BAAAAN

[Pop]

So **** off, United Kingdom.

 

Source

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.

 

Leicester MP Keith Vaz, who campaigned with the Pakeerahs against the original version of Manhunt, praised the decision to ban Manhunt 2.

 

He said: "This is an excellent decision by the British Board of Film Classification showing that game publishers cannot expect to get interactive games where players take the part of killers engaged in 'casual sadism' and murder."

[Xard]

I thought killer didn't even have the game? Oh, well...

 

Banning such **** doesn't bother me though. Reasons, however, does

[Volourn]

Lame. Makes the people who ban the game no better than those in China who censored parts POTC3, or other countries that ban games or movies or what not.

 

Dissapointed in Britain here.

 

Games do not kill people nor do they make people kill people. EVAR.

[Sand]

I am in complete agreement with Volourn. This is just stupid.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Lame. Makes the people who ban the game no better than those in China who censored parts POTC3, or other countries that ban games or movies or what not.

 

Dissapointed in Britain here.

 

Games do not kill people nor do they make people kill people. EVAR.

 

No, playing games for too long incites people to violence or other stupid acts. Either by frustrating them or just giving them bad ideas.

 

Actually, I'm fine with that game being banned. I don't play these kind of games anyway. Oh and:

 

Edited June 19, 2007 by WILL THE ALMIGHTY

[@\NightandtheShape/@]

Stupid is an understatement... I will certainly do my best to get my hands on MANHUNT 2, even if it is banned I really enjoied Manhunt, and I'll be damned if I'll not play it at some point!

[Sand]

No, playing games for too long incites people to violence or other stupid acts. Either by frustrating them or just giving them bad ideas.

 

Actually, I'm fine with that game being banned. I don't play these kind of games anyway. Oh and:

 

 

We do have this thing called free will, don't you know. The individual is responsible for his or her own actions. "The Devil made me do it" is not a defense nor justification.

[Skynet]

Violent games can have a negative impact on people, particularly early-teen gamers, but the solution should be to make it harder for kids to attain mature games, not ban them outright.

[Tale]

I very much hope this is a good game so that the ban gets viewed as outrageous.

If the game turns out to be bad, or even just mediocre, then people will claim the game was needlessly violent as its selling point.

[Volourn]

"No, playing games for too long incites people to violence or other stupid acts. Either by frustrating them or just giving them bad ideas."

 

Nope. Sand is right. This is the modern equivelant of blaming the devil.

 

Games do not kill, do not encite someone to kill, or do stupid acts. It's beyond ludicrous to suggest it do.

 

I guarantee that in EVERY case dealing with games and violence that the criminal who had a game be blamed for his actions had other problems outside of video games - ie. poor home life, horrible school/work social problems, drugs, alcohol abuse, or other deeper more mental problems.

 

Games are NEVER the cause. Period.

 

This reminds me of the cases way back when D&D was considered a 'devil's work' is the cause of murder. yet, in every single case where D&D was brought up as a (the) cause, there was always soemthing else involved a smention above.

 

The theory that games (or any form of entertainment) cause someone to act out is just beyond retarded. It has no basis in logic.

 

The Devil Made Me Do It. L0L That's hilarious.

 

 

P.S. I presume you are gonna blame games for my attitude. HAHA!

 

If you do, I'll blame your parents' poor parental skills for yours.

 

 

Oh SNAP!

 

 

[Skynet]

I'll agree blaming a murder solely on a video game is silly, especially when there are other violent medias like TV and movies, but it can help to make situations worse when the person is already suffering from drugs, social issues, or whatever.

[Xard]

I agree that game is never cause, BUT it can be catalyst

[Volourn]

"I'll agree blaming a murder solely on a video game is silly, especially when there are other violent medias like TV and movies, but it can help to make situations worse when the person is already suffering from drugs, social issues, or whatever."

 

I'll concede this point. However, I would point out that instead of trying to take the easy out and making a scapegoat, it be better to focus on the person's actual serious problems (whatever that may be) that led them, to that situation in the first place than blaming something like entertainment.

