Manhunt 2 Receives AO Rating

[luke-o 0]

Long enough.

 

Saying that, the amount of time is not really in question. My point was that bad media will spark an intrest with the public. And if sales spark up, Rockstar will see this as a good thing. I could be wrong, but as with Resistance, it does happen.

[dubq 0]

From Gamespot.

 

Take-Two: Manhunt 2 will be published

Publisher states that it 'will do whatever we need to do' to bring the banned UK and US title to market, slams the US ratings system.

By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UK

Posted Jul 9, 2007 6:36 pm PT

 

The would-be publisher of violent stealth-action game Manhunt 2 has vowed to release the controversial title following its outright banning in the UK and its de facto banning in the US. Take-Two Interactive executives said the company stood by the title, which it called "art," and promised it would eventually see a release.

 

Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelman stressed that he believed the company took its social responsibility very seriously. "We also have hundreds of extraordinarily talented people who have worked on this title for three years, and supporting their creative vision and bringing it to consumers as unvarnished and unchanged as possible is crucial to us," he said during the call.

 

The chairman added that Take-Two subsidiary Rockstar Games, which publishes Manhunt and the Grand Theft Auto series, sees itself as a producer of games rated M for Mature. However, Zelman did say Take-Two would stand by its game, even if it bore the dreaded AO for Adults Only rating. "We don't see ourselves in the Adults Only business," he told analysts listening to the call. "Having said that, if we find ourselves in the Adults Only business, it would be because we have a title that we consider art and entertainment, that we consider if appropriately labelled AO, and that we would like to bring to market."

 

Zelman also was critical of the American rating system, where the game received an Adults Only rating from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, a certificate intended to ensure that products don't make it into the hands of those under 18. However, the majority of major retailers refuse to stock adult only rated products, and Sony and Nintendo also refuse to allow AO rated games on to their consoles.

 

The chairman pondered, "What is the purpose of a rating if it means effectively that a title cannot be released?...Having a rating that we don't think is appropriate is one issue, obviously, and a separate issue would be if we feel the rating is appropriate and we can't bring it to market…that seems somewhat nonsensical."

[AndrewTS 0]

TT needs to direct that venom at Sony/Nintendo/retailers, not the rating system itself.

[dubq 0]

Well, I think it's a two way street. Obviously the companies and retailers but also the ESRB needs to clarify that the AO rating is NOT xxx porn - which is what a lot of ignorant people (ie: mainly consumers) associate the wording "adults only" with - which is probably why the companies won't license it and why the reatilers won't sell it..

 

Nevermind the fact that the entire rating system is flawed and out-dated anyway and could use a complete overhaul... The AO rating either needs a new name, or there needs to be another level between M & AO that is reserved for this type of scenario.

[AndrewTS 0]

Well, I think it's a two way street. Obviously the companies and retailers but also the ESRB needs to clarify that the AO rating is NOT xxx porn

 

Content descriptors are included on the back of every ESRB rated game.

 

It's just that you often need to be familiar with ESRB tendencies to know what they really mean.

 

Like "Partial nudity?" Ah, that means bare ass, most likely male bare ass.

 

"Mild language?" "Damn" and "hell" are used in the game.

[dubq 0]

The content descriptors are vague and the average consumer isn't familiar enough with the ESRBs tendencies enough to know what they mean.

 

Like I said, the ESRB needs to take steps to clarify these ratings, and renaming the AO rating - or introducing another level before that - would be a good start.

[World's Worst Man 0]

AO is 18+, M is 17+, so there's no extra rating to throw in there. It's the fault of the console developers and retailers really. Although it'd be interesting to see whether the console dev's tune would change if the retailers would be willing to sell those AO games.

[dubq 0]

Alright maybe there is no need for something in between AO & M, but you can't deny that there's a stigma attached to the AO rating that suggests it's porngraphy. I can't think of any other reason why retailers wouldn't stock it and companies in turn wouldn't license it.

 

Why not just revise M to 18+ - because really, this one year difference between two ratings is PURE bullshit - and just get rid of AO unless something IS pornographic - of course they could just use X for that like everyone else, then.

[Maztinho 0]

dubq is calling for a minimal renaming of AO to something else, ala X to NC-17 in the movie industry. I can see it, because of the stigma of AO, and the actual minimal differences between it and the M rating.

 

The funny thing is, the gaming industry is "thinking of the children" when the game isn't for them.

