Take-Two's 'Manhunt' Gets Manhandled

"There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game," Cooke said.

How Take-Two handles the reaction to Manhunt 2 will be an important test of how well the company's new management, Chairman Strauss Zelnick and CEO Ben Feder, works with its creative arm, Rockstar Games, which is responsible for blockbuster franchises Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt .

A few years ago, "Take-Two's new management could be open to making changes in the game, but whether the Rockstar folks will follow remains to be seen," says Todd Greenwald, an analyst with Nollenberger Capital, which does not own shares or have an investment banking relationship with Take-Two.

Greenwald says the odds are pretty high that Take-Two will want to resolve the issue with the British authorities and remove offending portions. "Games are localized all the time, and there's no reason to believe Take-Two will not work to ensure Manhunt 2's release in the U.K.," he says.

However, publicity around Manhunt 2 in the U.K. could spur curiosity among U.S. gamers, says Brian Sozzi, an analyst with independent research firm Wall Street Strategies.

"This isn't a surprise given the history of the title, and now maybe more adult gamers in the U.S. might buy this," he says.

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