Analysts go over Manhunt 2 rating, predicts tough times ahead for Take-Two

It’s been quite the eventful week for Manhunt 2, isn’t it? With its recent banning in the UK, being buffeted by parent watchdog groups, and having just been shunned by the two companies whose consoles it’s coming out on – the title’s not even released yet, and it’s taking a colossal beating any other game would have shattered underneath. This begs the question: what’s going to happen now?

Besides starting up a time machine to see what’s going to happen come the game’s promised July 10 release, we have the next best thing – a group of analysts’ take on what sort of action Take-Two would probably do to be able to release Manhunt 2 without any more troubles.

But before that, let’s go over Take-Two’s options. The first is toning down the game a notch – which means cutting out or censoring content, to get it from being rated as Adults Only (AO) down to Mature (M). Second is appealing to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) to re-rate the game themselves, with the title presented as is. The third is simply taking it all in stride, and release Manhunt 2 into the public, unedited and complete with its AO rating.

Now that we’re up to speed, what do the analysts think Take-Two would do? Enter the first analyst, Nollenberger Capital Partner’s Todd Greenwald. He says that he expects Take-Two to pick the first choice – that is, to do whatever it takes to get an M rating instead of an AO. Citing the Hot Coffee incident with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as the basis for his assumption, he expects the publishing firm to do the same with Manhunt 2. He also says that the sales of an M-rated Manhunt 2 would probably make up for the UK ban, but an AO-rated one wouldn’t.

Lazard Capital Markets‘ Colin Sebastian shares Todd Greenwald’s sentiments, in that Take-Two would indeed make the choice of cutting stuff out in favor of an M rating. However, Wedbush Morgan Securities’ Michael Pachter believes otherwise, saying that Take-Two would most likely ship the game as it is, AO rating and all.

He cites two reasons for this. First, editing the content for an M rating would certainly mean Take-Two spending more money than they’ve already spent in developing this game, and also disappointing fans with a delayed (and watered-down) title. The other reason is that with Take-Two not doing so well in the financial aspect of things, and having already made some belt-tightening measures, investing more money in the game is a step backwards.

Well, whatever Take-Two’s decision is going to be, the world’s certainly waiting for it. More updates about Manhunt 2 as we get them. How about you readers, though? What do you think will be Take-Two’s final answer? Let us know by your comments.

It’s been quite the eventful week for Manhunt 2, isn’t it? With its recent banning in the UK, being buffeted by parent watchdog groups, and having just been shunned by the two companies whose consoles it’s coming out on – the title’s not even released yet, and it’s taking a colossal beating any other game would have shattered underneath. This begs the question: what’s going to happen now?

Besides starting up a time machine to see what’s going to happen come the game’s promised July 10 release, we have the next best thing – a group of analysts’ take on what sort of action Take-Two would probably do to be able to release Manhunt 2 without any more troubles.

But before that, let’s go over Take-Two’s options. The first is toning down the game a notch – which means cutting out or censoring content, to get it from being rated as Adults Only (AO) down to Mature (M). Second is appealing to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) to re-rate the game themselves, with the title presented as is. The third is simply taking it all in stride, and release Manhunt 2 into the public, unedited and complete with its AO rating.

Now that we’re up to speed, what do the analysts think Take-Two would do? Enter the first analyst, Nollenberger Capital Partner’s Todd Greenwald. He says that he expects Take-Two to pick the first choice – that is, to do whatever it takes to get an M rating instead of an AO. Citing the Hot Coffee incident with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as the basis for his assumption, he expects the publishing firm to do the same with Manhunt 2. He also says that the sales of an M-rated Manhunt 2 would probably make up for the UK ban, but an AO-rated one wouldn’t.

Lazard Capital Markets‘ Colin Sebastian shares Todd Greenwald’s sentiments, in that Take-Two would indeed make the choice of cutting stuff out in favor of an M rating. However, Wedbush Morgan Securities’ Michael Pachter believes otherwise, saying that Take-Two would most likely ship the game as it is, AO rating and all.

He cites two reasons for this. First, editing the content for an M rating would certainly mean Take-Two spending more money than they’ve already spent in developing this game, and also disappointing fans with a delayed (and watered-down) title. The other reason is that with Take-Two not doing so well in the financial aspect of things, and having already made some belt-tightening measures, investing more money in the game is a step backwards.

Well, whatever Take-Two’s decision is going to be, the world’s certainly waiting for it. More updates about Manhunt 2 as we get them. How about you readers, though? What do you think will be Take-Two’s final answer? Let us know by your comments.