ESRB remains tight-lipped about Manhunt 2 decision

Following the ESRB’s recent decision to

downgrade its rating

of Rockstar’s Manhunt 2 from ‘Adult Only’ to ‘Mature’ in North America, paving the way for its release, the US governing body is resisting calls to reveal exactly what content Rockstar altered prior to the resubmission.

Next-Gen reports that Californian State Senator Leland Yee has publically demanded en explanation for the decision, stating: 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.”

However, ESRB president Patricia Vance insists that: Publishers submit game content to the ESRB on a confidential basis. It is simply not our place to reveal specific details about the content we have reviewed, particularly when it involves a product yet to be released.

What can be said is that the changes that were made to the game, including the depictions themselves and the context in which those depictions were presented, were sufficient to warrant the assignment of an M rating by our raters.

Rather than publicly second-guessing what is unmistakably a strong warning to parents about the suitability of a particular game for children, which presumably Senator Yee has personally reviewed, we feel a more productive tack would be to join us in encouraging parents to take the ratings seriously when buying games for their children.

It is a parent’s rightful place to make choices for their own children.”