So Target has pulled Manhunter 2 from its stores’ shelves. The retailer’s move is based on the revelation that hackers have figured out a way to “unblur” artificially obscured violent scenes in the video game, in which escapees from a mental institution wreak havoc in grisly ways. Here are some random thoughts on the news:

• The hack can only be done on the PlayStation Portable version of the game and the PSP itself must also be hacked for the alteration to work. That’s not a simple thing to do, and even if it were, the majority of PSP users have not hacked their portable system, which negates the warranty and requires continual tinkering to get around Sony’s attempts to thwart the action by making new games unplayable on a hacked PSP (until a new hack is found to get around that). If Target feels compelled to do something, why not just pull the PSP version?
• The game already is rated M for Mature by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. That means no one under 17 should be able to buy it or play it. The ESRB has determined that, even with the hack, the PSP version of the game still merits an M rating. Last time I checked, Target sells M-rated video games, so why all the fuss over this one?
• How stupid can the game’s developer, Rockstar Games, be? The company tried a similar thing a few years in a version of Grand Theft Auto, in which it “hid” a sex-related scene within the game’s programming — rather than just deleting it — to get around the ESRB. A hack eventually emerged then, too, to reveal the scene. It’s difficult for people not to assume that Rockstar is doing this as a calculated move to gain publicity. (One difference with the GTA case is that the hack revealed content that changed the game’s rating to Adults Only, unlike the Manhunter 2 hack.)
• And speaking of publicity, it’s hard to assume that Target isn’t doing the same thing. As noted, it sells other M-rated games. But pulling the sensational Manhunt 2, which has been dogged by criticism ever since it first went through the ratings process, generates more media coverage than doing nothing.
• News like this just draws more attention to a game that, frankly, doesn’t deserve it.
• Why does it seem that the only time video games get national attention in the mainstream media, it’s over violence or something else sensational — and usually over titles aimed at adult players?

If Target really wanted to do something revolutionary, it could announce that, prompted by the hoopla over Manhunt 2, it planned to redouble its efforts to ensure that shoppers buying any such Mature-rated game were 17 or older, just as the ESRB expects. Now that would be something to write about.

What do you think about Target’s actions?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Video games. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.