The Manhunt Conspiracy
Yeah, so, long story short – Rockstar is currently developing a game called “Manhunt 2”, as the title suggests it’s a fairly violent game. When it was done sometime this spring, it effectively got banned for the intensity of this violence, and Rockstar has now put forth a slightly less violent, un-banned version to be released this Halloween. The background on this is that Rockstar was largely responsible for the “Hot Coffee” incident a few years back, an incident which almost single-handedly stirred up the game/morality/yadayada – questions again after a few years of hiatus, so now all kinds of crazy theories are appearing suggesting that all of this is actually a planned move to save some face.
Whose face, though? I could understand if people thought the ESRB toughened up to look impressive in front of politicians and save the ESA some lawyer fees, but there seems to be some delusion that this was actually Rockstar’s plan all along. Of course, I don’t know for certain but how cheap do these people think game development is? sure, some sensational headlines might raise a few eyebrows, but if they wanted sensation they could just have advertised Manhunt 2 by spraying blood on the streets of New York. Having a product delayed for half a year and being forced to re-submit it for revised ratings is expensive.
And why are people bitching that ESRB should go public with the changes? ask Rockstar. It’s their game.
Manhunt 2 rated Adults Only by ESRB
Manhunt 2 re-rated from AO to M
Manhunt 2 Conspiracy Theories Emerge
ESRB responds to Manhunt 2 rerating complaints