CCFC Statement on ESRB Decision to Downgrade

[wraggster]

Heres the press release:

In June, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board gave Manhunt 2 an Adults Only rating. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood had urged the ESRB to give the game an AO rating because of concerns that harmful effects of ultra-violent video games on children would be magnified by playing them on the interactive Nintendo Wii system.

CCFC’s concerns about Manhunt 2 were based, in part, on reviews of the game which described players sawing their enemies’ skulls in half; mutilating them with an axe; castrating them with a pair of pliers; or killing them by bashing their head “into an electrical box, where raw power surges through it and eventually blows his head apart.” CCFC noted that on Wii, players will not merely punch buttons or wield a joy stick, but will actually act out this violence. A reviewer for the gaming website IGN described using a saw blade to “cut upward into a foe's groin and buttocks, motioning forward and backward with the Wii remote as you go.”

Today, Rockstar Games announced that Manhunt 2 had received a revised rating of Mature after they submitted a modified version of the game. On a phone call with CCFC’s Dr. Susan Linn, ESRB President Patricia Vance refused to comment on what changes Rockstar made or whether any of the content described above was still in the game.

Below is the statement of CCFC Director Dr. Susan Linn on the ESRB’s decision to reverse their earlier ruling:

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is extremely concerned that the ESRB has downgraded its rating for Manhunt 2 from Adults Only (AO) to Mature (M). Despite industry claims to the contrary, M-rated games continue to be marketed and sold to children under seventeen. The ESRB’s reversal of its earlier decision dramatically increases the likelihood that Manhunt 2 – the most violent game to date produced for the interactive Nintendo Wii platform – will be marketed and sold to children.

Just three months ago, the ESRB felt that Manhunt 2 was so violent that it took the extraordinary step of giving a game an AO rating for violent content for only the second time in its history. We urge the ESRB to make public their rationale for changing Manhunt 2’s rating, including detailing any content that was removed from the game.

We call upon Rockstar Games to allow the content of Manhunt 2 to be reviewed by an independent review board with no ties to the video game industry.

We ask the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the process by which Manhunt 2’s rating was downgraded from AO to M.

CCFC’s initial press release and letter to the ESRB are available at http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/pressreleases/manhunt2.htm.

[stevo11185]

I hate games like this. People who say games like this dont affect you or make you violent are retards. What about the kids that copy things from this game and kill other people. Its not so much fun then is it. What if that person that was killed was a relative. You wouldn't have such idiotic objections to the game being banned.

You lot would rather have the game than save a few lives? To me that is unforgivable.

And to retards that say video games don't affect you, just stfu. It has been proven in mulitiple scientific studies that they do. So stop being selfish and think of the families that are affected by video game related violence and dont be so narrow minded and say that im speaking rubbish.

[SigmatiC]

I hate games like this. People who say games like this dont affect you or make you violent are retards. What about the kids that copy things from this game and kill other people. Its not so much fun then is it. What if that person that was killed was a relative. You wouldn't have such idiotic objections to the game being banned.

You lot would rather have the game than save a few lives? To me that is unforgivable.

And to retards that say video games don't affect you, just stfu. It has been proven in mulitiple scientific studies that they do. So stop being selfish and think of the families that are affected by video game related violence and dont be so narrow minded and say that im speaking rubbish.


haha please.. It started with doom when I was 6 years old and then with more or less violent games.
I am 20 now and I have never felt temptation to kill another human/animal or plant ;)

So you can shut up and go and buy your kids manhunt 2 when it's released. (if you have any)

It's just a game

[stevo11185]

17 and kids? O.o

I'm not saying every violent game is bad, because if that was the case space invaders would be bad lol. i play games like doom, quake etc but i don't get violent.

I'm talking about a minority of people. I'm talking about 'chavs' who imitate the things that happen in games. I dont think sawing someones penis off is entertainment or even remotely funny even if it isnt real life.

Other games are mainly you fighting against monsters and aliens not humans. But everyones entitled to their own opinion. I just think that this game is gonna cause some bad things to happen. Id rather it didn't come out but it will because game makers are greedy and know that people will buy this game because they are sick in the head.

[devdj]

hey stevo11185 you stupid noob games are games and thats it they are there to be played not to be controlled by some ***got rating system so just shut up and shove your head up jack thompson's ass ya jack thompson wanabe.

[stevo11185]

hey stevo11185 you stupid noob games are games and thats it they are there to be played not to be controlled by some ***got rating system so just shut up and shove your head up jack thompson's ass ya jack thompson wanabe.

Come back and try to insult me when you can use proper spelling and punctuation.

[cas2007]

hey stevo11185 you stupid noob games are games and thats it they are there to be played not to be controlled by some ***got rating system so just shut up and shove your head up jack thompson's ass ya jack thompson wanabe.

