December 17th, 2007

BBFC Takes Manhunt 2 Decision To Higher Court

By the end of the November, we presented to you a piece of news telling that there was an appeal in the case of BBFC against Rockstar Games, the creator of Manhunt 2. The Video Appeals Committee decided in the favor of Manhunt 2 and stated that the decision to reject the game should be overturned.

At that time, everyone thought that the game would be realeased but the BBFC announced today that the debate will be going on for a longer time than expected. The British ratings board has decided to apply for a judicial review of the VAC's decision to overturn the ban, and they will take the matter to the High Court if necessary. The game would be kept off the UK stores while the judicial review is underway. The official statemen of BBFC is: "The BBFC is contesting the VAC judgement because, in the Board's view, it is based on an approach to harm which is an incorrect interpretation of the Video Recordings Act. The VAC judgement, if allowed to stand, would have fundamental implications with regard to all the Board's decisions, including those turning upon questions of unacceptable levels of violence." On a side note, I do understand the need to express the freedom of the game developers, but in the case of Rockstar Games I'd think twice - they have a reputation indeed for releasing games packed with violence, and Manhunt 2 is quite at the top. The problem here is not about the game itself, but what it could trigger in the feeble minds of some gamers (the ones who can be easily influenced and they are not even aware of it!) - it's not something that could be acceptable by any laws or moral rules within the UK. While BBFC may have exaggerated in some ratings, in this case they do have a strong argument to uphold.