BBFC - Banned a Video Game!!

Bamber19

The only games i have a problem with are driving games, I think they are the only ones that could influence people. I know that if i've been hitting 180 in an Italiuan supercar through the streets in Test Drive Unlimited then it's probably a good idea to not jump straight out and go driving in the real world when i finish.

Got to agree with the people at Rockstar though, there are movies that depict disgusting rapes and murders but get an 18 certification and it's all fine, and as someone said before the SAW films are a very similar idea to Manhunt and the reasons the BBFC gave for not allowing Manhunt clearly fit SAW and so if one is not allowed neither should the other. They shouldn't be banning games anyway they should be trying to educate store staff and the public about letting these games get into the hands of children, although again how many 15/16/17 year olds are not going to have seen films that are equal or worse. SAW has been on tv, there's no restriction on what people watch on tv so there's a good chance they've seen it.

C_Ronaldo

Firstly if a game is rated as 18 then kids who are under 18 shouldnt play it, they get a copy from a friends brother who lent them it or the parents dont check the bbfc rating of the game when they buy it for theyre kids, also playing hours on end cant help so the parents should know what theyre children are playing, if the kid buys it from a shop does the shop ask for ID, you hear about trading standards doing test purchases on alcohol on shops but have you ever heard of any test purchases involving games/dvds and the sales assistant who sold the game getting a fine if they sold a game to a test purchaser.

Is the game still going to be released but not in the UK, if you wanted aq copy you could see if its regin free and buy it from play asia

Honeydog

I played Manhunt and wanted to play Manhunt 2. It seems to me that there is a complete double standard in what is allowed by the censors and what isn't.

If anyone knows how to get a copy which will play on an unchipped PS2 then I and a few others would be grateful if you'd let us know.

superscaper

What I find strange is why the toned down version is banned in the UK. Why is something that doesn't even have the highest age rating in the US, not acceptable here? To put it in context the game has got the same age rating in the US as Half Life 2 (which is a 15 here). Some funny double standards are definitely going on.

C_Ronaldo

Honeydog wrote: »

I played Manhunt and wanted to play Manhunt 2. It seems to me that there is a complete double standard in what is allowed by the censors and what isn't.

If anyone knows how to get a copy which will play on an unchipped PS2 then I and a few others would be grateful if you'd let us know.

Manhunt may have been of a less violent nature, have you tried play.com or game, i tried playasia but they wont ship to the EU, try ebay

i dont have a problem with violent games but i do have a problem when the parents blame the game producers for they're son being killed and go on a vendetta

JasonLVC

Honeydog wrote: »

I played Manhunt and wanted to play Manhunt 2. It seems to me that there is a complete double standard in what is allowed by the censors and what isn't.

Where's the double standard though?.

MH2 is obviously different enough from MH1 for the BBFC to not grant it a certificate?

BBFC quoted as "The impact on the bleakness and callousness of tone and the essential nature of the gameplay, is clearly insufficient. There has been a reduction in the visual detail in some of the 'execution kills', but in others they retain their original visceral and casually sadistic nature." - so the game is described as being bleak and callous with an overall context which encourages gory killing with little distancing. The BBFC went on "We did make suggestions for further changes to the game, but the distributor has chosen not to make them, and as a result we have rejected the game on both platforms".

So Rockstar have made a game that has just pushed the boundaries just that bit too far by the sounds of things which prevents the BBFC from issuing a certificate and Rockstar refuse to make the game less sadistic hence no release. The BBFC had no issue with 'Bully', that was the media and MP's and the BBFC rightly ignored them and gave Canis Canem the right '15' rating.

Without the threat of censorship, would game manufacturers create games where you can be a racist hero and kill black/muslim people in games and save white women?....Yes, if they thought they'd sell enough of them, but they don't, as they know that it is a boundary too far for them and their market place for now.

JasonLVC

superscaper wrote: »

What I find strange is why the toned down version is banned in the UK. Why is something that doesn't even have the highest age rating in the US, not acceptable here? To put it in context the game has got the same age rating in the US as Half Life 2 (which is a 15 here). Some funny double standards are definitely going on.

American games have a voluntary code of certification.

The UK has a statutory rating system so Rockstar can release MH2 in the USA if they want provided the retailers are happy to stock 'adult' rated games. The UK retailer cannot by law sell games without an official BBFC certificate so hasn't got the choice of selling it regardless.

I get your point though that HL2 is hardly considered violent in the same context as MH1 or MH2 - although having played HL2 and MH1 they are quite different games as I'm sure you'l agree.;)

And to the earlier poster who said SAW has been on TV. Not terrestrial, I'll bet on it. Only Sky and if it was ever shown on BBC/ITV it would be in a cut version for sure (even Die Hard gets the baddie saying 'mother stuffer' instead of the 'motherfu**** as TV censorship is even more draconian than BBFC cinema/video ratings). Sky tend to show more theatrical/unrated cuts due to them being a subscription service and therefore already an element of censorship is built in (pin codes, shown later at night, etc). Besides, Rockstars argument is weak. In SAW you are the viewer passively watching. In MH you are the man with the saw performing the violence. Big difference between watching and doing.

superscaper

JasonLVC wrote: »

Where's the double standard though?.

So you don't find it a bit strange that a game that doesn't even warrant an adult rating in the US gets completely banned in the UK. Are the BBFC and the ESRB so different in their categorisation? The ESRB give Half Life 2 an M and the BBFC give it a 15.

superscaper

JasonLVC wrote: »

The UK has a statutory rating system so Rockstar can release MH2 in the USA if they want provided the retailers are happy to stock 'adult' rated games. The UK retailer cannot by law sell games without an official BBFC certificate so hasn't got the choice of selling it regardless.

That's just it though, it's not adult rated in the US, so why the huge discrepency? And the BBFC rating is not compulsory in the UK. Only for games with certain content, everything else is voluntary so it can be perfectly legal to sell games in the UK without a BBFC certificate.

darwin-rover

marleyboy wrote: »

That they can BAN the likes of THe Exorcist, which lets be honest, wasnt that gorey (even in those days). Yet we can watch movies like Saw III, which doesnt have zombies or green blood, shows me just how flawed the BBFC really is.

The Exorcist was passed for release in 1998 , this is 2007 . And it wasnt banned for the goriness . It would have been released sooner had Warner cut the scene with the 12 year-old girl stabbing herself in the crotch with a crucifix saying "Let Jesus f**k you" . But , quite rightly they stuck to their guns and would only allow an uncut release .

I watched Clockwork Orange (BANNED)

Wasn't banned . Stanley Kubrick (Writer/producer/director) , withdrew the film from release in the UK as there had been a few copycat attacks and he didn't want to be pooing on his own doorstep so to speak .