GTA and Hot Coffee

This issue has been all over the place so I figured i'd add my $0.02.

For those of you living under a rock i'll go over the basics:

The video game Grand Theft Auto 3: San Andreas was released in October of last year and has been one of the best selling games in the world since that time, millions and millons of copies have sold. When this game came out it (rightfully) recieved an M rating or equivilent anywhere it was released. This game is definately not for children. It contains gang violence, drug use, sexual content and pretty much anything else negative you can say about it. However it's a GREAT game. I've played it through completely, and while i haven't unlocked everything, i would like to go back and do so sometime soon. As much as I liked it though, theres no way i would think about giving this to play to anyone under at LEAST 15, probalby older, and i consider myself pretty liberal about it. Theres a reason we have these M ratings and this game is all of those reasons. On the box it lists the reasons for the M rating: 1. Blood and Gore 2. Intense violence 3. Strong Language 4. Strong Sexual Content 5. Use of drugs. Yes, thats right, it was already rated as having Strong sexual content.

Now for Hot Coffee. This is a hack which is pretty easy to aquire on the internet. It allows you to access content on the game that is not available through regular play. The only way to get this to work on your PS2(and maybe xbox, i'm not sure) is to install a mod chip which is already illegal. Obviously easier on your PC. By installing this software you are breaking your EULA(end user licence agreement). Sure people do both of these all the time, but that dosen't make them legal. Through this mod you can access a sex mini-game in the game. I have seen a video of this game on the net, though i've not tried it on my copy(i'm not modding my ps2). This game is VERY poorly rendered, likely because it was never finished. The woman is skin toned but has no discernable features below the neck, she could very well be wearing a tight skin-colored leotard for all you can see. The man is fully clothed. They are very obviously supposed to be having sex, in multiple positions. This scene is completely consentual sex as the person you're doing this with is your girlfriend in the game and theres no signs of anything else non-consentual.

Well once this mod was found out, crap hit the proverbial fan. 1) ESRB(entertainment software raitings board) changed the raiting to AO(adults only). 2) Senator Clinton has started senate hearings and pushing for laws regulating video games. 3) Some grandmother in flordia who bought the game for her 14yr old grandson is suing rockstar. 4) The game was just banned in Austrailia.

1. ESRB. While I question the choice not to give the game an AO rating from the start, I can hardly see how this puts it over the line when the game was already listed as having strong sexual content and included things like pimping out hookers, having sex with hookers in your car with the car moving and moaning sounds, having sex off camera(with the camera shaking) with this same girlfriend and highly suggestive lines/moaning going on, along with the ability to beat down cops with a huge purple dildo. I want to stress that this content is NOT accessable in the game without hacks. you can hack 'the sims' to show all of the characters naked and it dosen't get an AO rating. However, perhaps this game deserved an AO rating from the start, but i tend to think it was caving to pressure, but whatever.

Because of this rockstar is recalling all the unsold games and is working on releasing a new version where the content is totally removed. Probably what they should have done in the firt place. I assume this was a feature that was supposed to be part of the game, but they thought better of it close to the end of production and rather than taking the time to completely remove it, they just cut out the ability to get there and never finished it. This was most likely way easier to do than completely removing it and i'm sure they were pushing to get the game out as fast as possible.

2 Legislation against video games. There has been a lot of hatrid for video games comming from lawmakers for no other reason than they're new. Most people over 40, or even more so, over 50 don't play video games, and see them as something that only children do. The problem is, a very large(possibly majority) of gamers are over 20 and many over 30. This is not just entertainment for kids anymore. Just as there are R rated movies that you shouldn't let your 8 yr old see, but are still very good movies(the Godfather for example), there are video games like this too. They're made for adults not children.

As far as i know there are absolutely no laws in this country about selling R rated movies to minors or even allowing children into R rated movies in the theater. Theaters/stores do this voluntarialy. Besides very few kids are going to have the $50 needed to buy this game themselves, rather in most cases the parents are buying them for their kids. The parents are either woefully uninformed or don't care. If they don't care, then thats their problem, but how can someone be so uninformed and stupid that they would buy a game named after a felony, which has gotten tons of publicity, clearly rated on the box with warnings about violence and sexual content, and not know it could be objectionable.

Basically this is a pollitical move to appear more 'family values' oriented to the older population who are much more likely to vote than those of us who are younger. "won't someone save the children" A law against selling them to children really wont change much because in almost all cases, the parents are buying it for their kids. To me this is the equivilent of a parent buying Basic Instinct or Eyes Wide Shut for their kids. If they want to, thats their problem, but you can't blame the video store or even the producers of the movie for it. Yeah, they shouldnt' be sold to children, but why aren't there people pushing for laws about R rated movies?

3) The grandmother suing. I pretty much coverd this above. This woman bought the game for her 14yr old grandson and had no problems with all the violence and sex already in the game, but as soon as the game was able to be hacked to show more sex, well that was too much. Because you know, her grandson didn't do the hacking, rockstar came and did that for him and forced him to watch. Either she's a total moron(i doubt, at least totally) or she's trying to make a quick buck off the contriversy. I like how she's suing on behalf of everyone who bought the game... because I know I want her voicing my opinion.

4)This is just stupid. you can still buy hardcore pornography in Austrailia yet not this game?!?! My brain can't even get around this point.

SO... in conclusion, yes rockstar made a mistake by not deleting this content from their game immediately, this shit is always found. But people lets be reasonable, this wasn't "Carebear hugs 5" it was "Grand theft auto" People need to lay off games as the scapegoat for all their problems. Video games are better than a lot of other passive enterainment.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-johnson27jul27,0,1432940.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
Sure, kids would be better off ouside exercizing or doing their homework, but its a lot better than sitting motionless infront of sitcom after sitcom for hours. Games at least require you to use your brain.