New Zealand Censor Bans Manhunt Outright

rh2600 writes "The New Zealand censors have banned Rockstar Games' controversial stealth action PlayStation 2 game Manhunt, making it the 'first [ever] video game banned by the Office of Film and Literature Classification.' The New Zealand Herald has a story about it, including some pretty interesting comments from a usually liberal Censor's Office: 'Unlike the Grand Theft Auto series, which... had an element of humor in its depiction of police chases, Manhunt has none of that whatsoever.'" The censor concludes by saying: "You have to at least acquiesce in these [in-game] murders and possibly tolerate, or even move towards enjoying them, which is injurious to the public good."

Comments

Re:Order it online

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

You say Manhunt shouldn't exist but then ask me whether a 10 year old should be playing Manhunt. There's a big difference between limiting who can buy a game and removing a game completely from store shelves. I think most adults are mature enough people to enjoy a violent video game and not lose their marbles over it. Likewise, I'm not endorsing letting children play these games. I haven't played Manhunt so I don't know if the ESRB should have rated it Adults Only. I'm sure it deserved the Mature label at least, which it got. So which are you supporting? Removing the game from store shelves completely or preventing children from gaining access to it?

And as for your free speech argument - as soon as you start deciding what types of speech can and cannot be free, you're no longer allowing free speech. Let people write all the snuff fantasies they want. Let the Ku Klux Klan organize and gather all they want. Let them all have their voice. As soon as you start saying, you aren't allowed to say such things - people begin getting interested in it. For instance, the Ku Klux Klan is shown on shows like Jerry Springer and is seen as a laughingstock. If the government supressed them then people would wonder about what their message was and an underground movement would begin. I think part of the reason that Germany still has to deal with people spouting Nazi views is that they are trying so hard to prevent anyone from saying anything along those lines. No, US-style free speech is not "a little fucked up", it is the only way free speech is of any value whatsoever. You don't get to pick and choose what people are allowed to say if speech is free.