Off the heels of the Manhunt 2 AO rating, Blockbuster and GameFly have officially told Joystiq that currently, neither rental service will carry the controversial game. Both services have official policies against renting out AO rated games.
"Rockstar Games has stated its disappointment at the BBFC's recent decision to refuse Manhunt 2 a rating in the UK, effectively banning the game from sale."
Take-Two just confirmed with Kotaku that the Entertainment Software Ratings Board gave both the PS2 and Wii versions of Manhunt 2 a preliminary rating of Adults Only, which would essentially bar it from all of the Wal-Marts and Targets of the world.
Well, this whole scenario has done a good job of showing that I can't predict worth a damn. Banned in UK and Ireland, now a temporary (there's always appeal) AO rating in the US.
Funny how everyone's claiming that the game will be terrible, because "the first one was", and how it's all reliant on shock value. Manhunt 1 got around a 75 average on all platforms. Hardly a terrible game. Think that's just the standard grandstanding, "I can't have it so I never wanted it" that comes from a lot of people.
"For a video game publisher, the economic impact of an AO rating cannot be overstated. It means that major retailers like Wal-mart, which by itself accounts for about 25% of retail games sales, will not carry Manhunt 2. There is an appeal process available to game pubilshers who wish to dispute rating assignments."
"Today, the British Board of Film Classification, the UK's independent regulator of film, video and gaming, announced that it has rejected both the PS2 and Wii version of Manhunt 2. This is the first game to be rejected since Carmageddon in 1997."
Perhaps I'm reading too much into IGN's comments about this game being the most over the top voilent game they've ever seen or played. I just kinda assumed that included the first Manhunt.
Adam Savage is one of the Mythbusters. Before some of their stunts, he would give a percentage breakdown of odds of failure or success. Often, it was based on little or nothing beyond intuition, and always had some silly comment in there.
I kinda doubt this will be more violent than the first (hence why the option is so slightly represented), but I think the fact that the player isn't a "bad guy" (former death row inmate in the first, doctor in his own experiment in the second) might mitigate some of the disapproval. Still, it's an even split in many ways and I can't predict much of anything concretely.
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