Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter believes that the modification required in order for Manhunt 2 to receive a lower rating (or even just to receive a rating in the United Kingdom) could cost publisher Take-Two Interactive anywhere in the region of $1 million USD.

Last week Take-Two temporarily suspended its plans to distribute Manhunt 2 for both Wii and PlayStation 2. The company said, “Take-Two Interactive Software has temporarily suspended plans to distribute Manhunt 2 for the Wii or PlayStation platforms while it reviews its options with regard to the recent decisions made by the BBFC and ESRB.”

Later it was rumoured that Rockstar Games has plans to appeal against the ban, with hopes that the game would finally be ready for release within a month or two. Adding insult to injury, though, is the mammoth financial cost that toning the game down would incur.

Facing up to the reality of a toned down Manhunt experience…

Patcher told GameDaily:

“They will probably spend $1 million or so to rework the game. They will not have revenue from the game this quarter (ending July), so they will likely miss their guidance, but will make up most of it in a future quarter when the game is released. The overall financial impact is not that serious, provided sales don’t suffer. It is hard to know whether the publicity helps or hurts, but my guess is that it hurts.”

A case of better late than never, but one that involves a massive hole burnt in the pockets of Take-Two, it seems.