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Manhunt 2

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It made the newspapers in Belgium today, along with the confirmation that Manhunt 2 will be released in Belgian stores. Blisa, the Belgian organisation responsible for the producement and retail of videogames, don't mind that Manhunt 2 is released, as it has the appropriate label. They trust retailers to follow the accompanied rules.

 

For once, Belgium is a nice and sane place to live.

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No where. It's unlikely the game will come out anywhere.

 

It will. Rockstar is just going to delay US release, and make M version that can be accepted by both USA and Ireland (and possibly by UK). Rockstar knew when it was developing game that it wouldn't get release in Germany, New-Zealand or Australia, so those three don't count. Other important PAL markets won't ban the game.

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Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to find an importer for the Pal release.

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Has anyone thought, rockstar might have intended for the game to be banned by countries, thereby raising the games profile, then releasing a toned down version which they had all along and was the intended one to begin with! could be a marketing ploy...

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Altough Im not in favour of the ban, Im not in favour of the game

 

Hopefully this will go towards teaching Rockstar a lesson, be it that they arent untouchable and cant get away with whatever the hell they like

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The game looks pants anyway.

 

At least now its banned, we wont get derranged kids killing toddlers or anyone else for that matter.

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No I personnally dont agree that any line has to be drawn. I beleive in a game they should be allowed to do anything they want, no matter how interactive it is and how graphically it is depicted.

 

Purely out of interest (I'm not arguing with you) what do you think about the following scenario:

 

The year is 2050. The videogame experience has evolved to the point where it is indistinguishable from real life. So to put it another way, playing a game where you kill someone involves the same actions, emotions, sensory feedback and after-effects as killing a person in real life. There is no discernable difference. The only actual difference is that you haven't really killed someone.

 

Allowed or not allowed?

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So from what i've read are Nintendo & Sony refusing to licence this game internationally as a whole or just in the countries where it has been banned or recieved an AO rating? Thus allowing people to import the game from countries like Belgium who have not banned it.

 

I don't think Rockstar can edit the game now due to the added cost of doing this and the fact nobody will want to buy the edited/censored version ( i know i wouldn't ) especially with the possibility in the future that the uncut/un-edited version getting passed for release, thus buying the same game twice.

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This is a goldmine for manhunt with all the attension it has got already.

 

I believe you can rape a dead women in this. and microwave a cat i mean take that crap out....

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This is a goldmine for manhunt with all the attension it has got already.

 

I believe you can rape a dead women in this. and microwave a cat i mean take that crap out....

 

Yeah if that's true then Jesus...

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A lot of people are saying that it must be bad if they've banned it, they've only ever banned one other game.

 

Now let's look at that other game they've banned Carmageddon which had to be changed (people to zombies) before they'd allow it. Oh and let's not forget about a game released 4 years earlier Quarantine which allowed you to run people over (zombies and people). Okay you didn't get points for running them over in Quarantine but the violence was much worse, circular saw on the front of your car and a flame thrower.

 

I'm sorry but the banning of Carmageddon was a joke in my eye's at the time and is a joke now. Especially joined with the fact that a magazine freely availible at the time had a demo of it pre-release that was un-cut (came in handy if you wanted to change the zombies back to people in the full game).

 

I'm not saying that manhunt isn't very violent, but I'm guessing in a years time we'll be seeing a re-release of the uncut version on store shelves. And BBFC's track record of banning games isn't exactly consistant, GTA came out a little while later with no problems. Similar content, different presentation.

 

Maybe if they moved the camera in Manhunt 2 to be overhead instead of over the shoulder they'd allow it through.

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This is a goldmine for manhunt with all the attension it has got already.

 

I believe you can rape a dead women in this. and microwave a cat i mean take that crap out....

Seems to me they wanted this game banned.

 

Also, who made that new ZeldaFreak message 'is in another castle'? I laughed :heh:

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Seems to me they wanted this game banned.

