After temporarily suspending release of the AO-rated game back in June, Rockstar Games today announced a modified, M-rated version of Manhunt 2 will be release for the PS2, PSP and Wii on Oct. 31, 2007. "Manhunt 2 is important to us, and we're glad it can finally be appreciated as a gaming experience," Rockstar founder and president Sam Houser, said in a press release. "Manhunt 2 is a powerful piece of interactive story telling that is a unique video game experience. We think horror fans will love it." The original Adults Only rating was a kiss of death for the game, leading to self-imposed bans from console makers and rental houses. It's still unclear exactly what modifications were necessary to achieve the lower rating and what effect the modifications will have on on Manhunt 2 bans in England, Ireland and other countries.
Whatever effect the controversy had on the game's content, you can bet that all the drama will have a positive effect on the game's sales. Remember, 2 Live Crew's As Nasty As They Wanna Be sold over two million copies despite being patently awful, all thanks to the magic of controversy.
(Page 1) Reader Comments
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We should all buy this game regardless of whether you hate Nintendo or not just to piss off Thompson.
The idiot.
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@ anyone: Does anyone know why my mouse cursor flickers and disappears on the joystiq sites? If it's still it disappears, and when it's moving it flickers like crazy. Girlfriend's computer does it too.
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Add-free browsing FTW.
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I look forward to playing this.
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Look, I can understand enjoying playing a game with the concept of coming up with new and creative ways to murder people, but snuff really crosses the line. You have to be seriously messed up to enjoy that, or enjoy playing thru the part of the game that includes that.
The AO rating was appropriate for that content. If it got cut, thats all the better.
What I do have an issue with is the fact that an ESRB rating of AO constitutes a console ban. I think that our beloved hobby will continue to be regarded as childish as long as adult content can be banned.
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A-B-A-C-A-B-B at the title screen.
This was such a damn shame at the time. The SNES version would have been absolutely perfect. The Genesis had an awful color depth, and it showed badly for frame capture animated fighters and backgrounds. The sound had next to no sound effects(voices), which the Sega CD version fixed, but you had to wait almost a full minute (between rounds even) to load.
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What about Mortal Kombat II? That went by completely uncensored on Super NES. And every following Mortal Kombat on Nintendo platforms.
They learned from their mistake of controlling third-party content.
The kid showed his mom the box, she stared at it for a good minute, while listening to her son yabber about the fact that you can shoot guns at people, drive cars into others, and bang chicks in that game. Then I saw the guy in the store give her the speech about M rated games. She still bought it. Why? She was talking on her cellphone, that's why.
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As a matter of fact, I still don't understand why they couldn't do a As Clean As They Wanna Be version of Manhunt and just sell it through the R* website. Freedom of choice...
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I think Rockstar should take Jack Thompson and the ESRB and "Put'er in the Buck!"
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My Appetite Is Pwnage, 'cause Me So Hardcore
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Any VC game you want.
ANY VC game?
ANY!
It's not like comparing a foreign film with a cut version released for the states because at least there's a chance to see what the original film was like.
In this case however, we don't know what was cut, or what made it get an AO rating in the first place, so any changes won't really affect us all.
It's like if someone changed the past with a time machine, the people of the present wouldn't know what happened.
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Personally, I have no problem with there being two difference versions. It isn't a unique idea to release two versions
It's a shame the AO version can't be done on consoles, but hey, that was the console makers' choice.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
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Sadly I hate Rockstar for this.The game is so controversial it sells like pancakes without being good,for example GTA:SA was crap really Gamespot score was way too high for the kind of game GTA:Sa is.
I'm not buying this but I might rent it.
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And no one will even be able to 'till the difference anyways when the final retail version hits the market, as no consumers, except for the press and what not, have even played the game yet.
I'm sure it's still going to be as gory and bloody and ultra-violent as it was intended, just that it'll be toned down to a reasonable level, but more violent then Manhunt, I'm sure.
Anyways, my two cents.
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MH 1 was crap, I cant believe anyone would be interested in mh2. And its not even for ps3 or 360, graphics look terrible. True graphics dont make a game, but after playing next gen for nearly 2 years now, I cant even look at games like this.
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I don't agree. The biggest difference is that 'Nasty' eventually sold in it's unadulterated version. It was the EXACT media that spawned all that controversy. With MH2, people may be more reluctant to purchase feeling that they're getting a more watered down version of the original.
~j
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