Lots of Trouble for Manhunt 2 on Wii

The Nintendo Wii is generally thought of as a family console because of a barrage of family oriented marketing and lots of fun and fuzzy cute games. So, it came as a bit of a shocker when Nintendo and Take Two/Rockstar Games announced Manhunt 2 for the pure and wholesome console. The game has been described as ‘a murder simulator.’ Combine the gruesome game play with the ‘hands-on’ controls of the Wii and Manhunt 2 is the next best thing to smothering that annoying guy down the street with a plastic bag.

Well, it’s a rough time for the publishers now. In a barrage of news today regarding the game, we find that Take Two is going to bleed some serious cash. The first revelation was that the game was banned in the UK for its extreme violence. David Cooke of the British Board of Film Classification was quoted as saying that “There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game.” Further it was suggested that they had no suggestions to improve the content of the game so that the ban would be lifted.

The second blow to the publishers came as the ESRB gave the title an AO or Adults Only rating. This is essentially a death sentence for a game as far as mainstream success is considered. The harsh rating would keep the game off the shelves of almost all retailers and squash the game into obscurity. Not to mention the AO rating lumps Manhunt 2 in the same category of games like “All Nude Cyber,” “The Joy of Sex,” and “WET – The Sexy Empire.”

Just as you would expect, it was also reported today that Gamefly (the Netflix of videogames) would not be carrying Manhunt 2 because they enforce a no AO policy. This also goes for Blockbuster who has a no NC-17 policy regarding movies. The final blow came today as Nintendo announced that they would not allow the release of the controversial game with the AO rating.

To get Manhunt 2 out, Take Two is going to have to dodge the AO bullet by substantially editing the game to get the rating reduced to M (Mature). So, all of the work that has gone into the game is going to have to be redone to satisfy the ESRB and Nintendo. There is also the possibility that all of the flack that the game has already caught may lead stores to shun the game even if the rating is changed. The only other remaining option is for Take Two to simply cut the chord on the game and head in another direction.

I for one am disappointed by the whole situation. While maybe the game deserves the AO rating, I would still like it to be released. And if it did actually get out I was planning on buying a copy, because it was likely to become a rare game. Finally, I’d like to say that I’ve been playing games all my life, and while playing games I’ve killed countless of robots, ferocious animals, and people. But, guess what! I know how to separate reality from a game and I’m sure anyone who is right in the head can too. Even if it is a ‘murder simulator’ that doesn’t mean that people who play it are going to become murderers. By that logic when schools give demonstrations of what it is like to drunk drive, they would actually be driving all of their students to knock back a few and hop behind the wheel! Ridiculous isn’t it?

[Via Wii Fanboy]
[Via Wii Fanboy]
[Via Wii Fanboy]
[Via Wii Fanboy]
[Via Wii Fanboy]