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Manhunt 2 Rated Adults Only by ESRB
- Thread starter ElectricBlue187
- Start date
Quazar said:
How do you cut the content out, and have a game that is Manhunt? I just don't see it! The whole game is blood & gore...chainsawing heads in half, dismembering people!
Rockstar likes making bad-boy games, now its in trouble for it again! Like, what did they think was gonna happen? Did they think 14yr olds would be able to buy it? The thought they would make a ton of cash of the controversy, now they will loose money on it!
Quazar said:
and even then every retailer in the USA will not sell AO games. so theyd have to censor the PC version for release. They would have to do what was down with Indigo Prophecy for instance.
Released a M rated version to retail anda direct download uncensored edition. and like Manhunt Indigo prophecy got AO due to sex scenes. once they were stripped boom Rated M
Firewire said:
Wow this is so messed up. Now this is beyond the NC-17 comparisons and the game being "defacto" banned because it's unstocked by most stores. Now the game is literally unable to be played on any console. That is crazy.
It completely flies in the face of modern gamer demographics and really reinforces that videogames are "stupid toys for kids". Pathetic.
titiklabingapat
Member
.dmc said:
An old standby, but the system is broken.
ManaByte
Gold Member
Quazar said:
No we don't. Do you even have any clue what you're arguing about? Really, I'm curious.
The ESRB is an independent and completely voluntary organization that companies PAY to rate their games. The ESRB was the result of lawmakers telling the videogame industry "Regulate yourselves, or else we will (and you don't want that)".
The government; specifically politicians in New York are looking for an excuse to step in and form their own oversight committee to mandate game content; and an AO-rated game featuring simulated castration on a Nintendo and Sony system is exactly the excuse they are looking for.
milkham
Member
I think they should go ahead and release it with an AO rating, what is the point of even having an AO rating if it can't ever be used. It's like having a review scale that only goes from 7 to 9. Screw walmart and everyone else, they can just have an online store of their own to sell the damn thing.
AltogetherAndrews
Member
The interesting thing is that if Rockstar does cave and publishes a toned down version, all this talk about the integrity of art that some here are so fond of applying to the Manhunt case is instantly invalidated.
milkham said:
Ok say they release it on PC with an AO rating. The first underage person caught with the game will be on CNN with Jack Thompson at his side! And Thompson will scream about the entire industry turning kids into murdering lunatics! Then the gov will get involved!
Then you can say goodbye to video games as we know them now!
AltogetherAndrews
Member
EviLore said:
I agree with the rating system in itself (and quite frankly, Manhunt 2 getting an AO rating proves that it works), but I can't say I have much understanding for a rating system that includes a rating that not only prohibits the game from being sold in mainstream stores, but even prohibits it from being published on the system. This incidentally makes a good case for why PC gaming will always be around, at least to some extent.
Quazar said:
The ESRB is not censorship though. It has an effect on the retail and publishing process which can in itself lead to voluntary censorship, but that's probably for the best anyway. The video game industry still hasn't found its boundaries, and I'd rather see the big controversy be over voluntary regulation than over a real incident sparked by a product that had not been regulated. That'd spell doom for far more than just Manhunt.
titiklabingapat
Member
.EviLore said:
Segata Sanshiro
Member
Ehn, give it time. I used to fall over in my chair when I heard the word "bitch" on primetime TV. Have faith in the gradual decay of so-called morality! It's going to be a fun ride.ManaByte said:
AgentOtaku
Member
EviLore said:
QFT!
Hollywood_mIRC
Banned
This is unfortunate for Rockstar, effectively banded from game making. Censorship at its finest.
I think the AO rating really is reserved for games that exceed the bounds of good taste and artistic merit. This isn't a snap decision or a Jack Thompson style legislative boycott, it's probably a good call. Do I think consumers have the right to choose whether or not it's for them? Absolutely. But to say that the AO rating is some kind of de facto censorship system is nonsense.
AltogetherAndrews
Member
Hollywood_mIRC said:
Oh please. Rockstar has made its riches from pushing the envelope of what is acceptable for the main stream market, and as in most such cases, there is a hard limit to how far you can push that envelope, meaning that at some point you push it too far and fit snaps back.
And for the record, had there been no limits in place, Rockstar would be nowhere near as powerful and influential as it is today.
Calints Neos
Member
So what?
