Manhunt 2 'temporarily suspended' says Take-Two

JOYSTIQ WOULD YOU KINDLY REMOVE THIS #47 BLOKE FROM THIS SITE WHO IS MASQUERADING AS ME PLEASE.............how did he know about the councilling sessions tho?

Wait, why did Rare Hare just take a stab at me?

What the hell is Sony thinking though? Nintendo, I can understand them barring an AO game, but... Sony? they aim their console at hard core 'mature' markets and then when push comes to shove, they would rather stay clear of controversy, controversy which if MS decides to pull the game as well, they could have a 'hot topic' game exclusivly on their console. $$$!
I do see this 'edited' version to hit the BBFC and actually get through, but the reasons behind it's banning in the UK/Ire were bullshit, once again hyped by the blood thirsty british press and lies and all kinds of made up crap is being used against the game. It's like Manhunt 1 all over again!

Ludicrous. I'm sick of the PC world censoring the world for adults.

But this isn't a PC game, it's a Wii/PS2/PSP game silly!

Glad they holding it.

I hope they remove Wii version and bring more mini games from take two's idea.

The problem for me wasn't whether the game deserved the AO rating. It was the fact that AO rating was an open call to boycott the games for the same people who talk about they want the video game medium to expand and include everyone.

All the BS about getting mature games and games beyond the same all business strategy is bull. What you really want is to find gamers who haven't play your bull sell it to them, by conning their kids into wanting your system. Mature and gaming to these companies is what ever they dictate it to be, not what people want, or what software companies say. So to sum it up you are only as mater and nintend, sony, and ms say you are.

That is what pissed me off about the AO rating, it showed the real hypocrisy of the media hype machine in action.

I think there should be 2 versions. One being the "M" version that will be carried by the retailers and rental and then let us order the AO version directly from Take Two.

ok, why is this game AO? i can rip people in half with my arms in God of War and it's M. Shennanigans, I say!

To quote a wise man from long ago, "WTF, mate!"

So many of you are ridiculously clueless. This has nothing to do with the 1st Amendment.

Consider this. If Nintendo was FORCED to allow any game, regardless of content, to be released on their system (as many of you idiots somehow think they should have to do under the 1st Amendment), then Sony would simply pay a dev to make an incest rape simulator and release it as a Wii exclusive. "Freedom of Speech" so nobody could stop it. It gets on the news, mothers burn their sons' Wii's, and Nintendo loses 100s of millions of dollars, they strike back at Sony and MS, politicians freak out that incest rape simulators are teaching our youth depravity, and console gaming as we know it is over.

For FUCKS SAKE! Console manufacturers DO NOT HAVE TO SUPPORT CONTENT THAT THEY DON'T WANT ON THEIR GODDAMNED SYSTEMS. Whether it be quality, pornography, or simply bad taste. They agreed with these ESRB regulations to keep this crap off of their consoles.

It isn't like some prude republican or ultra-liberal douche came out and vetoed the game because they know what's best. Pull your heads out of your asses and get some common sense.

and sheppy,
Showing some random footage of a random game doesn't mean jack. We haven't seen the issues in Manhunt2 that make it AO. So you can't just show some monster violence in a fantasy game and somehow triumphantly point see, see!

Keep in mind, too, that Manhunt2 could be denied because of as little as a single scene. It is possible that a minor adjustment would get this game through.

The idiots are rockstar. They finally did something smart with bully, and shut up a lot of their critics.. and what do they do.. make something as dumb as Manhunt 2.

Seems like everyone who has actually played it (in a number of countries, but none of you) agrees it is at least equivilent to AO.

Now I don't see why sony & nintendo shouldn't allow AO titles (and i'm sure a lot of the dodgy ones in japan are similar to ao), but it's their choice.. and rockstar were fully aware of the ratings and policies when they decided to make the game as they did.

@Jake

You've said some dumb things in the past (and apparently, so have I... welcome back retarded importer poster/s)

"Consider this. If Nintendo was FORCED to allow any game, regardless of content, to be released on their system (as many of you idiots somehow think they should have to do under the 1st Amendment), then Sony would simply pay a dev to make an incest rape simulator and release it as a Wii exclusive. "Freedom of Speech" so nobody could stop it. It gets on the news, mothers burn their sons' Wii's, and Nintendo loses 100s of millions of dollars, they strike back at Sony and MS, politicians freak out that incest rape simulators are teaching our youth depravity, and console gaming as we know it is over."

So let me get this straight. AO banned on consoles is simply so competitors cannot invest millions in creating defaming games? Wow. I don't know if I should be proud of your level of creativity or saddened by how far you'll reach.

First off, any game that gets released has be the licensed, and thus approved, by the console maker. So next time you think about Farcry on Wii, Nintendo is partially responsible because they allowed that shit to fly. Same goes for the other console as well. So in the unlikeliest of scenarios you just gave, Nintendo could simply say no instead of rating banning. Approval should be handled on a case per case basis and NOT as a blanketed endeavor. Second, the ESRB is NOT consistant. What an example?

