Rockstar Games has recently sent out an email to several fans for their support and concerns with the release of Manhunt 2. The game was recently refused certification in the United Kingdom, prohibited in Ireland, and denied a Mature rating and instead given an Adults Only rating in the United States.
Rockstar thanks fans in an email received by Strategyinformer. To quote: “We wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to contact us about Manhunt 2, which we had been planning to release on PlayStation 2, PSP and Nintendo Wii. As you know, Manhunt 2 was effectively banned around much of the world, after it was refused certification in the United Kingdom, prohibited in Ireland, and denied an M rating in the United States.
We are very proud of Manhunt 2 and believe it builds on what the team accomplished with the first title in the series. The game was developed as a horror experience, and to be an M rated title, aligning it with similar horror content created in other forms of media. Unlike many other people, we do not think video games should be singled out for special treatment from the authorities. We hope to have more information for you soon, but in the meantime, we wanted you to know how much we value all of your messages of support.â€
Game analyst Michael Pachter now says that if Rockstar wants to modify the game to get a lower rating, so it can be put in stores after all, they will need to spend an extra one million dollars on development costs.
Personally, I think a big company like theirs could’ve seen bannings and a bad-for-sales AO rating coming from a mile away, so it might just be that all the media attention is worth the extra development cost to them, so they don’t have to spend much promoting the game before it’s re-worked release. But I could understand if they simply wanted an uncut release of their artistic creation, whether it’s in bad taste or not. Still, the controversy has left fans of the game series worried if the PS2, PSP and Wii game would be released or not, and this response from Rockstar should put their minds at ease.