Manhunt 2 heading to PS2, PSP, and Wii

[Daredevil886]

I can't believe they are making rockstar hold on releasing this game now.. one of the only wii titles I was totally looking forward to.
The reasoning is so ridiculous..

"Jack Thompson demanded Wendy's drop an upcoming promotion featuring children's toys designed after Nintendo games Excite Truck, Wii Sports and Mario; because Manhunt 2 was scheduled for release on the console.

An excerpt from Thompson's letter: "Dave Thomas never would have tolerated the use of Wendy’s good name to promote Nintendo’s Wii, not with this game available on the Wii platform.""

I figure this game will be worth the wait, even with the most likely heavy edits it's going to recieve.

 

[XtromaniaK]

Jack Thompson is such a ****ing tool.

 

[Havok83]

Looks like Rockstar will now fight

Rockstar Appeals Manhunt 2 UK Ban
Six weeks after it was banned, Rockstar puts up a fight.
by Rob Burman, IGN UK
UK, August 1, 2007 - Six weeks after the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) refused to give Manhunt 2 an age rating in the UK - effectively banning the game from sale - Rockstar has lodged an appeal to get the decision overturned.

Yesterday Rockstar made its plea to the Video Appeals Committe (VAC) - which has the power to overrule the BBFC - although it's not known on what grounds the developer is basing its defence. Manhunt 2 was refused classification because of its "unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone... which constantly encourages visceral killing with exceptionally little alleviation or distancing".

Speaking to IGN about its appeal, a Rockstar spokesperson said: "Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. confirmed today that Rockstar Games has appealed the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) decision that prohibited the release of any version of Manhunt 2 in Britain."

Meanwhile, the BBFC said that no further comment could be made at this time because the appeal process is a legal one, meaning Rockstar just has to wait while John Woods, VAC chairman, selects indvidiuals for an appeal panel who will then vote as to whether the ban stays in place. The BBFC has confirmed it will announce when the panel has been formed.

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/809/809808p1.html

 

[hippie_hunter]

They'll probably lose. And I hope they do. Take-Two needs to get knocked down a peg or two and see that controversal games just for the sake of controversy is idiotic.

 

[Timstuff]

Yeah, I agree. This is the slap in the face that Take Two needs to get their act straight.

 

[Havok83]

New Manhunt 2 info

Controversial game gets new rating

Will Manhunt 2 be deemed Adults Only or will Rockstar Games be forced to tone it down?

By Matt Slagle, AP Technology Writer

The makers of "Manhunt 2" - a violent video game that had been threatened with a sales-destroying adults-only rating - will release a toned-down version in October.

The initial version, in which gamers perform a series of killing moves as an amnesiac scientist who escapes from an asylum, had been scheduled for a July release.

But the launch was indefinitely delayed after the Entertainment Software Rating Board, an industry group, slapped it with an adults-only rating, for consumers 18 and older. It also faced bans in several European countries.
An "AO" rating would have essentially prevented the game from being sold. Large retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. don't stock "AO" games, and the three major console makers - Microsoft Corp., Nintendo Co. and Sony Corp. - do not allow "AO" games on their systems.

"Manhunt 2" maker Rockstar Games and publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. said the revamped version of the game received a less-stringent "M," or mature, rating for consumers age 17 or older.

It was unclear what changes were made to achieve the lower the rating. A telephone call to Take-Two seeking a more detailed explanation wasn't immediately returned

"Manhunt 2 is important to us, and we're glad it can finally be appreciated as a gaming experience," Sam Houser, founder and executive producer of Rockstar Games, said in a statement.

The updated "Manhunt 2" will ship in the United States on Halloween for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Nintendo Wii game systems.

Earlier this month Take-Two said it also needed more time to develop the highly anticipated "Grand Theft Auto IV" and will launch it in the fiscal second quarter, which ends next April, instead of this October as originally planned. Take-Two shares rose 32 cents, 2.2 percent, to $14.67 in midday trading.

http://videogames.yahoo.com/news-527782

 

[Shifty]

Manhunt 2: Conspiracy Theories Emerge

Gamers greeted Friday’s surprise announcement that Manhunt 2 would receive an M rating with a mixture of glee and raised eyebrows.

Fans of the series, of course, were relieved that Manhunt 2 would see the light of day, and sooner rather than later.

Game violence critics, to put it mildly, were not pleased. Dr. Susan Linn of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood immediately called for a government investigation of the process which led the ESRB to downgrade the game from a sales-killing AO to a marketable M rating.

Jack Thompson was up in arms too. But then, as far as video games are concerned, when isn’t he?

Beyond the critics, however, GP was struck by the amount of skepticism in the gaming community. In comments to our Manhunt 2 story, some longtime readers were openly cynical:

The whole timeframe stinks to high heaven… Its gonna sell several times the number of copies than it probably deserves.

