Brady280
Halloween is Awesome!
I wanted it but I don't really care if I don't get it. I'll forget about it in the next few days anyway.
The Manhunt 2 Ban Explained
- Thread starter Corey
- Start date
cbrotherson
WiiChat Feature Writer
EKAY123 said:
That's terrible - do you have a link? I'll go looking around for one, but if you have one to hand I'll take a look...
EDIT: Okay, I've had a look around - there's no other murder than the one I mentioned. It's become revamped news in the last few weeks, because of Manhunt 2, but what you described was in fact the exact same case that happened years ago which was disproved in court to be nothing to do with videogames (the Pakeerah/Leblanc murder case - is that the one?) as said many times but ignored by the mainstream media.
If this isnt the case, you really have to point me in the right direction, because nothing has been noted in the mainstream press that I read, nor the gaming press, which for something of that size would be fairly noticeable on my radar (being an ex full time journo). Seeing as there's still no direct link to games violence and real life violence -a constant issue that I feel will never be resolved, as people are still trying to link every other entertainment to violence- I honestly do believe you've got mixed up here with a very old and false story, because if it was as clear cut as you describe then it would be an open and shut case, which it clearly isnt (a first page Google search would offer that and Rockstar wouldnt have a leg to stand on for the sequel's release otherwise - NONE of this has been mentioned in the Manhunt 2 banning in ANY reports, which is strange to say the least).
Please fire over the links to what you're referring to, and I'll take a look.
Last edited:
supanova
chaos whore
I had very little interest in Manhunt 2. But now I want it.
SensesFail
WiiChat Member
lol, exactly what they wanted.supanova said:
that whole murder, however horrific it was, had nothing to do with video games. its stupid and ignorant to suggest that playing a single video game can cause someone to become homocidal. if that were the case, im sure id be in jail by now from all the shooters ive played. its rediculous..
supanova
chaos whore
EKAY123 said:
You sir, are an idiot.
David328ci
WiiChat Member
- Apr 2, 2007
- 265
- 2
Finally a game that I will actually want to play. My Wii has been gathering dust.
Corey,
Great article, worms in a can ring any bells?
I wasn't really looking to proffering any views on your original article per se as we have discussed the stifled, generally uninformed and over hyped decisions surrounding the entire censorship domain currently bringing fear to a console near you, in previous threads....
I have just been reading Gamespot's hands on (pardon the pun) impressions of Manhunt II - Wii version and it shone another light on the argument for me.
If, what they say, is correct then Rockstar seem to have taken the experience to a new and, some may say, influential level...
Gesture controls add immersion to the experience; we have glimpsed this with Godfather - quick strangle anyone?; and hence make the Wii version something entirely different from the other versions. To emulate beating, stabbing, sawing and strangulation with your hands and to see it actually take place in front of you could possibly have some effects on certain unhinged gamers. Give a child a toy gun to play wit.....errmmmm I won't use that analogy.
I am NOT attempting to fuel the fires with this: as I certainly don't believe it: but I am highlighting an aspect of reasoning towards the ban itself. As Wii controls are taken to a more gesticulated level then the experience grows and it would be interesting to see just how far Rockstar have taken it with this game. [I do know that the ban is NOT Wii specific]
Nintendo always aimed for true motion control and MHII may have delivered on this promise - Nintendo should be looking and thinking about this if it ever comes to deciding to ban games which adapt to use their systems [Corey did mention that they do ban on content rating]. Sure you can say that MHII's concept is unnecessarily gory or violent but if they didn't do it someone else would and to ban them won't stop games like this regarding future production. As time progresses censorship dilutes - we have already had Back to the Future mentioned for goddam and literature being banned for being evocative of it's time i.e. Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman's famous collection of poetry, was withdrawn in Boston in 1881, after the District Attorney threatened criminal prosecution for the use of explicit language in some poems. The work was later published in Philadelphia. Poetry - hah! Pam Ayres eat you heart out.
To censor is for the good of the body censoring it - censorship is the opinion of an elected body [per se] and not the consumer - consumers vote with their money - after all if you think you may be offended - don't dig any deeper. Games are a sought after / purchsed product which doesn't appear in the stream of every day consciousness of many peoples lives.
