Censorship In Democracy

It's amazing. Companies spend fortunes on corporate lawyers to protect their own image copyright property rights, but see nothing wrong in stealing other people's.

Either everybody plays by the same rules or people will use millieu methods to get justice.

I'm bang on behind the ban. Which will make me very unpopular here. So what?

I'm afraid I can't understand the point you are trying to make here. Could you perhaps elaborate in more detail?

I am glad its banned this kind of crap shouldnt be on the streets!

Errr, did I miss a meeting?

The way I heard it, it was pulled when the games company realised they could be sued for image intellectual property right infringement. A very embarrassing position for a "Don't pirate! Don't steal other people's ideas" business like a software house or wholesale games supplier.

The actual image in question was recognisably close to the CCTV image which caught the child murderers of a child murder victim - James Bulger. All under 10 years old at the time.

Probably I've got my wires crossed here and it was in fact a totally different game.

Yes, crossed wires, although interestingly the story about that James Bulger image being used in a game (which was shockingly and unarguably wrong and out-of-order) broke the day after the BBFC refused to give Rockstar's Manhunt 2 an 18-certificate.

Most people I have spoken to over the last week, since both news stories broke early last week, have made the same mistake of confusing the two.

Industry cynics/conspiracists are even going as far to suggest that the truly shocking news about that game with the Bulger image (a game which was released in 2003) was somehow orchestrated/released to coincide with the more concerning news that a proper 18-rated adult-themed game set in a properly fictionalised, imagined world (Manhunt 2) was effectively being banned by the censors at the BBFC...

http://news.spong.com/article/12925 here is the news, with the reason for the confusion... perhaps not so much a conspiracy and more of a regional news agency chancing its arm digging up a 'shocking videogame' story to piggyback the Manhunt story

Shame on The Guardian for running it as page 3 news next to their Manhunt 2 news... for a national paper (particularly one that positions itself as left-liberal) to make such an error is really poor.

It would be impressive if he could elaborate in less detail.

For those that're living in the UK someone has put a petition up regarding the BBFC's refusal to rate Manhunt 2:

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Probably won't make much difference but there's no harm in trying!

Aye, thanks for the reminder on that one, you might like to look over the story we ran on the petition - you can find it right here.