Sony and Nintendo: No Playback of an AO Rated Manhunt 2

Things just keep getting worse for Manhunt 2 fans. If the upcoming title maintains its Adults Only rating, the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation won’t allow licensing or playback of the game. The “Nintendo Buyers Guide” says in black and white, “Please note that Nintendo does not sell or license games that carry the ESRB rating ‘AO’ (Adults Only).” Sony spokesman Dave Karraker told Joystiq, “Currently it’s SCE’s policy not to allow the playback of AO rated content on our systems.”

Since the game isn’t even available on the XBox 360, Rockstar’s options are pretty limited. It comes down to either editing the game to garner a lower rating, or have a console game with no console to play it on. Sure, they could port it to the PC, but all the development of the console title would be wasted, and I doubt that’s in the cards. Besides, even as a PC port, there’s that little issue of retailers not carrying ‘AO’ rated games. The only other option would be a straight online distribution, and that isn’t likely to result in the sales needed. We’ll have to see what Rockstar decides to do.