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GTA Gets Slapped in the Face...; ... with an "AO" rating from the ESRB!
Topic Started: Jul 21 2005, 03:02 PM (1,332 Views)
Tails2258
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Lv.67 Peace Keeper
Elite Architect (Admin)
Well, it finally happened. Outraged Politicians and angry media groups demanded that something be done about GTA: San Andreas's "hot coffee" mini-game, which hackers found hidden inside the game.The ESRB has changed the game's rating to "AO," or Adults Only. Rockstar has ceased manufacturing of the current version of San Andreas, until the company can offer a version not affected by the "hot coffee" modification. The company is also issuing a patch to prevent "hot coffee" access in the PC version.

"After a thorough investigation, we have concluded that sexually explicit material exists in a fully rendered, unmodified form on the final discs of all three platform versions of the game (i.e., PC CD-ROM, Xbox and PS2)," said ESRB president Patricia Vance.

Rockstar is currently working on a version of San Andreas which will not allow for "hot coffee" modification and which will retain the ESRB's original "M" rating. The company expects to ship the revised version in its fourth quarter (August through October). As for the current versions, Rockstar will provide "AO" stickers for retailers who wish to sell the current version of the game. However, that idea is useless, as most stores that carry video games do not carry "AO"-rated games. So, whether you buy games at Wal-Mart or Gamestop, don't expect to find this game anytime soon.

From IGN.COM, "Because of the game's re-rating, and subsequent effect on sales, Rockstar parent company Take-Two is revising its third quarter earnings to $160 to $170 million in net sales, or a net loss per share of $0.40 to $0.45. The company is also lowering its guidance for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2005 to $1.26 to $1.31 billion in net sales."

My opinion: I think that this game deserves an "AO" rating thanks to the "hot coffee" min-game. Although Rockstar blames the third-party modification that allows access to this mini-game, Rockstar themselves are to blame for leaving this sexually-explicit material in the game. They can't deny the fact that they created it, and that they left it in every single disc of GTA:SA. Who knew that the unaware grandmother who purchased GTA:SA for her 6 year old son contained sexually-explicit material in it (regardless whether or not it is accessable)?

I think Rockstar got what they deserved. The GTA franchise is great, and it's really pushing the maturity level of video games... but the fact that they created sex video games is stupid, and they shouldn't get away with it. "We are deeply concerned that the publicity surrounding these unauthorized modifications has caused the game to be misrepresented to the public and has detracted from the creative merits of this award winning product." It's official... the President of Take-two is an idiot. The mod is illegal, yes, and this mini-game was never intended to be accessed, yes... but they still made it... and it's still there! They brought shame amongst themselves. Period. o_o

Although GTA sales will go down sharply, interest will go up after this publicity. Heh.
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Ace_McLairen
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Pffft, like it will make much of a difference. Everyone who has wanted GTA:SA will ahev already bought it. What are parents trying to prove? Removing a game that's almost been out for a year from stores is pointless.. As most people have already beaten the game anyway. <_<

Speaking of hacking, I read somewhere that hackers found a hidden level on the N65 Goldeneye called Coliseum. It was teh cool.

I mean, the M rating was more than enough. Anyone with half a brain cell could clearly see that this game was preferred for audiences over 18 in the first place. Maybe if they actually went along those guidelines, Rockstar wouldn't be getting such a bad rap for their games. <_<
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havoc6273
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and the parents that complain are the dumbasses that buy a game with a M rating,and the reasons(straight from a EBGames display case before it came out for xbox-long story)are 'Blood and Gore,Intense Violence,Strong Language,Strong Sexual Content,Use of Drugs'
so the ESRB people are the idiots that labeled it WITH strong sexual content,then went back a year or so later to bring it up
beat back the ESRB with their own...er...reasons :P
We can dance if we want to, we can leave our friends behind.
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Tails2258
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- The "M" rating is 17+... so what is "AO"? Is it 18+, or is it 21+? -

Y'know, I need more than my two hands to count the number of times younger kids, most likely ranging from ages 10-12 or younger, who try to buy GTA. Of cource, the clerk immiedately says you need an adult to buy the game for you, and then the kid asks an adult, and the adult hears the content in the game from the clerk, and the adult says "that games sounds too violent", and the kids says, "but all my friends have it", and then the adult gives in and buys the game for their child, and then the kid eventually grows up and murders people. o_o;

That reminds me of this one time... a 15 year old kid asked me if I had a license on me... so I could buy GTA for him. o_O

Ace is mostly right. The "M-rating" is being enforced. Retailers always card minors who try to buy GTA, so the real problem is the irresponsible parents who buy GTA for their kids anyway. Sure, it is "harmless fun", but tons of idiotic kids confuse games with reality and actually do perform violent acts while using GTA as a source of their inspiration. Anyway, yea... so, the ESRB and Game retailers are doing their job... so the politicians should give Rockstar a break and blame the damn parents. o_o

But I disagree with the "AO" rating being unecessary. It is SEVERELY necessary now that this "hack"... or "mod", if you will... has gone mainstream, and everyone now knows what sexually-explicit content is deep within this game. Regardless if people buy this game with the intentions of using the "modification" or not, the disc still has a sex-based mini-game on it. Period. Rockstar is to blame for not removing this stuff from the discs in the first place. And, unfortunetly for Rockstar, the "Hot Coffee" mini-game was found... and it's solely Rockstar's fault. And Rockstar sales will hurt in the next few months, because it... and parents across the golbe have taken the GTA game out of the reach of children, as well. However, Rockstar is a responsible company, and they're already working on cleaning things up, and releasing new "M"-rated versions in the future.

