Officials from both Sony and Nintendo have confirmed that
Manhunt 2 will not be approved for release on the PlayStation 2, PSP or Wii in North America in its current form – with both console manufacturer’s restating their policy that they do not allow AO (adults only) rated games on their systems.
It was revealed on Tuesday that the
ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) had given Manhunt 2 an AO rating, despite comments from Rockstar Games that an M (mature) rating was more appropriate.
Most U.S. retailers, including Best Buy, GameStop and Wal-Mart, refuse to stock AO rated games as a matter of policy – the only recent exception being
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which was retroactively given the rating following the “Hot Coffee” incident.
As reported by consumer website GameSpot though, both Sony and Nintendo have confirmed that they will not allow the game to be released on their platforms in North America. Microsoft also has a policy not to allow AO rated games, although the game is not scheduled for release on Xbox 360.
With the game already
effectively banned in the UK, and almost certain to be denied a rating in Germany and Australia, the only region in which an uncensored version of the game is likely to be released now is other mainland European countries.
Rockstar has still yet to make any comment on whether it either intends to challenge the ruling, in either the UK or North America, or make changes to the game in order to receive a less harsh ratings restriction.
