Manhunt 2 denied UK release!

[dj trooper]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh i thought it would be banned completely in the EU, you think they will still include English language in the copies for the rest of Europe?

[Games!!!]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh i thought it would be banned completely in the EU, you think they will still include English language in the copies for the rest of Europe?

I'd imagine so.
You could buy it from www.amazon.fr I think.
Unless it gets banned.

[Somerset Bumpkin]

The EU can't ban censored products for members, it doesn't have that kind of power or we'd all be watching hardcore at 10pm on BBC1 like Mike!

[Richman]

The EU can't ban censored products for members, it doesn't have that kind of power or we'd all be watching hardcore at 10pm on BBC1 like Mike!

Damnit I'm moving to Norway.

[monkeyking]

Okay then. If the BBFC are going to ban Manhunt because of a "lack of content", then I want the following movies banned.

The Hitcher. It's a hitchhiker...WHO KILLS PEOPLE!
Vacancy. A married couple go into a motel for the night, where people get killed for some SICK KILLER'S amusement.
Paradise Lost. It's a movie where a bunch of people go onto a deserted island, AND GET HUNTED DOWN BY A DEPRAVED KILLER!
Hostel part 2. Some stupid students blah blah blah...get caught by serial killers blah blah blah, get tortured horribly.

If it is okay for the films above to have very very loose plots, yet have far more then it's fair share of claret, why is it not okay for a game? Is it because games are still perceived to be for youngsters and men who have not grown up and still live in their mother's basement?

[dw2k6]

Only just found out about this.

If they are going to ban tasteless trash games then why not ban tasteless trash films?

[mrBeatz]

Debate on radio 5 live now

[MikeHaggar]

http://gamepolitics.com/2007/06/19/brea ... y-by-esrb/

This just in from Take Two Interactive, publisher of the embattled Manhunt 2:

"The ESRB has issued an initial rating of AO (Adults Only) for Manhunt 2.

We believe the process of rating videogames is to help people make informed entertainment choices and not to limit them.

Manhunt 2 was created for mature audiences and we strongly believe it should receive an M (Mature) rating, aligning it with similar content created in other forms of media. We are exploring our options with regard to the rating of Manhunt 2."

Beyond that, T2 isn’t talking. It is unknown exactly when the AO was assigned to Manhunt 2, but it would have to have been less than 30 days ago, based on earlier comments by ESRB president Patricia Vance.

GP: For a video game publisher, the economic impact of an AO rating cannot be overstated. It means that major retailers like Wal-mart, which by itself accounts for about 25% of retail games sales, will not carry Manhunt 2. There is an appeal process available to game pubilshers who wish to dispute rating assignments.

[Blue Badger]

Discussed it briedly on sky news while looking through the papers.

The independent guy said the board werent doing a good job as way more games should be banned, such as the one that glorifies football hooliganism. Which game is this?

[mrBeatz]

Does this sort of game really appeal to anybody here anyway? I Played the original Manhunt on PS2 and thought it was crap im glad it wasnt me who forked out 40 quid for it. No substance no story just murder and more murder, is that fun to anyone?

Cant say im too bothered about this game being banned myself.

[Blue Badger]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh i thought it would be banned completely in the EU, you think they will still include English language in the copies for the rest of Europe?

I'd imagine so.
You could buy it from www.amazon.fr I think.
Unless it gets banned.

I think i read it's banned in france

[rumblecat]

Does this sort of game really appeal to anybody here anyway? I Played the original Manhunt on PS2 and thought it was crap im glad it wasnt me who forked out 40 quid for it. No substance no story just murder and more murder, is that fun to anyone?

Cant say im too bothered about this game being banned myself.

Well, yeah, it does appeal, and I'd say you missed your mark on your judgement on the original Manhunt. Edge magazine wrote an excellent Time Extended article on the game about a year and a half ago which I think really nailed what made the original work so well, but obviously it's all personal opinion, all valid- just down to personal taste.

But you're basically saying you're okay with someone else deciding what games you're allowed to play, as long as the game wasn't to your taste anyway..?

[MikeHaggar]

Another comment from Rockstar:
http://kotaku.com/gaming/original/rocks ... 270371.php

News of Manhunt 2's Adult Only rating was like a "punch to the stomach" of the Rockstar team, a company spokesman told Kotaku today.

"This is completely unexpected to the whole team," said the spokesman. "We love the horror genre. We thought we could do something interesting and entertaining with it in the video game medium. When we had this first Manhunt game, there wasn't this reaction. We thought (Manhunt 2) was consistent with a mature rating."

But the game, which follows in the footsteps of mature-rated Manhunt, will likely not show up on many store shelves if the ESRB's preliminary rating of Adults Only sticks.

When asked if the game might receive a work over to tone it down, the spokesman said it was too early to tell.

"We have to explore all of the options," he said. "I think it's too early to go into all of that right now."

[Smurph]

But you're basically saying you're okay with someone else deciding what games you're allowed to play, as long as the game wasn't to your taste anyway..?

One game in ten years has been banned. ONE GAME. No-one is deciding what I can and can't play, they're banning ONE GAME. Its hardly totalitarian rule. And if this is the kind of game they decide I can't play, then, yeah, I'm bloody fine with it.

Are we who don't care much for games where all you do is torture and kill not allowed our opinion? Are we so wrong?

[Itchigon]

Wasn't a game called Thrill Kill banned because it was so violent? I remember playing it when i was in primary school on chipped copy so i'm not sure if it was even released in the UK.