Manhunt 2 game banned in Britain.

[reds4ever]

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/19/1510249

"Rockstar's Manhunt 2 has been banned in the U.K. for what the British Board of Film Classification calls its 'unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying.' 'There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game.' The company has six weeks to submit an appeal. The last game to be refused classification was Carmageddon in 1997. That decision was later overturned via the appeals process."

Oh dear...

[Provost Harrison]

I do hate censorship. These varieties of games are generally classified as 18 so if kids who are younger are getting them - shops and parents need to be stricter. I don't like throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

[Sandman]

Bear in mind this game requires you to cut people's testicles off. With the Wiimote.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
I do hate censorship. These varieties of games are generally classified as 18 so if kids who are younger are getting them - shops and parents need to be stricter. I don't like throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Where do you draw the line of censorship? What if the game was graphically explicit and required the player to rape 6 year old girls? (i.e games that would make you question the mindset of the purchaser of such games)

I have no idea about this game but sometimes things need to be banned.

Though Carmageddon was great fun.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Sandman
. . . this game requires you to cut people's testicles off . . .

[Wiglaf]

uk has no violent crime. this is part of the reason why..

[Elok]

Originally posted by Sandman
Bear in mind this game requires you to cut people's testicles off. With the Wiimote.

I'm curious as to how an in-game situation could "require" neutering to be resolved. Do they have really inventive writers or what?

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Elok

I'm curious as to how an in-game situation could "require" neutering to be resolved. Do they have really inventive writers or what?

You need to torture people to progress through the game. It might be possible to skip the testicle removal and just go with sawing limbs off.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
I do hate censorship. These varieties of games are generally classified as 18 so if kids who are younger are getting them - shops and parents need to be stricter. I don't like throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

I know what you mean, but in this case it's likely that the baby gets chopped up into little bits and put in the blender before being poured back in the bath.

I'm not into banning stuff, but this game seems way over the line.

[Drake Tungsten]

Pussies.

[Elok]

I don't know how many of those the game contains, Drake. And those it does contain, you're probably supposed to rip off the labia or something nasty like that. FGM

[Dauphin]

Another game has had a scene directly related to the James Bulger kidnap-murder removed....

Whilst I think that using a specific real-life example is bad taste and unnecessary, it shouldn't be removed specifically as (self)-censorship.

[reds4ever]

I'm sure it will sell well on import due to the ban.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by reds4ever
I'm sure it will sell well on import due to the ban.

This is a possibility. Although the game is repugnant, the ban seems to have opened up the old "are computer games too violent?" debate, which could lead to calls for anything more violent than Tetris to be banned. This is why I'm reluctant to support bans generally - as before we know it Civ could be in the crosshairs for its rampant warmongery, levelling of cities, and genocide.

[lord of the mark]

I thought WE were the eevil censorship minded puritans on this side of the pond. Yet when Leiberman or Clinton pressure the industry to do a better job making sure they do not sell M rated games to minors, but dont call for an outright ban on ANYTHING, theres huge backlash here from gamers and libertarians.