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Controversial Manhunt Game Rated 'R' in Ontario
GrimSean writes "Well, it looks like someone in power up here in Ontario finally noticed the level of violence in Rockstar's Manhunt, as the Ontario Film Review Board has given it an R rating, much like a movie. The Toronto Star has an article here and the CBC has also covered the story - according to an article at CJAD, businesses could be fined a minimum of $25,000 Canadian for selling it to minors. It seems like they've completely sidestepped the ESRB's M rating and gone directly to the Restricted to 'control the thing'."
Funny. I was going to post pretty much this exact same comment, and figured I'd be modded as a troll but was going to do it anyway since free speech rules:)
I have no problem with this. I wish more areas would do this. Rather than whine about the games themselves, go after the fucking bastards who sell extremely violent video games to 10 year olds. Hit them in the wallet where it hurts.
I mean credit to the ESRB thing, but a certificate is only useful if it actually does anything. As it is now, the "M" certificate isn't a warning, it's a selling point. If there's an existing structure in place for movies and it can be legally applied to video games, so be it. Start fining these stores that sell these games to kids large chunks of money and perhaps they may start enforcing the ratings.
A similar approach has worked to a certain degree to stop kids buying cigarettes.
In short, kudos to Ontario!
They used to. I remember as a kid that every theater had the national anthem played before every movie. Now, we only get a slide show (of comercials), then a bunch of comercials and then a few tailers.
A few years ago, I was up at an army base, and watch a movie there. They still played the national anthem. It was really strange to listen to O'Canada and then watch species.
The ESRB rating seems to be increasingly an implementation of CYA policy for the marketers of games than anything else. If the Ontario Film Board has taken it upon themselves to rate a game, the message carries an implicit statement that the ESRB has become obsolete. It will be interesting to see whether other similar organizations follow in Ontario's footsteps to try to "re-regulate" video games. However, the problem in that is that it could easily become just a series of ratings on a game that are all equally ineffective. It is a band-aid rather than a cure for the real problem.
Another interesting thing, in the U.S. ratings are voluntary but in Canada they're decided by the Provincial governments, and (in Ontario at least) they're a bit stricter than the U.S., i.e. a few of the more extreme American R-rated films (Eyes Wide Shut, Hannibal) and all(?) NC-17 films get the 18+ rating in Canada.
Ironically, the 18+ rating is slapped on so many films it's not seen as a big deal. That's why Canada got the uncut version of American Psycho in theatres, while the producers wanted to avoid the NC-17 in the U.S., in Canada it was going to get rated 18+ anyway so there was no point in making cuts. Crash similarly had no problems in getting shown in Canadian theatres.
Maybe we'll get 'Canadian' versions of games with extra nudity and violence, since the 18+ rating is the strictest available there's no reason to hold back.
Too bad in Australia they refuse to give an R rating to games.
We didn't see GTA until they had removed a scene in which you see a car rocking, windows steamed and can then get out and kill the woman and take the money. Other games have suffered a similar fate, like Carmageddon.
This is a strange fate for a country in which 18-24 year olds make up a very large portion of the gaming market - particularly console gaming.