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Yee demands a Manhunt on ESRB M Rating

Posted Aug 27, 2007 at 5:44PM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: News, Titles, Games Tags: California, ESRB, Leland Yee, senator, Take-Two Interactive

Looks like the controversy isn't over yet. In fact, the manhunt has just started. Leland Yee, California senator who made the 2005 Video Game Law, is demanding an explanation for ESRB's decision to give Take-Two Interactive's Manhunt 2 (for the Wii and PSP) an M rating, joining the protests raised by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

Yee is suspicious of the correspondence between ESRB and Rockstar, claiming that their rating system can't be trustworthy for as long as the decision to make it so was held behind closed doors.

Not only is Yee demanding the ESRB to reveal what had led them to change the rating, but also to reveal all the correspondence that was held between them and Rockstar. He stated in a press release that:

Parents canÂ’t trust a rating system that doesnÂ’t even disclose how they come to a particular rating. 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. Unfortunately, history shows that we must be quite skeptical of these two entities. [...] Clearly the ESRB has a conflict of interest in rating these games. It is time to bring transparency to this rating system and for the industry to be held accountable.

Via Game Politics

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I'm an Aussie, but this sort of interfering by politicians is annoying. They're not elected to play God with the rules and our lives. They're elected to serve us.

Do you hear that Mr Politician ? You're there at our whim, not you're own. If we don't like the things you do, we'll vote you out.

I don't like being told what I can and cannot do in my own home. So long as it's not destructive to others around me, and not destructive to myself (and I believe that I'm adult and sane enough to determine that), then I don't believe a Politician should be interfering with what I do.

Go find something else to grandstand over. This Gamer has had enough of hearing opportunistic Politicians beat their little drum.

# Back on the Hot Coffee scandal of 2005 — Guest 2007-08-27 22:17

If it wasn't for this guy, Jack Thompson wouldn't come out of the public light and we would have been playing Manhunt 2 by now...

# ? — Guest 2007-08-27 22:21

Exactly. Why to all the governments abuse the position we granted them, probably because the general public are to weak.

The gaming industry is constantly coming under heavy fire, many other industrys have a much worse reputation, yet are allowed to continue.

# hey yee — Guest 2007-08-27 23:45

( I ) suck this!

# This is such crap! — vpbpi 2007-08-27 23:46

There is such a double standard between this and movies. Everyone here should watch "This Film Has Not Been Rated" to see the completely ambiguous way that films are rated. I agree with Yee that the way in which games are rated should be transparent, but that goes for ALL games. If the games rating process is then made transparent then surely the movie rating process should also be made transparent. After all, the consumers of movies greatly outnumber the consumers of video games (for now at least). Anyway, I just had to get that off my chest.

# The label clearly states what the content is — Guest 2007-08-28 00:41

Anyone who knows anything at all about the rating system is aware that they don't just put "M" on a label and call it a day. Nay, they put "M" on the the label along with notes on what the game contains to earn that rating. Let's take Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops for example (happened to have the game case on my desk at the moment). It says "Mature, 17+, Animated Blood, Suggestive Themes, Violence." That seems pretty clear to me what's in the game to earn the M rating. Now, for comparison, let's take a look at Final Fantasy II. That label says, "Teen, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language." And lastly, let's take a look at Daxter. That label says, "Everyone, 10+, Animated Blood, Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor, Mild Language." Again it all seems pretty clear.

I don't see how Mr. Yee thinks the ESRB or Rockstar needs to disclose anything more than what's already on the labels. Methinks he's just huffing and puffing and flapping his wings to make a big show of things so his constituents get some kind of perception that he's fighting for family values or some such B.S. It's a double-edged sword, though, because anyone who knows anything about what he's talking about immediately knows he's full of crap. Unfortunately, those people are likely in a small minority, so all of his gum-flapping is probably effective in earning approval from the unwashed masses.

# neither does the MPAA — Guest 2007-08-28 01:09

Parents can’t trust a rating system that doesn’t even disclose how they come to a particular rating

agrees w/ whomever reccomended "this film has not yet been rated"

this happens all the time in the film/game rating process.

these people need to get real jobs!

# hahahaha — Guest 2007-08-28 01:52

FIRST!!! that is some funny *****, that reveals how much of a loser every first poster is. everybody goto that link

# WAIT! — Guest 2007-08-28 02:48

so they fully support ESRB in essence banning a game and don't demand any support or proof for why they banned it, now they change their vote and give it an M rating and now everyone is screaming, "WOAH WOAH WOAH! i wanna know why you did what you did!!!"

the ESRB has been turned into something its not, a tool for politicians like this Yee character and Jack Thompson to control what videogames hit the market.

pathetic.