WTF are you trying to say

Manhunt 2 its still banned in uk and ireland so they lost half of thier profits already

[mavsman4457]

Normally I would think that people are making too big a deal of violence and video games but this one for the Wii actually sounds pretty bad. Castrating people? Mkaing the actual motions that would be required to saw someone's head in half? That sounds kinda bad. It also sounds pretty suspicious that it was changed from AO to M. I'd say give it an AO and stick with that otherwise there had better be some pretty good reasons for switching it.

[sonofsamus]

I hate games like this. People who say games like this dont affect you or make you violent are retards. What about the kids that copy things from this game and kill other people. Its not so much fun then is it. What if that person that was killed was a relative. You wouldn't have such idiotic objections to the game being banned.

You lot would rather have the game than save a few lives? To me that is unforgivable.
I smell a communist.

[.:}<3\/!}\{:.]

Normally I would think that people are making too big a deal of violence and video games but this one for the Wii actually sounds pretty bad. Castrating people? Mkaing the actual motions that would be required to saw someone's head in half? That sounds kinda bad. It also sounds pretty suspicious that it was changed from AO to M. I'd say give it an AO and stick with that otherwise there had better be some pretty good reasons for switching it.

I agree, i'd say stick a AO rating on it and leave it:cool: , athough i do think if the Manhunt 2 for Wii requires you to do the actual action, It could probly cause some kids to get violent, like "chavs":( . I hate chavs:mad: , you can see alot of them in Newcastle and thats where I live!:eek: .........meh:(

[Broadus]

Yeah, remember when Hitler played Grand Theft Auto, and it drove him into genocide? Man, if only we stopped him from playing violent video games!
Also, what would have been so wrong about an Adults Only rating, especially if you're sawing peoples' crotches? Is there even a difference between M and AO aside from the slightly more threatening name? It seems to me that video game developers should be allowed to make games targeted at adults, and that AO shouldn't be a mark of shame.

[stevo11185]

I said kids not adults. Kids are influenced a lot more than adults are and it seems that some have been influenced by the other people that like the game.

To me that says one thing. 'I don't want to stand out in the crowd because people wont like me.' If you carry on life like that then just die.

I'm not gonna agree with the people that like the game just because everyone else likes it. I follow my own opinion, not others.

P.S Gaming machines were not around when Hitler was alive, so that makes you officially retarded for making a totally invalid argument without thinking.

[Sketchy]

P.S Gaming machines were not around when Hitler was alive, so that makes you officially retarded for making a totally invalid argument without thinking.


ok first, didn't u notice the sarcasm?? Which is a very valid point i might add, Hitler was an evil SOB and, as u rightly said, they didn't have game consoles back then. Therefore video games don't/can't turn anyone violent, unfortunately killing is one thing that mankind has been exceptionally good at for eons. :(

WW1 and WW2, i don't think any video games were involved, directly or indirectly, with the start of these....

*Rant Over*:D

[stevo11185]

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold launched an assault on Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, murdering 13 and wounding 23 before turning the guns on themselves. Although nothing is for certain as to why these boys did what they did, we do know that Harris and Klebold both enjoyed playing the bloody, shoot-'em-up video game Doom, a game licensed by the U.S. military to train soldiers to effectively kill. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which tracks Internet hate groups, found in its archives a copy of Harris' web site with a version of Doom. He had customized it so that there were two shooters, each with extra weapons and unlimited ammunition, and the other people in the game could not fight back. For a class project, Harris and Klebold made a videotape that was similar to their customized version of Doom. In the video, Harris and Klebold were dressed in trench coats, carried guns, and killed school athletes. They acted out their videotaped performance in real life less than a year later...

Source: http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro03/web2/gshin.html

Hmm...i don't think them guys dressed up like they did in the video just by coincidence, The people who say kids aren't influenced by games have been proven wrong....i could give you tonnes of other stories.

[watupgroupie]

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold launched an assault on Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, murdering 13 and wounding 23 before turning the guns on themselves. Although nothing is for certain as to why these boys did what they did, we do know that Harris and Klebold both enjoyed playing the bloody, shoot-'em-up video game Doom, a game licensed by the U.S. military to train soldiers to effectively kill. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which tracks Internet hate groups, found in its archives a copy of Harris' web site with a version of Doom. He had customized it so that there were two shooters, each with extra weapons and unlimited ammunition, and the other people in the game could not fight back. For a class project, Harris and Klebold made a videotape that was similar to their customized version of Doom. In the video, Harris and Klebold were dressed in trench coats, carried guns, and killed school athletes. They acted out their videotaped performance in real life less than a year later...

Source: http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro03/web2/gshin.html

Hmm...i don't think them guys dressed up like they did in the video just by coincidence, The people who say kids aren't influenced by games have been proven wrong....i could give you tonnes of other stories.
You want to know why this happened? It's because these kids were socially lacking and couldn't handle the pressure of their perfect little lives. As soon as someone mocks them because they play video games they lose it and sometimes it's more drastic than other times but frankly it all turns around to parents who don't disipline their kids enough to show them what the real world is like. If you think about it kids don't have to pay for the consequenses for anything anymore, heck parents won't even touch their kids anymore. So in turn they think they can get away with anything and or it doesn't matter if they take their own lives in the process.

