14 DAY TRIAL // After Rockstar secured a court ruling last week, that said that its Manhunt 2 game could be sold legally in the UK, the government has stated today that it will in no way try and overturn the legal decision. More important than that, the government of the United Kingdom is showing some common sense in the issue of violence and games.
A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, has made the comments on the ruling concerning Rockstar and the sales of videogames in general. The government recognized the double standard that had been applied to games until the time of the ruling.
"The classification of Manhunt 2 is a matter for the BBFC and the Video Appeals Committee," the spokesperson stated. But more importantly, he clarified the view of the state regarding the link between playing videogames and violent behavior.
"It is important to note that there is no conclusive evidence of any link between playing computer games and violent behavior in real life. Our concern is to make sure that inappropriate material is kept away from children."
In the space of a few weeks, a study requested by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, regarding the problems that games can pose to children, will also be out and shed new light on the discussion.
"The Prime Minister asked Dr Tanya Byron to lead a review to assess the effectiveness and adequacy of existing measures to help prevent children from being exposed to harmful or inappropriate material in videogames and on the Internet, and to make recommendations for improvements or additional action."
After the full of nonsense statements of some members of the Parliament, I had lost confidence in the government to present neutral and science-backed claims when it comes to the videogame industry. It takes such normal declarations like those above to reinstate the lost trust. And I'm hoping that, in the future, problems related to videogames will be treated in the same way that problems with other media are treated, without any prejudice.