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So for those of you who are a bit out of the loop, you may not have heard but Manhunt 2, Take Two's lovable little voyeuristic sadist fantasy game, has received the hardly used Adults Only rating from the ESRB.  And then it was banned in the United Kingdom.  And Ireland.  And Australia.  And Germany.  And Italy is considering banning it too.  And retailers won't sell it in America.  For that matter, Nintendo and Sony won't allow it on their consoles, so unless there is a PC version, it's not coming out anywhere.

Which brings us to the problem with the ESRB rating system.  Sure, I don't mind that the AO rating exists, or that there's only a year's worth of difference between the AO rating and the Mature rating.  The problem is, nobody will allow it on their console, or in their stores.  So when the ESRB has to decide what to rate the game, they're forced to ask "Do we really want to ban this?"  Because that's what they're effectively doing, even if it's not willingly.

So, Manhunt 2 is disturbingly violent.  It's only the second game to ever get the AO rating solely for violence, and the first never came out.  If it's as bad as has been claimed by the various ratings boards the world over, I'm glad it got an Adults Only rating.  But that doesn't mean I don't want the game to come out.  Personally, I was looking forward to playing it.  I'm twentytwo years old, several years past the minimum age for purchase.  I have a desire to play games with graphic violence and adult themes, games that according to the ESRB I have every right to play.  Why am I, and my fellow consumers, being hurt because the ESRB did its job?

Unfortunately, it looks like the game is going to be put on indefinite hold.  And there's not much I can do or say about it.  But I support Take Two, and Manhunt 2.

Posted by: Ack at 12:45 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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