I'm 13 myself and have never been influenced by a video game. I've never physically or mentally influenced somebody by what i saw on a video game and probably never will. I grow up in the middle of nowhere, where people still give there kids a good smack across the head once in awhile to keep them in line, and frankly I hope you take my advice so that your kid doesn't grow up to be a emo/drug attict.

I also am in no way supporting this game. I know people who do find stuff like this interesting (if someone listens to the awful show and know's about key's you'll know what i mean) BUT also wouldn't harm anybody. I mean for heavens sake, were making a big deal out of this when we should be worried about getting bush out of office so this war can stop. That's what we should be worried about, real world conflicts.

[mcdougall57]

I hate games like this. People who say games like this dont affect you or make you violent are retards. What about the kids that copy things from this game and kill other people. Its not so much fun then is it. What if that person that was killed was a relative. You wouldn't have such idiotic objections to the game being banned.

You lot would rather have the game than save a few lives? To me that is unforgivable.

And to retards that say video games don't affect you, just stfu. It has been proven in mulitiple scientific studies that they do. So stop being selfish and think of the families that are affected by video game related violence and dont be so narrow minded and say that im speaking rubbish.

it depends really on who you give it to, because you wouldnt give it to a child with a serious mental problem, which most of these killers who follow games seem to have

[mogwaimon]

What concern is it whether Manhunt 2 gets an AO or M rated game?Neither rating is intended for children to play, anyway. If a child actually owns and plays such a game frequently enough to be influenced by such a game, that means the parents purchased it for him or probably know the game exists in their home. If they paid more attention to the ESRB rating, it would tell them that obviously the game is too mature for their son or daughter to play, right?

In that, it is not the game's fault, but the parents. Hell, sometimes it's not even the game's fault, but perhaps an older sibling.I myself am guilty of letting my little brother play GTA Vice City, and he's no more violent than a normal child his age. He prefers his Yugioh and TMNT and whatnot to my game anyways =P Now, my youngest sister on the other hand, I'm less keen to allow to play my games because she's...well, she's not mentally stable, to put it bluntly. Schizophrenia, violent urges (And by that I mean biting the dog type urges, not the standard 'I'm Leonardo, I'm gonna get you, Shredder!' urges young kids sometimes get) and whatnot.

So yea, I must reiterate. It is the family's decision to let their children be influenced by video games as media, just as it is their decision whether or not to allow their kids to view R-rated movies or even porn if they were so inclined. I've been playing video games all my life and any so-called 'violent urges' I may have are merely a result of either an overactive imagination or suppressed anger because I'm kinda like the dude from the movie Anger Management in that I let people walk all over me sometimes....not a result of playing a video game. That's...well, pretty much all I have to say about this, I guess.

[Thanatos 2.0]

The problem with these ratings is the parents, you don't see a parent say "go watch the R rated movie" but you do see Parents buy their little "angel" any game they choose, and what games do they choose? The cool violent ones like what you see in movies? Bingo we have a winner, it's not the developers, it's not the games, Its the way your nurtured.


oh and by the way, back in the day people still killed each other without help from violent video games, It's calle dbeing mentally unstable of just being a evil SOB.

[Junixx]

I'm 13 myself and have never been influenced by a video game. I've never physically or mentally influenced somebody by what i saw on a video game and probably never will. I grow up in the middle of nowhere, where people still give there kids a good smack across the head once in awhile to keep them in line, and frankly I hope you take my advice so that your kid doesn't grow up to be a emo/drug attict.

I also am in no way supporting this game. I know people who do find stuff like this interesting (if someone listens to the awful show and know's about key's you'll know what i mean) BUT also wouldn't harm anybody. I mean for heavens sake, were making a big deal out of this when we should be worried about getting bush out of office so this war can stop. That's what we should be worried about, real world conflicts.

I agree with you mostly, but seriously I grew up in one of those areas where you actually got disciplined when you were a kid. Usually the reason for a person becoming emo/drug addict has nothing to do with parental discipline. It can be something much deeper than what you think. Though I'm not going to say people don't do it just to fit in or whatever.... I'm bad at explaining myself in writing... and... YOUR 13, You shouldn't be preaching to people on how to raise a child.

On the subject of the game, I've grown up with playing violent video games, mainly because of my brother. Most games I don't have too much of a problem, but this game on Wii does sound quite... bad to me (And really isn't the only age difference between M and OA is like one year?)

PS - Never influenced by a video game? Then why are you on a gaming site....? You've probably been influenced but its so subtle you cant tell. Alot of people SAY that haven't been influenced but they just don't realize that they have.

[jerrt]

if more people were parents, this wouldn't even be news.