The Punisher. Everyone has heard about the "interrogation" sequences. Well, during one preliminary preview in the ESRB, the game got a rating of M. But regardless, they got closer to launch and resubmitted. Suddenly, they were awarded an AO. Same game, just less buggy. So suddenly they had to delay the game and figure out how they could pass the bar. Evenutally a black & white filter was added and they regained their M rating.

Why did this happen? It's both the strength and weakness of the ESRB. They poll random people for the ratings. Some groups give games that should be M, Ts. And even some Ts get M. And in some bizarre world somewhere, somebody thinks Ratchet & Clank is a T.

Now, how does this relate to Manhunt 2? Strictly speaking, allows censorship. I pointed at Big Daddy as just a singular example. I've got more, you know. Like the Little Sisters in Bioshock who eat the dead. Or how in Soldier of Fortune, you can shoot off someone's legs and listen to them endless scream and writh in agony. Die By The Sword had a real time amputation engine. These are the easiest to point to, but nowhere near the most disturbing.

die by the sword was a wicked assed game though!! 1:1 sword combat controls old schools style!!

I am SOOOO glad I'm not the only one who remembers the horrors of the pigman knight....

It's not true that this is the first game rated AO for violence. Thrill Kill was recieved the rating for "Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence". Not for sex content. It was also the first console game that received that rating. So it was the precedent. It was edited to recieve a M rating and then canned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrill_Kill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AO-rated_products
http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp

@9, yeah maybe it does. but in that case, sell it as an AO game, there is a market for it

Wow, Almack64, it's not everyday someone fires off links that kills their own arguement. You said...

"It's not true that this is the first game rated AO for violence. Thrill Kill was recieved the rating for "Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence". Not for sex content."

And here are the ESRB edits according to the Wiki link you gave.

"The ESRB's complaints had Paradox change some of the game's content. For example: "The Imp" character name was supposedly changed from "Senator Lieberman" (a direct spoof of the US senator of the same name). Characters wore briefs instead of g-strings. Belladonna's suggestive wail at the start of a match was toned down."

In other words, slander needed to be removed, underwear changes, and Belladona just can rub herself to cumming in the beginning of a match.

Largely sexual content changes. Thanks for the laughs.

Belladona CAN'T, CAN'T! Damn no edit button.

Kind of hypocritical to make a console that lets you surf the internet for porn, but they won't license AO games.

"Kind of hypocritical to make a console that lets you surf the internet for porn, but they won't license AO games."

Personally, I'm more curious on how Sony can now stand in a defenseable position when Home comes under fire for pornographic content? They've officially pissed away any stance they could have had on a flagship application.

i'm going to go out on a limb here and be the psycho motherfucker whose existence everyone loves to ponder: i want this game. bad.

no, i'm not the testosterone-driven "mature"-game-loving raised-truck-driving tiny-dick-having guy that some of you might assume, i just happen to be a slightly twisted individual who has always wondered why brutal games based around the idea of stalking and murdering were never made before. i was really looking forward to this game, and was really looking forward to the USB headset voices-in-the-head don't-cough-cuz-they'll-hear-you environment of the game.

i'm a huge fan of the psychological thriller-type games; eternal darkness, killer7... i just feel like there aren't enough games that let you loose in an environment where you push the boundaries of consciousness and end up slipping over the edge.

i hope they can come to terms with the censor board and get an M rating somehow. if it means less blood, i don't care. if it means less brutal killings, i don't care. if the general theme of the game, though, is what's earning it the AO rating, well, i'm gonna be pissed.

i feel like AO games should get published; even if there is some kind of ridiculous process you have to go through to allow you to play the game on your console. call into nintendo and give a credit card number and drivers license number to prove your age? fuckin whatever. it's just dumb that they won't allow the game at all just because some people aren't responsible enough to disallow their children from playing it.

-"psychofan" tactics.

"TEAR DOWN THE WALL!"

-"superfan" tactics.

They should just make this an MS exclusive, sell it online (mail-order), and let that be a big FU to the prudes at Nintendo and Sony.

By the way, congratulations to Nintendo for reverting back to their MK1 days and reinforcing the kiddie image they've spent years trying to shed.

@ Jake #25
"Barnes and Noble will never sell Hustler's."

You should come and check out my local B&N in Waterloo, Iowa. They've got a porno magazine section and a large adult book section that kids can walk by!!!!!

Can we get over this fickle bull shit, the rating system is fucked there is no difference between 17 and 18 years old.. I wish people would take canada as an example Manhunt it being/was being developed in Toronto.. and here, I livde in quebec american movies are dumbed down as far as ratings go Team America was rated pg-13 here.. a dude took his 3 year old kid to see the movie, and yet people arent so easily coerced by games and the media here come on people enough of this censorship crap, let this damned game be released, dont let some BS church guide your actions, church is worse than this game

Sony and Nintendo just don't want bad publicity by allowing this game on their consoles, its understandable really.