Oct 22, 2007 Rockstar parent Take Two Interactive has released a statement concerning the recent leakage of Manhunt 2 to the internet. Back in early September we reported that a version of Manhunt was cracked by hackers and leaked to the internet. Question was, where did it come from? Seems like Sony was to blame and not ... » Read More

As reported by GamePolitics and other outlets, an early PS2 build of Manhunt 2 was leaked onto the Internet last month.

For its part, the gaming community seemed to take the news in stride. It was, after all, not a finished product, only one of several planned versions, and not accessible without some extra effort and technical knowledge. Great Britain's Sky News, however, jumped on the story in a big way today.

Despite the sensationalism, GamePolitics did extract one kernel of what is believed to be new information from the Sky News coverage: "[Rockstar Games] accepts the game was leaked onto the web by an employee of a different company who had access to the preview copy. That person has been sacked."
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It's been revealed the version of Manhunt 2 that the British Board of Film Classification turned down earlier this week in the UK, is exactly the same as the revised edition that's been granted a mature rating by the ESRB in North America.

This revelation comes from UK trade magazine MCV during an interview with BBFC spokeswoman Sue Clark. She defends the board's decision saying that the organisation isn't any tougher on videogames than it is on movies. "Manhunt 2 is the second game we have rejected in 23 years. I'd hardly call that draconian," she said.
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Rockstar has issued an official statement following this morning's decision by the BBFC not rate the revised version (read that as toned down) of Manhunt 2.

"We are continuing to appeal the British Board of Film Classification's (BBFC) decision to deny the edited version of Manhunt 2 an 18+ certificate and thereby ban its release in the United Kingdom. The changes necessary in order to publish the game in Britain are unacceptable to us and represent a setback for video games.

The BBFC allows adults the freedom to decide for themselves when it comes to horror in movies and we think adults should be similarly allowed to decide for themselves when it comes to horror in video games, such as Manhunt 2."
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Oct 8, 2007 After its already massively controversial Manhunt 2 was refused certification for a second time by the BBFC today, Rockstar is - as you'd expect - a bit peeved at the decision and the publisher has made it pretty clear that it isn't prepared to make further edits in order to appease the censors. A statement released by Rockstar reads: "We are continuing to appeal the British Board of Film Classification's (BBFC) decision to deny the edited version of "Manhunt 2" an 18+ certificate ... » Read More

The BBFC has rejected a revised version of the video game Manhunt 2. This follows the rejection of the original version of the game in June. The distributor had set in motion an appeal to the Video Appeals Committee against that decision, and this was suspended while the revised version was considered for classification.
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Rockstar Games released an exclusive web-only companion prologue to the events of Manhunt 2 featuring key backstory revelations. The Daniel Lamb Session was scripted, directed, and recorded by Rockstar on vintage analog equipment, in order to capture the grim, thick atmosphere of Manhunt 2.
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It's "not the sort of game" the industry should be making says Frontier Developments boss David Braben.

"I think at the root of this problem is that there's still an expectation among parents that ESRB/PEGI/BBFC ratings can be ignored - possibly based on their experience of games when they were younger," he told CVG.
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GamePolitics is serving up email transcripts that show increasing tension between Jack Thompson and 2K Games. The two parties have been acting at least vaguely civilly towards each other since an April settlement. A taunting, factually incorrect email from Jack to 2K (and other parties) has set things off again. 2K's response is to-the-point.
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Despite Manhunt 2 being revised for its 31st October release in the US and currently banned in the UK by the BBFC, it seems the game will slip through the net into Europe via The Netherlands, since the country's Ministry is powerless to ban the controversial Wii/PSP/PS2 game from Rockstar and publisher Take Two.

Apparently it seems that the Dutch Ministry is refusing to step in and prevent the game from hitting The Netherlands as it would prove to be a matter of conflict with current law in that country. Whilst people can still be prosecuted if the game is distributed to those under the age of 16, no cases such as this have ever been tried in the Netherlands.
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Aug 29, 2007 Despite the demands of Calif. State Sen. Leland Yee, the Entertainment Software Rating Board said it would not disclose why it re-rated Manhunt 2 from an AO to an M. "Publishers submit game content to the ESRB on a confidential basis," said ESRB president Patricia Vance in a statement Tuesday. "It is simply not our place to reveal specific details about the content we have reviewed, particularly when it involves a product yet to be released. "What can be said is that the changes ... » Read More

Rockstar Games has told Next-Gen that there have been no further developments in its efforts to secure a UK rating for Manhunt 2. Rockstar games are currently awaiting the verdict of an appeal against the BBFC's (British Board of Film Classification) decision not to grant the game a rating, hence barring it from release.

The controversial game, originally given an AO (Adults Only) rating in the US, was last Friday granted an M for Mature rating by the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board). The decision, which was rebuked by a number of parties outside of the gaming community, followed the re-rating of a modified version of the title, clearing the way for a Halloween release in North America on Wii, PS2 and PSP.
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Following yesterday's criticism from California State Senator Leland Yee calling for transparency and an investigation into Manhunt 2's new M rating, ESRB president Patricia Vance has said simply that context and depiction changes in the game were enough to warrant the rating.

"Upon reviewing the modified version of Manhunt 2," said Vance in a statement, "the ESRB assigned a rating of M (Mature 17+) with content descriptors for Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content and Use of Drugs."
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While Rockstar fans are high-fiving over news that Manhunt 2 will now see the light of day as an M-rated horror game, the Campaign For a Commercial-Free Childhood is not impressed.

The group has called for a federal government investigation into how Manhunt 2 came to be an M-rated game.
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Rockstar has finally received some good news over Manhunt 2: the game has been cleared for an October release in the US.

American ratings board the ESRB has granted the game an 'M' classification ¿ which allows sale to consumers of 17 years and older ¿ after Rockstar submitted a modified version of the title.
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A new report claims that Rockstar's appeal to have Manhunt 2's UK ban overturned could take months to be resolved, leaving the publisher in a very awkward position.
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As part of its revised revenue and earnings guidance for fiscal 2007, Take-Two has announced the delayed Manhunt 2 has been completely removed from its current fiscal year schedule, ended October 31. What's more, the game does not appear on the company's fiscal 2008 line-up.

1UP:
When asked why Manhunt 2 was not listed on release lineup, Zelnick replied, "It's because, you know... obviously, we don't have an M rating yet."
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As previously speculated, Rockstar will indeed appeal the BBFC ban. The company has now told us that it's officially lodged a plea with the Video Appeals Committee over Manhunt 2's ban in the UK. Rockstar notified the VAC yesterday, at the last minute - as it was only allowed six weeks to formulate an appeal to the UK ban. VAC has the power to overturn the BBFC's ban decision, so depending on the body's decision we could finally see Manhunt 2 release on Wii, PS2 and PSP - though obviously a ... » Read More

On June 22, following the announcement that Rockstar title Manhunt 2 was to be banned from sale, GamesIndustry.biz published an article entitled Sick Filth? by regular contributor Rob Fahey. (The article, it should be noted, expressed Fahey's personal opinions and not necessarily those held by GI.biz.)

Rockstar has since contacted the site in response to the piece; the company's letter is printed here in full after the jump.
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The parents of Britain's most violent teenager has spilled to News of the world that the computer game Manhunt turned their son into a killer. The killer was supposedly a 'quiet and reserved' boy with a 'promising future' but every night he'd turn into some kind of twisted murderer as he used Manhunt to practice his potential murders. His mom claims that he never did anything to make her worry in the past and implies that his casual Playstation addiction was the sole cause for the murders that her twisted killer of a son conducted.
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