http://www.ntlworld.com/p...516509.php

High street stores Dixons and Game have withdrawn the controversial computer game Manhunt in the wake of the murder of a 14-year-old boy. (Picture: www.rockstargames.com)

Warren Leblanc faces life behind bars after pleading guilty to murder at Leicester Crown Court.

The 17-year-old repeatedly battered 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah with a claw hammer and stabbed him to death after luring him to a local park.

Outside the court, Stefan's parents said Leblanc had mimicked the game in which the players score points for violent killings.

His mother Giselle claimed her son's "inherently evil" murderer was "obsessed" with the game and called for it to be banned.

Mrs Pakeerah said: "I think that I heard some of Warren's friends say that he was obsessed by this game. If he was obsessed by it, it could well be that the boundaries for him became quite hazy."

The game was banned by censorship officials in New Zealand six months ago. One campaigner wrote to the game's producers warning the "murder simulator" could lead to copycat killings.

Lawyer Jack Thompson, who is campaigning against the sale of violent video games to children, said he had written to its producers warning that there would be copycat attacks.

He said: "I wrote warning them that somebody was going to copycat the Manhunt game and kill somebody.

"We have had dozens of killings in the US by children who had played these types of games. This is not an isolated incident. The thing that has increased is the amount of violent interactive entertainment that kids are involved in.

"I think this is a very disturbing case and a very disturbing game. These types of games are basically murder simulators. There are people being killed over here almost on a daily basis."

A spokesman for the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers' Association said: "We sympathise enormously with the family and parents of Stefan Pakeerah.

"However, we reject any suggestion or association between the tragic events in the Midlands and the sale of the video game Manhunt.

"The game in question is classified 18 by the British Board of Film Classification and therefore should not be in the possession of a juvenile.

"We would also add that simply being in someone's possession does not and should not lead to the conclusion that a game is responsible for these tragic events."


I thought this was a really sad story. But Why do people look for scapegoats for everything? I think withdrawing the game is just stupid, violent games now all have age certificates so it's up to parents and individuals to decide whether it's suitable, the amount of times I've seen parents buy thier kids games like grand theft auto or Hitman despite the clear age restrictions on the front is quite alarming, but you wouldn't let a 12 year old watch an 18 rated movie....

Anyway, what do you guys think?...

fucking parent your children better and they won't want to live out video games....

How dumb. This kid was a little off his rocker anyway if he had a video game push him over the edge. This is so reminiscent of the time Ozzy was being blamed for the one kid's suicide.