Grand Theft Auto San Andreas Re-rated Due To Sex Mod
It seems that this whole controversy has come to a bitter end for Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive, makers of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. After investigating the so-called “Hot Coffee Mod”, which unlocks a sex mini-game within the PC version of GTA: San Andreas, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) has decided to issue the game a new “AO” (Adults Only) rating. What this means is that now the game can only be purchased by people who are 18 or older (as opposed to the former 17+ for games rated “M” for Mature). More importantly however, is the fact that major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy will be pulling the game from its shelves (this includes the PS2 and X-Box versions as the sex mini-game can also be unlocked using an Action Replay or Gameshark cheat device).
Take-Two Interactive will not be required to recall the games from stores, however, they have decided to halt production on the game and begin working on a new version that blocks the sex content. This whole fiasco seems to raise a number of issues, primarily: is this cartoony sexual content really so much worse than violence already in the game? And also, should game developers be responsible for modifications made to their games by end users? One thing’s for sure… censorship of sex and violence in video games is going to be a major hot topic for politicians in the coming months.
Comments (6)
I think having a sex mini-game in this game is pathetic but what is more pathetic is the American attitude towards sex. The same rating standards are used for movies as well. Sex is given a higher rating than violence. There is something not natural about this.
Posted by Alicia on July 21st, 2005I think we should ban all books. after all, some guy in the bookstore could draw nudie pictures in the margins.
Posted by Goon on July 21st, 2005they’re raising the age level from 17 to….. 18?
way to fucking go. Protect those “kids”. From a hidden mod feature, no less.
I’ve logged 30 hours on this game so far, and let me tell you: when I’m stabbing at a pile of wriggling bleeding corpses with a chainsaw, or taking a flame thrower to a crowded bus station, or plowing down casual passersby with a wheat thresher, or taking a rocket launcher to a subway car, or beating my girlfriend to death with a baseball bat, i always think to myself- “Thank god there’s no bare titties in this game. That would be too graphic.”
Posted by manic panda on July 22nd, 2005that sex mod is off the hook i think that they should make more
Posted by cortez on December 6th, 2005The people who put sexual perversion in a more detestable position than graphic violence actually seem to be in the minority in America, or maybe that’s because I live right in the freakin’ center of Connecticut, which is basically dominated by liberals. I’m sure if I went about four hundred miles or so West I’d find the Christian heartland thriving as ever. Either way, Christians have a strong lobby, Washington has supposedly “Christian” Republicans, and Feminist Democrats, so a big-ass outcry over a freakin’ game is inevitable, while the Southern Border remains unsecure.
The sex minigames themselves were crappy, as far as I’m concerned. I thought GTA SA’s graphics were “behind the times,” but the nude character models look like they date from the late 90s, fer’ cryin’ out loud! Maybe this whole rating controversy wouldn’t have happened if Rockstar had kept the scenes accessable from the beginning, but made it a kind of dry-hump/foreplay kind of thing. It sure as hell would’ve LOOKED better than their sorry-excuses for nude women.
Posted by Kalafan on January 19th, 2006I think people who have issues with animated sex in video games have got some REAL problems. Besides, the graphics sucked. There wasnt any thing shown. it was no different than soft porn. i dont see wha all of the controversey is all about. i guess killing innocent people in gruesome ways for fun doesnt matter anymore. VIRGINS!
Posted by UBCS on April 2nd, 2008