Manhunt: Freedom to choose Vs Child protection?

Today, news has appeared covering the results of the Manhunt 2 controversy. Some adult gamers want the freedom to choose if they wish to purchase Manhunt 2 or not in the UK, following the banning of it by the BBFC body, effectively banning the multi format title by refusing to fashion it with a rating. Games that are refused a rating are not permitted to be produced in the UK under current law.

Interestingly, Nintendo had already stated that if the game carried an 18 rating, it would not be produced for the Wii, before it was known that Manhunt 2 was not to receive even this high rating. However, 18 certified titles are available on the Wii - we've played Scarface: The World is Yours.

A petition was started, asking the government to restrict the BBFC's power following its decision not to rate Manhunt 2. Adult gamers felt their freedom to choose was being violated.

After 3000+ people signed the petition, the government issued this response:

"The Government is satisfied with the BBFC's procedure and with the provisions for appeal, and will not be intervening in this process. The Government has recently announced a review aimed at helping parents ensure that their children are protected from exposure to inappropriate material in games. This is not intended to restrict the choice of material available to adults."

So, we'll never know if Nintendo would have stuck to their guns or not. Had Manhunt 2 been rated 18/adult, would they have let Sony and Microsoft run away with the takings over their family image? Whatever happens, UK gamers will currently have to find an overseas option to play Manhunt 2.

We think it's very interesting to note that some adult gamers are more interested in their right to be able to buy extremely violent games than they are in child protection, since it is a known fact of life that in the current shopping climate, there is absolutely nothing to prevent a parent/sibling or other adult purchasing an 18/adult rated video game and then supplying it to a child of any age. It seems the Government understand that our current protection system is failing children, and have chosen to stand on that side of the fence with this issue.