Rockstar has today come out fighting, against the BBFC's decision to refuse Manhunt 2 certification in the UK. The publisher put up a stern defense of their product, and accused the board of sensors of putting their own reputation before the interests of games players.

Speaking at a special hearing today, Rockstar's representative Geoffrey Robertson said the BBFC shouldn't even be rating games, affirming that: "There's no evidence that playing interactive videogames leads to a propensity to act them out in real life. We wonder why Manhunt 2 has been singled out for special treatment."

Robertson said he would not comment on past cases, "some of the most stupid decisions in censorship history", but affirmed that to link gamers to crimes as a result of Manhunt 2 would be "offensive and outrageous." He also drew upon police reports affirming that the infamous Stefan Pakeerah murder case had nothing to do with Manhunt 2, despite misleading press reports.

"We say [Manhunt 2] has been banned not because of any likelihood it will harm gamers, but because of the likelihood it will harm the reputation of the BBFC," Robertson concluded.

The president of independent game organisation Tiga, and an eminent psychologist, were also called to speak in defense of Manhunt 2 - Tiga's Fred Hasson blaming the ban on The Daily Mail, and bad publicity. "Certainly no one's going to suggest Manhunt 2 is one of the least violent games around," added psychologist Guy Cumberbatch. "In my own limited experience of playing Manhunt 2, it's fairly sanitised as a work compared with what you might expect in a film."

Source: Eurogamer.net

By Luke Guttridge

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