Rockstar to appeal second British Manhunt 2 ban

by Ross Miller { Oct 8th 2007 at 2:25PM }

Rockstar Games, whose Manhunt 2 has effectively been banned twice in Britain (though finally OK'd in the United States), have announced that they are appealing the most recent rejection.

The British Board of Film Classification has made further suggestions to the game's content that the developer has deemed "unacceptable." In a statement released this morning (via Gamespot), Rockstar said, "The BBFC allows adults the freedom to decide for themselves when it comes to horror in movies and we think adults should be similarly allowed to decide for themselves when it comes to horror in video games, such as Manhunt 2."

Is there a double standard when it comes to video games and movie censorship? Is it warranted? The purported psychological effects on interactive entertainment have been the subject of debate for much time now. Unfortunately, the BBFC's suggestions are not public record so we cannot debate the merits of their revisions. Will British gamers ever get to play this game?

Tags: bbfc, british, europe, manhunt-2, manhunt2, rockstar

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Alex @ Oct 8th 2007 2:33PM

Or they could simply pull out of Europe and when the Brits don't get their GTA next year they can blame it on their ratings system which will surely cause massive out cry and result in change of rules and regulations.

If the people that you're trying to protect don't want you to protect them, then what good does your existance do?

Sidepocket @ Oct 8th 2007 7:54PM

I would LOVE to see this! XD

Diskoboy @ Oct 8th 2007 2:37PM

Yeah - fuck the UK ratings board.

And just for this, Rockstar should say "Just for this, no GTA IV, for Europe!"

GaryM @ Oct 8th 2007 3:01PM

Yeah, like they'd not release a hugely-anticipated game out of "spite."

Crrash @ Oct 8th 2007 3:42PM

UK=/=Europe...
there are actually countries that didn't ban Manhunt 2 *gasp*

Diskoboy @ Oct 8th 2007 2:37PM

Yeah - fuck the UK ratings board.

And just for this, Rockstar should say "Just for this, no GTA IV, for Europe!"

Diskoboy @ Oct 8th 2007 2:37PM

Oops - soory about the double post....

Fernando Rocker (NDF - Water Ring) @ Oct 8th 2007 2:38PM

Thanks for the triple...

Asc @ Oct 8th 2007 2:39PM

@ Alex.

Sure manhunt is banned... but our rating system is not bad. 18+ games (such as Gears of War, Bioshock) are actually freely available. Games like Mass Effect are rated 12 (while in America it gets an M).

Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Oct 8th 2007 2:43PM

I will be playing Manhunt 2 in 3 weeks. Will you?

megaStryke @ Oct 8th 2007 3:11PM

OH SNAPZ!

NATO_Duke @ Oct 8th 2007 2:45PM

Damn, doesn't that picture make you wanna go out and burn some dead guy? I mean, really, don't you feel the game warping our fragile little minds?

Michael C. Sherrin @ Oct 8th 2007 3:11PM

There is a huge double standard. Movies with violence and sex and be PG-13, then a couple of swears or blood on a knife make it R, but it's almost impossible to get anything above that. Any even with an NC-17 rating, you can still get released and make some money. Video games have no adult only bracket. Not only is the standard for a mature game very low, but there's nothing to allow more adult content. Nintendo won't even allow Adult rated games on its console. That is not helping expand the market. Adults need entertainment too and expanding the rating system would help give video games a more adult image. Yes the violence and sex makes for bad press, but video games deal with that already. Why limit the art and story telling to avoid some one-sided, ignorant New York Times articles?

*******

Michael C. Sherrin
http://www.prodigeek.com/

Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Oct 8th 2007 5:20PM

Nintendo does not let AO games on its consoles, but neither does Sony or Microsoft. NOBODY does. Don't blame Nintendo. Blame the whole bunch of wusses that run the industry.

Psaakyrn @ Oct 8th 2007 5:25PM

And about standards, I don't know about you, but I don't see how MH2 can be even in the same catagory as Halo 3. If anything, Halo 3 should be brought down a couple notches to teen (or even PG), but MH2 can stay way up there at RA (or classified as a threat to nation security, whichever).

The point is that you either have to decide whether national security is more important than free speech. IMHO it's a very fine line, but MH2 does pose a persuasive arguement for reducing the free speech. E.g. in Singapore, because of the need to carefully balance multicultural issues, we're somewhat censored in more sensitive topics, but it's also one of the reasons why we're one of the safer countries. I wouldn't be suprized if this game never ever reaches Singapore (other than the usual illegal methods).

It makes some sense when you think about it. This is a free speech vs national security issue, not just a ratings censorship issue.

(for note: I know about the free speech to counteract corrupt government issue. It's just that the general populace is too easily controlled: would you rather have the government or some random group control the country?)

Sidepocket @ Oct 8th 2007 7:54PM

@ Psaakyrn

Just put http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ before all of these:

List_of_major_crimes_in_Singapore
Maria_Hertogh_riots
Hock_Lee_bus_riots
1964_Race_Riots
Laju_incident
MacDonald_House_bombing
Mas_Selamat_bin_Kastari
Singapore_Airlines_Flight_117
Flor_Contemplacion
List_of_Singapore_police_officers_killed_in_the_line_of_duty
Shanmugam_Murugesu
Van_Tuong_Nguyen
Took_Leng_How
Huang_Na
Hoi_Kim_Heng
Lee_Kim_Lai
Lee_Kok_Cheong

Willem Hung from Singapore, because he sings really poor!

You people make me puke.

Psaakyrn @ Oct 8th 2007 8:18PM

So.... your point is? In a population of 4 million, some crimes are expected. But when you compare to other places, our statistics are tame by comparison. If you want me to be crude, I can just mention terrorist attacks in America and Europe, which makes the crimes happening in Singapore look absolutely tame by comparison.

(also, I hate this reply system)

AstroZombie @ Oct 8th 2007 4:12PM

Y'know, I'd probably be really pissed off about this if we were talking about a game that had some genuine artistic merit or compelling gameplay. But come on, it's a crappy stealth action game with a super-gratuitous sex/violence gimmick. Isn't this exactly the kind of press Rockstar was looking for when they set out to make Manhunt in the first place? When we're being accused of playing "murder simulators", why is Rockstar so intent on creating a game that focuses so blatantly on simulating murder? Is this just to spite the Jack Thompson types?

If the BBFC feels that the game does not meet the requirements (or limitations) of its 18+ rating, then the game should not receive that rating. Nintendo and Sony are the ones who should probably be blamed for any perceived censorship here. However, even if AO games were playable on these consoles, it's unlikely that any major retailer would sell them, and so Rockstar would likely still be striving for an M or 18+.

Luis @ Oct 8th 2007 4:20PM

Oddly enough, a game developed (Rockstar Vienna and Rockstar London) and designed (Rockstar North) in Europe won't be freely available in the European country where 2 of it's 3 developers reside. Way to support your industry Great Britain!

Psaakyrn @ Oct 8th 2007 8:17PM

Schuey19 @ Oct 8th 2007 10:03PM

This subject really is just getting boring now. Simple fact is Manhunt wasn't a great game (wasn't even a good game), and the only reason it got any attention whatsoever was because the ghame got pulled from shelves.
Rockstar, loving how this added to their 'bad boy' image, decided to push the boundaries as far as they could with the sequel because they knew the game itself wouldn't warrant any real attention - just like its predecessor.
All of this publicity is exactly what they wanted, so hearing them bleating on about how my rights as an adult are being infringed upon actually makes me vomit a little considering this is just a dirt cheap advertising campaign.

n.b. yes I am a UK citizen