ELSPA praises UK ratings system after Manhunt 2 banning
DG Jackson says it's "effective".
ELSPA director general Paul Jackson has said that the decision taken by the BBFC to ban Manhunt 2 from sale "demonstrates that we have a games ratings system in the UK that is effective".
"The games industry is a creative phenomenon that produces all kinds of games across all kinds of genres that appeal to all kinds of people across the country, young and old, male and female," Jackson, the boss of the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association - of which almost all UK videogame companies are members - went on to add.
"The important thing to know is that all games are rated according to age suitability, with over 70 per cent of games being available to all ages over three years."
Earlier today the BBFC said it had rejected PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of Manhunt 2. It's the first time a game has been banned by the BBFC since Carmageddon in 1997 - a decision that was subsequently overturned on appeal, which is an option still open to Manhunt 2 publisher Rockstar.
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Comments (59) Latest comment 5 years ago
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Hmm...
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I'm no fan of censorship, but think some of the responsibility has to lie with the publisher. There was no way the BBFC would have passed that uncut.
It's interesting as with films becoming ever more downmarket and disposable, gaming could find an interesting niche as a medium of 'intelligent' entertainment.
Let's hope we move forwards not backwards.
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That's the point.
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I will import...
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It's not going to happen, grow up and stop whining like man babies. Rockstar knew the risks, it took a gamble and it lost. Simple as that.
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"If you say they should allow games like this what you're basically saying is they should allow everything through and scrap the people who decide what's allowed to be unleashed on the general public."
I don't think the BBFC should be scrapped... They should continue to classify media as being suitable for various age groups. I just don't think they should be allowed to totally ban stuff.
If being exposed to this stuff is so damaging, then how come all the BBFC staff aren't all psychos?? Is it because they are good proper educated gentlemen, and we are inferior riff raff?
Just give us fair warning of the contents, and let us make our own decisions.
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Now everyone is talking about Manhunt 2 thinking that they must get this game to see what all the fuss is about.
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Now it's banned I'll be importing it.
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I bet Keith Vaz is happy though. Whether this will make the video-game hate squad feel empowered to go and stir up more ignorant crap, or prove that game content IS subject to proper scrutiny and blowhards should stop whining about it, I don't know.
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I imagine some people are going to cheer on this decision. After all Manhunt isn't "art" is it? It's just senseless violence, with no value to society whatsoever. Which is exactly what was said about A Clockwork Orange, both the book and the film, before each was banned. Now maybe Manhunt 2 isn't the videogame equivalent of A Clockwork Orange... but maybe it is. Who are you to make that decision for 70 million other people?
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As to those who think nothing should be censored... There was an article in Empire about the work of the BBFC a few months back. The BBFC rules for porn, for example, are surprisingly lenient and pretty much only deny releases to stuff that is non-consensual or "likely to cause physical harm". Does anyone really have a problem with that? Honestly? I won't comment on this decision as I haven't played Manhunt 2, but despite being a libertarian I think the BBFC do good -- and undervalued -- work.
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"the media shit that would surround a release like this would be pretty damaging to the whole industry at a pretty critical time for mainstream acceptance. "
That's simply bullshit. Does the pornindustry damage the DVD market?! No, it doesn't because videogames or DVDs are just a medium. As long as the content is a work of fiction and NOT some kind of dangerous political propaganda or recorded real live crime, there is absolutely no reason to prevent adults from buying/consuming it. If I'm allowed to vote, drink and smoke I should also be allowed to read the books I want to read, watch the films I want to watch and finally play the videogames I want to play. This is simply censorship and there are many ways to fight it.
If all this results in a lack of a PAL version, Rockstar will loose a lot of money BUT if it goes on sale in ONE European country, then this was the best publicity stunt Rockstar could ever get.
Reminds me of the movie "Cannibal Holocaust", advertised as "Banned in most countries!".
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Er, no censorship is no censorship.
So, we might as well have peado sims, where people can be a free-roaming peado that snatches kids from playgrounds.
Censorship is there for a reason. Geez, Might was well show porn in CBBC whilst were at it.
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It's not so much the violence they're worried about as how closely the violence could be confused with real life. The theory is that the closer the game is to reality, the more likely people are to confuse the game violence with real violence.
No idea if any of this has any scientific merit, but that's the way most censorship boards think nowadays.
"If being exposed to this stuff is so damaging, then how come all the BBFC staff aren't all psychos?? Is it because they are good proper educated gentlemen, and we are inferior riff raff?"
Well, this is the big argument against all censorship, why shouldn't intelligent adults be allowed to judge for themselves whether something is dangerous?
