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has seen all three platform holders ¿ Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft ¿ stating that games with this certification will not be published on their hardware.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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Yesterday when news broke that Manhunt 2 had received a preliminary rating of Adults Only from Take-Two, Kotaku shot a quick email off to Nintendo seeking comment on the issue.

Today they've confirmed that if the game's final rating is Adults Only it won't be showing up on the Wii... or any of Nintendo's systems.
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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

Take-Two has informed GamePolitics that the ESRB has rated Manhunt 2 "Adults Only."
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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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The original Manhunt caused a media frenzy following release when it was unfairly linked by the press to the murder of teenager Stefan Pakeerah.

However, the BBFC have stated that "Previous controversy had nothing to do with decision" The BBFC has stated that there was no political influence in the decision to ban Rockstar's Manhunt 2 from sale in the UK.
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Following on from news that the BBFC has today denied certification for Rockstar's Manhunt 2 ¿ effectively banning the title from being sold in the UK ¿ it would appear that the Irish BBFC equivalent has also followed suit.
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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

Around the offices of Take Two Interactive, they're undoubtedly calling this "Black Tuesday."

In the wake of this morning's word detailing Britain's ban on Manhunt 2 comes more bad news for publisher Take Two and developer Rockstar.

Citing concerns over the Nintendo Wii's popular motion control system, the Center for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) has demanded that Manhunt 2 be rated AO (adults only) by the ESRB. The game is scheduled for release in North America on July 9th. To date, Manhunt 2 has not been rated by the ESRB.
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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

The BBFC has refused to grant classification to Manhunt 2 in the UK, effectively banning it from sale in the United Kingdom. Wii UK spoke to the BBFC today.
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Tuesday 19 June 2007 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 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. So we've scoured it for some key excerpts that might explain why the BBFC has been left ... » Read More

Friday 15 June 2007 Manhunt was all about tension. It was also about suffocating violent sociopaths with carrier bags, but the barbaric brutality was heightened by an ever-present sense of uneasiness that simply refused to let the player relax - even after a blood-hungry hunter had been successfully decapitated with a length of wire. After giving us an insight into Manhunt 2's environments, developer Rockstar now talks about some of the mechanics that will make Manhunt 2 an even more ... » Read More

Video game developers don't want people to have fun, they want them to kill.

This, according to Jack Thompson.

Thompson recently referred to the upcoming Manhunt 2 as a "training device," which presumes that the game was created with the intent to teach those who play it how to kill people
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