London Review of Books weighs in on Manhunt 2
British novelist and journalist John Lanchester has penned a piece for the London Review of Books discussing the Manhunt 2 ban. While not taking sides, Lanchester does opine that the BBFC's decision will help the industry if it gets developers to focus more on pushing video games as a form of art.
The article gets some important facts right, specifically when it comes to how the public and news outlets can unfairly blame video games for acts of violence.
However, others facts presented seem based on a lot of FUD, particularly with Rockstar's history. Lanchester wrote that the infamous sex sequence was "unlockable," implying it could be done in-game without modifications (not true). He also talks about Bully (or Canis Canem Edit in the UK) in a manner to imply public outcry was justified, when anyone who did play the game realized it actually punished bullying and rewarded you for being a good student.
[Thanks, amit]
Lanchester asserts that it was Grand Theft Auto: Vice City that "convinced [him] that gaming has the potential to be an artistic medium comparable to film or television." And while he seems to imply support for Manhunt 2's ban, he provides no details about the game other than what the BBFC had written. What does Lanchester really know about the game, and is it enough to validate him writing on the topic?
We feel that banning a game is not something that should be condoned to push an industry into other subject matter. Would Lanchester argue that Pulp Fiction being banned would be good if director Quentin Tarantino would be pushed into other territories? We hope not.