Something that is apparent in this is that, when you watch the news on tv or read the newspaper - we have "sanctioned" coverage of murder, rape, pedophilia, lying, cheating, corruption, theft - in general, crimes against humanity. The story which highlights the trauma with the most realistic coverage generally gets praised the most. I couldn't ever work this out. Games which do not portray "real" life get censored but news people sniffing out the highest ratings or copies sold describe REAL life harrowing experiences by shoving a mic/camera into the faces of traumatised victims of crime or disaster etc... get awards?!?!?!?!? A culture which encourages mobile phone (grainy) images of real life traumas which are displayed in your living room without any labels or warnings.... See this is why I didn't originally post :smilewinkgrin: - I get carried away with the hypocrisy of it all.
If you are concerned that, as a parent, your child is playing inappropriate games, "for god's sake get off your ass and do some parenting!!" Thank you to Stewie Gilligan Griffin (Aged 1) for that last quote
Great article, worms in a can ring any bells?
I wasn't really looking to proffering any views on your original article per se as we have discussed the stifled, generally uninformed and over hyped decisions surrounding the entire censorship domain currently bringing fear to a console near you, in previous threads....
I have just been reading Gamespot's hands on (pardon the pun) impressions of Manhunt II - Wii version and it shone another light on the argument for me.
If, what they say, is correct then Rockstar seem to have taken the experience to a new and, some may say, influential level...
Gesture controls add immersion to the experience; we have glimpsed this with Godfather - quick strangle anyone?; and hence make the Wii version something entirely different from the other versions. To emulate beating, stabbing, sawing and strangulation with your hands and to see it actually take place in front of you could possibly have some effects on certain unhinged gamers. Give a child a toy gun to play wit.....errmmmm I won't use that analogy.
I am NOT attempting to fuel the fires with this: as I certainly don't believe it: but I am highlighting an aspect of reasoning towards the ban itself. As Wii controls are taken to a more gesticulated level then the experience grows and it would be interesting to see just how far Rockstar have taken it with this game. [I do know that the ban is NOT Wii specific]
Nintendo always aimed for true motion control and MHII may have delivered on this promise - Nintendo should be looking and thinking about this if it ever comes to deciding to ban games which adapt to use their systems [Corey did mention that they do ban on content rating]. Sure you can say that MHII's concept is unnecessarily gory or violent but if they didn't do it someone else would and to ban them won't stop games like this regarding future production. As time progresses censorship dilutes - we have already had Back to the Future mentioned for goddam and literature being banned for being evocative of it's time i.e. Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman's famous collection of poetry, was withdrawn in Boston in 1881, after the District Attorney threatened criminal prosecution for the use of explicit language in some poems. The work was later published in Philadelphia. Poetry - hah! Pam Ayres eat you heart out.
To censor is for the good of the body censoring it - censorship is the opinion of an elected body [per se] and not the consumer - consumers vote with their money - after all if you think you may be offended - don't dig any deeper. Games are a sought after / purchsed product which doesn't appear in the stream of every day consciousness of many peoples lives.
Something that is apparent in this is that, when you watch the news on tv or read the newspaper - we have "sanctioned" coverage of murder, rape, pedophilia, lying, cheating, corruption, theft - in general, crimes against humanity. The story which highlights the trauma with the most realistic coverage generally gets praised the most. I couldn't ever work this out. Games which do not portray "real" life get censored but news people sniffing out the highest ratings or copies sold describe REAL life harrowing experiences by shoving a mic/camera into the faces of traumatised victims of crime or disaster etc... get awards?!?!?!?!? A culture which encourages mobile phone (grainy) images of real life traumas which are displayed in your living room without any labels or warnings.... See this is why I didn't originally post :smilewinkgrin: - I get carried away with the hypocrisy of it all.
If you are concerned that, as a parent, your child is playing inappropriate games, "for god's sake get off your ass and do some parenting!!" Thank you to Stewie Gilligan Griffin (Aged 1) for that last quote
Last edited:
cbrotherson
WiiChat Feature Writer
Hey Rolex,
Sorry about the long delay, busy few weeks, topped off with a mild bout of food poisoning, just to make things interesting.
I agree that someone somewhere should/would have realised this is merely something that would have occurred at one point or another. Each medium experiences something like this at some point and it's merely the stemming of an inevitable tide. In several years time I imagine we'll be wondering what the fuss was all about. But currently, our classification system for games is so deeply flawed it shows a) an inherent disrespect for the medium, and b) the medium's lack of self confidence.
