Manhunt 2 won’t create murderers (but will still have side effects on kids)

“This is a horror genre. People who like horror will love it.” Rockstar spokesperson Rodney Walker may have been right when he said that. Especially with the recent controversy surrounding Manhunt 2 – it’s been nothing but horror for them and Take-Two Interactive.

Despite the fact that the developers wanted an M rating for the game – so that it could still be sold to 17 year olds who are horror fans – Manhunt 2 fell from 1) an Adults Only rating in the US to 2) getting banned in Europe to 3) an utter halt in distribution.

We’re sure a lot of you guys have your own opinions. And we’re pretty damn sure that lots of other people are affected as well. We’ve heard from financial analysts, other developers, and even pro-family groups of what their take on it is. The Boston Globe has even compiled a couple of pros and cons from other people as well. For example, with 30 years of studying the effects of media violence on children, Joanne Cantor says:

The more realistic and involving the game gets, and the greater the similarity between the action in the game and real life action, the stronger the negative effects would be. No, your son may not turn into a criminal. But exposure will take a toll on his life somewhere, probably in interpersonal relationships. These are subtle effects. They take time to surface. A teen isn’t going to notice them.

This statement seems to be nodded in agreement by the director the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial – Free Childhood, Alvin Poussaint, who can’t quite imagine teenagers playing Manhunt 2. His reason is that “The level of participation makes the game worse than any that preceded it. It might not make anyone a killer, but could it make someone prone to domestic violence or child abuse?”

Other people don’t blame Manhunt 2 for creating murderers also. Family Research Lab co-driector  David Finkelhor even claims that juvenile crime rate has decreased in the 10-to-12 period that violent video games have been distributing in the market. His sentiment lies in the fact that a video game isn’t the sole factor that would induce a kid into criminal activities:

It’s when you have other potentiating factors — family problems, mental health issues, extreme stress, dangerous neighborhoods. Playing these games with or without the Wii enhancement is not going to take the typical teenage boy and make a killer out of him.

A mouthful, yeah? Let these thoughts sink in for a moment. Has the Manhunt 2 issue now blown up to unfounded proportions? Will we ever find closure with this? There’s definitely a lot of things going through our heads right now. And if you don’t mind, we’d like to hear your reactions to this as well. Do note that commenting won’t create murderers (but it can still have side effects of summoning a certain environmentalist hero).

“This is a horror genre. People who like horror will love it.” Rockstar spokesperson Rodney Walker may have been right when he said that. Especially with the recent controversy surrounding Manhunt 2 – it’s been nothing but horror for them and Take-Two Interactive.

Despite the fact that the developers wanted an M rating for the game – so that it could still be sold to 17 year olds who are horror fans – Manhunt 2 fell from 1) an Adults Only rating in the US to 2) getting banned in Europe to 3) an utter halt in distribution.

We’re sure a lot of you guys have your own opinions. And we’re pretty damn sure that lots of other people are affected as well. We’ve heard from financial analysts, other developers, and even pro-family groups of what their take on it is. The Boston Globe has even compiled a couple of pros and cons from other people as well. For example, with 30 years of studying the effects of media violence on children, Joanne Cantor says:

The more realistic and involving the game gets, and the greater the similarity between the action in the game and real life action, the stronger the negative effects would be. No, your son may not turn into a criminal. But exposure will take a toll on his life somewhere, probably in interpersonal relationships. These are subtle effects. They take time to surface. A teen isn’t going to notice them.

This statement seems to be nodded in agreement by the director the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial – Free Childhood, Alvin Poussaint, who can’t quite imagine teenagers playing Manhunt 2. His reason is that “The level of participation makes the game worse than any that preceded it. It might not make anyone a killer, but could it make someone prone to domestic violence or child abuse?”

Other people don’t blame Manhunt 2 for creating murderers also. Family Research Lab co-driector  David Finkelhor even claims that juvenile crime rate has decreased in the 10-to-12 period that violent video games have been distributing in the market. His sentiment lies in the fact that a video game isn’t the sole factor that would induce a kid into criminal activities:

It’s when you have other potentiating factors — family problems, mental health issues, extreme stress, dangerous neighborhoods. Playing these games with or without the Wii enhancement is not going to take the typical teenage boy and make a killer out of him.

A mouthful, yeah? Let these thoughts sink in for a moment. Has the Manhunt 2 issue now blown up to unfounded proportions? Will we ever find closure with this? There’s definitely a lot of things going through our heads right now. And if you don’t mind, we’d like to hear your reactions to this as well. Do note that commenting won’t create murderers (but it can still have side effects of summoning a certain environmentalist hero).