A legal loophole that allows the controversial Rockstar/Take 2 game,
Manhunt 2, to be legally sold to UK gamers - despite its banning by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) - has been spotted and confirmed.
Credit where lots of credit is due to lawyer Phill Carnell (CMS Cameron McKenna) for alerting The Register to the fact that the UK's 1984 Video Recordings Act does not cover downloaded games.
According to the Reg', "Downloaded games do not need an age-suitability classification, such as 15 or 18, because the Act, which mandates the BBFC's certification programme and forces retailers to obey the classifications, only covers physical products."
The report even got a a BBFC spokeswoman to confirm "that if
Manhunt 2 publisher Take-Two Interactive chose to sell the game online as a download then “that would be legal and not contravening the Video Recordings Act”.
The twist in terms of whether publishers will use the 'un-rated just download it' option is - as Carnell points out - that the major platform holders
are averse to having unrated or even Adult Only (AO - in the US) games released on their hardware.
So, the saga continues...
Full Register Story is over
here.