[info] Manhunt 2 censuré au Royaume-Uni

rédigé le 19 juin 2007 à 13:11

Cela n'était plus arrivé depuis Carmageddon en 1997 : la British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), l'organisme de classification des oeuvres au Royaume-Uni, vient d'annoncer que le jeu Manhunt 2 sera tout simplement censuré outre-manche. Cette décision concerne aussi bien la version PS2 que celle sur Wii, et implique que toute distribution du jeu sur le territoire est considérée comme illégale. Les raisons retenues sont évidentes : le jeu encourage pleinement "le meurtre viscéral en prenant peu ou aucune distance", avec en prime un sadisme dans la manière de commettre ces crimes. Pas faux, pas faux, mais cela mérite-t-il vraiment une censure totale et aveugle ?

Ce que nous voulions absolument ne pas voir pour Manhunt 2 vient d'arriver. Le Royaume-Uni est le premier pays à censurer le jeu de Rockstar Games, et on imagine qu'il ne sera pas le seul. L'Allemagne par exemple est très friande en matière de censure de jeux, mais en France nous échappons à cette tendance. Le communiqué complet, pour ceux que ça intéresse :

"The BBFC has rejected the video game Manhunt 2. This means that it cannot be legally supplied anywhere in the UK. The game was submitted in both a PS2 and a Nintendo Wii version. The decision was taken by the Director and the Presidential Team of Sir Quentin Thomas, Lord Taylor of Warwick and Janet Lewis-Jones.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:

“Rejecting a work is a very serious action and one which we do not take lightly. Where possible we try to consider cuts or, in the case of games, modifications which remove the material which contravenes the Board’s published Guidelines. In the case of Manhunt 2 this has not been possible. Manhunt 2 is distinguishable from recent high-end video games by its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone in an overall game context which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing. There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game.

“Although the difference should not be exaggerated the fact of the game’s unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying and the sheer lack of alternative pleasures on offer to the gamer, together with the different overall narrative context, contribute towards differentiating this submission from the original Manhunt game. That work was classified ‘18’ in 2003, before the BBFC’s recent games research had been undertaken, but was already at the very top end of what the Board judged to be acceptable at that category.”

“Against this background, the Board’s carefully considered view is that to issue a certificate to Manhunt 2, on either platform, would involve a range of unjustifiable harm risks, to both adults and minors, within the terms of the Video Recordings Act, and accordingly that its availability, even if statutorily confined to adults, would be unacceptable to the public.”
Under the terms of the Video Recordings Act distributors have the right to appeal the Board’s decision."