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"Manhunt 2" will miss its original shipping date

At the end of a tumultuous week of Manhunt 2-centric “adults only” games news, Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive announced it will temporarily suspend the release of Manhunt 2 due to a violence ban in the United Kingdom and a ratings controversy in North America.

Originally slated for release on the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PSP on July 10, Manhunt 2 is facing a mandatory delay after the ESRB rated the game AO for adults only. Rockstar Games was left with few options as it is Nintendo and Sony’s policy to not allow AO content on its systems. (Microsoft also carries the same policy, though there is no Manhunt 2 planned for the Xbox 360.)

The AO rating would likely cripple game sales because stores such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target refuse to carry video games with an AO rating. Publisher Take-Two stated it believes the game should have received the M rating – and is now exploring possible options to get the game rating changed.

To pass Nintendo and Sony standards, Rockstar Games will likely have to rework Manhunt 2’s content to fit an ESRB rating of M for mature. The changes in content may also allow it to be reconsidered for sale and distribution in the UK, from which it is currently banned.

"Take-Two Interactive Software has temporarily suspended plans to distribute Manhunt 2 for the Wii or PlayStation platforms while it reviews its options with regard to the recent decisions made by the British Board of Film Classification and Entertainment Software Rating Board," a representative told GameSpot. "We continue to stand behind this extraordinary game. We believe in freedom of creative expression, as well as responsible marketing, both of which are essential to our business of making great entertainment."

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Shame.
By therealnickdanger on 6/22/2007 9:51:42 AM , Rating: 2
It's so strange that the AO rating even exists. In reality, the age requirement is the same as "M"... so why even bother? The ESRB needs to roll it all into "M for Mature" and work harder with retailers to limit purchases by minors. The same could be said for NC-17 movies, but games have no caveats for parents/guardians.

*sigh*

The original Manhunt was a great game to play alone in the dark, especially with the Xbox headset so you could hear Brian Cox speaking directly to you while sneaking around. He would always chime in at the most tense moments! The raw graphic violence of it sure seems tame after movies like Saw and Hostel...




RE: Shame.
By GoatMonkey on 6/22/2007 9:58:20 AM , Rating: 2
I think it's like the difference between R and NC-17. With an R rating younger kids can watch, but only with an adult, whereas NC-17 they can't watch no matter what.


RE: Shame.
By FITCamaro on 6/22/2007 10:14:38 AM , Rating: 2
Yes but if a parent buys an Adult Only game for their 16 year old kid, the console doesn't detect how old the kid is and refuse to play it.

He was correct in that, concerning games, Mature and Adults Only are the same. The only difference between the ratings is it tells parents that the latter might be a little worse than the former. But any parent who cares wouldn't buy them the mature game to begin with, much less the Adult Only.

Me personally, when I have kids, once they're of age and I know they can handle the content, I'll let them play games of Mature rating and probably Adult Only depending on the game(I wouldn't get them buy a hentai porn game). That age to me is around 15 or 16. If you haven't taught your kid that killing people is wrong by that age, you've already failed as a parent anyway.


RE: Shame.
By vortmax on 6/22/2007 10:38:55 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
If you haven't taught your kid that killing people is wrong by that age, you've already failed as a parent anyway.


But teaching them that killing and torturing people in a virtual world is ok? Doesn't make sense...


RE: Shame.
By XesBOX on 6/22/2007 11:11:50 AM , Rating: 1
It's a good thing you're too old to be playing these games... you sound an awful lot like the type of person that can't differentiate between fantasy and reality.

The thing that cracks me up the most is, when you think about it, Disney movies have an -awful- lot of death in them. Usually involving the good guys ousting the bad guys. Next time you pop a Disney movie in, be sure you know what your kids are watching, because you might be teaching them that killing is ok.


RE: Shame.
By MightyAA on 6/22/2007 11:42:18 AM , Rating: 2
Wow.. Are you trying to say this game is no different than a Disney movie? Get real.. That's like saying Scooby Doo cartoons are no different than movies like Rob Zombie produces. They both have creepy stuff right?


RE: Shame.
By Omega215D on 6/22/2007 3:08:49 PM , Rating: 2
There was a story on the news yesterday on these teenagers in a car packed with weapons and were arrested by the police. The chief of police stated that when they searched the houses of those teenagers that they confiscated harmful drawings and a computer system with "very very violent games depicting violent acts to others."

Chalk one up for "correlation = causation" category.


RE: Shame.
By therealnickdanger on 6/22/2007 3:23:33 PM , Rating: 4
Then chalk one down for every teenager that DOESN'T ride around in cars packed with guns.


RE: Shame.
By Omega215D on 6/22/2007 3:36:30 PM , Rating: 2
The fact that the chief made it seem video games had played a role in their acts is disgusting. Many urban teens have such games in their homes.


