcypert]

I'll tell you guys if it's any good

They said they've developed specific wii mote kills...nasty, but sounds interesting. Plus I'll be covered if I really do kill anyone...can blame the lifelike Wiimote actions and the video game

Paul

 

[0098386]

I don't understand how this can be banned, yet Jekyll can sit comfortably on BBC1 on a Saturday evening.

Are games marked higher because of their interactive nature?

 

[greatdevourer]

I don't understand how this can be banned, yet Jekyll can sit comfortably on BBC1 on a Saturday evening.

Are games marked higher because of their interactive nature?

Yes. You mentioned the probable reason why this was banned yourself - the control scheme. While pressing buttons to kill people might annoy JT and friends, I can imagine a lot more people being distressed at a game where you actually hack and slash at people

 

[kakkoiimac]

i dont think the motion controls had anything to do with the banning of the game... if i am not mistaken, i believe that the the PS2 version is also banned.

I dont think that the games should be banned...i say let the marketplace decide and if people want to buy disgusting content let them do it. I mean, there are movies that are just as bad or worse that are shown in movie theaters...but that is just my two cents.

 

[zap2]

Oh Snap....AO for use in USA(Adults only, 18 or older to buy, for sure stores will ask for ID, and Walmart, Target, and other stores won't even sell the game!)


http://kotaku.com/gaming/breaking/manhunt-2-rated-adults-only-270337.php

Take-Two just confirmed with Kotaku that the Entertainment Software Ratings Board gave both the PS2 and Wii versions of Manhunt 2 a preliminary rating of Adults Only, which would essentially bar it from all of the Wal-Marts and Targets of the world.

Thats crazy, first game for console that ever got this rating, minus GTA San Andreas..but that was for the Hot Coffee Mod, and was redone to get rid of it.

Also this is for blood and guts, GTA was for sex.

Needless to say, I'm eager to play this game on the Wii!!

 

[2nyRiggz]

They are only making people want the game more....sky rocket sales. I enjoyed the first one..not for the violence but the story and from what I read this one is more brutal(maybe thats why they didnt bring it to x360mPS3)

I'm really not into the gore but I am into the story of the game. I'm not thrilled about the ripping of balls kill.



Bless

 

[applekid]

Must be pretty damn violent if it's getting AO in the US and a ban from the UK entertainment board. I think the rating boards are just slightly paranoid at the moment, granted I have never played the first Manhunt.

Anyways, a nice image change for Nintendo if we see a Wii release, dontchya think?

 

[sikkinixx]

I'm totally un-PC, and not much really bugs me, but Manhunt 2 is a little too much imho. The first one was kinda cool, created a lot of "AWWW DUDE!!! DID YOU SEE THAT ****?!?!?!" but the stuff i read you can do in the new one is a little over the top. Cutting off some guys balls with pliers using the wiimote? Maybe I'm *gasp* growing up?! *nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooo*

I know Nintendo wants to shed the 'kidz-only' image but hosting Hostel:The Game, is a weird way of doing it.

 

[zap2]

Cutting off some guys balls with pliers using the wiimote? Maybe I'm *gasp* growing up?! *nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooo*

They've finally gotten to you man!

 

[sikkinixx]

They've finally gotten to you man!

next thing you know im standing around the water cooler talking about those 'damn kids and their loud music' *ahhhh*

 

[steamboat26]

I don't wanna generalize, but it seems like the UK has always been less offended by things of this nature compared to the U.S.
but now- banning manhunt 2, and earlier, the church being offended by a level in a video game. What's going on?

 

[0098386]

Best I can make of it-

Manchester Cathedral wasn't too keen (why o' why do folk keep forgetting the location of that, it's key to the whole dispute) on R:FoM because it's an FPS with a level based in the highest gun crime city in the UK.

As for Manhunt. I guess it's because of the number of violent murders that are rising in the cities. The numbers of stabbings, shootings or just plain old "a body was found" are really on the increase. Especially London with stabbings.

 

[Coded-Dude]

The game was rated AO due to the Wii version's motion control.
Using a stabbing motion in-game is apparently more violent than pressing a button....
However, the rating is apparetnly going to cross over to the other versions as well.(PSP/DS)

 

[steamboat26]

Best I can make of it-

Manchester Cathedral wasn't too keen (why o' why do folk keep forgetting the location of that, it's key to the whole dispute) on R:FoM because it's an FPS with a level based in the highest gun crime city in the UK.

As for Manhunt. I guess it's because of the number of violent murders that are rising in the cities. The numbers of stabbings, shootings or just plain old "a body was found" are really on the increase. Especially London with stabbings.

I get the point that you are making, but the U.S has the highest crime rate in almost every category- kinda sad, either shows we don't care, or we have been desensitized to violence and crime.

 

[takao]

in germany Bioshock got a 18+ rating already (which means more difficult to buy) and manhunt very likely won't make it into the stores at all (getting confiscated and all

luckily i'm in austria where we always can pick up the games

 

[MRU]

Rockstar Respond... by rubbing their hands in glee

Rockstar Responds to Manhunt 2 Furore in UK
Developer "disappointed" with BBFC's decision to reject Manhunt 2 for classification.
by Rob Burman, IGN UK

UK, June 20, 2007 - Rockstar Games has responded to the BBFC's rejection of Manhunt 2 for certification in the UK, making sale of the game at retail illegal in this country. Rockstar states that it "emphatically disagrees" with the decision, arguing the Board failed to consider Manhunt 2's intended target adult audience.

"While we respect the authority of the classification board and will abide by the rules", a spokesperson for Rockstar Games stated, "we emphatically disagree with this particular decision. Manhunt 2 is an entertainment experience for fans of psychological thrillers and horror. The subject matter of this game is in line with other mainstream entertainment choices for adult consumers.

"We respect those who have different opinions about the horror genre and video games as a whole, but we hope they will also consider the opinions of the adult gamers for whom this product is intended. We believe all products should be rated to allow the public to make informed choices about the media and art they wish to consume. The stories in modern video games are as diverse as the stories in books, film and television. The adult consumers who would play this game fully understand that it is fictional interactive entertainment and nothing more."

Both PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of Manhunt 2 have been rejected by the British Board of Film Classification on the grounds of what it considered to be its "unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone... which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing". The BBFC reviews all videogames containing gross violence, sexual or criminal activity likely to earn the game a PEGI 18+ rating. In the UK, unlike the rest of Europe, games expected to receive the PEGI 18+ grade are automatically referred to the BBFC under the Video Recordings Act.

 

[0098386]

The plot thickens. Read in the paper today that part of the reason Manhunt 2 was banned was the killings inspired by Manhunt 1 a few years ago. I can see why it was banned now.

 

[BoyBach]

The plot thickens. Read in the paper today that part of the reason Manhunt 2 was banned was the killings inspired by Manhunt 1 a few years ago. I can see why it was banned now.

But:

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.

It's just a cop-out. The BBFC didn't want a fight with the 'moral' newspapers (I'm looking at you Daily Mail & Express).

 

[Coded-Dude]

yes........another absurd attempt at adults trying to control what other adults do.