Nintendo Wii takes a murderous turn
By Mike Snider
USA Today
October 3, 2007
In a video game universe, the pairings do not get much
stranger than this: family-friendly Nintendo and
controversial video game developer Rockstar.
The horror title Manhunt 2 ($30-$40) will hit stores
on Halloween for Nintendo Wii and Sony's PlayStation
2. Since the Wii version uses the motion-sensitive
controllers, it literally gives players the hands of a
killer. Manhunt 2 was originally rated Adults Only —
equivalent to an X in films — and now carries an M for
mature audiences (17 and up).
"It is a technological fit, and the gameplay works,"
says Newsweek's N'gai Croal. "But culturally, it's not
a fit."
Nintendo doesn't need to expand its user base to help
the Wii continue to outsell its pricier and
technologically superior competitors. Since launching
in November, Nintendo has sold 4 million Wiis; in the
same time, Microsoft has sold 3 million Xbox 360s and
Sony 1.75 million PS3s, according to market tracking
firm The NPD Group.
Wii remains so successful that Nintendo doesn't think
it can supply enough to meet this holiday season's
demand. "People need to keep in touch with their
retailers as to when shipments will come in," says
Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan.
Manhunt 2 is simply the most radical example of
Nintendo's ongoing strategy to provide "a breadth of
games of all story lines and all genres," she says.
A flood of new Wii titles is on the way, including
Super Mario Galaxy (Nov. 12), horror game Resident
Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Nov. 13) and Super Smash
Bros. Brawl (Dec. 3).
But Manhunt 2 goes the furthest. Players take the role
of a psychiatric escapee who has murderous rages as he
tries to uncover his past. On the Wii, players
physically make killing motions with the controllers —
slashing for stabs and lifting to strangle — rather
than simply pushing buttons. Rockstar's goal is to put
players in the horror genre in ways that films like
Saw or Hostel cannot.
"It's a different level of engagement in video games,"
says Rockstar's Rodney Walker. "You can literally
experience the emotional responses of the character."
The Entertainment Software Ratings Board tagged
Manhunt 2 with the Adults Only rating in June,
essentially banning the game. Microsoft, Nintendo and
Sony do not permit AO games to be made for their
consoles, and many retailers will not stock AO titles.
Rockstar changed the game and resubmitted it to earn
an M rating.
Walker concedes that some might be turned off by the
game. "But what about other people who should have a
choice whether or not to play it?" he says.
Geoff Keighley, host of Spike TV's Game Head, says the
Wii game "proves once and for all that Nintendo is
ready for gritty M-rated content. Fifteen years ago,
Nintendo wouldn't even allow blood on the console in
Mortal Kombat."
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