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Take Two Shelves Manhunt 2
If you've been following this story so far, it shouldn't come as a shock that Take-Two has shelved Manhunt 2 for the moment, while they decide what to do next. The company is considering its options, and still fully supports the game as a 'work of art'. "Take-Two Interactive Software has temporarily suspended plans to distribute Manhunt 2 for the Wii or PlayStation platforms while it reviews its options with regard to the recent decisions made by the British Board of Film Classification and Entertainment Software Rating Board ... We continue to stand behind this extraordinary game. We believe in freedom of creative expression, as well as responsible marketing, both of which are essential to our business of making great entertainment." Analysts have already started weighing in, with some seeing this as unfairly targeting the GTA-maker for previous 'sins'.
While I love Rockstar games as much as the next person, I don't see how they possibly thought they could get away with this game. It's almost as if they're are determined to go bust.
Hell no. Political Correctness(tm) was NEVER a slippery slop to censorship. Gosh. Those Chinese sure do suck for their Censorship(tm). We don't suck. We have REAL reasons!!!! I mean, Think About the Children(tm).
Un-frickin-believeable. For you purist-morons, yes, this was both governmental and economic censorship. My belief will always be that pornography is the line. That is to say, sexual contact and insinuated sexual contact when one or both sides' "stuff" is involved. And, it even has to be REAL for that. Not animated.
I am a parent. I am a parent to my kids and I take responsibility for what they see and experience. I have the power to control a heck of a lot of what they are exposed to and I exercise that power. Sucks for the parents who don't, but don't put that on me via government. I'll handle my own situation and you handle yours.
If stuff happens to be viewed or experienced by my kids out of my control "area", then we'll deal with it. But, my kids absolutely 100% won't be "damaged" because of it. Show me one person of us 6 billion who hasn't had a perfect go of it. I can only say that now after Paris Hilton got sent away, but before that, I was 99.999999% sure.
Moe
"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid." - Epictetus
"There were some kids that stole cars after playing GTA because they thought it was cool. What kind of things could we expect those kids to do after playing this game?"
I expect them to go "Huh, stealing cars landed me in jail. I don't want to do that again."
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Release it on the PC.
Deleted
There were some kids that stole cars after playing GTA because they thought it was cool.
So it's GTA's fault these kids were never properly raised? Hm so what happens if they watch on the news that more soldiers in Iraq were hurt/killed by a roadside bomb, decide it sounds cool and took a stab at that action.
Truth is, this had nothing to do with the game and everything to do with them being irresponsible idiots with irresponsible idiot parents. We have to quit blaming everyone else for our failures otherwise we keep perpetuating the need for a nanny state.
No sig for you!!
If there was ever an argument for Mod Chips, this is it! Once I purchase a console it's mine, d@mn it! I should be able to play whatever games I purchase for it, and shouldn't need Sony's or Nintendo's blessing first. That's like buying a Mustang, and then finding that only Ford Brand Gasoline service station nozzles will fit the weird shape of my fuel filler tube.
I wonder if you could win an anti-trust suit over this? Imagine if your Dell PC would only run software resold through Dell stores. Where does it say on the outside of the PS3 box -- This unit only runs software licensed by Sony. Any other use of this equipment violates the Sony Playstation 3 License Agreement.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
You don't understand the "freedom of speech issue" about this game, because it falls on the dark side of YOUR morality line. What if someone saw your Quake or your Doom game in the same way that you presently see Manhunt 2? Would you still be so unconcerned with a decision to ban the Quake? Of course you would be outraged, and yet there would be someone else saying the ban is justified because Quake is a murder simulator.
Freedom of speech doesn't become an "issue" only when something you like is banned, it becomes an issue when the things you don't like are banned and precedence is made. When someone else is making the decision on what is appropriate and not appropriate for your viewing, you are living in a non-free society.
I'm not defending the game. It sounds gross to me, too, and I wouldn't even consider purchasing it. However, I defend people's RIGHT to purchase it. Whether this is a true censorship issue is questionable, because people purchasing PS or Wii know these systems will not play Adult Only content. It's just one more example why it's better to purchase only open standards.
