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Scott Jagow: It appears no one’s gonna get to play the new video game Manhunt 2. Britain and Ireland have banned it. And the U.S. just gave it an adults-only rating, which means it won’t work on Playstation or Wii.

So the game’s maker has put off distributing Manhunt 2 anywhere. Stephen Beard has more on a game that takes violence to a new level.

Stephen Beard: The game has been banned here because of its non-stop carnage. The main character escapes from an asylum and slaughters the people who put him there.

Michelle Elliot of the British Children’s Charity KIDSCAPE applauds the fact that the game’s been shelved in the U.S. She was appalled that players are invited to take part in an orgy of sadistic killing.

Michelle Elliot: You can pick up the knife and do the action of stabbing the knife into the person as many times as you wish. You can saw off their heads. It’s the participation of it that has repelled people.

But the publisher has most likely suspended the game’s release for commercial reasons. The British ban and the restrictive rating in the U.S. are thought likely to severely reduce sales.

In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.