to represent them in a £50 million wrongful death claim against Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and Rockstar Games. That day, the police officially denied any link between the game and the murder, citing drug-related robbery as the motive and revealing that the game had been found in Pakeerah's bedroom, not Leblanc's as originally reported. The presiding judge placed sole responsibility with Leblanc after sentencing him to life. The Pakeerahs' case against SCE and Rockstar was dropped soon thereafter. There was renewed controversy after the announcement of Manhunt 2 in February 2007, with the Pakeerahs condemning its release. Rockstar's parent company Take-Two Interactive issued a statement that "the Judge, defense, prosecution and Leicester police" in the case had refuted any connection to the game. Jack Thompson unsuccessfully attempted to have Manhunt 2 banned, claiming that Take-Two had lied about the incident and that police were incorrect in asserting the game had belonged to Pakeerah. Legal status In New Zealand, the game was banned on December 11, 2003, with possession deemed an offence. Bill Hastings, the Chief Censor, stated "it's a game where the only thing you do is kill everybody you see ... You have to at least acquiesce in these murders and possibly tolerate, or even move towards enjoying them, which is injurious to the public good." In 2023 the Office reconsidered Manhunt and classified it R18. In Australia, the game was initially allowed under a MA15+ classification, but this decision was reversed by the Australian Classification Board in September 2004, after an appeal by the Attorney-General Philip Ruddock. As a consequence, the game was effectively banned, mandating a recall of all copies still being sold in stores. Before its recall, Manhunt had already sold 18,000 units in Australia. In Canada, following a meeting in Toronto on December 22, 2003, between Hastings and officials from the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services, Manhunt became the first computer game in Ontario to be classified as a film and was restricted to adults on February 3, 2004. Apart from Ontario, however, Manhunt had little or no classification problems elsewhere in North America. The British Columbia Film Classification Office reviewed the game after the controversy in Ontario and deemed the Mature rating by the ESRB to be appropriate. In Germany, the Amtsgericht in Munich confiscated all versions of Manhunt on July 19, 2004, for violation of § 131 StGB ("representation of violence").