November 1, 2007
Just a bit late to the party, the Parents Television Council has joined the chorus of Manhunt 2 critics.The watchdog group called on the ESRB to explain how the controversial game earned an M-rating after it was initially assigned an AO (adults only). A statement issued late yesterday by PTC president Tim Winter (left) said:
Manhunt 2 encourages players to act out some of the most horrific violence ever imagined in a video game. Yet the game is now rated at a level where many children will easily gain access and where some parents may fooled to believe that it is suitable for children.
But by removing the Adult-Only label, the video game industry is saying that this material is appropriate for people other than adults, i.e. children. Such a statement by the industry is wholly irresponsible, and their sole motivation for doing so is to line their own wallets.
Comments
And with that sir, you lose.
The game is rated M. That M stands for Mature, not Monkeys. A game that is appropriate for children is rated E or E10+.
Logic prevails over your sensationalist bullshit. Good day.
Why do people keep acting like the rating was magically changed from AO to M for no reason. Rockstar edited the game and resubmitted it.
Of course these are people that probably think shows like Family Guy, South Park, American Dad, etc are for kids because they are cartoons.
Is it really so hard for parents to understand Mature isnt for kids that companys need to go to all this work telling parents how to do their job? I dont think so. My parents know what is and isnt right for me to own. When i wanted to get GoW, they asked me in detail what the game contains. I got it. They made a decision, and they dont regret it or think that my "inferior minor brain" has been warped by it. Not that hard people. Stop trying to do the parents job.
. . . the PTC is full of asshats.
We have names for those people... "fools".
Doesn't fool me or most other parents using common sense, I simply use the ESRB like it was intended and make my own decision as a parent. Seems pretty logical to me, but then again the PTC was never about logic and common sense parenting.
"But by removing the Adult-Only label, the video game industry is saying that this material is appropriate for people other than adults, i.e. children. "
Bold face lie and the PTC knows it, but hey the truth has never really supported them before eh, so why start now?
"Such a statement by the industry is wholly irresponsible, and their sole motivation for doing so is to line their own wallets."
Pot calling the kettle black PTC. Creating fear when there is none simply to get folks to join your "cause".
"by removing the Adult-Only label, the video game industry is saying that this material is appropriate for people other than adults, i.e. children".
No, only watchdogs groups like the PTC is saying that. The videogame industry says that an M rating is appropriate for people aged 17+.
Uh, no, as pointed out by many others, including the ESRB itself, it's material deemed appropriate for individuals 17 and older as opposed to 18 and older.
Let's put this in perspective:
http://www.wlos.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.nc/200a2c4b-www.w...
From that article:
"Authorities say Fackovec doesn't face criminal sexual conduct charges because the teen was 16, which old enough to consent to sex in South Carolina."
So, in SC, it's legal for an adult to have REAL sexual relations with a child of 16, but the watchdog group is more concerned that someone of 17 years old will be playing a video game with a fictional storyline.
"Such a statement by the industry is wholly irresponsible, and their sole motivation for doing so is to line their own wallets."
As has also been noted, the ESRB is NOT industry owned.
I guess "morally superior" in some folks eyes means "lying and deceiving to push our personal, religious, and/or political agendas and beliefs on others".
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Doubt it'd change with a Jeff Daniels look alike.... hard to believe he's taken seriously.
Shame how some enthusiasts embarrass actual parents that parent their children than leave them at home while they plot ways to gain attention with similar idiots.
http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/release/2007/1029.asp
"Meanwhile, Family Guy and American Dad put irreverence on parade on a weekly basis while relentlessly breaking taboos with sexual content and cartoon violence. "
Manhunt 2 is rated Mature. That means that it is not appropriate for those under 17. You have a moral agenda and will not have any qualms to shove it down our throats even at the expense of others free-speech rights.
One last thing:
The reason why the ESRB dropped the AO rating down to the M rating is because Rockstar made cuts to the game enough to earn the M rating. This happens in the MPAA. And another thing: the ESRB and the industry has no authority at the retail level. The stores and the system owners (Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft) make their own policies with the AO rating
They need to shut up and start judging things, by their target demographic.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
Controversy never ends on this game; but considering thats why Rockstar made it nobody can be surprised. It's like the English artist Tracy Emin (?) she fills up a box with her shit-stained knickers and sells it as art.
Don't know if I'll buy the game yet, the reviews haven't been great and I'm working my way down the list from no1 for Wii - I've got Twilight Princess, Corruption and Resident Evil 4 so far.
Bit suprised good ol' JT hasen't weighed in yet, hope he's not unwell.
Also, any parents stupid enough to let their children play an adult game probably have retarded kids as well, so who cares; seeing as there is no evidence at all that violent media, of any type, influences behaviour.
"Also, any parents stupid enough to let their children play an adult game"
Why does letting a kid play an adult game mean they're stupid? I can think of several M rated games that most kids over the age of 12 could handle.
this is wrong. it doesn't mean 'children' it means 'mature people'.