As you say, there's a strong desire to mask fictional accounts of depravity that 'real world' accounts are often praised for. Yet the Media is very selective in what it shows from such accounts, sometimes making it a cynical form of expression in itself. During my Journalism degree we were taught numerous ethics (some of which get beaten out of you once you step into the 'real world') and how one type of story is valid while another isn’t, even if they're effectively the same thing – it's all about creating an angle to gather audience. There's a very fine line between that and what entertainment forms often do. Not to beat a dead horse, but the whole "my son was killed by Manhunt's influence" story proves that in more ways than one, given the press practically ignored the facts of the case from not only the police, but prosecutors AND defence solicitors to push their own agenda on the story ("games are evil!") and the parents' desire to try and disregard the fact their son was involved with drugs which got him killed in the first place. Then when Manhunt 2 was revealed to be coming out, the same story was dragged out yet again, with the same misinformation leading people to believe something which boiled down to a WWE wrestling promo. "Drugs? Well, we cant get rid of that, it's been part of society since the dawn of time... and hell, it's passe anyway, the kids and drugs story has been done".
It's not to say there's no smoke without fire (so to speak), but gaming is a modern day witch hunt. And humanity sure does love to blame things which takes our own evils out of our hands and makes us seem like pure, untainted souls where the slightest 'bad' influence can send us into a murderous rage – not that any one of us is capable of such a thing on our own, of course...
Sorry about the long delay, busy few weeks, topped off with a mild bout of food poisoning, just to make things interesting.
I agree that someone somewhere should/would have realised this is merely something that would have occurred at one point or another. Each medium experiences something like this at some point and it's merely the stemming of an inevitable tide. In several years time I imagine we'll be wondering what the fuss was all about. But currently, our classification system for games is so deeply flawed it shows a) an inherent disrespect for the medium, and b) the medium's lack of self confidence.
As you say, there's a strong desire to mask fictional accounts of depravity that 'real world' accounts are often praised for. Yet the Media is very selective in what it shows from such accounts, sometimes making it a cynical form of expression in itself. During my Journalism degree we were taught numerous ethics (some of which get beaten out of you once you step into the 'real world') and how one type of story is valid while another isn’t, even if they're effectively the same thing – it's all about creating an angle to gather audience. There's a very fine line between that and what entertainment forms often do. Not to beat a dead horse, but the whole "my son was killed by Manhunt's influence" story proves that in more ways than one, given the press practically ignored the facts of the case from not only the police, but prosecutors AND defence solicitors to push their own agenda on the story ("games are evil!") and the parents' desire to try and disregard the fact their son was involved with drugs which got him killed in the first place. Then when Manhunt 2 was revealed to be coming out, the same story was dragged out yet again, with the same misinformation leading people to believe something which boiled down to a WWE wrestling promo. "Drugs? Well, we cant get rid of that, it's been part of society since the dawn of time... and hell, it's passe anyway, the kids and drugs story has been done".
It's not to say there's no smoke without fire (so to speak), but gaming is a modern day witch hunt. And humanity sure does love to blame things which takes our own evils out of our hands and makes us seem like pure, untainted souls where the slightest 'bad' influence can send us into a murderous rage – not that any one of us is capable of such a thing on our own, of course...
MetroidFan
WiiChat Member
- Jul 4, 2007
- 58
- 2
Personally, I understand why it's banned. The people about urinating inmates and literally ripping a man's "manhood" off is just disturbing! I can handle Silent Hill but Man Hunt take it OVER THE TOP of inhumanity!
cbrotherson said:
Man, you get some of the crappiest luck - first skint and then ill...I shudder to think what's next:sick:
And as one writer once told me re: delayed replies...."That's not a problem here in flavour country" Thanks for the reply..
Although I must say that gaming seems to get the smelly stuff on each end of the stick - on one hand it contributes to the obesity in childhood "epidemic" and on the other, it "makes" children get off that fat arse and take the time and effort to go out and murder someone - hmmmm as cynically / cripplingly sarcastic as I am, if dev's could just meld the two and take only good bits out - motivation and passiveness then wow what a game that would be.
Stay well...
cbrotherson
WiiChat Feature Writer
Rolex said:
I have a piano falling incident scheduled for sometime on Saturday. Would be rude to miss that...
Heh, now you're just giving Rockstar more ideas
Cheers, you too, I'm trying - the piano may have other ideas, though...
cbrotherson said:
Well if the piano doesn't turn up I have access to either a large weight with 200T in white paint on the side, a large boulder with a plank of wood see-saw like at the base of it ontop a high cliff (I believe it's right next to the route you take to get..erm..somewhere?? and finally the [drumroll please] ACME anvil sitting on a girder high above the street in a precarious manner.....
Just let me know....:smilewinkgrin:
cbrotherson
WiiChat Feature Writer
Rolex said:
I was with you up until you told me you were using ACME... I thought they went out of business a long time ago
