There is an interesting little thing to note about Nintendo on their website. It states, "Please note that Nintendo does not sell or license games that carry the ESRB rating "AO" (Adults Only)." So, what does this mean for Manhunt 2 considering it is being banned in the UK and rated Adults Only in the US.

This is an interesting piece of information. Nintendo's advice to adults is that they don't licence Adults Only games. However, there has been a lot of hype floating around the gaming press about how Nintendo are not specifically going to cater for children only games. That they were going to take a more adult approach to the games which were released for the console. Does this mean that Manhunt 2 will have to be revised in order to be approved by Nintendo? Or, was all of the reporting a bit of the hit-and-miss type? Just to show you that Nintendo were talking the talk here is Beth Llewelyn, Sr. Director of Corporate Communications for the company, who responded with:

"Manhunt 2 is not developed or published by Nintendo. It is one of many titles released by third party publishers for our system that appeal to people of all ages and interests. Just as with movies, television, and books, different video games appeal to - and are appropriate for - different audiences ... Video game retailers and purchasers are strongly encouraged to follow the age-specific ESRB ratings when considering what software to sell or buy. If parents are concerned about kids having access to inappropriate Wii games, we encourage them to utilize the PIN-operated Parental Control features built into Wii."

For Manhunt 2 to be released in the UK it will have to be changed. Rockstar can appeal the decision to ban the game, however, this will cost money. To republish the game without the offending content will also cost a lot of money. It seems that Rockstar are put in a difficult situation. Possibly Nintendo have the easy way out, because all they have to do is to change their webpage to read ... "Please Note: Nintendo now supports the production and licencing of 'AO' rated games ... get over it." Of course, it will be interesting to see what happens. Rockstar are set to lose a lot of money over the Manhunt 2 controversy already. Money which the new corporate regime won't be happy to write off.