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'."

Comments

This is OK

[pcbob]

I see no problem with this - now all those whining "save the kids" types can't complain and get the game completely banned.

Good decision, I applaud Ontario.

Re:This is OK

[Dark Nexus]

Exactly!

And kids who really want it can ask their parents... forcing the parents to be involved.

And for those parents who don't have a problem with it can just go buy it for their kids.

They'll get around it

[yeejiun]

I hope these people realize that kids will get their hands on the games regardless of what the law says. I mean, if not a licensed copy, then a pirated copy off of bittorrent or something like that. At the end of the day, it's the parents that have to make sure that their kids don't spend their time on the wrong game, not the retailers.

My thoughts...

[josh glaser]

...I think it's good. I usually think that this whole videogame violence thing is blown out of proportion, and it is, but here, I think they made the right choice. Manhunt is just really disgusting - it's not at all like Grand Theft Auto, where the violence is humorous (a la a grown-up cartoon)...no, the violence here is disturbing...everybody I know who played it felt dirty, like they were some serial killer or something. It's really an uncomfortable game for most people I know. And the gameplay itself isn't that great (mediocre stealth fare), and it just seems like a cash-in on the media attention...yeah, I think Ontario was more than justified.

On a side note, sometimes I think that (in the U.S., don't know much about how it's done in Canada) we should just switch to movie ratings for games. I don't know if it would be a good idea for the same board or whatever to rate them, but it's just that PG and R are more familiar to most people than E or M. And they are kinda on the same "scale" anyway (PG-13 = T, R = M), so it might be a good thing.

Oh, and does anybody else feel that game ratings are a little...big? The dirtiest R-rated movie can get away with a little tiny square on the back of the box, but then videogames have to have a huge, ugly E or T or whatever plastered on the front and a large "descriptor" on the back. It's not that I'm against visability of the ratings, but I just think that videogames and movies should be treated more alike (it's annoying when Target refuses to sell M-rated games to minors, but don't have the same policy for R-rated movies, etc.)

That was quite a rant there...enjoy.

Re:My thoughts...

[kboy1]

The movie ratings (PG, R, etc.) are legally enforceable. The store owner can be fined or imprisoned for allowing the sale or rental of an R-rated product to a minor. Video game ratings are voluntarily provided suggestions to the consumer about the content of the game.

So the reason video game ratings are so big is because the consumer has to see them or they mean nothing.

Movie ratings can be small, because the consumer doesn't have to see them; the onus is on the storeowner to enfore them.

Oh, and I'm an Ontarian, and I've never heard the anthem played at a movie theatre. And I'm pretty sure I've been to a "first showing of the day" (specifically, the midnight premiere of Star Wars Episode I).

Re:My thoughts...

[Rayonic]

Manhunt is just really disgusting - it's not at all like Grand Theft Auto, where the violence is humorous (a la a grown-up cartoon)...no, the violence here is disturbing...

Could it be (*gasp* *shock*) that violence in real life really is "disgusting"? Perhaps the designers were trying to make you feel bad about killing all those people?

...everybody I know who played it felt dirty, like they were some serial killer or something. It's really an uncomfortable game for most people I know.

Why, it seems I'm right.

Ontario?

[Mark_MF-WN]

This is the same crappy, overly conservative province that wouldn't let Madonna perform a concert.

This is NOT a place where free expression is valued, let's just say that. I'm surprised they didn't launch a lawsuit against the makers, like Florida did with GTA Vice City.

Re:Ontario

[n0wak]

> hey're a bit stricter than the U.S

No they're not. While Matrix Reloaded was rated R down South (and got to become the most profitable R-rated movie), it was just 14A here. There's a bit of a cultural gap between the acceptance of violence and sexuality between Canada and US. I guess movies get judged more harshly on sexuality down south than here; but here, movies get judged more critically on violence. Especially brutal realistic violence, and not the cartoony Matrix-kind.

Also, remember that these are *provincial* ratings, so they tend to vary. As you can imagine, in the more liberal Quebec, the ratings for sexual content are FAR less strict.

Re:how they decided?

[SuiteSisterMary]

Have YOU played the game? I'll point out that all of the money shots do take the form of cutscenes, BTW.

But, in all seriousness, how would YOU rate a game in which you play a supposedly executed felon, who is then forced to be the title star of a snuff film, who then has to survive the night by stalking and killing, in the most imaginative and violent ways possible, a succession of psychotic criminals?

This game makes NO bones about being all of this, and no

Note that I'm a civil libertarian who doesn't believe in censorship; only common sense.