Hackers discover extra Manhunt violence

COMPUTER hackers in the US have uncovered ultra-violent content in the game “Manhunt 2” which the publisher had hidden in order to get it through the ratings authority.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board in the US had originally given the game an “Adult’s Only” rating. But when the game went on sale a week ago, it carried a “Mature” rating.

Reports in the US say hackers have broken the blurring of some of the more violent scenes in the game. The game’s publisher had blurred the ultra-violent content in order to get a more marketable rating.

The reports say the hackers had defeated blurring on the Playstation Portable version of the game, which is also available on PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s Wii consoles.

The Manhunt 2 publisher Take Two Interactive Software have hit headlines in Australia previsouly, both for the previous version of ManHunt and for its Grand Theft Auto franchise. Ultra-violence and graphic sex scenes have been the complaint.

The Manhunt 2 hack is said to roll-back only some of the changes that were made to give the game a more accessible rating. The hack also requires considerable technical expertise, as well as a PlayStation Portable that has itself been hacked to allow it to play modified software.

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Labor hints at tax break for games

GAME developers in Australia reckon they will be better off under a Rudd Labor Government after detailing a positive meeting with shadow communications and IT Minister Stephen Conroy.

The Game Developers Association of Australia did not come away from the meeting with anything written in stone.

But GDAA executive director Greg Bondar said the signals were good – and that the industry faired a lot better than it did with Government, which scotched its calls for a 40 per cent tax concession for games investments to attract greater investment in the industry.

The GDAA has been trying to convince Government that it should extend the 40 per cent tax rebate offered to the local film industry in the last budget to games developers, saying the potential export earnings were much greater.

Communications and IT Minister scotched the idea in June, and has not been able to meet the industry since.

Labor’s Senator Conroy assured the group that it should “have a seat at the table” when the 40 per cent rebate given to the film industry is reviewed.

“It is time we start to recognise the contribution of the games industry to the Australian cultural landscape, and the economy as a whole,” Senator Conroy said in a statement after the meeting.

He pointed to the break out success of Halo 3 game as an example of how lucrative gaming can be. Halo 3 earned more than US$300 million (A$327 million) in its first week – including US$170 million on its first day.

GDAA’s Mr Bondar said the current government did not seem to understand the size of games market, or its continued strong growth.

GDAA said the games industry currently employs about 8,500 in Australia. The introduction of the 40 per cent rebate would quickly boost that number to 18,000 by 2010 as it attracted more than $25 million in additional investment.

“The electronic games industry is already a significant contributor to the Australian economy. It’s also part of a larger global entertainment industry, which is now bigger than the film industry and is a major area of export for the Australian economy,” Mr Bondar said.

“Unfortunately, the future growth of the industry is dependent on government support. A government rebate will enable our industry to grow, compete on a global scale, employ more Australian talent and make a bigger contribution to our economy.”