Upon learning that Rockstar pulled a 'Hot Coffee' and simply disabled, not removed, offensive material from* Manhunt 2*, The Parents Television Council (PTC) has issued a letter to ESRB President Patricia Vance, urging her to reinstante the game's original AO rating. That didn't take long, now did it?
PTC president Tim Winter quotes the ESRB as saying "If a publisher wishes to 'edit out' pertinent content from a final product, it must remove the content from the disc altogether," which Rockstar didn't do, so Swift is asking the following of the ESRB:
Immediately reinstate the 'Adults Only' rating for this game. This action is consistent with ESRB precedent as demonstrated in the Grand Theft Auto controversy surrounding the 'hot coffee' content.
Immediately suspend all ESRB review or consideration of any other software published by Rockstar or Take-Two Interactive. Given the clear pattern of contempt by Rockstar and Take-Two, these firms have breached the trust of the entire video game rating system. In fact, to quote your words from the Grand Theft Auto matter, Rockstar has 'seriously undermined...the credibility and utility' of the ratings system.
Immediately disclose the content that was allegedly removed by Rockstar from Manhunt 2 so that parents can have a clear understanding of exactly what remains on those games which potentially can be accessed by their children.
We knew this was coming, so let's move on to the next phase: speculating as to how the ESRB might respond. Thoughts?