I think R* deliberately made a more explicit cut, hoping to get an AO game. That way they could market an M rated version… I find the whole thing distasteful…

I wonder if they originally submitted an “edited” version, got an “M”, and then cranked it up a notch to see how far they could push the ESRB before getting an AO rating…

I’ve come to the conclusion that Rockstar and the ESRB having been playing us in a tag team publicity stunt… Add the Halloween release date and I firmly believe they’ve been yanking our chains all along

Many GP readers took an opposite position, of course, supporting Rockstar and the ESRB process. But even at Kotaku, GP thought he detected a hint of skepticism in Brian Crecente’s coverage:

It’s official, it was all a publicity stunt. OK, maybe not… I suspect this wasn’t much of a surprise to Take-Two and the Rockstar folks. Why else would they have continued to display the game and give press hands-on time with it if it wasn’t going to make the cut.

What I’d really love to know is what exactly they cut to make the rating drop. I suspect it will be one or two levels that were easy to dispose of for little or no expense.

In discussions here, GP correspondent Andrew Eisen neatly summarized the possibilities:

Theory 1: The whole things a scam! Manhunt 2’s content hasn’t changed at all. Take-Two and the ESRB are in cahoots to placate the industry’s critics.

Theory 2: Rockstar did something simple but drastic like fading to black during the killings.

Theory 3: There was only one kill or sexual situation that earned the game an AO in the first place. Maybe all Rockstar had to do was remove the testicle trauma or put some underwear on a bordello girl.

Theory 4: Rockstar intentionally put in some truly over the top and obnoxious sex and/or violence that they never intended to have in the game. It was included solely to have something to cut out when the ESRB balked.

And then there’s the Strauss Zelnick factor. Take Two’s new chairman has an extensive and highly successful marketing background. He has described his aggressive approach to selling thusly:

The strategy is to have a direct relationship with customers and to offer them compelling, high-margin products that they want but don’t need through every channel known to man.

Did the AO controversy add buzz to Manhunt 2? No doubt. Will it spur demand for the game when it releases on Halloween? Can’t hurt.

Could T2/Rockstar have manipulated the process? While some observers saw the ESRB dishing out a bit of Hot Coffee payback to Take Two with the Manhunt 2 AO, could Zelnick and company actually have been playing the ESRB like a fiddle?

Or, is it all on the up-and-up?

http://gamepolitics.com/2007/08/27/manhunt-2-conspiracy-theories-emerge/

 

[hippie_hunter]

I'm thinking that Rockstar simply manipulated the ESRB to promote the game. F**king wankers.

 

[Daredevil886]

Apparently the uncensored version of the game has leaked onto torrent sites..

 

[HCpride]

Nope, only the games made within certain sony standards. So basically, the compatability is even lower than the 360s.

im scratching my head here
if not all PS2 games are compatable, then how they hell is metal gear for the PS1 compatable
my friend was playing that last week on the ps3

 

[StrainedEyes]

The censored version does go very shadowy and hard to see during the most violent of the kills. And some of the kills have been taken out. IGN has an article about it.

 

[Daredevil886]

The censored version does go very shadowy and hard to see during the most violent of the kills. And some of the kills have been taken out. IGN has an article about it.

What's funny is that they make the extreme kills blurred out, but yet they kept things like an inmate pissing on you and another one flinging his s**t at you like a monkey.
Both taken from the opening moments of the game.
What I played so far is alright.. I just hope this is really worth the wait and the fuss.
I highly doubt it will be though.

 

[Matt]

Who didn't see this coming from a mile away? Rockstar knew that corpse raping would get an AO rating. They did it for the marketing.

 

[Havok83]

Looks like the game was leaked by someone at Sony

Source
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 though, where did it comes from? Seems like Sony was to blame and not Rockstar.

According to Game Politics, the following statement has been released by Take Two: "Take Two Interactive confirmed that a former employee of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has acknowledged his responsibility for the unauthorised online distribution of an unrated play-test version of Manhunt 2 submitted for the European PAL PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system."

Notice how the statement says "former employee".

 

[AhabTheArab]

i cant wait to pick this game up on weds. F guitar hero, gimme manhunt.

and there isnt anything special in the next gen versions right? im getting the ps2 version, its still the same game right?

 

[Havok83]

i cant wait to pick this game up on weds. F guitar hero, gimme manhunt.

and there isnt anything special in the next gen versions right? im getting the ps2 version, its still the same game right?

there is no next gen version, unless you count the Wii, which really is just GC technology with motion controls. Its only coming to the PS2, Wii, and PSP

 

[AhabTheArab]

serious? cool....

 

[Timstuff]

Leave it to Penny-Arcade to tell it like it is.

 

[The Amazing Spider-Man]

I'm surprised it's on the Wii, given Nintendo's history with overly violent games. That is, not usually having any.

 

[Timstuff]

For some reason, Nintendo wants to shake their kiddy image but they refuse to make any adult-focused games in house, and expect third parties to provide them for them. They jumped at the opportunity to get Manhunt 2 on Wii because they thought it would help shake the kiddy image, even though it's a kind of crappy game that probably won't even sell very well.

In my eyes, Nintendo will never be able to return to grace until they are willing to actually make games for adults in-house. They are still stuck on this idea that every game that they make has to be for everyone, rather than branching out into games made for specific demographics like every other respectable big-name publisher does.