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Computer game banned in Britain
20/06/2007 11:33 - (SA)
London - Manhunt 2, the sequel to the violent computer game Manhunt, has been banned in Britain because of its "unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying", censors here said on Tuesday.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) said it imposed its first computer game ban in 10 years because it could cause "a range of unjustifiable harm risks" to adults and children.
The ruling means it cannot be legally supplied anywhere in Britain.
The last game to be refused classification was "Carmageddon in 1997 but the the decision was overturned on appeal.
In 2003, the original Manhunt was given the highest classification for people 18 and over. But censors ruled it was at the limit of acceptability in that category.
The game hit the headlines in 2004 after 14-year-old schoolboy Stefan Pakeerah was stabbed and beaten to death in Leicester, east central England.
The victim's parents believed the killer was inspired by the game, although police and lawyers said there was no evidence it had played a role in the killing.
BBFC director David Cooke said they always try to consider modifications to games whose content breaches guidelines.
'Constantly encourages visceral killing'
But that was impossible with Manhunt 2, which he described as having an "unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone...which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing".
"There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game," he added.
The BBFC ruling was welcomed by Pakeerah's parents while the Entertainment Leisure Software Publishers Association, which represents the computer and video games industry, said it showed the ratings system was effective.
Manhunt 2, for PS2 and Nintendo Wii consoles, is made by United States firm Rockstar Games Inc. The company has six weeks to submit an appeal.
- AFP
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