Hasn't been much news regarding Manhunt 2 since it's announced release in the UK (very soon too we are hoping). However, MCV had an exclusive interview with BBFC director David Cooke yesterday, the interview's main focus was, you guessed it, Manhunt 2. Cooke says they are still a little disappointed that the game was passed for release after all the work they did examining the game to become familiar enough with it to make a valid decision. Considerably more time than the VAC who passed the game apparently.
MCV: Has the whole Manhunt 2 experience changed the way the BBFC works – in terms of culture or processes?
Cooke: Not fundamentally. The reason for that is obviously we thought it was the right decision, or we won’t have reached it. It hasn’t affected the fact that we still base our decisions on thorough gameplay. In the case of Manhunt 2, by the end of it all, we probably spent over 100 examiner hours on the game - including more than a few hours of mine.
We actually got a fairly substantial benefit from the Manhunt episode, We went to the High Court, and it clarified the harm test – actually a benefit that flies across a whole range of games and film.
It all gets quite technical, but for instance, it showed it was not necessary for us to show devastating effect, which was what the arguments had said previously.
MCV: Are you still disappointed with the decision?
Cooke: We absolutely accept that if you have an independent judicial tribunal, like we do with the Video Appeals Committee, you have to abide by its findings and there’s no point showing sour grapes. I guess we’re still disappointed because we put quantifiably more examining hours into getting familiar with the game than the VAC was able to do, so in effect, they were substituting their judgement for ours on the basis of familiarity of the game.
Read the full interview at MCV.
It's been a long, hard, tedious battle but it's all over now. Rockstar now has their hands on a ratings certificate for the censored version of Manhunt 2 with a rating of 18+. The Video Appeals Committee has come to a decision that their previous OK of the game will still stand forcing the British Board of Censorship Classification to rate the game 18+. Rockstar has released a statement saying:
"We are pleased that the VAC has reaffirmed its decision recognizing that Manhunt 2 is well within the bounds established by other 18+ rated entertainment. Rockstar Games is committed to making great interactive entertainment, while also marketing our products responsibly and supporting an effective rating system."
Now that the rating problem is out of the way, Rockstar should be announcing a release date soon pending manufacturing. Personally, I hope everyone gets and enjoys Manhunt 2 as it's a great game regardless of the reviews the game has received.
Well for the moment it looks like the UK banning of Manhunt 2 will stick. If you'll remember back, the ban was overruled by the Video Appeals Committee, but this week the High Court’s Mr Justice Mitting stated that the VAC had made an error of law regarding the meaning of the word ‘harm’. So the saga continues, the celebrations of the VAC win look to be over, and Rockstar don't seem to happy with this turn of events:
“We believe the Video Appeals Committee decision was correct and do not understand the court's decision to expend further public resources to censor a game that contains content well within the bounds established by the British Board of Film Classification's18-plus ratings certification.”
What do we think? We think it's about time the UK listen to the people and look at what is common in the 20th century. One of them is digital entertainment, the other is the freedom to watch and play what you feel is right for you and your family...
A few weeks ago, we reported that the gaming website, MyWii.com.au, told us that the date for Manhunt 2 being released was 31st of December 2007, now 8 days later; the game hasn’t hit our shores. Sadly, we already knew they were wrong in the first place. Before Christmas one of our staff members, Dazza, contacted the OFLC (Australian Classification Board) asking the question of why Manhunt 2 had not been released, let allow rated in Australia even after two months of the US having the game. After the news of Grand Theft Auto IV’s rating broke out we felt this was an issue that should be followed up, we were hoping for at least a proper release date or some reason for why we had heard nothing about the game hitting Australian shores.
To our surprise, Dazza received a reply within only a few days. As it turns out the OFLC hasn't actually received the game for rating from Rockstar yet.
I can confirm that the computer game Manhunt 2 has not been submitted to the Board for classification.
So Manhunt 2 isn't effectively banned in Australia yet. The response also suggests that they are expecting the game to be submitted for classification:
It is not possible to speculate on what the Board will classify this game once it is submitted for classification.
This means that Rockstar haven’t given Australia the chance to embrace the art that might be Manhunt 2, why? The first Manhunt game was banned in Australia, however the UK is in the same vote, they also banned the first Manhunt so it can't be simply that they believe it will be banned straight out. One scenario it that, let's say the BBFC (UK's Classification Board) refused to classify Manhunt 2 before it was shipped to Australia for classification by the OFLC. Then it may have been seen by Rockstar that Australia would follow the BBFC and also refuse it's classification in the Australian Region, thus halted shipping and classification until the BBFC situation was dealt with.
They suggested lastly that we contact Rockstar directly for a likely release date on the game. We're still waiting on a reply from Rockstar at the moment...
You can see copies of the response from the OFLC here: Image | Document | PDF
Thank you to Dazza for finding this.
Sorry for getting your hopes up, but it is not true. Yesterday I was on the Wii site MyWii and I saw a Manhunt 2 area, wanting to see what others thought on the game, I clicked on it. It lead me to a page with pictures and screenshots and information. But I saw something very odd.
Australian Release Date: 31 Dec 2007
But I thought it was weird that Rockstar haven't told us the date, nor have the OLFC even rated the game yet, does this mean it's coming? Sorry, no. As a rule of thumb, never trust a website that can't even get the games title correct (it's Manhunt not ManHunt).
Link: MyWii Game - ManHunt 2
Well, it was to be expected wasn't it? The BBFC just don't seem to know when enough is enough, is it the incompetence of the BBFC or simple hatred against the Manhunt series/Rockstar? Who knows, the one thing we do know though is that they don't want the game released, and they are willing to try anything to stop the release. Perhaps if the rating system in the UK was updated to accommodate for the norm of games today they would see Manhunt 2 is fit for release.
What do I mean? Well it's been shown before that the BBFC rating's system for games is flawed, and lets face it, gaming has changed since the Nintendo 64, or hell even the Dreamcast. Violence is the norm, it's normal. The gaming demography that grew up with the first generation gaming consoles are now in there 20's to 40's and want to play more intense thrillers, shooters and horrors. The same taste most having in movies, books and television.
Take-Two's Chairman, Strauss Zelnick, released a statement only 2 days ago showing his obvious disappointment in the BBFC's decision to take the Manhunt 2 case further.
"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. 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."
Don't hold your breath for a release anytime soon UK residents, seems the BBFC are trying to "protect you" at all costs.
Today the BBFC announced that it would be taking the VAC’s decision to have Manhunt 2 classified in the UK to the High Court. The BBFC are hoping to keep the game from reaching stores across the country so don’t be expecting the game in the UK for some time yet. Heres what the BBFC had to say:
“The BBFC is contesting the VAC judgement 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 judgement, 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.”
It's a shame that Manhunt 2 is facing all these difficulties...
