For the first time since the controversy erupted, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime has spoken out about Manhunt 2 and its place on the Nintendo Wii.
Speaking in an interview with Newsweek,Fils-Aime said, “This is not an image issue,” when asked if he regretted actively soliciting games from Take-Two and Rockstar. “Wii welcomes games E, T and M,” he continued. “We haven’t approved AO-rated games. I doubt we ever will.” Of Manhunt 2 itself, he said, “What Rockstar has right now is a game rated outside our spectrum, outside any manufacturer’s spectrum.”
Commenting on the possibility that a modified version of Manhunt 2 may be rated M for the PlayStation 3 and PSP but retain its current AO rating due to the Wii’s motion-sensing controls, he said, “That’s an issue for the ESRB and Rockstar to work through. And as I understand the ESRB guidelines, the Wii controls should not be an issue.”
Prior to receiving an AO-rating, special attention was paid to the Wii version of Manhunt 2 by anti-gaming groups due to the system’s use of violent gesturing in order to control the game’s characters. Gamers would use the motion-sensing controls to simulate chopping, hacking and stabbing motions as they progressed through the game, raising concerns about a heightened level of immersion that would have a quicker and more detrimental impact upon young gamers.
