All right I haven't talked about this at all. I'm not a big fan of the Wii. I think it is watering down the game industry with a lot of garbage and is one step up from one of those Tiger Electronics plug into the TV systems.
But this is getting a little ridiculous. Here are some of the articles that prompted my statements about this, USATODAY and N'Gai Croal on CNN.
I've not seen the game or played it. But I do know a lot about Manhunt #1. The game was garbage. It was also one of the worst selling games on the PS2 and the XBOX when it came out. Why Rockstar is making this game, is unimaginable.
The new game on the Wii allows the player to use the Wiimote and Nunchuck to make a strangulation motion and the much talked about stabbing motion with the Wiimote. The system that has been glorified as the system for seniors, alpha moms, and little kids; will probably spit this across the room if you try and put it in. Just kidding...
The irony here is more than a little hysterical. As a gamer, this type of sensationalism is just part of the world. After all, women with big boobs and guys that look like they just walked off the cover of the latest issue of Muscle & Fitness are the norm. People getting shot 5 times before they die are also the norm. So this type of thing isn't really a big deal. But for the mass media who has embraced the Wii like a baby; are all but beside themselves with disgust over this.
The infantilization of the game industry has been lead by the Wii. Nintendo wants everyone to ignore photo-realism and reality of any kind and just concentrate on minigames and games that could have come out for the Gamecube. Even with their big sales figures, however, they have a game like this that proves once and for all that games are primarily for adults. An "M rated" game is for an individual that is generally not thought of as a child. Normally the individual has seen at least one R rated movie and perhaps has even had sex. Which basically means that nothing that occurs in ANY video game is going to overly shock them or turn them into a lunatic.
While half of the industry is trying to move more towards a film standard. Nintendo wants the industry to go back to the days when video games were synonymous with the toy industry. Perhaps this is because that was the last time that Nintendo was the industry leader. Their broader audience that they so aggressively court is that of the toy industry and the mainstream movie industry. But what will they say about Manhunt 2? How will they explain it? They won't. you won't see those commercials with the two happy Japanese men driving around wanting to play Wii; and they pop in Manhunt 2 for some quick killing and chilling. No, Nintendo will bury this game like Atari buried their copies of E.T. back in the 80s.
Rockstar will certainly advertise it, probably with the PS2 being the lead SKU. Because that is the way Rockstar does things. It's not enough that they made this title and put it on Wii. No, they want even more people talking about it than they all ready have. It is very appropriate that Rockstar is having this game come out on Halloween. It is like saying to the mainstream media, the industry, and everyone who thinks that the rating system doesn't work,
"Trick or Treat!"
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