The BBFC To Take Another Look at Manhunt 2

It looks more and more like Manhunt 2 is going to make it in the UK as well after all. Rockstar has recently been allowed the appeal against the BBFC's decision to ban the game not once, but twice in the respective PAL territory. The board's statements below follow the decision of the Video Appeals Committee to allow the appeal by Rockstar against the board's rejection of the game by a majority of four to three.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said: "The BBFC will carefully study the judgement by the Video Appeals Committee when it becomes available."


Speaking of the board's methods of giving a game its rating, the same man stated: "The BBFC exercises great vigilance and care in ensuring that all violent games which are submitted to us are correctly classified. Our decisions are based on published guidelines, which are the result of very wide public consultation. The Board also provides very full content information to the public, including parents, about the videogames which it classifies. We recently launched a new website for parents, PBBFC, in addition to the main website and our websites for children and students."

That should help. Parents who know their way with computers already know stuff about video game ratings. Those who can't use the computer and refuse to engage in such complicated activities are the problem.

"The BBFC twice rejected Manhunt 2 for its focus on varied and cumulative killings. We recognize that rejection is a very serious step, in which the desire of publishers to market their games, and that of gamers to buy them, must be balanced against the public interest, including the full range of possible harm risks to vulnerable individuals and to any children who may be wrongly exposed to such games. Such balancing judgements are inevitably complex and multi-faceted, and are made only after very careful consideration of the contents of a work."

Everyone interested in seeing Manhunt de-banned, so to speak, must be asking themselves: "how much time did the BBFC spend with the game anyway?" Sure, gruesome killing goes on right from the start, but the rating boards like the ESRB, PEGI and BBFC look for context. Such gritty scenes should at least be backed up by a strong plot that says "it's necessary!"

But the BBFC assures: "We played Manhunt 2 for well over 30 hours prior to our decision" adding that "The Board recognizes that the available research findings on the effects of video games (including positive as well as harmful effects) are varied and contested. But we continue to believe that a broad approach to the possible risks is needed, which goes beyond purely behavioural harm, and which also takes account of other possible effects on the sensibilities and attitudes of individuals."

The words "board" and "recognizes" stand out at the beginning of these last two statements. I wonder what that means...?