EdwardKnoxII 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2004 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/30/oz_manhunt_ban/ Australia bans Manhunt By Tony Smith Published Thursday 30th September 2004 16:47 GMT Australia has banned Manhunt, the grisly game claimed to have influenced the murder of a UK teenager earlier this year. The Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC), a cross-state body, this week said it had revoked the game's MA15+ certificate. That classification indicates which age groups any given title can be sold to, in this case only people over the age of 15. This week's move in effect renders the sale of Manhunt in Australia illegal - the game is not suitable for anyone to play, the OFLC effectively said. Indeed, "any existing stocks of this game held by retailers must be removed from the shelves immediately", the body warned. The removal of the certificate follows a demand from Attorney General Philip Ruddock after a complaint by Western Australia state Justice Minister Michelle Roberts. "In the Classification Review Board's opinion, the game warrants a refusal of classification because it contains elements beyond those set out in the classification guidelines and legislation for a computer game at the MA15+ classification," the OFLC said in a statement. Manhunt has been on sale in Australia for almost a year now, so arguably the ban may do little to impact demand for the product. More to the point, if it's not suitable now, what made it so on its release in October 2003? The OFLC said it will provide a more detailed rationale in a few weeks' time. In July, public attention was drawn to Manhunt after the parents of 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah claimed the game had influenced their son's killer, 17-year-old Warren Leblanc, who pleaded guilty to the crime. That prompted UK retailers Dixons and Game to pull the title from their shelves, even though, again, it had been on sale since the previous autumn. Right-leaning newspapers frothed at the mouth in indignation that such stuff could be sold to the nation's youth. In fact, it shouldn't, as the title's 18 certificate makes clear. Indeed, Leicester police, who investigated the murder, ruled out the game as an influence on the murder, which is believed to have been motivated by Leblanc's need to obtain money to pay back a drug-related debt. ® Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Black Lushus 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2004 ahhhh another case of poor parenting blamed on video games and/or music... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2004 "the game is not suitable for anyone to play, the OFLC effectively said." Right conclusion, wrong reasoning. Indeed, Leicester police, who investigated the murder, ruled out the game as an influence on the murder, which is believed to have been motivated by Leblanc's need to obtain money to pay back a drug-related debt. ® Heheh, funny. Oh well, it's not like little things like that matter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2004 "the game is not suitable for anyone to play, the OFLC effectively said." Right conclusion, wrong reasoning. Dude, why do you have such a vendetta against this game.. and pretty much any game that Rockstar comes out with? Aside from the usual "I hate their marketing tactics and attitude" line as per usual... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest TheLastBoyscout Report post Posted October 1, 2004 Manhunt was a pretty sweet game, actually. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2004 Manhunt was a pretty sweet game, actually. I agree. I don't see what was wrong with it. An interesting storyline. The controls were simple and to the point. Lots of levels. I'm stumped. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Metallica Report post Posted October 1, 2004 Manhunt was a pretty sweet game, actually. I agree. I don't see what was wrong with it. An interesting storyline. The controls were simple and to the point. Lots of levels. I'm stumped. Yeah, quite intense and pretty scary too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2004 "the game is not suitable for anyone to play, the OFLC effectively said." Right conclusion, wrong reasoning. Dude, why do you have such a vendetta against this game.. and pretty much any game that Rockstar comes out with? Aside from the usual "I hate their marketing tactics and attitude" line as per usual... GTA3 and so on have/had solid gameplay. Manhunt doesn't have that to support the random acts of violence in it. It's the work of a company that's convinced it doesn't even have to try anymore, because people will buy any slop that they serve up. I'll admit my bias though, because as you said I dislike the company for my own personal reasons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Black Lushus 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2004 Red Dead Revolver wasn't slop... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2004 Red Dead Revolver wasn't slop... Moot point. RDR was a Capcom game that R* merely bought out of development purgatory and published. I never played it, but either way it is an invalid point. Although I'd heard that the PS2 version of it was slop. I'll give them their props with GTA--but it took them four games to get it right. The shocking part is that the first 3D GTA was done right on the first try. That's very difficult to do, indeed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
