Manhunt 2 rated AO
Just as the British Board of Film Classification seems to have banned Manhunt 2’s release, The Entertainment Software Ratings Board seems to have followed their lead and rated the game AO, or adults only.
AO ratings are generally assigned to content suited to viewing by mature audiences only. Quoting ESRB ratings guide, “ Titles rated AO (Adults Only) have content that should only be played by persons 18 years and older. Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.” — ESRB ratings guide”. We did get a chance to speak to Rockstar about the ratings, and they appear to be taking it quite seriously indeed. They claim that Manhunt2 is good entertainment for mature players, and that it was developed for those that enjoy horror genres, and prefer games with such themes. According to Rockstar, the game “ is consistent with what contemporary entertainment”.
The implications of a AO rating are far-reaching. Many large retailers such as Wal-Mart do not stock AO rated games, and this has an immediate impact on the game’s reach and sales potential. Sometimes, game makers will modify the games to suit the censors, as Rockstar did for “Hot Coffee”, but this doesn’t appear to be necessarily in the works for Manhunt2. The parent company, Take Two Interactive in fact seems to be backing the content, as evident from this quote ” Manhunt 2 was created for mature audiences and we strongly believe it should receive an M (Mature) rating…we are exploring our options with regard to the rating of Manhunt 2.”.
1P Start, Manhunt2, Entertainment Software , Gaming News
