Manhunt 2 still not OK for UK, says British ratings board

23 Comments by Scott Jon Siegel Oct 8th 2007 7:30AM
Filed under: Nintendo Wii

Despite receiving an M rating from the ESRB in the US, Manhunt 2 on the Nintendo Wii is still not appropriate for release in the UK, according to the British Board of Film Classification, who have once again rejected the title, despite changes made since the original rejection back in June.

Any hope of Manhunt 2's release in the UK now hinges on publisher Take 2 Interactive appealing the decision, but not before further changes are made to the final version of the game. David Cooke, director of the BBFC has stated that the changes made to the title thus far are not sufficient, and that the game still retains the same "visceral" and "sadistic" gameplay that warranted the original rejection.

It's unknown at this point whether Take 2 will once again appeal the rejection, or if Manhunt 2 is simply not meant for release in the UK.

Tags: esrb, manhunt-2, manhunt2, ratings, rockstar, take-2, take2, uk

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(Page 1) Reader Comments

Poisoned Al: Oct 8th 2007; 8:13AM

Funny, the BBFC might be a bit fuddy-duddy, but usually if it gets a green light elsewhere they let it though.

It is possible that they saw though the attempt to use them as a marketing gimmick and are punishing them for it.

Noam Chomsky: Oct 8th 2007; 8:21AM

How much can these rating boards push their self perceived notions of "morally preservative brand of market control until something happens?

psyborg: Oct 8th 2007; 8:23AM

Banned in the UK? this is that one minigame where you waggle the wii wand around right? Sounds like the perfect christmas gift for my grandparents.

LAZoftheTamarinds: Oct 8th 2007; 8:31AM

Still banned overthere!? I don't really see what the big deal is. There are plenty of other violent games except this one has the most hype. This game is meant to be for grown up gamers! But at least they can import one.

LaughingTarget: Oct 8th 2007; 8:39AM

Meanwhile, the second season of Rome, a show co-sponsored by the BBC and HBO, which has brutal violence, is currently airing. Maybe Manhunt 2 just sucks and the UK is trying to save the public from something that bad, because Rome is good and is far more graphic since it depicts REAL people getting their death on, not digital mock-ups.

Jomolungma: Oct 8th 2007; 8:45AM

Does this quiet the rumors that Take 2 purposely got the game banned the first time to strum up publicity? If that were the case, wouldn't they have hit their target the second time around so they could actually release a game that would take advantage of that publicity?

ThornedVenom: Oct 8th 2007; 1:58PM

Backfiring doesn't cancel the rumours of intentions.

megaStryke: Oct 8th 2007; 9:12AM

"The impact of the revisions on the bleakness and callousness of tone, or the essential nature of the gameplay, is clearly insufficient."

It's a game about brutally murdering people. If you change the "callousness of tone" and the "essential nature of the gameplay" then it's a completely different game. At that point, you might as well call it "Happy Adventure in Unicorn Land".

t_m: Oct 8th 2007; 10:42AM

which, i think, was their point.

When they turned it down the first time they made it pretty clear that the publisher was gonna find it almost impossible to fix it to their satisfaction.

Generally i think the BBFC does a pretty good job.. they crack down on extremes and cruelty.. but they allow stuff with artistic merit that doesn't get allowed in lots of other countries.

ALH: Oct 8th 2007; 9:26AM

its still coming out in mainland europe though, right?

Chris: Oct 8th 2007; 9:37AM

@#¬? off! BBFC, you gave silent hill(movie) a 15 and the end of the movie was worse(in the sense of blood and gore) then hell raiser.

megaStryke: Oct 8th 2007; 9:41AM

Not to mention the "rape" scene....

t_m: Oct 8th 2007; 10:44AM

because they have changed with the times. Hellraiser wouldn't get an 18 these days.

You can't blame them for being too strict AND too soft!

OrganicShadow: Oct 8th 2007; 10:24AM

This is what's funny about the ESRB: It has all the power in the world, yet it has no power at all?

