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 ...
well, shoot.
Well crap, they are being pulled from Wal-Mart as well.
I should have went to the store yesterday like I originally planned.
This makes no sense...why would they pull the disc just because the rating changed? Just require you to be 18.
Duh.
This is an awful game. I won't let my kids play it.
Yeah, I almost blew it off at first due to the graphics, but I agree, it's a great game. I love it when you shoot one in the knee and his leg comes flying off, or one collapses against the wall and a little extraneous spurt of blood comes pumping out.
But I haven't yet seen a game that I would truly call gory or truly violent. It's all cartoon violence. Bang, you're dead.
I wondered what the railroad games were all about. I want to try a sim game sometime. GTA has sim elements in it as well... as you become a more notorious criminal you build up your criminal enterprise and try to eventually own the whole city, at least the criminal empire, but a lot of the real estate, and probably a lot of the police and politicians too.
It's kind of fun when the cop pulls out his gun and BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM !!!!!!
It seems like when I was a kid they used to warn you, had public service ads and everything "Come To A Complete Stop At A Stop Sign!" I don't think I've heard that warning in 15 or 20 years. I took a motorcycle safety course about a year ago, and I don't remember the instructor ever saying that you're supposed to put both feet down at a stop sign.
Sign of the times I suppose. Nobody does it anyway. I do, if I see a cop, or if I'm in a neighborhood. I LIKE to drive slow. I LIKE to take my time and let people cut in. I don't get angry and frustrated on the road like other people do. People I know vent their frustrations about traffic and I like can't relate at all. I'm like, why don't you just relax? You'll get home eventually.
I even tried the used game place and they were already off the shelves there.
I don't want it for the stupid sex scene.....I just don't want to have to wait 2 months to get a "clean" copy.
That's the overarching theme in American media, and it's been that way for years. In Europe and Japan, it's exactly the opposite, they censor any violence, but sex and nudity are generally accepted.
I went and bought it yesterday. In line at EB I was talking to another guy and mentioned how the prices for it on ebay were already rising. He bought 2 copies, two other people also bought copies. Prices are up more on ebay today and I expect they will continue to rise. Thanks for the collector's item Shrillary! I decided instead of just hocking it on ebay I'm going to play through it then wait unitl the 'Hot Coffee' versions are harder to find so I can get back my 50 bucks and then some.
On a related note: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=ticket_to_hell
Vice city is awesome, but San andreas friggin ROCKS.
If you like first person shooters, try Enemy Territory: Return to Castle Wolfenstein. You can play online against other players, its addicting as hell...I played it for about 2 years!
http://enemy-territory.4players.de:1041/
http://www.3dgamers.com/games/wolfensteinet/downloads/
Who would win in a head to head matchup
Tommy Vercetti or CJ (Carl Johnson)?
lol, let me know how you like it.....i'm addicted as hell to it. i'm in the Las Vegas section, just got my pilot's license!
"I feel like I went to a Phish concert when I read that board."
LOL!!!!
btw, enemy territory is FREE
not much luck here...even Ebay started removing auctions the day the news broke, and I was too late at Wal-Mart etc.
I will have to wait until they start selling it adult or sell the new mature version.
Admit it . . . you're really my fiance in disguise, aren't you?
(That post was SO Xena's Guy.)
Is it still Ray Liotta voicing the main character?
BTW, for now avoid "Battlefield 2." It's buggy as hell, and keeps dumping Xena's Guy to the desktop of his wildly souped-up game PC.
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