Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick has said that the firm is "evaluating its options" regarding the release of the "adults only" rated Manhunt 2. "We're determined to bring Manhunt 2 to the consumers for which it was intended, and to do so in a responsible fashion," he stated during a conference call today. Zelnick also questioned the point of having an "adults only" rating when it effectively bars a console game from release. The Entertainment Software Rating Board recently gave the game an ... » Read More

In the midst of the Manhunt 2 rating fiasco, Take-Two management questioned the point of having an "adults only" rating when it effectively bars a console game from release.

During a conference call today, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick said that the firm is "evaluating its options" regarding the release of the "adults only" rated Manhunt 2.

"We're determined to bring Manhunt 2 to the consumers for which it was intended, and to do so in a responsible fashion," he stated.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board recently gave the game an "AO" rating because of intense violence. Many large retailers don't carry games with an AO rating, and console manufacturers don't allow such rated games on their machines.
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Despite being banned in the UK, our sister mag from across the Atlantic, NGamer, had the exclusive Wii review for Manhunt 2. We may never get to experience the game that they played now that Rockstars gone back to the drawing board. However, when perusing the tip book that comes packed with NGamer, we came upon a little nugget of information regarding not only alternate endings, but completely different final levels depending on how you played the game. “The final level you see depends ... » Read More

Rockstar Games has sent out an email to the Manhunt community, thanking it for all its messages of support over the ban. The email also says that Rockstar hopes to have more information on the status of the ban soon. As we revealed last week, Rockstar is appealing the decision. "We wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to contact us about Manhunt 2, which we had been planning to release on PlayStation 2, PSP and Nintendo Wii," says the email. "As you know, Manhunt 2 was effectively ... » Read More

The Rockstar team have been sending out an e-mail of thanks to all those gamers who offered support to them over the controversial Manhunt 2 games title. The e-mail states that the team hopes to have more information on the status of the game soon but overall thanks the gaming community for messages of support.
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Tuesday 27 June 2007 Before it was banned, Manhunt 2 was one of the most exciting titles to feature on the PS2, PSP and Wii release schedules. Now, after receiving a right royal battering by the 'we know best' boots of the censors, no one - and that means no one - will ever be able to play it. And we think that's a real bummer. Could we - as gamers - ever get it un-banned? Well, there might just be a way... Strewn around the internet are numerous petitions all fighting for a common cause - to ... » Read More

Never mind being under fire, Rockstar has had to endure a media carpet bombing this week (if you haven't been paying attention, you can catch up with the entire Manhunt 2 saga here) and now the publisher/developer has announced the postponement of Manhunt 2 's release while it considers how best to proceed in the light of the decisions made by the BBFC and ESRB. We're sure there are plenty more twists in the tale to come, though... To help keep you up to date with the story as it continues to ... » Read More

Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter believes that modifying Manhunt 2 so it would receive a lower rating (or at least get a rating in the UK) could cost Take-Two anywhere in the region of $1 million. Last week Take-Two temporarily suspended its plans to distribute Manhunt 2 for both Wii and PlayStation 2. The company said, "Take-Two Interactive Software has temporarily suspended plans to distribute Manhunt 2 for the Wii or PlayStation platforms while it reviews its options with ... » Read More

Take2 has suspended plans to distribute Manhunt 2 on the three platforms it was due to be released on following the BBFC ban in the UK and the Adults Only rating it received in the US. Of its decision the BBFC said, "Manhunt 2 is distinguishable from recent high-end videogames by its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone in an overall game context which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing." Basically you don't do anything apart ... » Read More

Manhunt 2's 'Adult Only' rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board in the United States has seen all three platform holders ¿ Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft ¿ stating that games with this certification will not be published on their hardware.

Does this mean that the game will never see the light of day?

What happens to an AO'd game in this case? SPOnG looked back into history all the way to 1998 and Virgin Interactive's Thrill Kill.

As you can see from the packshot to the right of this story, Thrill Kill was given an AO rating. However, it never got close to release as Electronic Arts acquired the property as part of its purchase of Virgin ¿ and pulled it from release on the PlayStation.
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Rockstar parent company Take-Two has described Manhunt 2 as a "fine piece of art," in reaction to the bans that the sequel has received. The BBC reported the company's chairman Strauss Zelnick said "Manhunt 2 had his full support and that consumers should decide for themselves." In a statement, Zelnick said, "The Rockstar team has come up with a game that fits squarely within the horror genre and was intended to do so. It brings a unique, formerly unheard of cinematic quality to interactive ... » Read More

The US publishers of a video game banned in the UK and Ireland have described it as a "fine piece of art". Take Two chairman Strauss Zelnick said Manhunt 2 had his full support and that consumers should decide for themselves. "The Rockstar team has come up with a game that fits squarely within the horror genre and was intended to do so," Mr Zelnick said in a statement...
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I'm writing this article out myself so that others won't be so confused as to what has actually happened with Manhunt 2, so I will write it out in a list.