 

Also, who made that new ZeldaFreak message 'is in another castle'? I laughed :heh:

 

Haha, Shorty and Ashley, I think. It's the user title for banned users. :D

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This banning shit is ridiculous, it really shows what a stupid society we live in, games aren't minimally respected or recognized. I understand why Nintendo or Sony say these things, but they also disapoint me. Not to mention it's very hypocritcal of Sony after having so many GTAs and Manhunt.

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I think rockstar should just cut it a whole lot and release it as M on PS2 and Wii, if it gets an M from ESRB the bans will probably be lifted.

 

And then release the AO version on PC, as nintendo and sony won't liscence AO games.

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JACK THOMPSON SPEAKS:

 

This is all absolutely delicious. I warned Take-Two months ago that there would be huge problems if it went ahead with Manhunt 2. Who was right about that kiddies?

 

Secondly, the BBC and the world are now laughing at Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick for his idiotic statement yesterday that Manhunt 2 is "a fine piece of art." Find the BBC story on that!

 

Right, and Jack the Ripper was his generation's Rembrandt. Please.

 

Take-Two has been hemorrhaging cash over the last few financial quarters, and this must makes it worse. I love it.

 

If you all would stop and think about this for a minute, this development is a HUGE benefit to the video game industry. It fits nicely with their argument that the ESRB ratings are real and actually mean something.

 

Responsible people within the industry, even Doug Lowenstein, have been saying for quite sometime that Take-Two had become a problem for the entire industry because it was painting a bullseye on the back of the whole industry and making it more difficult for the industry to get US politicians off its back.

 

Now the ESRB does something that indicates is might be trustworthy, and you nitwits go bonkers because of that development.

 

Grow up and smell the hot coffee. This is the best thing that could have happened to the industry. The isolation and ostracism of Take-Two by the industry was long overdue.

 

Now that it has come, rejoice.

 

http://kotaku.com/gaming/endorsement/jack-thompson-says-esrb-ratings-work-270943.php

 

I have no problems with this arguing. However, it's funny to see that he knows he's arguing with "kiddies". Man... he's trash talking kids... he must be so successful.

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I think rockstar should just cut it a whole lot and release it as M on PS2 and Wii, if it gets an M from ESRB the bans will probably be lifted.

 

And then release the AO version on PC, as nintendo and sony won't liscence AO games.

 

So it's not going to come out anywhere really. I think it should, but Rockstar always court controversy, and this may be a step too far. If it's true there are sections of genital mutilation etc, then no wonder it got banned.

 

Don't be surprised if there isn't a much more tame version hiding in the wings to fly out and ride the publicity train! Full uncut version to released for PC some months later via mail order exclusive from Rockstar. They make £millions!

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JACK THOMPSON SPEAKS:

 

 

 

http://kotaku.com/gaming/endorsement/jack-thompson-says-esrb-ratings-work-270943.php

 

I have no problems with this arguing. However, it's funny to see that he knows he's arguing with "kiddies". Man... he's trash talking kids... he must be so successful.

 

Yeah no one cares Jack. I'd like to know if there was anything specific in Manhunt 2 that was considered ban-able, like anything involving kids, rape etc. I think people would be a lot more understanding if they knew.

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Yeah no one cares Jack. I'd like to know if there was anything specific in Manhunt 2 that was considered ban-able, like anything involving kids, rape etc. I think people would be a lot more understanding if they knew.

 

I read a description of apparent scenes in the game and it all sounded way too extreme. Not sure if it was genuine or not as the language used seemed a little too colourful for a serious description.

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Gamespot UK's podcast has a very informative and interesting discussion regarding Manhunt 2 heres the link - Gamespot podcast

 

 

 

Also Destructoid.com wrote to the BBFC and received a response!

 

Here it is!

 

You've all heard about the outrageous banning of Manhunt 2 by the British Board of Film Classification, as announced yesterday. You should also all be aware by now that European members of the Destructoid community have had enough and will soon mount our official response very, very soon. The news has lit a fire underneath me, as it has my fellow British editor, David Houghton and between us, you can expect some brand new items regarding the fair and just treatment of videogames in the near future.