I can understand people being worried that 18-rated games might fall into children's hands, but surely that just means we ought to be cracking down on parents or games shops that give kids 18-rated games?
"A Clockwork Orange was never banned, neither in book nor the film versions. The book has never been banned and the film was withdrawn from the UK by Kubrick following threats made to his family"
Absolutely, the film never broke any laws and was always available for distibution if the owners wanted to do so. They just chose not to distribute it in the UK for the reasons you gave.
It's a shame that something could be forced off the screen by threats of violence against the artist's family, but it was Kubrick's decision to put his family before artistic integrity, and most of us would do the same.
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If that means sacrificing a mediocore, unnecessarily violent (just for TT to get more attention) action adventure to save all games (or other possibly contraversial games like possibly even Haze), then I'm for it.
Sacrifice a crappy Take-Two game to the over-zealous and ignorant mainstream media to spare others is a good thing.
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censoring sex, violence on tv is different to censoring games, as parents wouldnt be able to stop their kids from watching it if it was on adverts etc, BUT parents have a choice in what games they buy/allow kids 2 play.
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Fact is, you're an idiot.
You're describing a game you've never seen as crappy and average yet you've never even played it. Most hands-on reports I've read say it's excellent.
Somehow, I suspect your valiant wishes to 'Save the games' (bless 'em) would be rather different if, say, Haze were the title being banned...
And as if Wii needed any more of a boost, I reckon this ban just made the Wii the coolest system on the planet...
(There, that should wind the fanboys up...)
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Is this strictly true?
BBFC Guidelines
And if so, why is everyone reporting it as "banned" now? Surely if they submitted voluntarily, they could release it regardless of the decision.
In my opinion the BBFC has come along massively in the past 10 years and their rules/decision making has relaxed to an incredible degree. Certainly with regards to movies their is very little that wouldn't be passed now, and if anything I've found the 15 classification to be extremely forgiving in recent years. I don't doubt their decision on Manhunt at all.
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Well my bet for the next controversy is the use of little girls, which can be attacked, in Bioshock. Already lots of debate on many forums about this. If some gamers are questioning it then what's the mainstream view going to be like?
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Thank christ at least someone has bothered to read that website
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LOL.
The first one was pants, and I would love to see these "excellent" previews of the crappy sequel.
And you think I care about Haze? HA. I couldn't give a damn (I merely used it as an example).
Fact is, TT and thier games have put this industry into disrepute. The mainstream media are crying for blood, TT are cashing on another unnecessarily violent sequel to an unnecessarily violent and crappy prequel, and the BBFC are simply giving up a goat to save the rest of the industry.
I mean, why should other games and the industry have to suffer just because TT likes violence?
Manhunt is an annoying sacrificial goat anyways. The best type of goat to sacrifice is the one that isn't liked (by most anways).
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These games can only be bought directly from the publisher on-line - that should do it. "
Or licensed sex shops. Either way no crappy parents buying it for their kids.
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For fuck's sake, stop babying everyone and spend more effort trying to prevent teenagers and minors getting hold of this.
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]http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/student_guide_leg...[/link]
It's a rather informative article about how video games and videos in general came to be (partially) regulated by the BBFC.
Some of us will remember the fuss made over 'video nasties' in the early eighties, which is where much of this legislation came from.
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No publicity is bad in this industry
Take the recent resistance media shit storm - i bet you my bottom dollar the game saw a sales increase right after.
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We have, massively. I've followed the BBFC for about 10 years now after getting really interested in the 'video-nasties' saga. It took some time but the BBFC now has an extremely good system in place, tweaked all the time - ironically enough - based on public consultation. Consider that the MPAA is funded by the major movie studios in the US and we have as near as fair a system as we are going to get, based on the needs of the majority of the people in this country, not by men in suits.
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I really don't blame the stores.
I've seen a 70+ grandmother buying her 10-12 year old grandson a copy of GTA Vice City in Game.
The person behind the desk warned her multiple times that it's not intended for children and explained the content of the game....she just said "well his mum said it was alright" and got quite irate with the member of staff. He sold it to her in the end but he certainly made a strong attempt to disuade her purchase.
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"The BBFC rules for porn, for example, are surprisingly lenient and pretty much only deny releases to stuff that is non-consensual or "likely to cause physical harm"."
I have a problem with that. Firstly, it is not "non-consensual", its "portrayed non-consensual". So why is fake non-consensual sex not allowed, but the rape scene in Irreversible is?
And secondly, what on earth does "likely to cause physical harm" mean? Does this mean virgins are excluded from porn since first time sex could possibly be painful? Are certain pornstars not allowed to perform since they are too wel endowed? Where is the line drawn?
