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114 Comments
- pixelate, on 10/11/2007, -7/+111Good.
- I'm happy the game exists and it's going to be sold in stores (other countries have banned it outright).
- Some stores here choose not to carry material they find objectionable (including music with explicit lyrics and AO games)... that's their right and I choose not to spend my money there. Whatever.
- The "AO" rating might make it a bit more likely that this game will NOT find its way into the hands of 12 year olds whose parents don't know any better.
Someone will have to explain to me why this is a bad thing... or perhaps why a game like Manhunt 2 (if done properly), shouldn't have an AO rating. Yeah, Rockstar can tone it down to get the 'M', but fans of the game shouldn't want that to happen. - meamog, on 10/11/2007, -2/+63"Consider for one moment that in Manhunt 2 you can, Wii remote and nunchuk in hands, use a pair of pliers to clamp onto an enemy's testicles and literally tear them from his body in a bloody display; and if that weren't enough, you'll take one of the poor victim's vertebrae along with his manhood." -IGN
I don't see what the issue is, the game sure SOUNDS like it should be rated AO, and the fact that they rated it such shows at least some competancy on their behalf. Or maybe I'm an old-fashioned, nut-clamping-isn't-for-people-who-can't-even-buy-cigarettes type of guy. - AcePup, on 10/11/2007, -0/+38The other 23 AO rated games from the ESRB: http://kotaku.com/gaming/the-manhunt-club/the-other-adult-only-games-270365.php
- washingtonydc, on 10/11/2007, -4/+39@neiltc13, the ESRB cannot be "legally backed" as a matter of US constitutional law. Private ratings are useful for parents in deciding the media their children can consume--but they cannot be used as a way for the government to restrain freedom of speech.
- mywhitenoise, on 10/11/2007, -2/+37I'll buy this for many reasons.
To spite the ESRB
To own an AO game
To show Nintendo they have an audience that shows interest in games other than mini-mario-games (I love Mario)
To let the industry know that AO games can sell, and to go all out on games without any fear of a loss of sales.
The best thing Rockstar could do is go all out on GTAIV, sell it as an AO game, and Wal-Mart would ***** themselves for not stocking the biggest games of 2007. - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3330 days for response? It should be, "Sweet. We're now adding gratuitous sex. Enjoy, fans!"
- rmw132, on 10/11/2007, -2/+25This just made the game 10x more popular than it would have been just for the infamous AO rating.
- praisethelard, on 06/06/2008, -4/+24That's what she said.
- GameGuru151, on 10/11/2007, -2/+20"You Americans seem to think some stupid constitution written on paper is more important than your children's wellbeing. I sure as hell am glad I don't live there."
I'm sure as hell am glad you don't live here. Hey! We're both happy! - championchap, on 10/11/2007, -1/+16You guys think this is bad?
It's just been banned in the UK BEFORE RELEASE!! - Exhaust, on 10/11/2007, -1/+15@neiltc13
"You Americans seem to think some stupid constitution written on paper is more important than your children's wellbeing. I sure as hell am glad I don't live there."
You're a douche. This has nothing to do with the "well being" of children! They should not own the ***** game. If you want to protect children go after parents that allow their child to view this material or the stores that sell it to people under 18.
@duerra
I signed the petition. Thanks for creating it. I hope Take Two sees it and it gives them the fortitude to withstand needless government censorship. FIGHT THE POWER!!! - catsaregrey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+14As a mature and responsible adult, all I can say is AWESOME :D
I'll be getting this. - Cooldrew, on 10/11/2007, -1/+15We all knew it was coming.
- postal21, on 10/11/2007, -5/+19Any game where you can viciously rip another man's testicles off deserves to be rated AO.
And they need to make this for 360 so I can play it... - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -4/+17They would probably sell more by keeping the Adult Only Rating, i know id buy it
- norman619, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14Same here. Just look at how well the bad publicity worked out for Rockstar and their GTA series.
- washingtonydc, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13@merreborn
You forget, though, that broadcast media is only regulated by the FCC because it's that--it's broadcast. Because the spectrum belongs to the public, the government can have a certain level of control. There is no such similarity with video games.
