kaluka

kw4k

Dark_Cheetah

Aex

Tenth

AsauPrime

Seriously guys, get off Pachter's junk.

What The Geek

The parallels are actually quite similar. Its not about the actual age rating as much as it is the subsequent availability restrictions. NC-17 movies don't usually show up in regular theaters alongside big budget releases, and ao games don't show up at walmart, best buy, and eb alongside regular games. In either case, its not censored and is perfectly legal to sell- its a choice made by stores/movie theaters not to sell it. Die hard fans can certainly still go out and buy it, but this section of a customer base will never be large enough to support a big budget release. They need mainstream sales to make a profit, which they can't get because of the rating that they should have seen coming.

spacemanspiff22

Compare it with video games ratings of M and AO, and you have a huge difference. You don't go to a specific place, play an M rated or AO game for a couple hours, then go home. You are actually buying the product to own. So the M and AO gap of 1 year do pretty much nothing except push the game back to the AMERICAN national standard age of adulthood (in most cases).

DashTheHand

I believe that if people understood the rating systems and that there is a huge adult market, there wouldn't be such an outcry. Of course there is a vocal minority who think anything fun is bad for you. Including video games.

But you'd think Take Two would understand this better than most and have positioned the game better.

Chilly Hollow

MikeH

This is what you get when you make games that cross over the bounds of good taste AND you relentlessly play up the fact that they do exactly that in your advertising.

It is possible to make a quality horror game without pandering to the serial killer demographic. Somehow Take-2 decided that there was just no other way to do it.

They gave the finger to everyone who looked in their direction. Now they're getting punched repeatedly in the face. It's just one of those "Yep, saw that coming." situations.

Coherent

EmeraldDragon

what they need to loosen up on is sexual content. as for banning it in the uk, that seems a bit much.

btw, jip100, it's not region-free. it's a ps2 and wii game. both those systems are region-locked.

thaKingRocka

Kreean

The question then becomes, what has to be changed/removed to get the M rating?

aka Bitter

What? This game isnt even meant for kids, so why mention something like this?

Altima NEO

I am not saying that Take 2 shouldn't be able to make the game, merely questioning the intelligence of doing it. Take 2 has been in dire financial straits for a while now and this game's release just doesn't really seem necessary to me. This outcome cannot really come as a surprise, when you keep raising the bar like Take 2 does, its only a matter of time before censorship happens.

I am just angry that we are having these censorship battles over crap games like Manhunt. Give me a break, if we are going to go trough the battles over free speech, let it be over a a game of some worth, something worth rallying around and fighting over. This game is simply not worth the battle and I think Take 2 want this battle and want it over one of their games and as a result they now have what they wanted. This is just another example of a game being made that makes gamers look bad.

Hengst2404

Also the AO rating alone is going to cut millions in sales from not having many high profile retailers carrying the game, so censoring it could be needed to make up for that.

Kyle81

wiitendo64

It still is in Nintendo's policy that they do not license and sell AO games. Theres a good chance that Manhunt 2 on the Wii will get censored.

Kyle81

On paper, the difference between ao and m is only a year, but many stores (pretty much all major chains, actually) do not stock ao games. Its pretty much impossible to turn a profit on a big budget title with an ao rating, which is why this really is a rather significant business problem for T2 in light of their other recent struggles.

Honestly, they should have seen this coming...its all well and good to allow the developers creative freedom but not at the expense of a company going under. Nobody with any knowledge of the previous game or this new one is shocked that it got an ao rating. Certainly an m rating was possible, but ao doesn't seem at all unreasonable. T2's project managers/producers/whoever funded and oversaw this should be shown the door for this debacle.

spacemanspiff22

The "M" rating is also designed to keep it out of the hands of kids, do you think the single year separating the two really determines whether one should be available on retail shelves or not? I personally think they need to scrap the AO rating altogether and just bump the M rating up to 18. And, for the record, AO is not the equivalent of R its the equivalent of NC-17, and that hurts movie revenue a LOT and would kill anything that costs as much as Manhunt to make...

usfslacker

Risky+Safety

hooligans

usfslacker

all i gotta say is that if they scrap manhunt 2 it will go underground and be avaliable. just like thrill kill for the playstation.

that game was banned, yet i have a copy of it! although it pales in comparison in terms of sheer violence.

nature finds a way!

B1663R

I cant see Nintendo voluntarily canceling the game after having had worked so hard to get it... On top of that, a game like this would wash that kiddy thing right off. They MIGHT make them censor it, but that would be a lot more like Nintendo was 10 years ago, and not now.

I think that any censoring or canceling that does get done is going to be by Take Two, and not forced on by Nintendo...

Psychtaygar

[tinyurl.com]

aupton

jackal888

Ohh, that actually makes sence... I find it amusing they probably changed the rating for the month or so until the patch.. thanks for the info!

hooligans

wow didn't see that one coming *sarcasm*

seanyostyle

Oh, I agree. And I can tell you from personal experience that there was a lot of opposition to the first game even within Rockstar itself, and it caused its fair share of problems after release too. I can't imagine what possessed them to make another one and ratchet it up a notch, then expect nothing bad to happen. You'd think if nothing else, they'd have learned their lesson from Hot Coffee.

Rockstar is acting like a petulant child, and they have been for years now. They brought this on themselves.

badasscat

Manhunt and its sequel don't do anything for me at all, but then I am in the US where the game will still see a release, even if only in the adults only category. While I empathize that the game is being banned in the UK, it seems to me that the UK system of banning games needs to be retooled in some fashion.

It will be interesting to see if this ruling stands and if it does what impact it has on the game being released in the rest of Europe. I never thought of the US as a bastion against censorship for the gaming world.

Hengst2404

Kyle81

There are sick movies in entertainment like Hostel, The Hills Have Eyes, these movies sit on shelves, and are just as depraved as Manhunt 1 or 2. The movie industry has better lobbyist and lawyers.

jackal888

I know Leisure Suit Larry was this way.

Because, hell no game is as realistic as your first kill in real life combat. The first one haunts you the rest of your life. Sadly, after that they can blur together.

UmaroLovesMilk

DBX00

People we need to kick and scream to make our voice heard. Sure this is a silly game that everyone will forget in a few short weeks, but the ramifications will be echoed for years to come. Entertainment and creativity can and will be stifled due to the fear of losing profits. A single organization can not and should not be responsible for policing what is acceptable for society to view or choose to enjoy.

It all comes down to choice, we all have it, and right now we are choosing to ignore and allow the unjust ruling of this title to be banned in the UK. In the states I don't particularly mind the AO rating, at lest it's not banned. The AO rating gives parents the ability to "choose" if it is acceptable for their children, thus placing the burden on the parent, and not the industry!

aupton

ConstyXIV

Although, if GTA:SA got an Adults Only rating and it did find... why can't this one too? Although, i supposed the sadistic nature of the game would do that just fine...

hooligans

Valee

Kuraudo

jip100

[www.nintendo.com]

So Nintendo if they keep to this will have to stop Manhunt 2 on the Wii, or they will force Take Two to censor the game for Wii.

Kyle81

Kuraudo

Kuraudo

jip100

Umm guys, this is would have been an 18/Mature rated game anyways. How many resposible parents should buy that to their kids?

I recommend scratching that off from the list of potential buyers.

worksie

Kyle81

jip100