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 ...
I isn't doing anything very good for my driving, I'll tell you that. Not that I'm blowing intersections and jacking cars, but I have noticed I'm taking advantage of opportunities and driving more aggressively. And I don't like driving aggressively. I like flying under the radar in RL.
"Pirates, anyone? Aargh!"
Now that's a game! :)
I may be wrong but I think the only way to get "hot coffee" w/ the ps2 is to use the GAME SHARK, it's not just "in the game".
I wasn't planning on buying this one as I burnt out on III but now that it's going to be a collectors item I picked up on on amazon.
lol....yeah I am going to Wal-Mart tonight.
I got some extra dough for covering the county fair for the newspaper, so I will use that money to get it.
I don't want to wait until tomorrow because I am afraid it will be off the shelves.
I won't be watching the porn on the game...don't do that sort of thing. But, I am concerned they will modify it more than just removing the mini-game...possibly removing cheat codes etc.
So, I better get the "real thing" before it is gone, just in case...
Shooting cops in GTA is a bad idea. Even if you kill a cop by accident they're all over you like white on rice. I hit one with a bat one day and he pulled out his service automatic and had 10 rounds in me before I knew what hit me.
Not that that makes it any better, but cops do get a little respect.
I have noticed I do more rolling stops at stop signs than I used to, but that may just be getting a bit older since I used to be really cautious when first starting to drive.
Best game out there. Does anyone know how to unlock the explicit scenes on the PS2 version?
I showed my fiancee how to ride a bike and punch in the game. First she accidently ran over a group of gang members on the bicycle and then had to ride away quick when they got back up and started shooting at her. She got off the bike a short time later and I showed her how to punch to defend herself. She runs up to a random character and starts punching him despite me yelling "Not that one!" It was a cop and he pulled out his pistol and finished her off in self-defense. She never did finish the first mission and got CJ back to his house. Now we play two players, I as CJ and her as one of the girlfriends.
Really awesome game, as you can fully interact with much of your environment, but them leaving the sexual aspects of the code inside was dumb unless they want an adult rating. I think these games should be for 18+ anyway due to the graphic violence or at least have a parental control. But if they make another GTA, I'm buying.
Gamespot discusses how they did it in their news section. They needed a Game Shark code breaker or something like that.
Check out this board for GTA.
Topic: The Official GTA San Andreas Will Now Be Rated AO/Hot Coffee Thread
http://boards.ign.com/Grand_Theft_Auto/b5257/93568918/p1
I take it you are over 12?
I do not let me kids under 15 play any game like that one.
Ratings for video games are a farce...
While using products like Action Replay (which GameSpot used to bust Take-Two's claims that Hot Coffee was created by rather than merely exploited by hackers) are not endorsed by the game manufacturers, it is entirely routine by the fact that both those products and the codes to use them are readily available at your local Best Buy/EBGames/etc.
It's not like these guys added the sex to the code. They removed a piece of data to access something the programmers left there. And the programmers had the option to never include the sex in the final version, and didn't.
Rockstar Games can say anything they want, but the evidence proves, without question, they created and shipped a game with interactive sex.
And I thought the cut-throat viciousness of buying another railroad out from under an over-extended opponent in RailRoad Tycoon 2 was sinful (simulated greed).
I still refuse to ship grain to the brewery, except maybe one car, once in a while, for medicinal purposes, of course.
Good ole' Contra. :-)
I know it's Hillary! But I would not necessarily call it censorship. Parents should monitor the games their kids play and should know whether or not a game is suitable or not for their kids. But this will not result in anyone not playing the game who really wants to. But it does help a parent, assuming that they are really parenting and monitoring what their kids do, make a decision. I don't see anything wrong with that.
But that being said, there is still no substitute for parenting. Being aware of what your kids are watching or playing. Nanny government won't do it for you.
The company clearly brought this upon themselves. They shouldn't whine about the fact that their game is now appropriately labeled.
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