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Far Cry 3 And The Stranger In A Strange Land And the Manhunt 2 UK ban saga continues, as the British Board of Film Certification today announces that they have be granted permission for a judicial review of the appeal the Video Appeals Committee passed regarding the classification of the game. While I think we can all agree that no one cares about Manhunt 2 anymore, the unfolding drama could very well have an important effect on future, more interesting violent video games. The BBFC was today given permission to judicially review the decision by the Video Appeals Committee to overturn the Board’s rejection of the video game Manhunt 2. The Board has also been granted a stay on the classification of the game. It is expected that the case will be heard in January.
So even if the review does fail, the chance for UK gamers to pass by Manhunt 2 on the shelves is still at least a couple of months away.
I can almost imagine in my head how this all went down. The Video Appeals Committee overturns the British Board of Film Classification’s decision not to grant Manhunt 2 a rating, and the folks at Take-Two start setting up this massive, celebratory pizza party. Then the BBFC decides to apply for judicial review of the VAC’s decision. As this news hits Take-Two central and a stunned hush breaks out over the jubilant office, the pizza arrives. Someone starts sobbing. “We are disappointed that the BBFC has decided to appeal its own Video Appeals Committee’s judgment in favor of an 18-plus certificate for Manhunt 2,” said Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick.
“We believe the VAC decision was correct and do not understand the BBFC’s decision to expend further public resources to censor a game that contains content well within the bounds established by the BBFC’s 18-plus ratings certification.”
See? The news is always more interesting if you apply the vast power of the human imagination to it. Otherwise this would have just been a giant “Duh!” of a story, but now we have a gripping tale of tragedy for the ages. Were it a movie it would end with the sound of quiet tears as the camera slowly zooms in on a pile of forgotten pizza boxes.
Take-Two disappointed with BBFC decision [GamesIndustry.biz]
We knew it wasn’t over. The British Board of Film Classification has applied for a judicial review of the appeal that the Video Appeals Committee passed a week ago regarding granting Rockstar’s Manhunt 2 a classification, allowing the title to be released in the UK. “The BBFC is contesting the VAC judgment 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 judgment, 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.”
This is the sort of problem you run into with any system of checks and balances. Once you overrule a decision on one issue it becomes that much easier to negate decisions on future issues. The BBFC is struggling to maintain their reputation and integrity, and Manhunt 2 is going to have to be sacrificed for that to happen. It’s an interesting dilemma. Just wish it was happening to a more interesting game.
BBFC applies for judicial review [GamesIndustry.biz]
Rockstar’s appeal against the British Board of Film Classification’s ban of Manhunt 2 from release in the UK has passed, garnering a narrow victory of 4 to 3 from the Video Appeals Committee. The game was originally banned / refused classification in the UK back in July, with the recut, happier version of the game denied as well in October. The BBFC has stated that they will consider the judgment of the VAC and its reaction once they receive the pertinent paperwork, while issuing a lengthly statement on how right they believe they were in their decision. Such balancing judgments are inevitably complex and multi-faceted, and are made only after very careful consideration of the contents of a work. We played Manhunt 2 for well over 30 hours prior to our decision.
Incidentally, this is 30 hours more than I played Manhunt 2. Judging from their reaction to the appeal, which you can read in full by following the link below, this is far from over.
Americans have already forgotten about Manhunt 2. Mostly because it’s rubbish. It’s still clawing out coverage in Britain, however, where Rockstar’s appeal against the British Board of Film & Literature Classification’s ban of the game is only just warming up. Called in for opinion yesterday was Tiga (The Independent Games Developers Trade Association) boss Fred Hasson, who argued that it was sensationalist tabloid media coverage of the game, and not its content, which saw it double-banned in the UK: [I was]surprised at how tame it is compared to some very graphical scenes I’ve seen in other games which have received certification. I expected it to be a lot worse… I can’t believe that this has been singled out as something that is worth banning.
We, on the other hand, can’t believe Rockstar are still bothering with all this. Tiga boss, psychologist defend Rockstar’s position [GI.biz]
United States senators and presidential hopefuls Joe Lieberman, Sam Brownback, Evan Bayh, and Hillary Rodham Clinton have written to the ESRB, asking the organisation to review its rating policies and suggesting an Adults Only rating for the recently released Manhunt 2. The Hollywood Reporter writes that the senators and other lawmakers asked the ratings board to consider the “robustness, reliability and repeatability” of the current ratings process in light of “‘ultraviolent’ video games and the advances in game controllers”, presumably referring to the motion controlled Wii version of Manhunt 2. Clinton, the report writes, is moving for a unified rating system across films, television and games.
Senators urge tougher rating for “Manhunt” game [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter]
Two of my good friends and colleagues have put up thoughtful pieces on their respective blogs about how we play videogames. On Level Up, N’Gai posted a column about how our saved game files are actually worth more than a $US 60 game. N’Gai calculates that his Mass Effect saved game is worth $US 122.10. His point: We should back up our saved games more often. And at MTV’s Multiplayer Blog, Stephen Totilo posted a fascinating essay on how Rockstar’s removal of the scoring system in Manhunt 2 changed the way he played through the final version. Was Stephen a tamer killer with scoring or without? Go find out!
Level Up Expansion Pack Multiplayer Blog on Manhunt 2 Scoring System
A couple of days ago the rumours started popping up: Target was pulling Manhunt 2 from store shelves across the country. Now GameSpot (must not type GameStop) has the official word from the company on the reasoning behind the ban. “Target strives to provide merchandise that will appeal to a wide variety of guests. We also want guests to be comfortable with the purchasing decisions they make at Target. All video games and computer software sold at Target currently carry ratings by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)–from early childhood through mature audiences. While Manhunt 2 was given a Mature rating by the ERSB, we received additional information that players can potentially view previously filtered content by altering the game code. As a result, we have decided not to carry the game.”
Note that I am no longer finding the game on Target’s web site either, but they do still sell the guide in case you suck that badly.
Target pulls Manhunt 2 from shelves? [GameSpot]
Fifty former Rockstar employees got left out of manhunt 2′s credits. Oops. Not very professional! Not very cool, either. So uncool, in fact, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) have just released a “public beta” of its Credit Standards Guide, which they hope will formalise the way in which everyone involved in a game’s development gets their due thanks. Those curious, or finding it difficult to get to sleep, can check it out below. IGDA Credits and Awards Committee [via Gamasutra]
Word’s coming in that Target have pulled Manhunt 2 from their shelves, and won’t be stocking it. At all. Seems the ESRB clearing it for release means squat, with Target bosses playing censor and deciding off their own backs the game shouldn’t be offered for sale. While there’s no official confirmation on this from Target or Take-Two, there are numerous reports coming in from both customers and Target employees indicating this is indeed the case. Someone, anyone care to put this game out of its misery? Target Pulling Manhunt 2 [Evil Avatar, via GamePolitics] More confirmations on Target’s removal of Manhunt 2 [Go Nintendo]
