It’s banned in Ireland too. I recall a similar furore over Carmageddon years back, late '90s at some stage.
There are plenty of games that have a higher gore factor than Grand Theft Auto and they haven’t sold well. Why? Because they weren’t good games. Violence, nudity, and swearing might get people to look at a game but the game won’t sell particularly well unless it’s a good game. GTA didn’t sell well because of the violence it sold well because it was a great game.
It’s nice to see that other civilized countries go overboard just like the United States does.
Marc
This is an interesting article from the New York Times about how game makers are starting to change their focus:
Good question. What if it could be shown that playing a game like this one made people more violent, and/or more accepting of violence, in real life? What if people started imitating the behaviors of the video game?
I don’t know anywhere near enough about this particular game to have an opinion on whether or not it should be banned. But there comes a point at which I don’t have a problem with the government banning something. Imagine a game where you go around raping small children, graphically depicted. I wouldn’t want anybody playing a game like that; I wouldn’t just stop at, “Well, it’s not my cup of tea, but to each his own.”
If I had a nickel for every time something like that came up then I’d have… okay roughly $2 but it’s still a common claim. This has come up about every six months for the past twenty years and then it quietly goes away when the company realized they just don’t know how to create and market games for whatever group they’re targeting.
The sad fact is the industry doesn’t have any clue how to handle a market other than that very narrow band I mentioned. Anything that goes outside it just blows their mind. See the lead up to the launch of the PS3 and the Wii for a good recent example.
I agree that banning is not something that is really a great development, but what else are they going to do?
You do realise that the people who will buy this game will be mostly teens and/or younger?
Most adults won’t buy it, because it is basically a crap game with a lot of violence in it.
So it will end up with younger kids, whether you label it PG or X, you won’t be able to stop that.
I think this game can actually harm children (I can’t believe I am actually writing that), if they are exposed to it at too young an age.
I could even see kids trying to strangle somebody with a garot in the schoolyard after playing this.
I think RockStar has really hurt the industry by releasing this “game”.
They are really giving ammo to the anti-game, anti-violence crowd and should have known better.
Then they just get on with it. The govt no more controls them than it controls the bbc or anything else created by statute. It’s a pretty thick line.
One word reply to the argument for banning— PROHIBITION!
Have you ever played this, or the previous Manhunt game? I doubt it!? If it is
certified X, "a kid " should not be able to buy it, simple as that. If an adult buys
it, it is their responsibility to keep it away from children.
I wonder if you have anything against the MGS or Splinter Cell games, or the
Medal Of Honor series? What about the many Caballero hunting games that are
available? Shall we ban them also? Wake up to reality, and stop acting foolish. :dubious:
It’s Cabela’s.
I don’t think, at its core, that this game is that different than most other games in the genre. They all boil down to this: get from point A to point B, surviving by killing your enemies. To pick out one and say that it should be banned seems silly to me.
Many things are not meant for children. Alchohol, some movies, some books, some songs, etc. Based on that point, one could argue that going to the library can actually harm children. After all, they could pick up a book like In Cold Blood or a short story like The Most Dangerous Game. (The Most Dangerous Game is really the grandfather of movies and games like Manhunt and was published in 1924.) Should we close all the libraries because they might lead to murder? Should we start banning more movies and closing movie theaters? Surely, children sneaking in to watch Hostel 2 will lead to copycat crimes, no? We must get rid of all movies, books, songs, and TV. Especially shows like CSI, Criminal Minds, and Law and Order. Then there’s the internet… that should probably go, too. Too many websites that aren’t meant for children. Could be harmful. Lead to murder and such.
It is worth noting that, even though the parents of the 14 year old murdered in Leicester blame the original Manhunt game for his death, the police do not: “Police said robbery was the motive behind the attack on Stefan in Stokes Wood Park on 26 February 2004 - and not the video game blamed by Stefan’s parents.” So… no murders caused by the first Manhunt game. What basis is there to predict that the second game will lead to some sort of violent crime spree?
Yeah, but they don’t have white heads because of the war. The only thing you can get are those big yellow ones…
YES, I KNEW THAT! I did not want to advertise their products, Mr.Picky. 
Yes, I did play it. Are you trying to call me a liar?
Then just do so.
And who is being foolish here : you think labeling a game a X-rated will keep it out of kids reach?
Yeah, right.
What do these games have in common with ManHunt?
Not much. Yes, you also kill people in these games.
But are you really trying to compare the way it is portrayed and handled?
That is like comparing Faces of Death with Scream.
Once again, I am not a big fan of banning, but I do think this game is just too violent and more importantly too sadistic.
I know there are books out there, but how many kids nowadays read books anyway. 
There is a much bigger draw to a title like this.
I know that I, as a kid, would have done just about anything to get my hands on a game like this, just because of the subject matter.
And I would have succeeded too, one way or another.
I am not sure what my point is, but I do think the industry needs to think about what they release.
They are harming themselves by creating games like this, which are definitely aimed at the most base of instincts, the urge to kill.
If they would have made it just a bit tongue-in-cheeck it might be a completely different case.
BTW I mean I played the first one, not the second one as it is not released yet.
I don’t think I will play it though, as I really didn’t like the first one.
Have you got some kind of problem with hunting? Cabelas are (video games aside), a hunting outfitters, AFAIK.
I doubted it because you were obviously against that particular format of game,
but seeing that you did play it, can I ask; “Was there NOTHING about the game
that appealed to you? Did you not feel that that frisson of “SAFE” fear as you
were sneaking up to do an execution move?” Well I must be sick, then! Book me
in for a psychiatrist in the morning. Preferably not too early. 
Who was speaking to you Mr.Enfield? With a name like yours, it sounds like you may
have a vested interest in the subject, am I right?
You mean he drinks?
Probably drinks and shoots at the same time.
p.s. Hope his middle-name is not Chevrolet!