November 4th, 2007

Manhunt 2 M ESRB Rating

Manhunt 2 has reached the M-for-Mature rating and the Entertainment Software Rating Board, while the developers have revised the game and the Take Two publisher confirmed the reports.

The ESRB statement was: "We have investigated the matter and concluded that unauthorized versions of the game have been released on the Internet along with instructions on how to modify the code to remove the special effects." (...) "Once numerous changes to the game's code have been made and other unauthorized software programs have been downloaded to the hardware device which circumvent security controls that prevent unauthorized games from being played on that hardware, a player can view unobscured versions of certain violent acts in the game. Contrary to some reports, however, we do not believe these modifications fully restore the product to the version that originally received an AO rating, nor is this a matter of unlocking content."

This reminded me of the Hot Coffee mod from the GTA San Andreas game, from the very same developer, Rockstar. It's not the first and most likely not the last time when this company will have to deal with harsh board ratings due to the violent content of the games they create. The biggest problem is not the product itself, but the influence it might have on gamers with feeble minds that tend not to see where the reality stops and the imagination begins.