Rockstar’s bid to see Manhunt 2 put on UK shelves has passed a major milestone as the Video Appeals Committee has voted four to three in favour of the developer’s controversial game. Manhunt 2 – for PS2, PSP and Wii – was twice refused classification by the BBFC which effectively banned it from being sold in this country.

Following the decision, the BBFC says that it is considering the committee’s judgement and will be making further decisions shortly. “Such balancing judgements are inevitably complex and multi-faceted, and are made only after very careful consideration of the contents of a work,” an official statement revealed.

“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 behavioral harm, and which also takes account of other possible effects on the sensibilities and attitudes of individuals,” it concluded. So it looks like Rockstar’s angle of attack – to cast doubt on the commonly held belief that exposure to violent video games lead to real-life violence – has paid off. However, while nothing conclusive has been proved, as so many anti-video game critics will no doubt point out, nothing has been entirely disproved either.

For the time being, this can be seen as a major victory for both Rockstar and video gamers in general – a public acknowledgement that there is simply not enough evidence to support a theory that exposure to violence in video games can be harmful. Maybe this will stop the sensationalist media from being so quick to pin the blame on video games at every possible opportunity. Nah, we doubt it too.

In fact it may have done the very opposite. This ruling has basically said that until such times as a scientific study can unquestionably prove that there is a causal relationship between violent actions and violence in video games, then the BBFC doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on when saying that a game has gone too far. That’s only going to fuel views that the system is failing to provide adequate restraints on video game content, and in the long term that could be damaging for the whole games industry.

Hopefully that won’t matter too much though, because, realistically, few games are going to be able to get by just from their controversial content alone. Manhunt 2 may have sucked severely by all accounts, but at least other Daily Mail reader-baiting titles from Rockstar had the decency to provide some brilliant gameplay.

Hooray, freedom of speech has won out and we’re free to drink, smoke and corrupt our minds however we see fit. For god’s sake, just pay attention to age ratings, people, and we’ll be fine. Hands up who's getting this just to see what all the damned fuss was about...

Source

MCV

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