SlashGear Japan
Hot Coffee. Those two words are enough to give people like Jack Thompson nightmares. I’m not sure that there’s anyone out there that don’t know what I’m talking about. Well, Rockstar, the same guys that happened to produce the game with the Hot Coffee mod are in some hot water over their latest title Manhunt 2.
The story of this game is a long one that I don’t care to tell. The short, short version is that this is a very violent and bloody game. In order to give the game an “M” rating, Rockstar was told they would need to cut down on the gore, which they did by blurring out some of the questionable content. This appeased the ESRB, and the game was awarded the “M” rating.
Here’s where it gets fun, someone hacked the PSP version of the game so that it makes some of the censored content visible. Rockstar has confirm that the hack does exist but urges consumers to bear in mind that the game itself had to be modified, as did the PSP on which it was played. Despite those facts, there are those that are up in arms over the matter.
I’m sorry Jack Thompson, and anyone else out there that feels outraged by this, but neither Rockstar nor the ESRB did anything wrong. First, what the hackers did was remove the blurring effect which revealed what was really hidden beneath. How could this have been avoided? I don’t think it could have. Any way you slice it, the real content is there, Rockstar was just asked to make sure it wasn’t visible to the public, and they complied. They even made the ESRB aware of these facts when they presented the game to them for review.
Here’s something else to consider, Sony finds the act of modifying one of their consoles to be illegal. Not to mention tampering with the code of a video game is also illegal. These people deliberately went out of their way to break the law, yet you feel that Rockstar and the ESRB are the ones at fault? Your sense of logic is greatly skewed.
Now why am I standing up for Rockstar here? It’s not because I love that game, in fact I’ve never played it, nor do I have any intention of doing so. I am, however, a gaming enthusiast that hates to see people like Jack Thompson go out of their way to try and censor studios’ creative rights. Sure, you say that it’s to shield our youth from this type of gore and violence, but in the end, isn’t that up to the parents?
BREAKING: Rockstar Confirms Manhunt 2 PSP Hack [via gamepolitics]
2 Responses to “Rockstar confirms Manhunt 2 hack that allows you to see censored gore”
James Allan Brady November 2, 2007
i agree 100%, kids already can’t buy the games in most states unless they are 18 or older, at which point its really up to them anyways, and if you, as a parent, buy your kid a game like this, then its your fault for what they see, and most importantly, what they do with what they see.
implementing a ratings system, and then putting laws in place that prevent kids from getting a hold of the worst content is really about the best you can do, getting pissed because some dick hacked his PSP and a video game’s code to see all of the gore, well that truly is the beginnings of an Idiocracy
+1Chumly November 3, 2007
I’ve never made a video game before, and referring to my understanding of video game mechanics as “amateur” would be generous. But, I imagine it would have been simpler to directly alter the controversial content in a way that makes it blurred or otherwise skewed, rather than creating a smudge and placing it on top of the content. It seems kind of like they went a bit out of their way to preserve the content there.
Which would be totally cool if you ask me, i think censorship is an outdated concept, but it doesn’t speak very well of Rockstar’s genuine intentions, does it?
Neutral