After the Adults Only-rating for Manhunt 2 in America this week went down to a Mature-rating, meaning it can be published on Wii, PS2 & PSP. It now looks like the outright banning of the game in European countries like England, Ireland & Italy won’t stop it from getting an uncut PAL release in the Netherlands.
The Dutch Ministry has declined to intervene in the videogame’s path to retail in the territory, because that would conflict with current Netherlands law.
According to the Associated Press, it will still be possible to prosecute people who distribute the game to those under 16-years-old, but no such case has yet been tried in the country.
In a letter to Parliament, Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin said: “The current law is based on the principle that every adult is considered capable of deciding for himself which games he wants to play, unless it contains illegal material.” Deciding on whether children should be allowed to play a game is currently “the joint responsibility of parents, the audiovisual industry and the government,” he continued.
He said that his ministry was now examining whether new laws or policies were needed “to better protect the youth” and pleaded for a unified EU standard for video game ratings.