Rockstar today challenged the official decision made by the BBFC(that’s the British Board of Film Classification) who recently banned the sale of Manhunt 2 in the United Kingdom due to the violent content of the game.  Geoffrey Robertson, who represented Rockstar at the hearing, stated the company felt that Manhunt 2 had been unfairly signaled out. Mr Robertson stated that “"There’s no evidence that playing interactive videogames leads to a propensity to act them out in real life” and that Rockstar was given cause to “wonder why Manhunt 2 has been singled out for special treatment.” Rockstar’s irritation with the committee stemmed from a belief that there was no evidence that playing video games lead to violent behavior with a solitary exception.

The Manhunt 2 controversy has roots in the case of Stefan Pakeerah, whose killer apparently mimicked the original Manhunt in the killing, but that claim was cleared out by the police who revealed that Pakeerah’s killer did not own Manhunt and that the game had no connection to the case. The Pakeerah case, however, has generated much bad pressr for the game which Robertson stated was the reason for the ban more then any connection between the Manhunt series and any outbreaks of violence. Mr. Robertson stated that the real reason for the ban was due to “not because of any likelihood it will harm gamers, but because of the likelihood it will harm the reputation of the BBFC."

At the time of writing there was no further response from either Rockstar or the BBFC.