Manhunt 2, the latest title from the creators of the Grand Theft Auto series, has once again failed to meet the British Board of Film Classification’s standards of acceptability, and the BBFC therefore refuses to rate it. Without a rating, Manhunt 2 will not be allowed to be sold in the UK.

Originally, Manhunt 2 was due out in July, but the game was denied a rating by the BBFC in the UK, and given Adults Only rating by the ESRB in the US. In both countries, those measures would prevent the games from being sold(Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo both prohibit AO titles from being sold on their home consoles). The reason for the harsh ratings stems from the bleak and morbid nature of the game, and the graphic execution attacks. The Wii version, in which the player had to make stabbing motions with the Wiimote, pushed the line even further. Rockstar edited some of the more extreme content and even added an alternate ending depending on how the player chose to play through the game. The edited version was deemed acceptable by the ESRB and gave the game a Mature rating, however, it did not pass through the BBFC.

The BBFC acknowledges that Rockstar did edit some of the content. However, they insist that Rockstar did not go far enough. The BBFC did not change its decision because Rockstar left many of the graphic execution attacks in the game, and the story was still very morbid and bleak.

Rockstar said they will continue to fight the ban, saying that “… the changes necessary in order to publish the game in Britain are unacceptable to us” and that the ban “represents a setback for video games”.

Manhunt 2 will release in the US on the PS2, PSP and Wii later this month on October 29th. You can pre-order it now at PlayAsia.com!

VGChartz.com has just put up the sales numbers for the weeks ending on 9/22(US) and 9/23(Japan). Heres the juicy bits:

United States sales:

Top 5 Software Titles -
[Wii] Wii Sports 92K
[PS3] Heavenly Sword 56K
[360] Bioshock 54K
[Wii] Wii Play 52K
[Wii] My Sims 46K

No shocker here, once again, Wii sports is #1(as its packaged with the Nintendo Wii, meaning for every Wii sold, 1 Wii Sports is sold). Surprisingly, Heavenly Sword has held up well in its second week, especially considering the PS3 user base. Bioshock continues to sell very well, after more than a month from its release. The only real shocker is that Metroid Prime 3 has dropped somewhat considerably.

Hardware -
360 – 104K
Wii – 93K
PS3 – 27K

DS – 120K
PSP – 78K

Obviously, the big news here is that, for the first time in months, the Wii has lost its #1 position. This is no doubt in anticipation for the big Halo 3 release(note: these numbers are for the week BEFORE the H3 release). This is a big victory for Microsoft. Since the release of the Wii, it has been selling like hot cakes, and only recently has stabilized in the 80-90K region. The 360, meanwhile, has picked up from 35K units/week sold in July to 100K this week. This is due to the price drop in early August and several Blockbuster hits in late August, including Madden 08 and Bioshock, as well as the hype for Halo 3. PS3 numbers have continued to slide from 55K in late August, and is once again within striking distance of the Game Boy Advance. The PS2, however, is still selling consistently at 50K units per week.

As for hand helds, the DS continues to dominate the market, but the PSP rose considerably this week.

In Japan, home consoles continue to be in a slump. The Wii still leads, selling about 25K this week, although this is nearly a third of the number it was selling about a month ago. The PS3 has also dropped considerably, now selling about 12K a week. The 360 got quite a boost this week, selling nearly 2K units, but is still not enjoying any success in that market. Once again, the boost in 360 sales is due to Halo 3, which Famitsu magazine(a Japanese gaming magazine, known to be very critical) gave a 35/40.

On the other hand, the handheld systems in Japan have been having a lot of success. The PSP sold 277K units this past week, a HUGE jump in units sold. Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core(2nd week) and Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops+(1st week), as well as the release of the PSP Slim all contribute to this huge jump. The DS sold 68K units, driven by the recently released Pokemon Mysterious Dungeon 2: Time/Darkness games. Together, the sales for the 2 games put them at #1 in Japan this week.