Rockstar’s appeal against the British Board of Film Classification’s decision to refuse classification to Manhunt 2 launched today. In case you had any doubt whether Rockstar might have decided to go quietly in the wake of a successful launch in the US, think again. Geoffrey Robertson, representing Rockstar, kicked off proceedings by stating that the BBFC was a misnomer, instead suggesting that it should be referred to as the British Board of Videogame Censors.

Reaffirming most gamers’ assertion that there is “no evidence to suggest that playing interactive video games leads to a propensity to act them out in real life”, Robertson accused the BBFC of singling out Manhunt 2 for special treatment. He then went on to question the Video Appeals Committee’s experience of video gaming. While it seems clear that the seven panel members probably aren’t hardcore gamers, Robertson was informed that some of them have played video games and that they did play Manhunt 2 prior to the hearing. That must have been a bit of a shock for the non-gamers among them.

Robertson’s argument currently hinges on the fact that there is no evidence of violent video games leading to violent crimes; he cited the only case in which there was a direct connection between a video game – Rockstar’s Manhunt in fact – and a violent crime. This was the murder of British teenager, Stefan Pakeerah; the video game connection was, needless to say, picked up on immediately by the mainstream media as an excuse to blame video games for society's woes. The police later issued a statement pointing out that the copy of Manhunt was owned by the victim, not the killer.

Robertson concluded by saying "We say [Manhunt 2] has been banned not because of any likelihood it will harm gamers, but because of the likelihood it will harm the reputation of the BBFC."

It should be interesting to see how this one goes. Evidently BBFC wasn’t satisfied that the adjustments Rockstar made to tone the game down were enough the first time, but it makes you wonder whether they were sticking to their guns for the right reasons. On the other hand, what the games industry doesn’t need is more titles pointlessly adding fuel to the ‘games are evil and corrupting minds’ debate. If Manhunt 2 was actually worth getting worked up about it would be different, but by all accounts it sounds like a pretty weak title and being banned is the only thing it’s really got going for it.

Source
Eurogamer

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