# Huh — Guest 2007-08-28 02:59

When was the last time you played a game that wasn't rated properly (don't bring up GTA, unless you found hotcoffee completely by accident, which NO ONE did)? It was never, at least not if the like 200 games I've played are a decent sample of the rating system. There's no reason to regulate them unless their ratings start to show to be faulty (I wouldn't even agree then), but seriously, why complain? You've got an industry here that regulates itself, and keeps its own standards. Just about nobody makes AO games, not because they're concerned for your kids, but because they know it won't sell well.

And I assume you mean "Not rated" (which is different from not YET rated) is for DVD releases only, to prevent them from being labled as porn, which they aren't, usually. It's just a little extra stuff that couldn't be in the full movie, and the movie certainly got an R rating anyway.

# just another form of advertising — Guest 2007-08-28 03:55

and this time is targeting the voters. Trust me, if the poll shows that they will likely to vote you if you rate Manhunt2 as E and set it as grade1 teaching material they will very likely do so.

# Mr Yee — Guest 2007-08-28 04:07

Mr Yee, in the words of Chris Tucker...

"You're Asian, stop humiliating yourself!!!"

I can't believe your a hater!

# .. — Guest 2007-08-28 04:47

Since when did an M rating mean "for the kids" Its an M rating hopefully the defending side realizes this. Blame bad parenting if kids get them and be done. We don't need AO ratings for anything thats not porn and even then I think an M rating is good enough... Thats like blaming the movie ratings for kids sneaking in to R rated movies.

# no - — Guest 2007-08-28 05:20

And I assume you mean "Not rated" (which is different from not YET rated)

"this film is not yet rated" is a documentary film about the MPAA (motion picture association of america) and how they "rate" films.

there is no public info about this "secret" organization - down to who rates films and on what basis.

a great film that is as entertaining as it is interesting.

people like YEE and THOMPSON ***** and moan about teens playing M rated games when R rated films have more widespread exposure and are "rated" even more questionably.

# Disclosure — Guest 2007-08-28 06:08

So Mr. Yee wants the ESRB to disclose what went on behind closed doors stating that take 2 and the ESRB had some secret meeting to get this title out the door.

How about Mr. Yee submit every single meeting he has ever had with lobyists giving him money for his support. Fair is fair.

I hope Yee is ousted during the next time he is up for re-election.

# wetasdjfb — Guest 2007-08-28 06:29

this "yee" guy is a BIG F4GGOT

# Well... — Guest 2007-08-28 09:30

The job of the government is to serve the people, and most importantly protect the people's freedom, but when freedom intervenes with other freedoms then the government has to stand by the constitution which puts people's lives over any entertainment. Yes, I know that in the US the constitution is violated almost everyday but I'm just saying that the government has the right because the original manhunt influenced a few killings (less than 10 but it's still innocent lifes) so they have to make sure it doesn't happen again... Obvioussly this senator wants attention and doesn't really care for the lifes at stake but sometimes good products arrive from bad intentions.

# Yeah, very supportive... — Guest 2007-08-28 09:37

Let's sell Nazi propaganda films to the public and sell it under a MA label, let's sell rocketlunchers to the public and put some notes saying "Warning, this is a gun", our freedom gives us the right to buy them, right?

Just because something may seem right at first look doesn't mean it's right, you must analyze the consequences of actions (which you should have learned when you were 5 years old". Freedom may be a natural right ofman but when your freedom affects other people's freedom then you cannot exert that freedom, especially if it harms innoccents lives.

# WTF? — Guest 2007-08-28 11:13

Seriously, you're making no sense... This has nothing to do with gun laws, Nazi propaganda, or anything resembling trampling on anyone's freedom (except for perhaps the freedom of Rockstar Games with this censorship imposed upon them).

Oh, and, hey, FYI Nazi propaganda is perfectly legal to distribute here in the USA. Also, it's perfectly legal for the Nazi Party to peacefully assemble and hold rallies, too, in case you're wondering. You don't have to agree with it, but it is their right.

That said, a video game, regardless of the rating assigned, infringes on no one's freedom in any way, shape or form. If it were forcefully issued to you, or you were otherwise somehow forced to play it against your will, that would be one thing, but it's not. It's a product that people can purchase of their own free will.

# exactly — Guest 2007-08-28 12:04

dude. you hit the nail on the head with that one. all these asswipes have their own agendas being funded by lobbyists and they're all crookeder than a barrel of snakes. all the esrb has to do is fight fire with fire and play the popular neocon 'executive privilege' card and tell mr. yee and jacky thompson to f_u_ck off! it's none of their god damn business what went on behind closed doors just like these bastards would say if they were in interrogated for 'improper conduct' of their titles.

# ... — Guest 2007-08-28 12:19

That ***** deserves to get hit by a train. >.>

# . — Guest 2007-08-29 12:58

Excuse me Yee, could you stfu pl0x? Kthxbye.

# See Above — Guest 2007-08-29 13:59

The guy who posts 'first.' the guy who makes a painfully short-lived gag into a 2 minute video, or the guy who posts about it?

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