RE: Shame.
By Christopher1 on 6/22/2007 5:37:34 PM , Rating: 2
Quite true. A Lot of people have played violent video games and are no more violent than other people are, and in fact are LESS violent than other people are, because they take their frustrations out on things inside the games.

I also have to agree with an earlier poster that if you haven't taught your child by the age of 4 that it is WRONG to physically attack someone else for any reason, you have failed as a parent.

I made it VERY clear to my children that they were not to attack anyone else, regardless of the provocation that the other person used, and to only use enough force when they were attack to get the other person to stop attacking them.


RE: Shame.
By amehbah on 6/23/2007 8:51:45 AM , Rating: 5
I bet they had soap in the bathroom too! Ban soap before it forces your child to buy guns!


RE: Shame.
By GDstew4 on 6/22/2007 11:35:14 AM , Rating: 2
It is OK and I think that's what's been accepted by a lot of people that have grown up with video games.


RE: Shame.
By Christopher1 on 6/22/2007 5:40:12 PM , Rating: 2
Exactly right. Better to have them confine those things to virtual life (which most children who play violent video games and who have NOT seen real violence in real life do) than to have them doing them in real life.

Some people just don't want anyone to have a 'darker side' to them..... and that isn't going to happen, every being in the entire UNIVERSE has a light side and a dark side, and good and evil aren't necessarily relative to those two sides.


RE: Shame.
By mrEvil on 6/22/2007 11:47:20 AM , Rating: 1
You comment is out of context. He did not talk about "teaching" them to kill in a virtual world. The topic was moral rights, consequences, the differences between right and wrong AND the between the real world and Oz.

While you were at it, you forgot to add in your other right wing statement - "video games kill people". For that matter, you had better stay away from all racing/car games as well, because you can drive out of control and actually hit other cars and people. FPS are out as well because you kill people. RTS - well, it's about totally dominating a map/world, so those are out as well. Maybe stick your kids to only DDR or "Hello Kitty: Island Adventure"...although I'm sure that something in those offends as well.


RE: Shame.
By bdewong on 6/22/2007 1:10:41 PM , Rating: 3
Although, with DDR you might stamp people to death with wreckless dancing :)


RE: Shame.
By vortmax on 6/22/2007 2:11:51 PM , Rating: 2
First of all, this game is quite unique. It's main purpose is to hunt, brutally torture, and eventually kill people. Couple that with the Wii controller that allows you to act out the motions, it's much different than any game in existence...can't argue that.

Comparing this to some racing game (where the obvious purpose is to win the race) or some RTS is where you've jumped out of context. It's just like the poster above that says Disney movies are the same as this....get real.

Have we really gone so far as to create a game like this to entertain people? Why is it so entertaining to perform these acts in a virtual world? No consequences? Again, doesn't make sense to me...


RE: Shame.
By Ticholo on 6/22/2007 5:15:54 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Comparing this to some racing game (where the obvious purpose is to win the race) or some RTS is where you've jumped out of context.

While I agree with that, Sony, Nintendo and MS have done the same when they banned AO games from their systems.
Quite frankly, AO games don't come out every week, or even month. They could just as easily have decided to review such games on a case by case basis.
Sure, unless some Carmageddon sequel comes out, there won't be any AO racing games or many other genres, but I still think people should be given a choice to play these games.
And stores banning them is equally as bad. Create an AO games section or have them available at the counter if you don't want them in shelves, but don't ban them.
It's just stupid to treat people as mindless drones.

Then again, this has been going on for decades in the movie industry. So they know it can be done and will continue to do it.


RE: Shame.
By Ringold on 6/22/2007 4:19:06 PM , Rating: 2
Nothing said in an attempt to limit distribution of a game, or any other product to adults, can truly be called a "right wing" statement. True conservatives believe in small government with individual responsibility -- religious fascists that hijack the perception of what a conservative is in the news believes the opposite, namely that limiting individual freedom is perfectly fine if it fits their specific moral code. I consider them to have walked so far to the right that, due to the curvature of the universe, have run in to communists at some point along the way...


RE: Shame.
By MightyAA on 6/22/2007 11:38:09 AM , Rating: 2
Think of it this way. An adult can go out and buy a NC-17 DVD (or NR porn). My cablebox doesn't check ID's either. At that point, it is their responsibility that they don't allow children to watch it; and there are laws for that too. I'd bet the next step in legislation is mandatory parental controls on consoles, just like the cable/satelite box once suscription type console gaming evolves AO games.

Also, NC-17 movies have the same issue with retail: No big box, blockbuster, etc., is going to sell it or rent it which equals lost revenue.

The problem with rating systems is that a lot of minor stuff will bump it up... Some deserve the rating, others do not. Did you know the vast majority of kid films are PG? The rating system thinks that a 12 year old needs my guidance to watch The Incredibles, Shrek, etc.. PG is the old G. No idea what G movies are even out there.. Then you also have things like Caddyshack and Stripes that are R rated.. why? At best, ratings are a "heads up" that you might want to play/watch it before just letting your kids do it.