It is no secret that the world (except for maybe the Netherlands) is not giving Take-Two/Rockstar's Manhunt 2 an easy time. The game's violent content has been beaten to a bloody pulp by the various ratings boards, and this latest news shows that they won't let up until Manhunt 2 is an un unrecognizable, disfigured mess.
Today, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has shut down Rockstar's newest revision to Manhunt 2, essentially banning it, despite changes made in efforts to clear it for UK release.
"We recognise that the distributor has made changes to the game, but we do not consider that these go far enough to address our concerns about the original version," offered David Cooke, director of the BBFC.
Cooke goes on to explain that while they notice that some visual aspects have changed, others still "retain their original visceral and casually sadistic nature," and they felt that "the bleakness and callousness of tone" of the game has not changed enough.
Hit the jump to see what Rockstar had to say about all of this.
From Rockstar:
"We are continuing to appeal the British Board of Film Classification's decision to deny the edited version of Manhunt 2 an 18-plus certificate and thereby ban its release in the United Kingdom."
"The changes necessary in order to publish the game in Britain are unacceptable to us and represent a setback for video games."
"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."
Normally, we'd love to get our word in, but it looks like Rockstar's response nailed it. Live-action horror movies are permitted to go basically uncensored, but video games are still locked down so tightly that creativity is restricted. This truly is a setback for video games.
It doesn't look like Rockstar has any plans of giving on up Manhunt 2. Let's hope that they don't have to resort to toning down the game any more than they already have.
[via Gamesindustry.biz]
Contest:
11:23 AM on 10.08.2007
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Didn't you get the memo?
So what are the chances of this appeal actually helping them get the game on store shelves?
I'll tell you what got this sequel into trouble. The Outrage that was the first edition in the fanchise. It set a unsavory to some precidence...
Just like... You guessed it GTA & it's beef all around the globe w/ Law Enforcement. No one that has beef w/ something likes to see it spawned over & over.
Can you imagine someone saying that about Nineteen-Eighty-Four? Books are arguably more immersible than video games.
As a thinking adult I excercised the judgement that the BBFC for some reason think I'm lacking, and decided against playing this game when I first heard about it (before all this B.S.). Others may decide they do want to play it, and as long as they're thinking about it first too, then I don't see where the BBFC comes into the picture.
We only need things like the BBFC for a society of morons, unable to think for themselves. The BBFC has therefore shown it's contempt for this societies judgement.
I can't wait until the technology-ignorant people of the world are too old to do their jobs and people who understand the medium of video games can take their jobs. In return I fully expect future generations to feel the same way about me.
Honestly, am I the only one who thinks that Manhunt is hurting the games industry more than helping it? I realize we're all for this "free speech" thing which is awesome and all, but really, can't we draw a line somewhere? Without boundaries people will create some of the most depraved and disgusting crap I've ever seen. People constantly compare these types of games to Saw and other horror movies (which IMO are horrible excuses for movies that should've never been released) and I find it horrible that people enjoy movies like that. I'm not saying every single game should be MariohappyflowerpowerKatamari whatever, and I don't mind violent games, but there comes a point where it's blood and shock factor for the blood and shock factor.
Really it's not even worth arguing about. Manhunt 2 isn't art, the game doesn't deserve defending.
Actually, there's a bit more to it than that. If a game receives an AO rating, the console manufacturers will not allow the game to run on their respective systems, effectively banning it. Only a PC version would have a chance of seeing the market under those conditions.
While it is unfortunate that such debate has been spawned over Manhunt 2, a game likely to have only limited commercial and critical impact, it is indeed a debate that is relevant. Personally, I think it is fine for a workable Adults Only rating to exist, but this would require the chance for such games to actually be released to the market. In the current state of things, it is a useless rating that only means that the game can never be released. What purpose does that serve?
Say the BBFC backs down and gives Manhunt 2 the green light. What victory will we have achieved? Rockstar will be able to finally make some money back. However, parents and art critics and politicians and everyone else will still think that video games are for children and that Rockstar is depraved for marketing this to children (their words, not mine).
Considering there are so many M-rated games that get on by without any controversy, I think this is more a case of Rockstar's tactic of inciting controversy to move games biting them in the ass.
@afrazkhan Yeah, some parts of 1984 were chilling, especially the rat torture. That book taught me that I guess I wasn't imperturbable. =p
The game may indeed be crap, and depravity for depravity's sake, but the issue is whether the government should be able to step in and effectively ban entertainment when no harm was done in the process of creating it (unlike, say, snuff films or child porn.) I'm in the US, and thus ignorant of the pertinent UK law and precedent and community standards, so it's tricky to discuss the issue in full. Any attempt at regulating the sale of games here has been struck down by the courts, and regulating the actual content of games would almost certainly violate the first amendment. There've always been whispers of federal regulation, but it isn't going to happen any time soon.
Then again, there's the case of Mike Diana, who was forbidden from even drawing anything at all.
The point is that they are saying like a big brother what you can and what you cannot play. And i dont know about you guys, but that pisses me off a lot. Im an adult, maybe im an asshole, who cares, i dont, but if i want to play the fu***** game is my decision, not some shitty christian stupid fu****** moralist that believes he is better than you.
You always have to defend the freedom in every aspect of your life.
Would have been released in scandinavia with just an 18+ rating.
Just hoping that no more heroes doesn't suffer the same fate.
You didn't hear it from me! I just wish I had a modded PS2.
I do find this ban quite annoying, because what the BBFC don't release they are doing is holding the games industry back creatively. This is why we still need a rating system branch of the BBFC that understand games, because those rating our games now don't or treat them fairly either.
While some say Manhunt is sick, so is American Psycho as a book or Saw as a movie, but they are still on sale for adults to make up their mind. Behind all this is the falsely built perception that only kids play games, when gamers are aging all the time. Perhaps we should ask the BBFC who plays games and see what they say. They'll say they want to protect kids probabaly. Only adult accepted games in the games industry will break this perception, so Nintendo, Sony and MS need to readdress this situation. Stonewalling isnt acceptable anymore.
Never mind, those resourceful gamers out there (myself included) will still get their hands on a copy somehow. I just have more important games to buy right now.
Hey PS2 owners, get a Swap Magic PAL and a US copy of Manhunt, and stick it to the man. Sony don't care about PS2 or us anymore anyway.