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Take Two Vows To Publish Manhunt 2
Despite Manhunt 2's bad reception in both UK and US, Take Two has publicly announced that it will publish the game at some point. Backing the title as art, once again, the company vowed to see the game released in some capacity or another. "The chairman added that Take-Two subsidiary Rockstar Games, which publishes Manhunt and the Grand Theft Auto series, sees itself as a producer of games rated M for Mature. However, Zelman did say Take-Two would stand by its game, even if it bore the dreaded AO for Adults Only rating. 'We don't see ourselves in the Adults Only business,' he told analysts listening to the call. 'Having said that, if we find ourselves in the Adults Only business, it would be because we have a title that we consider art and entertainment, that we consider if appropriately labeled AO, and that we would like to bring to market.'"
In some capacity or another, eh? Come on collectible card game!
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
They're allowed, just like the MPAA ratings. The article doesn't say though if Take Two is going to also resubmit a censored edition to get an M rating at the same time... but if they're calling it art they probably shouldn't to that to keep any face at all.
More Twoson than Cupertino
It's nice that they're determined to get the game out, but how is this going to happen if the Sony and Nintendo won't approve the game for their consoles? And I don't recall there being a PC version of the game. Of course they could port it to the PC and then just sell it online, maybe even with Steam. But unless they were planning this contingency all along, it will take time to port the game. Another question is whether Microsoft would allow the game on the 360. If they have to take the time to do a PC port, then a 360 port almost comes for free. Manhunt 2 as an Xbox 360/Windows Vista exclusive might actually make sense. Not only that, if they're successful, it could put a whole new spin on the AO rating issue. It might just remove the curse.
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
AO is more like the NC-17 rating. ESRB's M is equivalent, in theory, to MPAA's R even though they're not enforced the same.
I'd like to see whoever it was that ran a sting operation and saw 69% of kids under 17 could buy M rated games do the same for R rated films like Hostel, Saving Private Ryan and Pulp Fiction. (Yes, I picked those films on purpose as examples)
Take 2 vows to try and eke some income out of a product they've already spent money on!
Reality has a conservative bias: it conserves mass, energy, momentum...
Think of it....
I think I speak for a lot of people that would _love_ to see the AO rating go from "the dreaded" to the "hells yeah!" rating. I mean we all want these kinds of titles - we are growing up but dammit as much as I love nintendo I want my games to grow up with me. Honestly I cant figure out where the real problem is. Distributors refuse to carry it - why? I know the fact that Wal-Mart wont carry it is a real problem when you are looking at your bottom line - but thankfully they looked at a bottom line of zero and are deciding to go ahead.
What I could see this as doing for the future is this being remembered as that first title that said 'the hell with it' and went through with the AO rating and made the Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft's realize that there is a market here and it is worth expanding our definition of games. Take Two is an utter mess at this point - but that desperation is great for doing something crazy that just might work. Dont tone down the game - throw in those few bits you were scared would originally garner an AO rating and just sell the damn thing.
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Course, movies are rated by the MPAA, which is made up of the major movie studios. The ESRB was created out of an act of Congress.
...that or kill off the MPAA and make it a governmnt agency...which could have the added benefit of putting the brakes on Hostel Part 3.
What the ESRB should be is headed by the big gaming publishers. If the movie studios can regulate themselves and put out Hostel, et. al., then game companies should be able to do the same.
Did anyone else read the headline and misconstrue it that way, implying that the company that was going to publish the game had previously vowed to publish a particular game and then suddenly did so again, as if pledging the first time wasn't sufficient?
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Modded as Troll, but I think you bring up a good point. If it was "Manhunt 2: Search for Bin Laden" or "Manhunt 2: Kill All Terrorists" it would probably be lauded as a patriotic masterpiece no matter how violent it is.
The ESRB was created out of an act of Congress.
No, it was created in response to a threat of an act of Congress, by the industry itself.
Honestly I don't see this as a problem. So what if Walmart won't sell your game? The people who want to play Manhunt 2 are going to play Manhunt 2 regardless if they can get it at Walmart or not. Properly marketed (so far so good), Manhunt 2 will sell even if Walmart doesn't carry it. There's always Amazon or any number of other online stores, plus all the retail establishments that *gasp* aren't Walmart!
I know that Walmart is part of a strategy to sell games to everyone. Without them, a lot of casual gamers would miss out on plenty of titles. Publishers would miss out on the sales to people who don't really know the game, but buy it anyway hoping it will be good. However, I think that we have moved past that type of game buying as a culture. When they cost a minimum of $50 a pop, people educate themselves about what they're buying before deciding what to purchase. In the end, the person who is going to pay attention to the marketing campaign, read reviews, and actually make a purchasing decision about buying Manhunt 2 or any other AO game are not going to be put-off by the fact that it can't be had from Walmart. Hell, a lot of people who take the time to educate themselves this much don't even shop at Walmart!
Exactly. Wolfenstein and Doom both got off easy because of a demonized enemy (nazis and, well, demons). Plus it's very easy to post a comment with baseless accusations of hate and wrongdoing against a segment of the population with an image of baseless hate and wrongdoing. What an utterly intelligent post you have, Mr. Troll.