GameFly, Blockbuster won't carry Manhunt 2 with AO rating
Joystiq spoke with game rental service GameFly and we were informed Manhunt 2, now with an AO rating, will not be carried by the company. A GameFly spokesperson said, "GameFly as a general policy does not carry AO rated titles." When asked if they have ever made an exception to the "general policy," the representive said, "Not that I know of, there's been no exceptions." GameFly also points out that you must be 18 to subscribe to their service which absolves them of any sticky issues regarding M rated titles, and that it is the credit card holder's responsibility to monitor the games rented on the service.
This is the first time GameFly has been put into this position as no other title from a major publisher has ever received an AO rating right out of the gate (GTA: San Andreas ver. 1.0 received its AO rating later, GameFly also swapped all their versions for the new M rated one). Manhunt 2 is still available to queue up for rental July 11, but that may or may not change once Rockstar officially states what they plan to do. We also contacted Blockbuster corporate and they informed us, "Blockbuster does not carry adult or NC-17 movies, or AO rated games." So, it looks like not only will Manhunt 2 have trouble at retail, but the rental outlets aren't going to carry it either.