As for obscenity, violence alone can never be legally obscene. The Supreme Court in Miller v. California tried to define obscenity by creating a test to identify it: "The basic guidelines for the trier of fact must be: (a) whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the [sexual] interest; (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”
Needless to say, this is a high hurdle to pass and very few video games could be therefore classified as obscene. - norman619, on 10/11/2007, -10/+23@neiltc13:
WOW!!! When I read your comment the first thing that came to mind was "BITCH." How pathetic are you that you actually think a videogame will harm you? Are you unstable to begin with? Do you already have thoughts of killing people for fun? If you do then guess what? You need to be locked teh ***** away from the rest of us since you are an obviously pretty ***** up in the head. Everyone else (normal folks) will not be affected at all. You are making the same stupid comments as the people who swear books, movies, and teh naked female form can warp your mind. STFU and commit yourself already. - PvtJenkins, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11Whens the last time you saw someones nut sack ripped off with a pair of pliers?
- merreborn, on 10/11/2007, -4/+14"Private ratings are useful for parents in deciding the media their children can consume--but they cannot be used as a way for the government to restrain freedom of speech."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_content_rating_systems#United_States
Between the FCC regulating television and radio, and prohibiting the sale of obscene (pornographic) media to minors, it's not inconceivable that the government may one day regulate video games as well.
Hell, there exist games today, which you could not legally sell to a minor in the US: pornographic games. Sure, they aren't very widespread here in the US at the moment, but they're huge in Japan.
It's already been established that the regulation of obscenity does not conflict with first amendment rights. All you have to do is establish that a certain class of games are obscene. - adoggz, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10they should add in the ability to go to the ESRB and rape/murder everyone there. not that I condone those actions or think it would be the coolest level to play, but it would be a hell of a response to the ESRB.
- norman619, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10@ thrallie:
LOL!!! You can't be serious right? MPAA and ESRB are voluntary! There is no law against a store selling a AO rated game to a kid. There is no law against a store selling an R rated movie to a 13 year old. So it's NOT supported by the government. Anyone who woudl try to sue a store for sellign these items to a kid would learn this pretty fast as teh courts throw it out. - norman619, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10Someone who knows right from wrong. Someone who knows reality from fantasy. Someone that knows a videogame or any other form of popular entertainment is not real. DUH!
Did you REALLY need me to explain that to you? - thrallie, on 10/11/2007, -6/+14I hate to break this to you, but the ESRB and MPAA who both rate things are supported by government, we call those entities "corporations". Capitalism is not bad (with true free market) but we seem to have corporatism in America. I say this because it says no where in the constitution that the government can give money and protect a company with the guns of government to take our free speech away.
Whether anyone likes it or not, the MPAA and ESRB are promoting censorship. They have a biased rating panel (watch: this film is not yet rated) and they give out NC-17/AO ratings to movies/games that are either negative towards them or have some anti-religious theme.
People seem to think that free speech protects things like Dora the explorer, no it doesn't protect popular speech. It protects things like Manhunt 2 or Grand Theft Auto from people who don't like it. Just because YOU don't like it doesn't mean you know what's better for someone else. - DustinR, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9Ok whatever, at least everyone who buys this game wont be supporting Walmart. I say if they are going to be Adult only then you might as well as kick it up a notch.
- merreborn, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10Walmart and several other large chains don't sell AO games. That'll impact sales, especially in areas where those retailers are the *only* game retailers within a reasonable distance.
- mywhitenoise, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Who gives a *****? Kids shouldn't be buying this game anyway. If you're old enough to buy an M rated game, then you only have to wait 1 more year to buy this one.
- grumbel, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6The ESRB can't ban anything, they just rate games. Its Walmart and friends that you have to blame for not selling AO, since they decide what they want to sell and nobody else.
- YojimboJango, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Ok whats the big deal with this? It's an AO game. I don't hear anyone bitching that it doesn't deserve an AO rating, just that the rating system is crap ect ect...
Wallmart, and Target wont be selling this game anyways. The parental groups will be making sure of that. And the government isn't censoring anything. They have no rules to say that you can't purchase this game if you're under x age. They are only giving a report on what it is that you're buying. I wouldn't buy this game for my 8 year old sister, and this rating will help parents that care know not to buy this game for their 8 year old. - norman619, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8They are needed. They work much like the MPAA does for films. It's only a tool for parents to use to better control what their kids play at home as they should if they are THAT worried abotu it.
