Hackers Unlock Hidden "Manhunt 2" Violence

Video Game's Publisher Had Censored Violent Content To Earn Marketable Rating

(AP)  Hackers have unlocked violent content that was censored by the publisher of the game "Manhunt 2" to give it a marketable rating, the company confirmed Thursday.

The game, initially given an "Adults Only" rating by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, went on sale in the U.S. on Wednesday with a "Mature" rating, after being modified. Most stores refuse to carry "Adults Only" games; Mature means a game is intended for player 17 or older.

Game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. and the studio that designed the game, Rockstar Games, have long been at the center of the debate over video game violence and children.

Two years ago, a hacker uncovered a hidden sex scene in their game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."

In "Manhunt 2," the player takes the role of a man who escapes from an insane asylum and goes on a killing spree.

Take-Two edited parts of the game, including blurring some of the most gruesome killing scenes, to get the less restrictive rating.

Hackers defeated that blurring on the version of the game for Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Portable. The game is also available for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii systems, and those versions do not appear to have been hacked.

The hack does not roll back all the changes that enabled the game to qualify for the "Mature" rating, and it requires some technical expertise and a PSP unit that is itself hacked to accept modified software.

But Common Sense Media, a San Francisco nonprofit that advises parents about entertainment that may be inappropriate for children, Thursday asked the Federal Trade Commission to look into the ratings process, now funded and governed by an industry association. The process lacks basic transparency, Common Sense Media CEO James Steyer said in a statement.

"We believe that families and all consumers should have an assurance from game publishers and the game ratings board that the content being advertised is the same as the content being sold," Steyer said.

In the Grand Theft Auto incident, the ratings board changed the game's rating from "Mature" to "Adults Only" and retailers pulled it off shelves.

Since then, the board has required that publishers submit even hidden content for review, and Take-Two spokesman Ed Nebb said the publisher had followed that requirement for "Manhunt 2."

It is unclear whether the private, nonprofit ratings board considered the hidden material in assigning the "M" rating to "Manhunt 2."

Board spokesman Eliot Mizrachi said only that it is aware of the hacking issue and is looking into it.

Both the revised and original versions of "Manhunt 2" were banned by the American ratings board's British counterpart.

"I stand behind the game and the ESRB ratings process," Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick said in a statement. "It is unfortunately the case that no one in the entertainment software industry is immune from hacking. We hope that consumers will not engage in hacking or download illegally modified copies of our games."

[michellem99-2009]

Yer have net acess..Look it up and read about it Mum/Dad. Yer the ones buying the games..Yes there are unfit parents. Ye can''t them.

[dredre2k]

Oh come on, video games don''t need to be censored... Parents need to take responsibility to NOT BUY THE GAMES for their kids or to not allow the game in the the home. Kids are going to see violent movies, ***, etc. out of the house so the best thing a parent can do is to take responsibility in the home over what their child plays. Parents now-a-days rely on others to control what their kids are consuming... no one wants to take responsibility for themselves.

[zyisis]

Videogames are played by all ages my mom plays and she is 57 so don''t tell me they were just made for kids. And as far as children getting a hold of games with higer rateings their parents should pay attention. They should know what they are playing and should be involved. To many parents these days don''t pay attentions to their kids.

[excelsior9]

They are not fooling me. They made this game for kids not "mature adults". Lets face it, who is actually going to play this game. Its all about $$. They need to show some corparate responsibility and not subject our youth to this garbage.

[Wookiee-1138]

Dr. Phil ranks just above Dr. Suess in quackhood.

[tiredofthebs]

The nerve of Rockstar .... exposing gruesome images like that to children. Who do they think they are ?! The Media ???!!! (LMAO)

[pakaal]

takacscj wrote: "as a parent, and knowing the challenges of parenting in the present environment, I would like as much help as possible... Individual rights (free speech) need to be balanced with group rights (not be assaulted with objectionable material).
Posted by at 12:39 PM : Nov 02, 2007

I understand parents are looking for support in a world of constant media/commercial barrage, but ''being assaulted with objectionable material'' is overstating the situation in this case - not only is the game in question clearly marked with a rating, the ''ultraviolent content'' on it can only be accessed by modifying both the game and the console. Can we ask parents to check the rating on the game, and tell their kids not to hack their games and game machines? I don''t think that''s a lot to ask.

Side note: Psych studies show that these games are played by those who do NOT typically show violent behavior. Conversely, violent criminals don''t typically play these kinds of games. This is fantasy, not to be confused with reality.

[drrc1]

It seems that it is high time for censorhip!

[grammawhamma]

So Adults Only rating is for 18 years and up and Mature is for 17 years and up. What a difference twelve months makes.

[johnny_chaos]

nggr? nice handle. your right, as long as someone is dumb enough to buy it, someone will sell it. but admittedly lot of these games aren%u2019t even worth playing. Remember soldier of fortune 2? The gore was funny for maybe five minutes, but the game sucked. its the reaction that gets the kids interested in the first place. Don%u2019t feed the fire, it will die out fairly quickly left to stand on its own merits.