The local library stocks subject matter that I find offensive, including material that project certain people as subhuman. I find this as offensive as child abuse dvds, but I do realize that unlike child abuse dvds no one was actually harmed in producing these movies. And I think that is the distinction we must make, this is why a movie depicting the rape of a child is not equivalent to a child porn video. As in the latter case an actual crime is being committed. Since these games do not require the recreation of actual scenes they deserve more leeway in their depictions, as no one is being harmed. The images projected in Manhunt 2 and other games are merely pictures, and not particularly realistic ones. There is no actual difference between Manhunt 2 where one slaughters oddly shaped representations of people and Space Invaders.
Woe be on to them, all who rise against poor people, shall perish in a the end. Buju Banton
Actually it does have to do with politics, particularly with free speech. Manhunt 2 is being shelved because of an AO rating which some believe to be based more on politicals than actual content. So, in that sense, Politics is a more appropriate section than games. Just as if a studio were targetted with a controversial NC-17 rating and stopped distribution of the film as a result.
If I wanted to read about games, I wouldn't have set my preferences to hide all the stories.
Then don't read it. You are actually NOT udner any obligation to read every story that appears on your slashdot page. No, no, really, its true. You can choose to skip over a story.
You're constant misclassifications circumvent my preference.
You do realize that, based on your UID alone that there are 841,676 other users, right? And that most would find this to be an appropriate classification? In other words, slashdot as a whole is more important than your preferences.
You are a douche bag.
While that could well be true, based on the little interaction I've had with him, I'd doubt it.
I hope you die,
In hindsight, I bet you're thinking that this might be a bit harsh. If not, well, ironically enough, you are actually the target audience for Manhunt 2!
but barring that, I hope you stop foisting your obsession with video games on the clearly uninterested.
Based on the number of comments this and related stories have garnered, I'd have to say that the interested outweigh the uninterested.
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
What if you are a video game distributor or a video game producer and you decide you don't want to be associated with this game? What if you are part of a ratings board and you decide the violence in the game warrants a high rating? Do any of these have the power to say and do the things they say and do? Should the ratings board give the game a lower rating just because of a silly claim that the game is fine art? Should game distributors be forced to sell games they don't want to sell? Should stores be forced to sell games they don't want to sell or games that will make customers exercise a free choice to shop elsewhere? Nothing in this instance has anything to do with censorship. It's all about organizations and companies making their own decisions in response to this game.
I love my sig.
Just hope that the games for windows branding doesn't take off or you'll see a very similar situation with windows games. Which could always leave us Linux and Mac gamers, but I don't think we've got the numbers (even if all of us bought multiple copies) to support a game costing multiple millions (if not tens of millions) of dollars to develop.
You'll probably scoff at the idea of games for windows becoming a serious force in PC gaming, especially with so few publishers signing on so far, but stranger things have happened.
The Farewell Tour II
Why do I have this weird feeling that, in the long rung, it will be released internationally? The extra publicity will make up for lack of UK sales (which will probably still be considerable via import). Maybe, they'll get around it in the UK with slightly different in game art (see Carmageddon or Fallout).
It's called showmanship. Foreign 'art' films have been benefiting from the mock outrage of the conservative British press in this way for years.
Michael Reed, freelance tech writer.
*Sigh*.
/. against such a "game"!
/. *really* thinks of "freedom of speech" will become obvious within a few minutes after I press the "Submit" button - I'm ready to bet this will be modded down into oblivion! :-)
1. Yes, parents are responsible for their kids (I'm a parent myself). However, even the best and the best raised boy in the world *will*, from time to time, come to completely and utterly idiotic ideas, especially if there are some girls standing around, watching and cheering. You can't just blame it ALL to the parents, you know. Being a parent is challanging enough even without having companies like - in this case - Take Two making it even harder by raising car theft to the "cool" level.
2. If I were the owner of a stolen car, I wouldn't CARE who is to blame - parents of the thief or the company that brought the thief to the idea. You can't just throw away all moral responsibility under the cover of "freedom of speach" (let's be honest here: it's not the freedom of speech Take Two is trying to excercise here, it's the money they are after).
3. "iraq roadside bomb in the news" is such an inappropriate example that I am wondering how in the world can it be that you found somebody to mod you UP for that! If Take Two made a game where the main objective of the game was to place a roadside bomb in order to kill some marines, THAT would be a good example (although in a direction you wouldn't like). And I can very well imagine the (rightfull!) outcry on the
And what