Plans to distribute game temporarily suspended

A VIOLENT computer game blocked by the Irish censor from entering the market here earlier this week is looking unlikely to be released anywhere as more countries ban it for its extreme content.

Following bans by Britain and Ireland, as well as a ratings predicament that would have made it nearly impossible to buy in the United States, publisher Take-Two Interactive Software has decided that it might already be game over for Manhunt 2.

In a short statement on Thursday evening, the New York-based company said it was temporarily suspending plans to distribute the game while it reviews its options.

Manhunt 2 had been scheduled for a July 10 release in the US on both the Wii by Nintendo Co and the PlayStation 2 from Sony Corp.

But earlier this week, Britain banned the game because of the violent content. Ireland followed suit a day later, and then Italian Communications Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Thursday that he would seek to have the sale of the game cancelled there as well.

In a statement, Mr Gentiloni called the game “cruel and sadistic, with a squalid environment and a continuous, insistent encouragement to violence and murder”.

In the US, meanwhile, the video game industry’s self-regulated ratings board gave a preliminary version of Manhunt 2 an “adults only” rating instead of the more lenient “mature” rating for ages 17 and up.

Imposing Entertainment Software Rating Board’s most stringent rating would likely doom sales. Large retailers in the US including Target Corp and Wal-Mart Stores Inc won’t stock AO-rated games.

Rockstar, the game’s creator, was given 30 days after receiving the board’s suggested rating to present an appeal or make changes to the game.

A spokesman for Rockstar declined to comment on Thursday’s suspension, which was announced hours after Take-Two issued a statement saying it was determined to bring the title to market regardless of criticism.

Another issue had to do with the console makers. Nintendo and Sony disclosed they have policies barring any AO-rated content on their systems.

Microsoft Corp has a similar policy, but Manhunt 2 wasn’t planned for its Xbox 360.

There are no such restrictions on games for personal computers. The suspension was the latest setback for creator Rockstar Games, which has come under fire for its popular, critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto series of urban crime games. Two years ago, Rockstar was forced to replace its first edition of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas after a hacker discovered a password-protected game inside it that involved a sexual encounter.