June 25, 2007 (LPAC)--A little-known British government agency has derailed an offensive to market and saturate homes with a super-violent video game internationally, according to The Money Times of June 22. The game, "Manhunt 2," was designed by the same makers of the video game "Grand Theft Auto," which portrays an African-American stealing a car, and then killing, shooting, and raping to the point of terrorizing an entire city.

The counter-offensive began when the British Board of Film Classification and Entertainment gave "Manhunt 2" an "Adult Only" rating last week. The next day it was banned in Ireland. Then Italy's Communication Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, said he too would seek to bar it, calling it "cruel and sadistic," with "a squalid environment and a continuous, insistent encouragement to violence and murder."

The coup de grace came when the U.S. Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) followed the British, and also gave the game an "Adults Only" (AO) rating. Most retailers, such as Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart, do not sell AO games. The ESRB, set up by legislation sponsored by Senators Lieberman and Clinton, has allowed video game sales to grow into the billions of dollars by giving "M" or "Mature" ratings to such games at "Grand Theft Auto." "M"-rated games are supposed to be sold to those who are 17 or over, but this is rarely enforced. When the ESRB followed the British rating of AO, the producer of Manhunt 2, Rockstar Games, announced on June 22 they were suspending its release, planned for July 10.