[1] Manhunt 2 banned in UK - http://www.n4g.com/ClickOut.aspx?ObjID=46390
[2] Manhunt 2 banned in Ireland - http://www.n4g.com/ClickOut.aspx?ObjID=46480
[3] Rated "Adults Only" by ESRB - http://www.n4g.com/ClickOut.aspx?ObjID=46523
[4] Gamefly & Blockbuster refuse to stock Adult-Only games - http://www.n4g.com/ClickOut.aspx?ObjID=46730
[5] Nintendo will not allow Adult-Only Manhunt 2 on the Wii - http://www.n4g.com/ClickOut.aspx?ObjID=46775
[6] Sony will not allow Adult-Only games on their systems. -http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=18233
[7] Most Likely that Australia will also ban the game following UK

It seems very likely that the game will have to be heavily edited otherwise it can't come out for any of the systems it is currently slated for. The other option is to cancel the game, but with the costs involved I think Rockstar will opt for editing the game.
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Joystiq spoke with game rental service GameFly and can report that Manhunt 2, now with an AO rating, will not be carried by the company. A GameFly spokesperson said, "GameFly as a general policy does not carry AO rated titles." When asked if they have ever made an exception to the "general policy," the representive said, "Not that I know of, there's been no exceptions."

They also contacted Blockbuster corporate and they said, "Blockbuster does not carry adult or NC-17 movies, or AO rated games."
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It was always going to be surrounded by controversy and yesterday Take-Two Interactive announced that the Entertainment Software Rating Board had given Manhunt 2 the "AO," or Adults only rating. This announcement came after the British Board of Film Classification announced that it had rejected Manhunt 2 for rating, meaning that - unless Rockstar resubmits a diluted version of its ultra-violent excursion into the morally unsettling - the game will never be released in the UK. Similarily in ... » Read More

After the British Board of Film Classification's announcement today that it has rejected Manhunt 2 for rating in the UK, the Entertainment Software Rating Board has told GamesRadar that it has already assigned a rating to Manhunt 2 for its release in the US. "An ESRB rating has been assigned to the Wii, PS2 and PSP versions of Manhunt 2, and Rockstar has been notified," ESRB president Patricia Vance told us. "However, we are unable to publicly release the rating at this time as it is our ... » Read More

ELSPA director general Paul Jackson has said that the decision taken by the BBFC to ban Manhunt 2 from sale "demonstrates that we have a games ratings system in the UK that is effective".

Earlier today the BBFC said it had rejected PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of Manhunt 2.

It's the first time a game has been banned by the BBFC since Carmageddon in 1997 - a decision that was subsequently overturned on appeal, which is an option still open to Manhunt 2 publisher Rockstar.
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Rockstar has issued GamesRadar an official response to today's announcement by the BBFC that it has rejected Manhunt 2 for rating in the UK. Here's the statement in full: "We are disappointed with the recent decision by the British Board of Film Classification to refuse classification of Manhunt 2. While we respect the authority of the classification board and will abide by the rules, we emphatically disagree with this particular decision. "Manhunt 2 is an entertainment experience for fans of ... » Read More

As you've no doubt read this morning, Manhunt 2 has been rejected by the BBFC - meaning that no one outside of Rockstar will ever play the game. Except, that is, our magazine comrades at UK NGamer, who bagged the world's first review of the Wii and PS2 splatterfest. The highly positive review, which awarded Manhunt 2 a score of 92%, appears in the latest issue of NGamer, out tomorrow for the UK. So we've scoured it for some key excerpts that might explain why the BBFC has been left feeling ... » Read More

The British Board of Film Classification has rejected Manhunt 2 for its "unremitting bleakness" and "casual sadism." This means you won't be able to buy it legally in the UK, unless Rockstar resubmits a changed version of the game. Here's the BBFC's announcement in full. It makes for interesting reading... “Rejecting a work is a very serious action and one which we do not take lightly. Where possible we try to consider cuts or, in the case of games, modifications which remove the ... » Read More