Manhunt 2 rated Adults Only by ESRB @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on June 19, 2007

News: Somewhere, Jack Thompson is cackling...

GamePolitics has received word from Take Two Interactive that the upcoming Manhunt 2 (for the PS2, PSP and Wii) has initially been rated "Adults Only" (AO) by the ESRB.

Take Two has the option to edit the game and resubmit for a new rating, but with the game's July 10th ship date less than three weeks away, they may not have time. The only other option for a re-rating would be to delay the game's release into the future and hope for the best.

According to their response to GamePolitics, Take-Two was quite shocked by the news:

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 the rating of Manhunt 2.

Many retailers (including Wal-Mart) refuse to stock AO rated games. If Take-Two decides to release Manhunt 2 as is, it would be the first console game to receive an AO rating before it was released (the AO given to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was retroactive due to the "Hot Coffee" scandal).

It is currently unknown what Take-Two plans to do, but one thing's for sure, the Wii can no longer be looked at as a "kiddy" system.

source: GamePolitics.com