"We are currently targeting a release at the end of November," COG's Jim Brown told Eurogamer in an interview published today.

"Of course this is all subject to passing the usual internal and Microsoft submissions."

"This is definitely not a sprint. We're not going to be able to put enough inventory to meet demand in North America or Europe this calendar year or this fiscal [year], but we expect this to sell through both the balance of FY 08 and through FY 09, with songs coming every week, add-on SKUs, all sorts of stuff."

“We hope that consumers will not engage in hacking or download illegally modified copies of our games. We encourage them to enjoy our games as they are meant to be played,” said Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick in a statement Thursday. However, as GamePolitics reports, Take-Two’s line of defense hasn’t been able to stop fresh waves of criticism.

“Not only should the AO rating immediately be reinstated on [Manhunt 2], the Federal Trade Commission should investigate Rockstar and the ESRB to determine how this was allowed to happen again,” said Senator Yee.

“Time and time again, the ESRB rating process fails parents. It is unconscionable that the rating board would downgrade Manhunt 2’s rating from AO to M and therefore make the game available to children. The ESRB and Rockstar continuously put profits before children.

“Parents deserve to know what, if any, content was truly removed to receive the downgraded rating. ESRB has refused to publicly disclose whether or not Rockstar divulged that such adult content could still be accessible. As if we needed more evidence, this episode further puts into question the validity of the entire rating system.

“The Manhunt 2 scandal further demonstrates the need for [California’s contested video game] law. I am hopeful that the courts will see that severe penalties are necessary for those who sell horrifically violent games to minors.”

“Even though some people may consider Manhunt 2 to be only a game, it unfortunately perpetuates and reinforces cruel, inaccurate perceptions that people who live with mental illnesses are violent.

“The U.S. Surgeon General has condemned such stigmatization, identifying fear of stigma as a major barrier to people getting help when they need it. The overall contribution of mental illnesses to violence in society is exceptionally small. In fact, people living with mental illness are far more likely to be victims of violence.

"We do not favor censorship, but we do ask for responsible exercise of creative rights when serious public health concerns are at issue. It is our right to demand a higher standard.”

“To the best of my knowledge, apart from the people who briefly went to Rockstar London to assist with development there, nobody from Rockstar Vienna is mentioned in the credits of Manhunt 2,” writes Horneman.

“I do not want to denigrate what Rockstar London did on Manhunt 2, but as far as I can tell (from analyzing screenshots, previews, etc.) the majority of the work we did at Rockstar Vienna is in the released game.