From the “I’m really sick of this bullshit” Department:
Hot Coffee, that sex minigame/mod inside Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Although Rockstar, and parent Take2 Interactive, getting caught with their metaphoric pants down was priceless, the game was, is and always will be (I’m being kind here) borderline-racist garbage.
Simulated sex would seem to be the least of its sins.
Not that I believe for even a second that any of this is accidental: the mod, the leak, the talk, the (hoped for) improved sales … funny how that works.
But, nice work on biting the hands that feed, Rockstar. Thanks. (assholes) I’m sure the rest of the industry will enjoy having to clean up this mess.
Let us hope this is the end of the fallout:
Take2 Interactive’s non-admission of guilt press release regarding the results of the ESRB investigation. (Bullshit warning! Tread lightly.)
Quoting:
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) announced today that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has changed the rating of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on all platforms from “Mature 17+” (M) to “Adults Only 18+” (AO) because of the so-called “hot coffee mod,” an unauthorized third party modification that alters the retail version of the game. Take-Two cooperated fully with the ESRB’s investigation.
People that are new around these parts (i.e. non-gaming parents) might get the idea that Take2 and Rockstar are VICTIMS in all this. But I tell you this: that is one clever bit of spin. It’s ostensibly true, and yet it doesn’t quite tell the whole story.
Take2’s CEO, Paul Eibeler, issued this public statement this week (again, watch your step):
“Take-Two and Rockstar Games have always worked to keep mature-themed video game content out of the hands of children and we will continue to work closely with the ESRB and community leaders to improve and better promote a reliable rating system to help consumers make informed choices about which video games are appropriate for each individual.
“The ESRB’s decision to re-rate a game based on an unauthorized third party modification presents a new challenge for parents, the interactive entertainment industry and anyone who distributes or consumes digital content. Rockstar Games is pleased that the investigation is now settled and they look forward to returning their focus to making innovative and groundbreaking video games for a mature audience.”
(Dammit, they’re the victims here!)
The only challenge for parents is Eibeler and his unapologetic company of fuckups.
(BetaNews’ summary of this week’s GTA events.)
(IFILM clip of the Hot Coffee minigame — Adults Only, obviously.)
Yeah, I like how haxx0rs are to blame in this.
Thanks for making my day:
Best nutshell review of that game that I’ve seen pretty much anywhere.
Hope someone had used the terms “unlocking hidden features” instead of “mod”. That stupid internet drama about how mods are doomed wouldn’t take place then..
i’m sure its all unfolding pretty close to how they planned it when they left the code/graphics/voices intact for the scene(s)
Somehow I doubt Rockstar wanted the game yanked from store shelves. Especially seeing as how at this point SA is a third run game.
The sad thing about this whole fiasco is it’s just going to scare companies into making games that are pointed towards adults. We shouldn’t be applauding this as gamers; If Hilary and the morality police have their way, we’ll all be playing Kirby games the rest of our lives. Studies show that the majority of people who buy and play games are over 18. If a parent doesn’t supervise his child correctly and notice what they are doing when they are in front of the boob tube for hours on end, I can’t blame any manufacturer. And if a parent was to buy a game for their child, the “MA” rating should be more than enough. Besides the points that the box tells you about the violence, sex, and drugs… Oh sure, little Billy should have THAT game. My son will not play ANY game that has grand theft auto in the title until he is at LEAST 15. I, on the other hand, enjoy it.
Don’t look at it this way because you hate the game, it’s actually just another pull at freedom of expression when it comes to video games.
Doesn’t the Sims have a nudie patch you can download that takes out the blurs?
Justme has a good point – but at the same time I know that a lot of folks have an issue with where we draw the line about freedom of expression.
It’s one thing to watch a violent movie and walk away from the experience. A game is different (to me anyway) – where I’m controlling the action and actually taking the baseball bat to some random hookers head. Or getting my baseball bat some head from a random hooker (mileage varies either way.)
The fun of the game is the choices you make and the freedom from real consequences that we enjoy. What scares the morality police is that we’re able to make those decisions and seemingly walk away from the experience unscathed.
While I’m no fan of censorship – I’m also no fan of companies that go out of their way to make something as violent and degrading as possible simply because they can. It impacts the perception of *all* gamers and all games.
Parents *should* parent. My boys won’t touch a game like this for a while. At the same time – the corporate fucksticks that do stuff like this need to stop giving the whole industry a vigorous dick in the eye just to find a way to hawk a few more games.
What galls me about this whole thing is that everyone’s making a huge deal out of something that requires an UNAUTHORIZED download to even access (and then, only on the PC version), and is (truth be told) kind of pixellated and cheesy anyway, but no one seems to take any notice of the sex mini-game in “God of War”! Granted, you can’t see what’s going on during the game, but the cutscene leading into the game is very realistically rendered, and detailed. Of course, “God of War” isn’t published by that evil corrupter of unsupervised youth, Rockstar Games.
The funny thing is, unlike Rockstar, CJ never actually has his pants down!
True. Plus, I don’t think he ever got that hot coffee he was promised.