Despite fears among eager gamers about a possible ban on the next title in the Grand Theft Auto series in the UK, the rumors are false and the game has in fact been given an 18 Certification by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The Register contacted the BBFC and confirmed that the rumors were fueled by a misinterpretation of classification documents.
The game goes on sale in the UK on April 29th and has just received its 18 rating. It is unclear exactly how the released documents led to a fear of a ban reminiscent of the Manhunt 2 case. A document is usually released about 10 days before a game comes out, detailing exactly what factors led to its age band.
In the case of GTA IV, since the BBFC was unaware of the release date, these documents surfaced earlier than usual but are now once again unavailable. They will be re-released on April 19th, 10 days before the store date for GTA IV. There was some controversy during the BBFC's research on the game however. At one point, it provides ingredients for an unknown drug, which forced the BBFC to investigate further.
It turned out that the ingredients cannot be used to make a "real drug". Manhunt 2 nearly didn't make it onto UK shelves because the BBFC thought the content was too violent. It's decision was overturned and Manhunt 2 was given an 18 certification later.
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In the case of GTA IV, since the BBFC was unaware of the release date, these documents surfaced earlier than usual but are now once again unavailable. They will be re-released on April 19th, 10 days before the store date for GTA IV. There was some controversy during the BBFC's research on the game however. At one point, it provides ingredients for an unknown drug, which forced the BBFC to investigate further.
It turned out that the ingredients cannot be used to make a "real drug". Manhunt 2 nearly didn't make it onto UK shelves because the BBFC thought the content was too violent. It's decision was overturned and Manhunt 2 was given an 18 certification later.
Get regular news updates from AfterDawn.com by subscribing to our RSS feeds using the Subscribe button below. If you have been living in a cave for a few years now and don't know how to use RSS feeds, then Click Here to read a Guide on how to use RSS (and other) feeds.
