Manhunt Controversy

Well, its coming in the US, but it will be modified. 😬

Rockstar has never been a company to shy away from controversy--if it isn't the 'hot coffee' scandal in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, it's the furore from the press in the weeks before the release of Canis Canem Edit (Bully in the US), or the banning of Manhunt 2 in the UK and Ireland.

While a game cannot outright be banned by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board in the US, it can receive an AO for Adults Only rating, which is a similar kiss of death due to release and sales policies; many major retailers in the country will not stock AO-rated games, and Sony and Nintendo refuse to allow them on their systems. Manhunt 2 was handed down this rating from the ESRB.

After Manhunt 2 received the AO rating, Take-Two suspended the release of the title while it "explored its options." In a recent conference call, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelman promised shareholders and journalists that the title would be released.

Today, he gets his wish, as Rockstar Games announces that a "modified version" of Manhunt 2 has received an M for Mature rating for ages 17 and over, and will be released on the PlayStation Portable, Wii, and PlayStation 2 in North America on October 31.

The company did not comment on what had been cut from the title in order to achieve the lower rating. The ESRB assigned the following content descriptors to Manhunt 2: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, and Use of Drugs.

Sam Houser, founder and executive producer of Rockstar Games, commented, "Manhunt 2 is important to us, and we're glad it can finally be appreciated as a gaming experience. 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."

The company is also appealing the ban in the UK, but this is a lengthy process which could take months.

Rockstar had not returned calls to comment as of press time.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6177498.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;2

Dammit! I hope it isn't edited a lot! 🙁

hmm... fair dues to rockstar for sticking to their guns... if their appeal does work over here, i just hope the game is better than the first one...

I dunno about you gys, but unless they come clean with what's been cut, I dont think I'll be getting it

... unless, of course, all the banned content is unlockable like hot coffe 😱

Originally posted by pr1983
hmm... fair dues to rockstar for sticking to their guns... if their appeal does work over here, i just hope the game is better than the first one...

Well, that's what sucks about this whole thing. They pinned them like 3 weeks before the release, like the week before they were probably going to start mass producing the discs to sell.

Originally posted by S_D_J
I dunno about you gys, but unless they come clean with what's been cut, I dont think I'll be getting it

... unless, of course, all the banned content is unlockable like hot coffe 😱

I doubt they would do that again, and I thought Hot Coffee wasn't directly their fault anyway?

Well I played Manhunt 1 and imo it is sick and should be banned. Theres no skill to it and anyone who enjoys such games needs to see a shrink.

It is kind of twisted, it has more of a plot to it than Hostel, and Texas Chainsaw does. Though it's pretty tame compared to movies.

Originally posted by AstroFan
Well, its coming in the US, but it will be modified. 😬

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6177498.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;2

Knew about that for a while...

Originally posted by JToTheP
Well, that's what sucks about this whole thing. They pinned them like 3 weeks before the release, like the week before they were probably going to start mass producing the discs to sell.

I doubt they would do that again, and I thought Hot Coffee wasn't directly their fault anyway?

Well, someone programmed it into the game and made it unlockable, so it was definitely someone at Rockstar's fault...

Originally posted by JToTheP
Well, that's what sucks about this whole thing. They pinned them like 3 weeks before the release, like the week before they were probably going to start mass producing the discs to sell.

I doubt they would do that again, and I thought Hot Coffee wasn't directly their fault anyway?

well, if was supossed to be in the game, but cut out in last minute, the problem was that it wasn't removed at all form the disk... I think they either thought no one will find it or they just waited till someone find it before realising it themselfs

it wasn't until the game hit PC's that hot coffee wasn't discovered

Originally posted by S_D_J
well, if was supossed to be in the game, but cut out in last minute, the problem was that it wasn't removed at all form the disk... I think they either thought no one will find it or they just waited till someone find it before realising it themselfs

it wasn't until the game hit PC's that hot coffee wasn't discovered

Oh alright, but it was discussed by just some nerds who spend their time hacking discs anyway. I guess it was basically meant to be a 'rom dump' or whatever it's called when remains are found on discs.

yep

but It still makes me wonder if such content was deliberately left in there

anyways, I wasn't really attracted to the first game, but the wii version of manhunt 2 intrigue me. It's just that I think censorship in general it's bad, in any form. If it was done by R* themselves, (like with Hot coffee) than that's ok, but if its done 'cause someone else tells you too, hell no!

I just wanna know what's been cut, before getting the game 😬

PS: after reading my posts, I seriously need to remember to use spellcheck 😮