News Manhunt 2 rated AO by ESRB

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2007/06/20/manhunt_2_rated_ao_by_esrb/1

The ESRB has given a preliminary Adults Only rating to both versions of Manhunt 2 in America.

 

Why not just ban it there? or cant they do that.

 

ESRB doesn't have the right. Unlike the BBFC they are a voluntary ratings system, not a legally approved body, though like the BBFC they are still independant of the government.

Retailers like Wal-mart use them as a guideline however, and won't stock games with an AO rating, so developers often prefer a maximum of an M rating as places like Target and Wal-Mart have a significant effect on sales.

At least, thats my understanding of it and I'm not American.

 

We are not missing much!!!

These games are crap, now if Grand Theft Auto was banned then that would be a travesty....

 

Oh no, there goes my one chance at playing an educational game on the Wii.

But really, the main premise of the Manhunt series seems the reason why it's being banned. (pretty much, anyway.)

Hell, in Zelda you swing your sword at human-like opponents, and they fly backwards and explode. You then go on to consume their heart.

They really have to stop freaking out about a little violence, just as much violence was in the movie Saw, and that wasn't banned...

 

This is stupid. Like was said above me, Saw was never banned and they're the same level of violence. For those who say it's the "interaction" with the game that makes it bad, if you are impressionable enough to murder someone because a bunch of pixels "told you to", you need some help and SHOULDN'T BE PLAYING THE GAME IN THE FIRST PLACE. I honestly think when all these parents start complaining about video games and how they inspire violence, they need to sit down and think if its really their parenting thats bad.

By the way CardJoe, you got it spot-on. It's just a SUGGESTED rating, and they have no legal standing on banning games and the like.

 

Well if its a AO rating they want so let it be! I am pretty sure that still will sell good. Because its a very good game (at least the first was). Perhaps they can sell online, like "steam" or such.

The only real complain i have is...
WHAT??? NO PC VERSION?!?!?

 

Certainly. May I just point out that people do a lot of things that they "SHOULDN'T BE DOING IN THE FIRST PLACE"?

Yes, they need to. But they won't. They'll always look for something else to blame it on, with the end result being that society gains more and more twisted inhabitants.

 

Y'know, if i was rockstar at this point, i would COMPLETELY change the game before submitting it. Make it into a kid's game, a satirical - albeit clean, look at a penile colony where an idea of violence gets cut out of the picture. Make the UK board and the ESRB look like a bunch of twats it would.

 

Um, you mean penal colony, right?

 

Well SONY and Nintendo have already come out and said that they do not allow AO rated games to be released on their systems, which means Rockstar either has to scrap the game or do some heavy editing.

 

GTA 1 was banned in the UK for a period.

 

Take 2 should grow a pair, code it for the 360, and release it as AO. If the game sells well it will be a major step for the gaming industry. It will tell other developers and companies that they can sell more mature games. As long as retailers card people, I'm not sure how much trouble will be stirred up.

 

Very valid point. In fact, thats the exact reason the Darwins exist.