Kotaku
Just under two years ago, Stefan Pakeerah was viciously beaten by a claw hammer and stabbed to death by 17 year-old Warren LeBlanc. After it was purported that LeBlanc was a big fan of Manhunt, both Pakeerah's parents and the British tabloids focused their blame upon the game, which led to it being pulled off British, Australian and New Zealand shelves.
Which was complete rubbish.
As Rockstar have stated, "the Judge, defence, prosecution and Leicester police all emphasised that Manhunt played no part in the case". That's a fairly conclusive body of opinion, which doesn't even touch upon the wider sentiment amongst gamers that this was just another poorly-advised media beat-up and an easy way to avoid the real motives for the crime.
So, case closed? It was, until we got news this week that Manhunt 2 was on its way. Leicester East MP Keith Vaz (where the boys were from) has felt the need to pipe up, saying "It is contempt for those who are trying very hard to ensure something is done to control the violent nature of these games". Political opportunism ftw.
Patrick Pakeerah, Stefan's father, has also commented, saying
I'm very disappointed. This is rubbing salt into the wounds in the month we will be marking the anniversary of Stefan's death. I'm very surprised they are doing this after all that has happened and all the publicity.
"Institutions" like The Sun must be licking their lips. Rockstar may have got in first, but this is going to get messy.
