Take-Two: Manhunt 2 will be published
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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 10, 2007 2:36 am GMT
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."
Article from GameSpot.com
And here was my response
DarkNinMagic
In my personal opinion, the only difference between a M game and an AO game is just 1 year... that's it. M rated games can be sold to anyone 17 and older. AO games can only be sold to someone 18 and over. Oh, one year, oh no! Like most 17 year olds haven't seen what 18 year olds have! Giving a game an AO rating is basically saying 'Sorry kids, but you have to wait a year to play this game!' Tell me, do you think that anyone that wants to play that game isn't just going to ask an older friend to buy it, or just order it over the internet? AO is just like banging your head with a sledgehammer, it just doesn't make any sense.
Posted Jul 17, 2007 4:24 pm GMT
Last edited by DarkNinMagic; 07-20-2007 at 02:52 AM.
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