Most Violent Game Ever Released to be Sold to Children

Senator Yee calls on industry to disclose how Manhunt 2 was re-rated from Adults Only

SACRAMENTO – Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), the author of California’s recently struck down law to prohibit the sale of extremely violent video games to minors, today called on the video game ratings board and a video game maker to fully disclose how a soon-to-be-released ultra-violent video game received a downgraded rating of Mature (M) from Adults Only (AO).

Earlier this year, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) gave Manhunt 2 – the most violent game ever released – a rating of AO, which was only the second time a game had been given such a rating based on violent content. However, on Friday it was announced that the game had been re-rated M after Rockstar Games, the game’s maker, submitted a modified version.

According to the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), reviews of the game describe players “sawing their enemies’ skulls in half; mutilating them with an axe; castrating them with a pair of pliers; or killing them by bashing their head into an electrical box.”

When asked by the CCFC, the ESRB refused to make public the rationale for changing Manhunt 2’s rating.

“Parents can’t trust a rating system that doesn’t even disclose how they come to a particular rating,” said Yee. “The ESRB and Rockstar should end this game of secrecy by immediately unveiling what content has been changed to grant the new rating and what correspondence occurred between the ESRB and Rockstar to come to this conclusion. Unfortunately, history shows that we must be quite skeptical of these two entities.”

While the ESRB claims to be a non-biased ratings board that gives parents a valuable tool in deciding appropriateness of games for their children, they are funded by the makers of video games who have a financial interest in making sure their games are not rated AO. Most retailers will not carry games with an AO rating.

While M-rated games are also designed for adults, there is no prohibition to selling such games to children. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that 42 percent of unaccompanied children 13 to 16 years of age can successfully purchase M-rated games.

In June 2005, the ESRB and Rockstar were involved in a multi-million dollar scandal called “Hot Coffee,” in which Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a game originally rated M by the ESRB, was found to have hidden animations allowing players to watch graphic scenes featuring oral sex, nudity, and simulated intercourse.

“Clearly the ESRB has a conflict of interest in rating these games,” said Yee. “It is time to bring transparency to this rating system and for the industry to be held accountable. I join the CCFC in urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the process by which Manhunt 2’s rating was downgraded from AO to M.”

Not surprisingly, Manhunt 2 is set to be released on Halloween Day, October 31, 2007.

Three weeks ago, United States District Court Judge Ronald Whyte struck down a law authored by Yee which would have fined retailers who sell extremely violent video games to minors, similar to prohibitions on pornography, alcohol, and tobacco. California plans to appeal the district court’s decision.

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