[dubq 0]

dubq is calling for a minimal renaming of AO to something else, ala X to NC-17 in the movie industry. I can see it, because of the stigma of AO, and the actual minimal differences between it and the M rating.

 

The funny thing is, the gaming industry is "thinking of the children" when the game isn't for them.

 

Exactly Massito. Exactly.

[luke-o 0]

You can say "the game isn't for them" and it isn't.

 

But c'mon, kids are going to play it.

[dubq 0]

Not my problem. Shouldn't be my problem. Shouldn't effect whether or not I get to enjoy something in it's original form. I'm from the school of thought that a parent should be actively parenting their children and what they consume via the media, and if they can't do that then why the hell should the rest of us have to suffer?

 

What's next? Editing down R-Rated DVDs to PG-13 because kids MIGHT see them? Give me a break..

[dubq 0]

From IGN:

 

Rockstar Appeals Manhunt 2 UK Ban

Six weeks after it was banned, Rockstar puts up a fight.

by Rob Burman, IGN UK

 

UK, August 1, 2007 - Six weeks after the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) refused to give Manhunt 2 an age rating in the UK - effectively banning the game from sale - Rockstar has lodged an appeal to get the decision overturned.

 

Yesterday Rockstar made its plea to the Video Appeals Committe (VAC) - which has the power to overrule the BBFC - although it's not known on what grounds the developer is basing its defence. Manhunt 2 was refused classification because of its "unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone... which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing".

 

Speaking to IGN about its appeal, a Rockstar spokesperson said: "Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. confirmed today that Rockstar Games has appealed the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) decision that prohibited the release of any version of Manhunt 2 in Britain."

 

Meanwhile, the BBFC said that no further comment could be made at this time because the appeal process is a legal one, meaning Rockstar just has to wait while John Woods, VAC chairman, selects indvidiuals for an appeal panel who will then vote as to whether the ban stays in place. The BBFC has confirmed it will announce when the panel has been formed.

[AndrewTS 0]

If they're going to appeal, I guess this means they're not looking to alter the content of the game yet. However, if they're not going to alter the game content, they'll have to try to get the ESRB to re-rate the game, plus deal with the other various boards that gave adult ratings or banned the game.

 

I doubt the game is going to be out before GTA4 at this rate.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

I read somewhere that the BBFC are actually looking into how they classify games anyway, so this may get released yet.

[AndrewTS 0]

Will it make a difference, really, in every other country that banned it or effectively banned it, though?

 

I don't think it'll ever come out in, oh, Germany, but I'd think the most sensible option would be to look at what cuts the ESRB would want made.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Well the BBFC is just for the UK, so it would only affect us. They decided that they could rate games based on the same model design they had been using as it was for DVDs, a different medium. I think the article was in last months 'Edge' magazine.

 

So, they've taken the answers from surveys they've done and have went away to remodel a ratings system soley for Computer Games and Interactive Software, rather then use the template they had been using for DVDs.

[AndrewTS 0]

In that case, it's certainly a good forward-thinking measure to assure R* will actually get to make games and get them released in the UK, but it won't mean diddly for the squeamish Europeans. Hell, Manhunt 2 couldn't get a rating acceptable for console publication with us blood-thirsty Americans. I'd say the Greeks and krauts are completely boned on the game, even if it is edited.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Aye would appear that way.

 

The BBFC is aware that people who play games know its a game, and that they don't feel engaged into a virtual world as much as they do when they watch a film and are captivated by the storyline and well being of the characters. They (BBFC) also found out (from the survey) that those who play games, believe that games don't cause violence, and the violence that has happened was due to the person already being unhinged/suffering from mental problems.

 

So it does look hopeful.

 

http://kotaku.com/gaming/bbfc/brits-consid...ions-254198.php

 

Little bit about it on the link above, but there was a pretty indepth article in Edge, like I mentioned before.

 

Something I do remember from it, was the BBFC saying that they thought that the media did more damage then the game itself, citing that the media probably made Manhunt more popular then it ever had been before during the media frenzy of when the killing happened.

[AndrewTS 0]

Well that's good. However, hopefully they don't come under pressure from politicians. Isn't there at least one lunatic Parliament member decrying video game violence? I remember reading some really idiotic statements from him that sounded like some of the rantings from Jack Thompson.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Oh its all mental, its easier to blame the game then it is the parents. The amount of, call my discriminating here, 'chav' 'scum' families that come into the store to buy games and ignore the warnings you give them about 18 rated games they buy for their 6 year old amazes me.

 

"Are you aware its an 18 rated game?"

