Posted on 07/21/2005 11:00:49 AM PDT by Mike Bates
The maker of the popular video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" has halted production of the PC version of the game and predicted millions of dollars in lost sales due to a re-rating of the title to adults only.
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) revised the game's rating Wednesday amid a controversy over sexually explicit material in the game. The additional material is unlocked by a software modification dubbed Hot Coffee, allegedly created by hackers and readily available on the Internet.
Explicit Add-Ons
The rating revision hurts game maker Take-Two Interactive Software because stores in the U.S. won't be allowed to sell the game to anyone under 18 years old. The revised rating may also cause video game makers to spend more on increasing security in their products to avoid similar tampering with their software code.
Trouble with "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" started shortly after the PC version was released in June. Someone posted Hot Coffee on the Internet, a software modification that allowed users to play sexually explicit mini-games on the title.
The modification caused an uproar, culminating in a call by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for increased legislation and stiffer penalties to keep violent or pornographic video games away from kids. The New York senator also prodded the ESRB to revise its mature rating on "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" to adults only, which the group did.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
No cries of "censorship." Chalk up a victory for Mz Rodham Clinton. Her supporters will.
Hillary's "Sistah Souljah" moment.
Dude, that hid sex acts in the software code - they deserve what they get. For market forces to work we need to punish them for this.
I believe they were nuts in doing it, lied about it then, acknowledge it.
They are low-lifes and we need them out of the industry.
geesh... looks like I'm gonna hafta buy a PC copy of the game now, just to irritate Hillary
Aah... it's 12 year old pre-pubescent stuff. I think the game is perfect for 13 year old boys who are feelin' it but can't do it yet. It's cartoon violence, cartoon sex, and I understand it isn't even very tittillating. People ought to just pop a chilly.
In prior articles, the author of the game claimed the scenes may have orginally been created for release but were not included in the final version. Even though the scenes were not included in the final version, the code for them was never removed from the program.
Anyway, that is my understanding of it.
Ha ha. Good luck. All it's doing is making the game that much more popular.
Besides, wanting the "market forces to work" should mean letting the buyer decide what they want, not punishing the company.
Seriously, this mod (that's included in the retail package!) needs a "Mature" label. There is absolutely no way in heck a game that shows user controlled graphic sex can be anything less.
Great game though, the game map is as large as my county.
Typical DemonRAT statist response; instead of going after the hackers that turned a marginally-explicit game (though one that shouldn't be played by teens) into a hard-core one, they go after the Big Corporation. When you can't get a computer game anymore, remember Hitlery Rotten Von Der Schlikmeister. ANY Personal Computer game can be modified into a highly-objectionable title.
Hillary is just upset because Bill won't stop playing it.
It was bad enough when she was cold shouldered for fat interns... but now even a virtual girl gets more attention than her ! :)
Which were inaccessible unless you download a patch off the Internet. And if you have unrestricted net access, there's much better porn you could get instead.
Remember, we're talking about a game that lets you pay hookers for sex, then kill them and get your money back. Apparently that's ok, but a pixelated nipple shown during consensual sex is an abomination.
Really. Although you have to admit, for the coders at Rockstar to put that in the game in the first place was pretty stupid. Hot Coffee apparently didn't add those "mini-games"...it just unlocked access to stuff that was buried in the code already, if I read things correctly. That's just flat-out dumb.
And I saw the video of it...trust me, it deserves an "adults-only" rating. Simulated intercourse and fellatio; you don't see any parts, of course, but there's zero doubt as to what's going on.
}:-)4
I've never really been into driving games - I prefer shooter-pov deathmatch games.
is GTA any fun?
Then publish that the sex is there so they KNOW what they are buying.
This was buried in the code and hidden from the buyer.
It matter little as to what it is or quality.
Are you kidding us? Programmers combined video game industry and the adult entertainment industry, they will probably have their choice of primo coding jobs for the next deace at least. Any publicity is good publicity in the entertainment industry. Tipper Gore has proven this how many times?
None of the sexually explicit material mentioned was in the retail version of the game.
I want the game but I didn't want to pay $50 for it, and I want it for the x-box. I don't really care about the sex crap, I just want to jack cars, blow up stuff, pimpslap mah byotch, and buss'up any mo-fo git up in mah way.
Good post. Brings things into perspective. IF kids have unrestricted net access they are going to see far worse.
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