Britain’s biggest electronics chain, Dixons, pulled the graphically violent video game “Manhunt” from its shops on Thursday after parents of a teenage murder victim blamed the game for the killing of their son.
The game, in which the player takes on the role of a convicted murderer ordered by a demented film director to kill people in as gruesome a fashion as possible, has stirred controversy even among fans of violent videos.
It awards extra points to players for carrying out murders in a particularly extreme and bloody way, while victims plead to be spared on behalf of their wives and children.
The parents of Stefan Pakeerah, 14, called this week for Manhunt to be banned after a 17-year-old admitted inviting their son into a park and murdering him.
Warren Le Blanc, a fan of the game, admitted he beat the younger teen to death with a claw hammer and stabbed him repeatedly with a knife. He could face life in prison.
“I didn’t intend to kill him at first, but when I saw the blood I just let go and hit more times,” he told police.
Stefan’s father Patrick, 41, said: “Stefan’s murder compares to how the game is set out, using weapons like hammers and knives. If games like this influence kids, they should be taken off the shelves.”
The game is published by Rockstar Games, a division of New York’s Take-Two Interactive Software known for its line-up of violent games like the hugely popular “Grand Theft Auto” series, which sees players run wild in high-speed crime sprees.
No comment from the company was immediately available.
A spokeswoman for Dixons said it was taking the game off the shelves of all 1,000 stores in the group which includes Dixons, Curry’s and PC World with immediate effect due to the uproar.
The game has an “18” rating from Britain’s film board, which means it should not be sold to minors.
In a generally favorable review on the Web site totalvideogames.com, the reviewer wrote: “it has to be the most violent yet realistic videogame we’ve played” and described its “ability to unhinge the player and make you feel disturbed.”
Another Web site, Game Zone Online, gave it an 8 out of 10 score for “solid gameplay” but wrote: “kids under 17 should not be allowed anywhere around this game, and it contains some of the most disgusting killings that I have seen either in movies or in a game”.
