When the Man Comes Around
So Manhunt 2 has been given an AO rating by the ESRB. Is it that much more brutal than the original (which...no one seemed to care about)? I don't know.
But I do know that it is awesome. I hope Rockstar doesn't censor a freakin' thing. I'm not really interested in playing it, but I am interested in content.
Remember how hard everyone freaked out about Hot Coffee? That was offensive to me. The reaction, not the content itself. You can beat a cop to death with a dildo in that game, but consensual sex is what freaks everyone out?
I'm not being entirely clear here, but basically: Everyone freaks out about nudity/sexuality in games (not all the time, obviously: Did anyone ever talk about GoW's boobs negatively?), yet violence seems to be taken as a given. That's messed up. Also, I hope Manhunt 2 is released as an AO game. Why the hell not?
7 comments:
I almost posted about this rating. People did care about the first Manhunt, just not gamers. As for it being released AO, that is pretty much death to any game, unfortunately. No major retailer will carry it. What is up with it anyway? M is 17+ and AO is 18+? Is there really that much of a difference? And really, what the hell is up with America and sex? We're okay with violence but not a little love? Why can't video games deal with it as a subject? As much as people love to point to Lara Croft or Bloodrayne, it is woefully underrepresented in the industry.
Honestly, the AO is probably pre-emptive action by the ESRB so they can show they are cracking down.
Hey, 3 comments by me.
From everything I've seen about the game, it does deserve the highest rating they can give, but I don't know if it will actually ship as is.
I really hope it does. If the ESRB and the gaming community are trying to take stuff like this seriously, there is no reason an AO game shouldn't be released.
The problem, then, is the retailers. There is no reason that specialty shops, at least, shouldn't carry it.
See, I agree that if you HAVE a rating like AO, why not let people buy it, the problem is that no one will sell it. I agree that if you want to make a game violant/sexy enough for 18+ then do it, but in today's market you can't keep doing it or you'll be broke with a warehouse full of games that didn't even make it to the retailer
It's 2007; we have the internet. Retailers exist at the pleasure of manufactures. eBay will carry any game, and Rockstargames.com will carry any Rockstar product.
You are correct that a rating of AO will sink a game, but not because of WalMart, because of Nintendo et al.
From Nintendo.com:
"Please note that Nintendo does not sell or license games that carry the ESRB rating "AO" (Adults Only)."
It doesn't sound to me like they mean "yet," but I suppose it's possible.
I agree that physical shelf space is growing less important, but even if Nintendo (and Sony) allowed AO games on their consoles it would still commercially under perform. I don't think enough consumers buy games on the internet yet to make ignoring Best Buy, Wal-Mart, etc a viable option.
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