 

Afterall, millions of people have played the GTA, the vast vast majority of them act relatively rationally and non violently. The ones who don't were more than likely already violent to begin with.

 

ie. A boyfriend who beats up his girlfriend is likely to do so whether he has access to GTA or not. Afterall, spousal abuse has been around forever.

[Tale]

ie. A boyfriend who beats up his girlfriend is likely to do so whether he has access to GTA or not. Afterall, spousal abuse has been around forever.

Interesting made up fact: A girlfriend is more likely to leave you if you spend too much time playing videogames than if you beat her.

 

That should tell you something.

[Sand]

Its all a matter of attention. If you are ignoring her, good or ill, she will leave because people don't like being ignored.

[Volourn]

HA!

 

Another made up fact:

 

Actually, the more video games you play the less likely you will have a girlfriend in the first place. This means by playing video games, we as a society, lessening the chances of there being such abuse, meaning games actually make the world a better safer place.

 

L0L

Edited June 19, 2007 by Volourn

[Tale]

HA!

 

Another made up fact:

 

Actually, the more video games you play the less likely you will have a girlfriend in the first place. This means by playing video games, we as a society, lessening the chances of their being such abuse, meaning games actually make the world a better safer place.

 

L0L

Excellent point, I think this should be brought up next time video games are blamed for violence. Video games curb violence by keeping the violent inside playing video games.

 

I think Sand missed the point, though.

[Sand]

HA!

 

Another made up fact:

 

Actually, the more video games you play the less likely you will have a girlfriend in the first place. This means by playing video games, we as a society, lessening the chances of their being such abuse, meaning games actually make the world a better safer place.

 

L0L

 

And it helps control over population! YAY GAMES!

[Big Bottom]

I'm no fan of censorship, but the BBFC don't hand out bans willy nilly, it must be a pretty bleak game.

[mkreku]

At first I thought it was a stupid thing to do to ban a game. It will only give the game more attention that it deserves. But then I had a discussion over at Eurogamer about the BBFC and it turns out that they're not a bunch of old people being out of touch with reality and trying to be politically correct or anything. They're actually the opposite and get a lot of flak for almost never interfering in any games and not enough movies. Manhunt 2 is the first game in ten years that they've banned. That fact alone should tell you something.

 

I haven't played the game myself but I do think that this ban deserves to be taken seriously at least. They didn't decide this on a whim.

[Xard]

To my greatest shame I have to agree with swede here.

 

Manhunt was idiotic game, and it's bad enough that it's sequel saw day light

[Tale]

SENSORESHIP! SENSORESHIP!

 

They're probably all a bunch of old foggies who still complain about rock and roll music and yell at children to get off their lawns.

[Tale]

SENSORESHIP! SENSORESHIP!

 

They're probably all a bunch of old foggies who still complain about rock and roll music and yell at children to get off their lawns.

You are such an idiot.

Edited June 19, 2007 by Tale

[Tale]

SENSORESHIP! SENSORESHIP!

 

They're probably all a bunch of old foggies who still complain about rock and roll music and yell at children to get off their lawns.

You are such an idiot.

Don't judge me!

Edited June 19, 2007 by Tale

[Azarkon]

Do games shape the way people think? If so, then we must recognize that games influence society and that people have a "right" to be concerned. If not, then we should stop talking about "serious" games because it's all just mindless entertainment that can't possibly affect us in any significant way.

 

Personally, I'm willing to entertain the former in order to prove the latter. If games can affect the way we think, then that makes the medium all the more powerful and therefore meaningful to develop in. If not, then we might as well stick to shallow crap in an effort to appeal to the lowest common denominator, since no one ever takes games seriously anyways.

 

Of course, just because games have an effect on society, doesn't mean we should endeavor to ban the unwholesome among them. Take books, for example - we know that they affect society in a deep and profound manner, but banning a book because we disagree with its contents is an act of censorship that most of us would consider wrong. The same should be true for games.