ESRB Says Adults Only for Manhunt 2
- Scribbled on June 19th, 2007 by Devin Grimes
- Filed in ESRB/Ratings, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP, Sony PlayStation 2
As if Manhunt 2’s content hasn’t earned it enough press today, Take-Two is now confirming that the Entertainment Software Ratings Board has recently rated the controversial sequel as Adults Only, the highest tier of the ESRB’s authority.
Speaking to Gamespot, a representative stated that this is currently only an “initial rating,” meaning it’s not permanent and could change. The spokesman said:
We believe the process of rating video games is to help people make informed entertainment choices and not to limit them. Manhunt 2 was created for mature audiences and we strongly believe it should receive an M (Mature) rating, aligning it with similar content created in other forms of media. We are exploring our options with regard to the rating of Manhunt 2.
For a game publisher, an AO rating could be quite devastating. Many retail locations outright refuse to display or stock anything that bears the intrepid ESRB ratings marking. In fact, Kotaku notes that Manhunt 2 will join a small list of only 23 other titles, joining the ranks of games such as WET - The Sexy Empire, The Joy of Sex, All Nude Cyber, and the controversial GTA: San Andreas.
June 20th, 2007 at 12:14 am
They should just call the AO rating for what it is: X. I mean we’re talking only 1 year between M and AO. M rated games are supposed to be “adult only”, but everyone knows thats FAR from the reality. You can have all the blood and gore you want, but if you show too many boobies, you’re off the shelves!
This rating won’t stick, they’ll clean it up until they get an M rating. If they don’t, they might as well just not release it.