Controversial ‘Manhunt 2” banned from Britain, receives ‘Adult Only’ rating for America

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) announced yesterday that they completely banned the video game ‘Manhunt 2’ from all British society including adults. They declared the game too disturbing therefore the game could not be sold or distributed in the UK.

America’s Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) ruled that only adults should be able to play the game although they cannot release the rating of the game now due to the fact the rating may be subject to change. They are waiting to see how Rockstar, the company who made the game, will move with the decision.

Only gamers 18 years and older will be able to buy the game if the Adult Only (AO) stands. If a Mature (M) rating is sought and obtained then gamers 17 years and older could purchase the game and stores such as Wal-Mart and Target could sale the game. If the AO rating is kept then ‘Manhunt 2’ will not be allowed to be sold in such stores because they have a permanent ban on all AO rated games.

"The ESRB has issued an initial rating of AO (Adults Only) for Manhunt 2. We believe the process of rating videogames is to help people make informed entertainment choices and not to limit them. Manhunt 2 was created for mature audiences and we strongly believe it should receive an M (Mature) rating, aligning it with similar content created in other forms of media. We are exploring our options with regard to Manhunt 2,” said a Rockstar rep.

Rockstar can choose to accept the AO rating, protest it, or resubmit the game. If they make the decision to resubmit the game then the content of the game would be required to be significantly changed.

The company admits they are not sure what move they will make next. “This is completely unexpected to the whole team,” said a Rockstar Games spokesman. “We love the horror genre. We thought we could do something interesting and entertaining with it in the video game medium. When we had this first Manhunt game, there wasn't this reaction. We thought (Manhunt 2) was consistent with a mature rating.”

‘Manhunt 2’ is said to have very violent and disturbing images. The Center for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) gave examples of why the AO rating should be given to the game. “In Manhunt 2, players can saw their enemies’ skulls in half; mutilate them with an axe; castrate them with a pair of pliers; and kill them by bashing their heads into an electrical box, where it is blown apart by a power surge. On Wii, players will not merely punch buttons or wield a joy stick, but will actually act out this violence,” said CCFC.