Not for/against censorship, but theres just so many ways that these rules can be interpreted.
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I resent being told what my needs are, and I don't think I'm in the minority. And the MPAA can refuse a certificate but there is still the option of an unrated release which we don't have.
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Maybe so, but constant bad press coverage could inhibit console sales for the big 3 (and maybe indirectly to the DS even), which would inhibit sales of games, damaging publishers, developers and the industry as a whole, which would mean publishers will only create "sure bets", leading lack of creativity, and this forum would be filled with people crying and moaning about how they can only by "Need for Speed: Romford edition".
It's sad, it's bad, but it's the situation were living in. The BBFC acknowledges this, and have made the necessary steps to ensure that the hungry media are kept at thier bay.
Now those dumb parents won't fare thier kids being corrupted by gaming consoles, and will have no problems buying it for stupid johnny.
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Does anybody seriously think the BBFC have banned Manhunt 2 out of consideration for the future of the games industry?
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An unrated release is generally commericial suicide and that aside, our system makes that look like something from the dark ages, we should be happy with what we have, the grass isn't greener anywhere else.
We NEED restrictions, or would you like any TV shown at anytime of day, and an unrestricted road network? Sure some of us could exercise control and not kill ourselves or let our kids watch porn 24/7, but there are plenty of people who need those decisions made for us. That is how this country works.
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[link url=http://www.eurogamer.net/article_discussion.php?article_id=77988
]http://www.eurogamer.net/article_discuss...[/link]
but then... I would say that I suppose, as I answered many of them, in my usual grumpy style
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We NEED restrictions, or would you like any TV shown at anytime of day, and an unrestricted road network? Sure some of us could exercise control and not kill ourselves or let our kids watch porn 24/7, but there are plenty of people who need those decisions made for us. That is how this country works.
So basically we should all be good little boys and girls and toe the party line without question? Sorry, but that's complete bollocks.
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People may bitch and moan and whine about this, but the BBFC are very very leniant and good with their ratings. If they can't pass Manhunt 2 uncut, then I think for one it demonstrates clearly the content of the game and as such, there is no way they could pass it.
I know we are all intelligent people who can make our own choices, but at the same time there needs to be a filter if things go a little bit too far. That's what ELSPA and BBFC are there for - and by the sounds of it, ELSPA wouldn't have passed it either.
Yes, it's publicity for the game but at the same time it does raise bigger points about how far we can push violence in games...
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Maybe so, maybe not.
Either way, the outcome's the same.
The hungry media ARE kept at thier bay.......for now anyways.
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"So basically we should all be good little boys and girls and toe the party line without question? Sorry, but that's complete bollocks."
Well that is very rousing, but not particularly constructive. Also, no one suggested toeing the line without question. You added that bit.
What structure would you suggest in place of the current BBFC setup?
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...BUT...
...the first Manhunt actually made me feel physically ill after playing it for a half hour or so. Heck, I'm no shrinking violet, but that game was sick! I'm not saying that I agree with censorship (unless the material constitutes hate speech), but I'll shed no tears that the game was banned.
Still, I'm sure that some people will feel that allowing freedom of expression to be curtailed in this particular instance will invite harsher measures from the authorities in the future, and will fight it tooth and nail. Fair enough.
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And the bbfc has amazing double standards. You wouldnt believe the number of games which get teen ratings for stuff which you see all the time on the cartoon network.
And i'd be suprised if there's anything in manhunt 2 which i havent seen already in an 18 rated film.
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"The thing is, the bbfc is there to recommend who a film/game is suitable for"
Well, perhaps we differ on our definition of recommend, but the rating applied by the BBFC acts as a legally binding restriction at the point of sale or rental, so I think "recommend" isn't quite the right word. Thats like saying the road traffic act is a recommendation, when in fact it defines law (even though the authors don't enforce the law themselves).
Like I've said many times on this and the other threads, they do the job they do because we the general public asked them to. They represent us and their rules are drawn up from our opinions. They don't write their own guidelines and they never have.
"And the bbfc has amazing double standards. You wouldnt believe the number of games which get teen ratings for stuff which you see all the time on the cartoon network. "
Errr, not exactly. The BBFC don't regulate broadcast television, so you would have to take that up with oftel (or whichever body covers the cartoon network if it isn't oftel). In fact the BBFC rules are extremely well laid out (I've read them) so it is actually pretty tough for double standard rulings to occur. The opinion of the individual reviewer doesn't really come into it, and if there is any question it goes to review by a panel of peers.
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