- nymphetamine, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6I still don't see why they don't seel them in stores, especially in a store like Fry's. If I can buy porn at Fry's, why can't I buy an AO rated game?
- theragu40, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7@neil
You're glad you don't live here? Well, so are we. You sound like an *****. - JordanM85, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5We should be emailing Rockstar and Take Two, not the ESRB. Let them know we want the AO game, not a watered down M title.
- JordanM85, on 10/11/2007, -3/+8I really hope they keep it AO. Maybe then we will see more AO games if this one sells well. And censorship is lame, Rockstar better not cave in here.
- YojimboJango, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I hear that this one is more grisly that the first. And that the wii controls add a whole other realm of realism to the violence.
Apparently the ESRB thinks it's worse. - Bfettmaul, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4so this wont be sold in family friendly stores. big deal EB and Gamestop will sell, Amazon will sell. It will sell millions of copies and open the door for more ADULT games. It's about time really, most of the old nintendo gamers are now adults and into mature themed games. This may save the market.
- Samiyam, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5My guess is that Take Two will get the game reworked to an M rating. They are in business to make money, not to test the limits of censorship or to lose money while retaining integrity of the original product. It's the same reason only 3% of movies are rated NC-17, and I doubt Take-Two can recoup the costs of development if it sold with an AO rating and got the lower sales numbers.
- kelchm, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5going to sell like hotcakes.
- grumbel, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4GTA got a rerelease to work around the AO rating and go back to M rating. If they would have stayed AO they would have had an issue.
- dagobah77, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Don't you think you should see the content in the game before comparing it to Saw and Hostel? They've seen the game; You haven't. The ESRB obviously feels the game deserves a higher rating than the first.
Adult gamers will still be able to get their hands on it online and at non-box box shops . Your problem shouldn't be with the ESRB but with retailers like Wal-Mart and Target who refuse to stock AO games because of store policy. - duerra, on 10/11/2007, -6/+9Please, read and sign the petition that I have created, requesting that Take Two continue forward with their original vision of the game, while possibly releasing an M rated version afterwards. This will give us the opportunity to demonstrate to developers and publishers that there is indeed a market for AO-rated games.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/take-two-should-release-manhunt-2-with-two-ratings - Flunk, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I find the most shocking part of this whole Manhunt 2 mess is that the governing boards found the Wii graphics realistic enough to find offensive. Shocking.
- WiseWeasel, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2ESRB doesn't have the authority to ban a game... That would be up to the state or federal government, and would probably be overturned as unconsitutional.
- richgustavson, on 10/11/2007, -4/+6I think this would be a good opportunity for them to experiment with an online purchase and distribution service (ie BitTorrent) with the AO version. It would allow fans to get the game that the developer intended and it show publishers and retailers how much of a demand games receiveing an AO rating have.
- Myst3r1o, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Yeah, that's true.
- mykos, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2This rating system system is nothing more than a helpful guide for parents who care about what their kids are getting in their heads. Parents are free to ignore it if they want.
The original Manhunt is the only game I've played that actually IS a murder simulator in places (sorry Jack Thompson, Counter Strike doesn't count). I definitely wouldn't let a child under 13-14 come near this. - BlackCow, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3@pixelate
and,
-I, at age 16, can still order it online if I really wanted to.
Everyone is happy, I'm actually not all that interested in the game though. - omyard, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Wasn't Rockstar expecting to get an AO rating?
I liked the original so I was probably going to get this one as well. It'll be intresting to see who carries it. We know Wal-Mart, Target and their like won't, but will Best Buy or Circuit City take a stab at it? Doubtful, but it'd be a breakthrough if one of them did. - Jaysunli, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Looks like I'll be selling this game on ebay for double the price.
Thanks BBFC! - thrallie, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Norman, a tool is fine. But the "tool" is a monopoly. Where is the competing agencies? They are a corporation now that the government protects them and uses them.
I don't see movie theaters using competing rating companies, or game manufacturers using their own or another companies. -
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