When the console industry decides that AO rated games should be allowed to be played on their consoles, then you might see propper use of the AO rating. until the console people change, then the ESRB is going to be pressurised to downgrade their ratings.
last time i checked kids are classified 5-12 not 17
get it right you freakin moron M-rated video games require you to be 17 and have a valid ID
you dont have to have an AO label and M dosent trick parents that the game is okay most intellegent parents will also look at the back part of the game and here is what is exactly on the back:
Blood and Gore,
Intense Violence,
Strong Language,
Strong Sexual Content,
Use of Drugs
hmmmmmm...... i definatly woulnt let my kids play this (if i had any) i am even cautious about this game it (this might make me sound like a wuss) might be too ummm... extreme or too violent for me to handel that level of violence untill i get older
M=Mature 17+
BWAHAHAHA! M == Mature, M != Monkeys. Priceless! =D
(that should be a pro-ESRB bumper sticker!)
@ Nightwing
Good link, that's a nice little comparison!
"Yet the game is now rated at a level where many children will easily gain access"
Oh yeah? How? HOW is it suddenly more accessible to children? Both the AO and M ratings require ID to purchase. The ONLY people who suddenly have easier access to this game are 17 year olds, because now they are allowed to purchase it. With ID. WHAT children are buying this game in secret, getting it home in secret, and playing it in secret? And more importantly, where is ACS to remove them from their obviously inattentive parents' custody?
"and where some parents may fooled to believe that it is suitable for children."
HOW?! HOW the FSCK do you see a huge "M FOR MATURE" plastered on the front of the box and somehow interpret that as "SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN"!?
I know we have (real) lawyers here, someone PLEASE tell me that such blatantly false statements as this man has made, which any half-competent jury would easily rule he was aware were false, is grounds for some kind of legal action or at least a public reprimand. This is the kind of bold-faced lie is the kind of action that simply cannot be brushed aside and ignored without the perpetrator facing any consequences.
/rant
The PTC has no idea what they are talking about when it comes to matters like this, they just jump on a bandwagon and throw out uneducated and poorly researched comments that only a moron would believe, but then again with how most parents are these days I do see a lot of morons out there who would listen to them. No matter what it may be, if it has any sort of content they do not agree with the PTC will lie about how easy a child can access something, and then try and use their bully tactics to try and censored something from everyone just because a child may see it.
The M rating means 17 and up, but to people like the PTC and their followers it means More ways to corrupt our children.
some parents may fooled to believe that it is suitable for children.
Are you seriously implying that some parents are so god-damned stupid that they'll be fooled into thinking Manhunt 2 with that cover is "suitable" for children?
(No ire towards any parents who genuinely make that decision, I'm taking issue with him implying that the parents who only buy fluffy bunny games might be fooled into accidentally buying this for their 10 year old...)
And I doubt any of them are actually parents, since they seem to have the time to fight the media.
and i doubt manhunt 2 will be the mature game they get their hands on. with the press coverage and the fact that specialty stores like game stop actually know what they are doing when it comes to game will prevent it from getting out.
i think it is completely unfair to say that a mature rating means it's ok for kids especially if AO isn't playable. by their logic it has to be marketable to kids or banned
They think adults should not eat steak because babies cannot chew it.
A 17-year-old can buy Manhunt 2.
I see no problem nor hypocrisy in this.
“…some parents may fooled to believe that it is suitable for children.”
Rated M for Mature. 17+. Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs. All right on the box. Man, you’d have to be a really stupid parent to think this was for kids.
“But by removing the Adult-Only label, the video game industry is saying that this material is appropriate for people other than adults, i.e. children.”
Where in the heck is he getting that from? Rated M means: “Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older.”
Andrew Eisen
Andrew Eisen
-The "testicle kill" animation was removed.
-All stylish kills were filtered and obscured to the point that you can't tell what's going on.
Andrew Eisen
Or wait, here's another one: Mature means 17 and older only are eligible to purchase. Rated R means 17 and older only are eligible to purchase and view.
Clear enough or do I need to go further?
----
Papa Midnight
Oh yeah, them video game bigwigs are reeeeal sly. They figure, no way are people gonna think a game called "Manhunt" is anything but happy fluffy bunnies...
*facepalm*
~Sol~
Christ, give me a break. I'm gonna put this on the table; I was splaying Mega Man X at 4 years old - MMX was rated G8+. I was playing Doom 64 and Body Harvest when I was 10 - They're both rated M15+ (Well, here in Australia. Not sure about you guys state-side). My mum thought I was mature enough to play them both at the time I did. I haven't killed anybody. Ever.
Why?
It's because my mum clearly explained that everything on TV shouldn't be imitated. She did that because she WAS DOING HER JOB PROPERLY. If you don't explain to your kids the boundary between fantasy and reality, you probably shouldn't have kids.
And why is everything in italics?
Yet the game is now rated at a level where many children will easily gain access and where some parents may fooled to believe that it is suitable for children.
If those parents think it is suitable for young children then they are morons, also wouldn't it be so much easier to inform those parents of the game (which so many news outlets have been doing)
"But by removing the Adult-Only label, the video game industry is saying that this material is appropriate for people other than adults, i.e. children."
1st off the ESRB is saying it, not the industry (and no they are not one in the same) 2nd they are saying it is appropriate for 17 year olds (and 17 year olds do not qualify as children). 3rd you imply that it is the same game as before which is not true.