Pokeylongo
Member
You guys know this is probably just a stunt with Nintendo and Sony playing along, right? It's basically Rockstar's way of saying, "Hay guys, look how violent our game is, lol."
The only ones doing the censoring are the political activists. I don't think anybody in the industry really cares about the content in the game as long as it sells, they just don't want to be near ground-zero when the media shit-storm hits. Jack and his pals aren't going to target just Rockstar and Take-Two they will hit the manufactures, the distributors the licensees and retail. Those guys are just running a business and don't want to put themselves in a position that might cause backlash. On the PC it's different, you don't have as many people to point fingers at since it's much easier to do independent publishing and distribution, people willing to make a statement can do so on their own.
Hollywood_mIRC
Banned
AltogetherAndrews said:
It doesn't matter how much money Rockstar made - this is just a simple typical double standard of the game industry and the movie industry. You can go buy Hostel at any store that sales DVD's with no problem, but this game with semi cartoonish looking graphics of last generation is banned.
plagiarize
Banned
i'm expecting them too, and i'll be disapointed when it happens. as i said much earlier in this thread, i'd love rockstar to show some conviction and stand by the game they made, and fight to get it released as is whatever it took.AltogetherAndrews said:
but no, capitalism will win over and they'll cut the game to ensure they make money on it.
this whole thing bothers me as once again we're flying the double standard. blockbuster, best buy, and i'm sure many others happily sell or rent unrated movies. yet they won't sell or rent AO games (or NC-17 rated films).
that'll *never* make any sense.
it's a sorry time when the political climate dictates what we can and can't play in our games.
i just hope it doesn't get worse before it gets better.
how many people arguing against manhunt 2 are only doing so because they A: don't want to play it and are B: worried about the backlash it might cause?
if GTA4 gets slapped with the same rating, i wonder how many of you will suddenly change your minds on the AO situation?
Mr_Furious
Member
I'm not the one pissed off. You're the one entering the thread with the problem. You really do need to give the whole "censorship is bullshit" a rest. So what if they take out the option to rape a woman. Is that going to be the defining factor that determines whether or not you buy the game? If so then I think you have much deeper issues. I'll do what I want and you just sit there and eat your pissed in cheerios.Quazar said:
I think there is a fair chance that rockstar knew that this would happen. They know the industry.
They probably made the game as balls out as they could with the expectation that it would get an AO. Now they'll cut it down just enough to get the M. They will get some publicity out of it and they get a real sense of what the actual bounderies are by pushing a little bit past them.
So it's not exactly a case of rockstar not being able to make the game they want to... Especially if the neck raping thing is true.. They would surley know that would never make the cut.
They probably made the game as balls out as they could with the expectation that it would get an AO. Now they'll cut it down just enough to get the M. They will get some publicity out of it and they get a real sense of what the actual bounderies are by pushing a little bit past them.
So it's not exactly a case of rockstar not being able to make the game they want to... Especially if the neck raping thing is true.. They would surley know that would never make the cut.
GilloD said:
Speaking of good taste and artistic merit with regards to censorship certainly makes me want to goatse you.
(Relevant video pertaining to censorship) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ISil7IHzxc
Don't be the guy from the Times.
titiklabingapat
Member
Well, we at least can all agree that this little stunt by Rockstar has been a success. Now I can't wait to play the game, especially the AO one, and especially if Nintendo reversed their stance.
Mr_Furious said:
You need to understand what the purpose of a forum board is. And no I dont need to give it a rest. I'll voice my opinion on anything I want, whether thats against a sheeps mind or not. It's not about any rape. If you read my posts I agree to certain content being cut.
Here I'll spoon feed it to you:
Quazar said:
Those were just some examples btw.
bigmakstudios
Banned
I don't get it. Why can't this game be released with an AO rating? Movies that are just as violent as Manhunt 2 are released all the time... why even use a rating system if it means absolutely nothing? Why is there an AO rating if it can't ever be used anyway? >_> wtf @ censorship.
Here's what they should do: Delay the title, get it down to a "Mature" rating to ship to retailers but then sell the (unlicensed) AO version directly from R*.
This way everyone wins and retailers won't be fearful of selling AO titles and those of us that want it can still get it.
This way everyone wins and retailers won't be fearful of selling AO titles and those of us that want it can still get it.
Amused_To_Death
Member
mj1108 said:
