BRUTAL & SADISTIC ; UK Censors Ban Scottish Firm's Violent Video Game
544285
By Lynn Davidson  A VIOLENT video game sequel made by Scots firm Rockstar North has been banned in Britain.  Manhunt 2 has been rejected by the British Board of Film Classification on the grounds of its "casual sadism" and "unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying".
360093
Italians all in a lather over perversity The EC's media commissioner has attempted to sedate a colleague who became outraged over the Italian launch of a Gothic horror computer game he feared would corrupt the continent's children.â¦
422606
The controller for Nintendo's new Wii game console has come under fire in Britain because it can fly out of users' hands, a report said.
756669
(InfoWorld) - A long-simmering debate in Germany about banning violent computer games is burning again after an aloof teenager on Monday stormed his former high school, shot five people and later killed himself. The disgruntled 18-year ex-pupil from Emsdetten, Germany, near the Dutch border, was described by students and teachers as a youth with no friends who liked guns and played violent computer shooting games. The incident brought back memories of a shooting rampage in the eastern German city of Erfurt in 2002 when an alienated former pupil -- and computer games player -- shot 16 people, mostly teachers, and later himself. It has also rekindled the simmering debate in Germany on whether violent computer games should be banned. "The government is currently reviewing whether the current legislation for protecting minors needs to be revised and plans to announce its finding by the end of 2007," said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. "The Emsdetten shootings will likely impact these discussions." Family Affairs Minister Ursula von der Leyen addressed the German parliament earlier on Tuesday and has been holding talks with policy makers throughout the day, the ministry spokesman said. The minister is expected to make a public announcement later in the evening. Numerous politicians have expressed outrage over the school shootings and continued access to violent PC games. Brandenburg state Interior Minister JÃ¶rg SchÃ¶nbohm said in an interview with the German media that "killer games" encourage violent behavior and are contributing to an escalating rate of brutality among young people. The minister called the current practice of voluntary regulation by game publishers and distributors inadequate. Lower Saxony Interior Minister Uwe SchÃ¼nemann called for a ban on the distribution and development of violent computer games in Germany. Dieter WiefelspÃ¼tz, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and an expert on family policy, conceded that not everyone who plays such games "automatically becomes a mass murderer" but, like the ministers, also called for a ban on "killer games." WiefelspÃ¼tz isn't alone in the SPD. A majority of members in his party have been lobbying for months for major changes in federal laws aimed at protecting minors, including an outright ban on violent computer games. And the opposition parties Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) agree that changes are necessary to the current laws governing entertainment software. But members of the Green Party warned of putting all the blame on computer games. Volker Beck, a parliamentarian member of the Green Party, said young people need to acquire media competence and learn how to use computers, including PC games, in a sensible way. Following the shoot-out in Erfurt, the German government revised its legislation on protecting minors, requiring, for instance, that all computer games and video movies be subject to a mandatory age-rating plan. Some legislators are also calling on ISPs (Internet service providers) to take a more active role in controlling the information provided over their systems. The Emsdetten teenager who killed himself used the Internet not only to inform a chat group of his shoot-out plans but also to purchase weapons, including guns and bombs, through a German weapons portal.
105654
British censors win the right to fight the release of video game Manhunt 2 in the High Court.
431366
Computer-generated child abuse images and cartoons should be banned, Home Secretary John Reid has said.
719689
Ireland imposed its first ban Wednesday on a video game, citing what it called "gross, unrelenting and gratuitous violence" in the latest offering from Rockstar Games.
408232
Sony Corp. apologized Friday to the Church of England for a violent computer game that features a bloody shootout inside an Anglican cathedral.
253995
A computer game which uses the CCTV image of James Bulger being led away to his death from a Merseyside shopping centre has been withdrawn from sale in the UK after being condemned by his mother as 'sick and hurtful'.
539593
A PC, PS2 and Xbox-based trivia game has been banned in the US after a teenager alleged that the title contains topless video pictures of her, used not only without her permission but filmed when she was a minor.
653973
The controversial game publisher pulls the plug on a game, for now.
432635
Gory game to hit the shelves at last? The controversial âslasherâ videogame Manhunt 2 is to be re-assessed by the UK's Video Appeals Committee (VAC) after the High Court this week judged its decision that the game should be released was legally flawed.â¦
275237
Slasher game maker wanted 17+ Rockstar Games' Manhunt 2 may have been banned for sale in Britain, but it has been rated Adults Only (AO) in the US, the developer's publisher, Take-Two Interactive, has confirmed.â¦
438489
After a school shooting, lawmakers in Bavaria and Lower Saxony consider banning violent video games. In Game|Life.
185476
Byron Review wants to bubble-wrap kids, ISPs The ongoing Byron Review of the impact of technology on children will recommend a clampdown on violent videogames, it has been reported.â¦
104615
An 'invasion of First Amendment rights', judge declares A Louisiana judge has declared that a proposed state ban on sales of violent video games to minors "violates free speech rights and cannot be enforced", Reuters reports.â¦
674836
A video game banned in Britain and Ireland and facing restricted sales in the United States due to its violent content was a fine piece of art, the game's publisher said on Wednesday.