 

But to business. Yesterday, I emailed the BBFC, the group who tested and currently refuse to rate Rockstar's Manhunt 2, to share with them my impassioned thoughts on the issue. More or less restating the comments from my original news report, I did not hold back in my remonstration of the decision. The BBFC, through their Policy Chief Assistant J L Green, has sent me a reply, contained after the jump, in which they detail how they tested the videogame and where you can go if you wish to view the BBFC's extensive guidelines for yourself.

 

 

Firstly, this is the email I sent to the BBFC. As stated earlier, it was a reworked version of my post-jump thoughts on my original story concerning the banning. Included for completion's sake, you may wish to skip this email if you've read the first story:

 

My name's Jim Sterling, a videogame journalist who works for Destructoid.com and who had to report for his site earlier today that you'd decided to effectively ban Manhunt 2 in the UK. I find this news depressing beyond all reason. I didn't even like the first Manhunt, but for this game to be banned because a select group, a small part of the population won't let us decide what media we can and cannot handle is just a shocking example of how farcical this country has become.

 

Hardcore pornography is legal, movies show shocking and deplorable acts time and time again, but because this is a videogame, we in the United Kingdom have suddenly been told we're not allowed to experience it. This is the kind of sickening double standard that an industry that rakes in more money than Hollywood has to deal with and we, the consumers, are the ones who get punished. What will it take for this childish and reactionary prejudice against videogames to end?

 

To claim that this game is harmful is a statement of purest arrogance. I would optimistically hope that the BBFC actually played this game before banning it - are your testers harmed in any way, shape or form by what they saw, or believe they saw? Evidently not, if they are not in therapy currently and were mentally capable enough to ban the game, so what justification do you have to just assume that everyone else is too weak to handle playing it? That's an insult to adult gamers up and down the country and I choose to take that insult personally. I'm 23 years old and I don't live with mummy anymore, I should be able to make my own decisions about what videogames I can safely play.

 

It just fills me with an icy dread that this is merely the beginning. Once an action is taken and succeeds, it becomes consequentially easier for that action to happen again and again. I hope Rockstar fights this and I hope Rockstar wins, not just for its own game, but for every game that could potentially fall victim to the whims of the few.

 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a game to import.

 

On principal alone.

 

Thank you for your time and for any general, copy/paste reply I may recieve,

 

Jim Sterling

 

Editor, http://www.destructoid.com

 

Indignant and emotive, yes, but you guys know how I roll by now. Enough about me though, here's the main event, the BBFC's official, Dtoid-exclusive response on this issue:

 

 

 

Dear Jim Sterling

 

Thank you for your email and your interesting comments.

 

The BBFC has considerable experience in classifying games, and we employ

several highly knowledgeable and experienced gamers as examiners. Although

it was not possible to play the game in its entirety, a significant sample

of MANHUNT 2 was played and examined by a number of our examiners, both

gamers and non-gamers, before a classification decision was made. We also

have access to various cheats and 'God' modes, provided by the company, to

enhance greater access to all parts of the game. All our classification

decisions are made in line with our published guidelines. These guidelines

are available on our main website - http://www.bbfc.co.uk - under the

section entitled 'downloads'.

 

You will find it useful to read our press release regarding our decision on

MANHUNT 2. This is available on our main website - http://www.bbfc.co.uk -

under the section entitled 'news', and then 'press'. The release is dated

19 June 2007.

 

You also like to read our recent video game research published earlier this

year. This study is also available on our main website under the section

headed 'downloads'.

 

I can also assure you that this response is neither a 'general' one nor a

cut and paste job.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

J L Green

Chief Assistant (Policy)

 

I thank Mr. Green for his personal (and amusingly sarcastic) response to my email, but what do we think? Did he answer the questions this issue raises to a satisfactory level? Considering many of my points were not addressed in the least (I seriously want to know what damage was done to the BBFC's testers), I have to say that I'm not entirely satiated by what I have been told.

 

You can guarantee that more comprehensive answers on not just this issue, but many issues involving the unbiased and equal treatment of videogames will be actively sought out from this point forward. Stay tuned to Destructoid for upcoming news regarding just how these answers are being searched for.

 

Remember, this is not just about Manhunt 2, this is about videogames

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