Ben-DutkaOh, so now the ratings work? Well, yeah, now that they've applied the rating he likes.
Anyway, we all know that Manhunt 2 got slapped with the AO (Adults Only) rating, which means it may not ever see the light of day. Blockbuster and GameFly won't rent it and several retailers have opted not to sell it, and on top of that, neither the PS2 or Wii (the game's scheduled platforms) accept AO games. So of course, the ESRB rating has an impact…as it always has.
But anti-game activist and attorney Jack Thompson couldn't resist, and issued a typical e-mail, praising th ESRB and saying they've done something that "indicates they might be trustworthy." He also says this "development" is a "HUGE benefit to the video game industry." Odd, we could've sworn we've seen the AO rating before, and we also could've sworn we knew what the "M"-Mature rating meant, and what the restrictions are. But whatever. Here's Thompson's e-mail, courtesy of Kotaku:
"This is all absolutely delicious. I warned Take-Two months ago that there would be huge problems if it went ahead with Manhunt 2. Who was right about that kiddies?
Secondly, the BBC and the world are now laughing at Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick for his idiotic statement yesterday that Manhunt 2 is "a fine piece of art." Find the BBC story on that!
Right, and Jack the Ripper was his generation's Rembrandt. Please.
Take-Two has been hemorrhaging cash over the last few financial quarters, and this must makes it worse. I love it.
If you all would stop and think about this for a minute, this development is a HUGE benefit to the video game industry. It fits nicely with their argument that the ESRB ratings are real and actually mean something.
Responsible people within the industry, even Doug Lowenstein, have been saying for quite sometime that Take-Two had become a problem for the entire industry because it was painting a bullseye on the back of the whole industry and making it more difficult for the industry to get US politicians off its back.
Now the ESRB does something that indicates is might be trustworthy, and you nitwits go bonkers because of that development.
Grow up and smell the hot coffee. This is the best thing that could have happened to the industry. The isolation and ostracism of Take-Two by the industry was long overdue.
Now that it has come, rejoice.
You know, Jack, why don't you just admit you want all the games rated AO? Or, better yet, just admit you want them to cease to exist entirely? Because if you actually believe your Jack the Ripper analogy, games are lethal. By the way, we're certainly not saying we agree with Take-Two's "work of art" comment, and that's just for the record.
But what about Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto IV ? The game guaranteed an "M" rating? The game that will make Take-Two's year? We got news for ya, Jack: when that game releases this October, it will make a giant heaping mound of cash for both Take-Two and Rockstar…and there ain't a darn thing you can do about it.