GamerDad Weighs in on Manhunt 2
By Shawn on Thursday, November 1st, 2007 at 10:29 AM PST In Game Companies, Game Platforms, Games, Nintendo, Rockstar, Sony, Sony, Videos
GamerDad Andrew Bub spoke about his impressions of Manhunt 2 on Milwaukee’s WISN-12 last night. Rockstar released the controversial video game on Halloween here in North America where it hasn’t been banned.
GamerDad was absolutely clear on his stance; “Don’t let your kids play this game.” However he feels that Manhunt 2 and games of its ilk has a place in the market with an AO adults only rating Due to technical difficulties with getting the game before the video interview some of the clips shown are actually from Resident Evil IV for the Wii. The rest are indeed Manhunt 2.
As a father, I agree with Andrew’s assessment on Manhunt 2 and games like it. They aren’t and never in any developers wildest nightmares intended for children. They have their place as adults only games. We have the AO rating. We should use it and give these games shelf space.
I agree, just because a game has a AO lable doesnt meen its Smut or hardcore porn… Like Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft seem to have it tagged in their rule books…. At this point its not even the retailers its the Console companys.. that just wont allow AO games on their system.. i can Really understand Nintendo, They have their Kiddy image to uphold.. but What about $ony and Micro$oft ?
The problem with giving games an AO rating is it drastically cuts how the game can be distributed because the majority of retail chains won’t carry AO games and rental places such as Netflix and Blockbuster won’t carry AO rated games either.
I don’t understand why everyone treats AO rated games as if it’s the XXX version of video game ratings. If retail outlets took the game rating system more serious than they have been taking it, then there should be no problem with stocking a shelf with an AO rated game. It isn’t hard for a retailer to take a look at a box, see the AO or M on it, look at the customer and ask for identification. I have been carded buying games in the past and I really don’t mind it. When I go to buy an M rated game, I tend to let my facial hair grow in a bit in order to help the person behind the register know that I’m an adult.
Games like this *should* be hard to get. They *should* be underground, where they belong because there should be shame attached to the idea that someone would choose to spend his time virtually hacking and stabbing other people to death. Just like pornography this crap should be found in seedy stores off the highway, or on the internet, not at the local Best Buy.
@CC Owens: I have to disagree with your entire statement. Why is it suitable to play a certain type of genre, and not others. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion about the different game genres (like I personally could care less for sports games since I find it silly to play a sports game that I could either watch or experience on my own). I believe playing a game whose main focus is to kill others in order to survive is very intriguing and I am interested in it because I enjoy the genre. I love watching horror and movies with a lot of gore, so why not have that same experience in a video game.
Jumping on “goombas” and collecting gold coins isn’t for everybody. I like playing games with adult themes and adult content.
Adults play games too. It undeniable. That being said, there’s no reason why developers shouldn’t be able to target these existing consumers. I think if AO didn’t have such a bad reputation, there wouldn’t be so many developers trying to shoehorn their games for adults into the M rated category.