UK Censors ban videogame

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

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".

There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed

BBFC director David Cooke

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.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england...ire/6767623.stm

[Ban Hammer 13,282]

the uk better turn off the telly too.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I'm not for censoring it - but the original version of that game is exceptionally nasty.

[Arazia 0]

I watched a friend play the original version of the game, and all I can say is... it made me sick to my stomach.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Some people are disturbed to begin with. Blaming video games or movies is just an excuse as not to take responsibility for their actions.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I think there's reason to be somewhat concerned by the focus on sadism in mainstream popular entertainment.

[homesick_american 1]

Two words: NANNY STATE.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Two words: NANNY STATE.

I don't agree with banning - but I do think that game is 'unrelentingly nasty' as described and therefore objectionable.

I quite like the Grand Theft Auto series, but for all the immoral stuff you could do in the game (and which got the likes of Hillary Clinton trying to ban it) it at least had a sense of humour. This has none of that - and the draw appears to be in the number of ways that you can kill a person: including suffocating with plastic bags, cutting heads off with garotte wire, and hacking bodies to pieces with meat cleavers - there really isn't much objective to the game beyond that.

Got to wonder at what exactly the target audience for these games really is. I mean, are companies marketing to sadists now?

There's a similarly disturbing trend in recent horror movies like Saw, Hostel and Turistas which abandon traditional shock horror in favour of a disturbed focus on torture and suffering. Turistas in particular features a scene where a woman is dissected while still alive with all the nauseating detail of a medical training school training video. I don't mind "horror" - its the torture I object to.

[Ban Hammer 13,282]

Two words: NANNY STATE.

I don't agree with banning - but I do think that game is 'unrelentingly nasty' as described and therefore objectionable.

I quite like the Grand Theft Auto series, but for all the immoral stuff you could do in the game (and which got the likes of Hillary Clinton trying to ban it) it at least had a sense of humour. This has none of that - and the draw appears to be in the number of ways that you can kill a person: including suffocating with plastic bags, cutting heads off with garotte wire, and hacking bodies to pieces with meat cleavers - there really isn't much objective to the game beyond that.

Got to wonder at what exactly the target audience for these games really is. I mean, are companies marketing to sadists now?

There's a similarly disturbing trend in recent horror movies like Saw, Hostel and Turistas which abandon traditional shock horror in favour of a disturbed focus on torture and suffering. Turistas in particular features a scene where a woman is dissected while still alive with all the nauseating detail of a medical training school training video. I don't mind "horror" - its the torture I object to.

i'd hate to see what they think of this game i frequently play - master of orion. nothing says "victory" like genocide

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Two words: NANNY STATE.

I don't agree with banning - but I do think that game is 'unrelentingly nasty' as described and therefore objectionable.

I quite like the Grand Theft Auto series, but for all the immoral stuff you could do in the game (and which got the likes of Hillary Clinton trying to ban it) it at least had a sense of humour. This has none of that - and the draw appears to be in the number of ways that you can kill a person: including suffocating with plastic bags, cutting heads off with garotte wire, and hacking bodies to pieces with meat cleavers - there really isn't much objective to the game beyond that.

Got to wonder at what exactly the target audience for these games really is. I mean, are companies marketing to sadists now?

There's a similarly disturbing trend in recent horror movies like Saw, Hostel and Turistas which abandon traditional shock horror in favour of a disturbed focus on torture and suffering. Turistas in particular features a scene where a woman is dissected while still alive with all the nauseating detail of a medical training school training video. I don't mind "horror" - its the torture I object to.

It is of course rather ironic that a video-game featuring the torture of CGI models will get banned, but a live-action movie featuring an intensely graphic dissection scene that dwells on the infliction of pain and suffering will pass through the BBFC virtually uncut.

BTW - anyone from Brazil will 'love' Turistas. In addition to the nastiness, it has possibly one of the most racist, stereotyped portrayals of South American people that I've had the misfortune to see.

[Alex+R 0]

BTW - anyone from Brazil will 'love' Turistas. In addition to the nastiness, it has possibly one of the most racist, stereotyped portrayals of South American people that I've had the misfortune to see.

Hehehe Rey and I have it available on our On-Demand movies, but we can't seem to get motivated to watch it. I wonder why...

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

i'd hate to see what they think of this game i frequently play - master of orion. nothing says "victory" like genocide

True - but that relies more on imagination than anything else.

[Mags 112]

I think what worries me about video games of this caliber is the ratings and the blatant disregard some parents have for said system. If it says it is for 18s and over it REALLY is only for 18s and over. Don't let a 10 year old play it for goodness sake.

The ratings system works the same as the film classification system. You don't see 10 year olds in a cinema watching Saw3, so why would you let them play Manhunt?

It indicates extremely poor parenting to me.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It brings up an interesting question - is it reasonable to ban something such as a video game that typically, children have access to? Suppose a video game was made that involved raping women or children? Of course those acts are illegal in real life, but so is murder.

[homesick_american 1]

I don't agree with banning - but I do think that game is 'unrelentingly nasty' as described and therefore objectionable.

I deal with objectionable forms of entertainment by not buying them/participating in them/etc. I don't tell other people what they can and can't do.

I quite like the Grand Theft Auto series, but for all the immoral stuff you could do in the game (and which got the likes of Hillary Clinton trying to ban it) it at least had a sense of humour. This has none of that - and the draw appears to be in the number of ways that you can kill a person: including suffocating with plastic bags, cutting heads off with garotte wire, and hacking bodies to pieces with meat cleavers - there really isn't much objective to the game beyond that.

Got to wonder at what exactly the target audience for these games really is. I mean, are companies marketing to sadists now?

Clearly they think there's a market for it if they bothered to make it; either that or they're getting off on the publicity generated by the UK government's knee-jerk reaction.

There's a similarly disturbing trend in recent horror movies like Saw, Hostel and Turistas which abandon traditional shock horror in favour of a disturbed focus on torture and suffering. Turistas in particular features a scene where a woman is dissected while still alive with all the nauseating detail of a medical training school training video. I don't mind "horror" - its the torture I object to.

I'll have to take your word for that because I've never seen any of those films...never even heard of the last two...and since I haven't seen them I have no opinion of their contents.

I'm not saying that I like things like that, but I don't like the government telling me what I am and am not allowed to watch, read, listen to, etc.