"How?" you say? Well, it can sway the console makers into not allowing certain games to be released on them, it can cause them to be choosy about which products they bundle with systems, but it has no actual power of enforcement or legal regulation like the film ratings or like with alcohol/tobacco/etc.

It has too much power yet not enough. It has the psychological power to affect the console makers but has no legal/bureaucratic ability to make it's ratings affective beyond "we are just throwing our suggestions out there, that's all", and retail choosing weather or not it will listen, and parents choosing weather or not they will listen.

The world can basically pick and choose if/when it wants to listen to the ESRB, as in the case with Sony/Nintendo/M$, they take the ratings as official, but the UK won't. Even with an M rating they say no, choosing to ignore the rating. This is absolute crap. I was actually thinking about eventually living in the UK but I guess Canada it is eh?

JoJo: Oct 8th 2007; 1:22PM

Wow, the decision of Manhunt 2's release in the UK affects your entire decision of whether or not to move there?!
You really shouldnt make life changing decisions based on videogame releases.

LaughingTarget: Oct 8th 2007; 1:41PM

It is more along the lines that the Manhunt 2 decision only demonstrates the societal priorities, which are reflected by government activities. Brits want someone else to think for them (and take care of them from cradle to grave for that matter), thus such legally binding organizations are created. It is important to gague the national behavior norms when deciding to move to a different nation. OrganicShadow likely doesn't want some faceless government organization telling him what he can and can't do that has no impact on others around him, and the UK is not the place to live if you're an independent minded person.

JoJo: Oct 8th 2007; 2:42PM

And America or Canada is? Unless he's moving to Sweden you wont find anywhere that doesnt attempt to take moral control over what its citizens view. This is rare example. The UK is generally far more liberal with videogame and film ratings.
Besides, its not exactly difficult to import. I just find his statement that he would reconsider moving here just because Manhunt is being denied an official rating to be hyperbolic to the extreme.

saylorsgang: Oct 8th 2007; 10:50AM

The Brits are upset with this game, have you watched BBC lately, Gordon Ramsey cusses every 6 seconds and another lady has talks about peoples "poos" geez!!

HOBBER: Oct 8th 2007; 11:07AM

It's not all of us here in the UK who don't want it. Its just the BBFC being boring and annoying everyone who does want it.

Sidepocket: Oct 8th 2007; 11:17AM

You know what I find funny...

The UK bans this and that, sues this and that. They claim to be morally strait and not barbaric like those "war hungry Americans". So let me ask you this, why does the UK have one of the WORST CRIME RATE OF ANY COUNTRY!?!

I have friends that live in Bristol and London. If it was not for their financial situation, they would soooo move the fuck out of there! Shit, three of them got mugged at fucking 10 pm. I live near "rough and tough terrorist" NYC and "black gangster drug dealing" Newark. I can walk out there at 3am like nothing. Its like fucking Disneyland. Yet one of my friends go mugged via crowbar to his body at 10pm. Why?

In short, I do not think any governing body or country should condemn fake virtual violence when every country has some real gruesome violence on its hands.

Word of the street(IDF-Digital Ruler).: Oct 8th 2007; 12:25PM

Sucks to be them?,Just kidding.

Meh Manhunt 2 seems to be one of those games that are good for a rent in a slow month but really it doesn’t seems to be much more than that.UK isn’t missing the great game anyway, wait for GTAIV UK you know that’s the one.

tr1cky tpr: Oct 8th 2007; 2:06PM

Know what? I've had enough, so ill just say what im thinking.

F*CK the BBFC. It seems they think we are lower than the americans. They will get the current censored version, while it seems the only choice for us is to cut out every last bit of violence just to make the c*/$s happy. Seriously, this sh*t pisses me off, so i am GLAD that importing exists, cause the likely version wel'll get, i wouldn't pay 2 POUNDS for it.

I'm sick of their SH*T.

shivr: Oct 8th 2007; 10:11PM

looks like they might be more banning based on concept rather than content for this game...

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