"Yes, he has loads."

"You do know that this game contains, strong langauge, violence, drug and sexual references."

"Yeah, he's played on the other ones. Just give me the fucking game."

 

... ok...

[AndrewTS 0]

That exact same scenario happens in lots of stores in the States when parents take an M game to the counter. Well, often without the swearing.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

And that's the problem, yet no one wants to buy into it that the world has shitty parents that don't give a damn what their kids sit and play for 5 hours on end. Its clearly the Devil Gamer who makes these Satanic games, that some how walking into houses and into the consoles of 6-12 year olds, and warp their minds.

 

As a store clerk what can you do? You stick to the law and refuse the kid, only for him to bring his parent, who is over age and legal enough to buy the game, you tell them what the game is about, you tell them its not suitable for their kids, and they say... WELL THE GAMES FOR ME! Nothing you can do then.

[luke-o 0]

Used to happen a lot in the Gamestation I worked it. I once sold GTA to a parent who was buying it for her seven year old. SEVEN!

[Sideburnious 0]

But if the kids don't have it they won't be the popular kids in school!

 

Or at least I'm sure thats what the parents will argue. In reality it's society to blame for putting these social pressures on them. Personally I don't give a shit about the game either way. I know "expierienced gamers" will make the point that "they know the difference between reality and violence in videogames" but why would you want to play a game where you rip of peoples balls and rape people? And who wants to make a game where you rip peoples balls off? Are you trying to be edgy? Is the whole point that you're pushing peoples boundaries so you force a reaction out of religious groups. I'm not really a fan of censorship but why would you make this content in the first place? Because "you can"?

 

Also the comparison between violence in movies and in videogames is flawwed. It's not about the violence its about the positioning of the spectator and the antagonist.

[dubq 0]

I know "expierienced gamers" will make the point that "they know the difference between reality and violence in videogames" but why would you want to play a game where you rip of peoples balls and rape people?

 

These two occurances in the game have been way over-exaggerated. Both of them are cut-scenes from what I gather. Unlike GTA-style games where you can real-time curb stomp the shit out of people.. or any shooting game where you can pop heads off of shoulders. It's pretty obvious that Manhunt 2 is just being made an example of given some of the other shit that's out there on the market right now.

 

Is the whole point that you're pushing peoples boundaries so you force a reaction out of religious groups. I'm not really a fan of censorship but why would you make this content in the first place? Because "you can"?

 

I think a better question is why NOT make this content? I HARDLY doubt that R*/TT was making this game so grotesque to force a reaction out of religious groups given the small amount of ANYTHING it takes to force a reaction out of them to begin with for fucks sake.

[dubq 0]

Amazon's pushed back my pre-order of this again. Last time I checked, the release was Sept. 1 and now it's Nov. 1. I'm hoping it at least gets released this year...

[Yuna_Firerose 0]

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/48625

 

Receives M rating, release date set to be Oct. 31.

[AndrewTS 0]

Yuna is on a Miho/Sin City kick, I see.

 

Oh yeah...Manhunt...yay for R*. I'm surprised they got it edited, resubmitted, and approved all quick. That was all so sudden.

[dubq 0]

Here's the article from IGN | http://wii.ign.com/articles/815/815446p1.html

 

Manhunt 2 Gets the Go-ahead from ESRB

Modified version earns an M rating, with PS2, PSP and Wii versions arriving October 31 in US.

by Matt Wales, IGN UK

 

UK, August 24, 2007 - Rockstar has announced that a reworked version of its controversial Manhunt 2 has been granted an M rating by the ESRB. Free of the shackles of its original AO classification, the game is currently scheduled for release in the US on Wii, PS2 and PSP this Halloween, October 31.

 

Sam Houser, founder and executive producer of Rockstar Games noted of the decision, "Manhunt 2 is important to us, and we're glad it can finally be appreciated as a gaming experience". He continued, "We love the horror genre. Manhunt 2 is a powerful piece of interactive story telling that is a unique video game experience. We think horror fans will love it."

 

In its original guise, Manhunt 2 was granted an AO rating by the ESRB, meaning that neither Sony or Nintendo would permit the game to appear on its consoles. Meanwhile, Rockstar is currently appealing the British Board of Film Classification's decision to refuse certification for the game in the UK, effectively banning it from sale in the country.

 

Rockstar's UK PR team were unable to comment on the status of the appeal, nor whether we can expect this reworked version of Manhunt 2 to be resubmitted to the BBFC in the near future.