Britain bans video game
- June 20, 2007 4:23 PM |
- By Paul Jay
by Paul Jay, CBC News
Vancouver-based Rockstar Games is no stranger to controversy (see links here and here), so it should come as no surprise that its latest offering, Manhunt 2, has sparked outrage.
Well, perhaps "outrage" is overstating things. But British censors have banned it, the first time to country has outlawed a video game since its temporary injunction against 1997's Carmageddon, a game in which players racked up points for driving over pedestrians.
Manhunt 2 follows the escape of an amnesiac scientist and a psychotic killer from an asylum, a story which quickly evolves into a killing spree.
As the Guardian writes:
Manhunt 2, a sequel to the original and controversial game Manhunt, has been condemned by authorities for its "casual sadism" and "unremitting bleakness". The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) rejected the game after finding it "constantly encourages visceral killing."
Rockstar responded to game website GamesRadar, saying they "emphatically disagree with this particular decision."
"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," they said in a statement.
Film censors in Ireland have announced they too will ban the game.
And it appears that while the video game doesn't face a ban in the U.S., parent company Take-Two Interactive told GamePolitics the game would receive an Adults Only rating, a kiss-of-death likely to keep it off the shelves of Wal-Mart and other retailers.
The original Manhunt wasn't too popular either, in the UK or Australia.
The game is scheduled for a July 10 release on Nintendo Co.'s Wii and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2 consoles.
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- Tara Kimura
is a multimedia producer for CBCNews.ca.
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Comments (5)
Nintendo and Sony both won't allow an AO rated game on their consoles, so if this preliminary rating sticks, there's no Manhunt 2. Not without some changes anyways.
Why is it that we have to make a federal case out of everything? If more parents would just take the time to read the rating on the cover of the video game, like I'm sure many of them do with movies, there wouldn't even be this problem.
Every time censorship in video games comes up I state the same opinion I've always had. The best way to protect our children from adult content is to take an active part as a PARENT and make sure the products entering the house are child safe.
If your child walked into a video store with you and wanted to rent "Debby Does Dallas" I'm hoping as a parent you would have enough common sense to say "No, not until you go away to College". So please if your child is asking you to buy a video game with a rating of AO or M be the responsible parent and tell them they have to wait until they are older.
I disagree that Sony and Nintendo would pull the game based on its rating - considering we're less than a month away from the release date. If the rating was done months ago, then maybe they'd have pulled out. But to back out now, after having likely already packed up thousands of the games, would just be silly. Even if they don't sell as many, they might as well try and sell whatever they can.
In anycase, it'd be interesting to see what kind of game play you'd get on the Wii ... considering the controller is based on physical movement!
Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft won't allow AO rated games on their consoles. It's not a matter of pulling out. It's principle. Retailers won't sell AO rated games anyways.
Justin, this isn't a case of censorship in any way shape or form.
This also has nothing to do with parenting. It's the simple fact that AO rated games are not allowed on the consoles. They won't be licensed.