Just as the furore surrounding the rating of Manhunt 2 was looking like petering out temporarily, Take-Two’s management has spoken out to question the point of having an “adults only” rating, when, effectively, it only bars a console game from release.

During a conference call yesterday, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick explained that the firm is “evaluating its options” regarding the release of Manhunt 2, rated “adults only” in North America.

“We’re determined to bring Manhunt 2 to the consumers for which it was intended, and to do so in a responsible fashion,” he stated.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board recently gave the title an “AO” rating because of intense violence. Many large retailers don’t carry games with an AO rating, and console manufacturers (Sony and Nintendo included) don’t allow such rated games on their machines, reports Next-Gen.

Will Manhunt 2 ever be released in its present state?

Zelnick continued:

“We don’t see ourselves in the AO business, but if we find ourselves in the AO business, it would be because we have a title that we consider art and entertainment, that we consider is appropriately rated at AO, that we’d like to bring to market, and that I and Ben [Feder, CEO] are prepared to stand behind.

In that instance, one has to ask oneself what’s the purpose of a rating if it in fact means that a title cannot be released? But I don’t think that that issue falls at the door of retailers. Retailers are acting responsibly, frankly, and I think a retailer has a right to say, ‘This is what I’m prepared to put on my shelves.’ It’s not correct to be critical of the retailers at all.
Because this is a voluntary ratings system in the US, we have to be critical of ourselves if we’ve allowed a system to develop that prevents us from bringing a title to market that we want to bring to market. That’s something that we have to address.”

Looks like the battle over Manhunt 2 is set to rage on quite a while longer. We’ll keep you posted.