But for now, the "AO"-rating is EXTREMELY pratical. You can't have "sex" in a video game and give it an "M" rating. Everybody knows that.

EDIT: On "Late Night with Conan O' Brien" last night, he made a joke about the GTA controversy. "Outraged parents are upset with the game Grand Theft Auto over a hidden mini-game about sex. Yea, apparently parents wanted their kids to play a game about violent carjacking, not sex." (that quote was paraphrased)
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KilikAJI
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rating wont stop most people from getting games. whenever i go buy a game i never bother looking at the esrb rating >_>

theres other ways to get games than from the store. you could order them online from amazon(cause they have those gift cards for amazon) or could download them online like sonik does.

if they hide something like that inside gta...i wonder if theres other stuff hidden in other games :/ maybe like...secret messages between two terrorist
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B1G B0SS 17
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Since when is sex worse than gangsters shooting peoples' heads off in the streets?

Its the parent's fault to buy M-rated games for minors. Buying things online with the parent's credit card is also the parent's fault. Parents are giving into the peer-pressure/bandwagon excuse by their kids? wtf. The parents used it on their parents and they know it's wrong and a shitty excuse.

heh, hearing about this makes me wanna play the game even more.... :D
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Tails2258
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Well Kilik, I don't think anyone cares whether or not you can get this game. Afterall, millions of people already own the game, whether on PS2, Xbox, or PC, and the game can be downloaded illegally or can be purchased online with your parent's stolen credit card. Big deal. Right now the concern is that future copies of this game are labeled "AO", because they deserve to be rated "AO" in every aspect... simply for a hidden sexually-explicit mini-game. It may sound stupid, since the rating would be based off a mini-game that isn't regularly accessable... but keep in mind that as long as the sexual content is on those discs... the "AO" rating will be enforced. It's pratical, and entirely reasonable.

Correct Kilik. Ratings don't stop consumers from choosing games. But it should, especially if the rating happens to be an "M"-rated game... because you will get carded at almost every store.

Correct Stee. Parents don't care about buying "M"-rated games for their children. They should. I'm not saying younger kids should be forbidden to play GTA, but I'm saying that if the kid is not responsible (the parent would know if he/she is or not)... the parent should look at the game's contents and say, "I'm not getting this game for you."

Gangsters shooting people's heads off may seem just as bad as sex... but the ESRB doesn't believe so. You see, there is no label from the ESRB titled "Gangsters shooting people's heads off"... but there is a label for "Violence"... "Realistic Violence", to be exact. Depending on the amount of "realistic violence" there is, a game could get anywhere from an "T" to "M" rating. "Sexual Content", however, is a label of the ESRB, and any game with "sexual content" is immediately rated an "AO" game. Think of it this way.... violent websites don't require you to prove you're 18 years or older. Sites with sexual content do.

And there you have it. The line needs to be drawn somewhere, and both the ESRB and the federal government choose the line to be between violence and sex. 'Nuff said.
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SuperSonik
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finally, the first big-selling game with an AO rating, and if i'm not mistaken, the first AO game after the category was introduced, Larry Cum Laude was also M....weird.

Yeah, the hot coffee mod was pretty.....whew,,, interesting. yes, i saw it first hand. Whats the point of banning the PS2 versions? you can't, to my knowledge, hack that version. I have PC, so it was easy. And XBox version is also extremely easy to hack.
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B1G B0SS 17
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violent websites don't require you to prove you're 18 years or older. Sites with sexual content do.


...that's a very interesting point and proof that...yeh, you know. I mean, take this[link removed by admin] site for example...no age of proof needed... <_<
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Llama Juice
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even without the minigame it should be rated AO... that and so should GTA VC... a mission in GTA VC requires you to go to a strip club and get a girl to dance for you for a few minutes..... GTA SA involves killing millions of people, stealing cars, stealing money, just countless acts of violence and theft. Well.. i guess since the name of the game means STEAL CARS that makes everything okay and nobody should be alarmed about it...

the people who make the ESRB ratings should think about what to make of the game before judging it... clearly GTA is a AO rated game.... YOU CAN GET A HOOKER FOR CRYING OUT LOUD
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Tails2258
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I do agree that GTA's violence really "pushes the button" and, in some aspects, deserves the "AO" rating right off the bat. But I suppose that's open to debate. But with the "sex" mini-game... well, that's guaranteed "AO" material.

And Sonik, the PS2 version should be banned just as much as any other version... regardless if it can be hacked... SEXUAL CONTENT IS PHYSICALLY ON EVERY SINGLE GTA PS2 DISC IN PRODUCTION! It doesn't matter if you can access it, they don't rate games based on accessability. If it's on the disc, it counts. GTA didn't get the "AO" rating at first, when the game was first released, because the ESRB never came across the mini-game. So that's why GTA was once rated "M".

Quote:
 
...that's a very interesting point and proof that...yeh, you know. I mean, take this[link removed by admin] site for example...no age of proof needed...


Well, it's true. Not a single violent site requires proof of age, but most sites with sexual content do. Not all, but most. And Pinkyton, for the love of god I hope that link wasn't "Lemon Party"...! My eyes still burn from last time... and the pic didn't even fully load! >_<;

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DaVoid
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Which seems slightly backwards to me. We will shelter our children from the natural reproductive process(with some limits of course) but a person getting his head blown off from a shot gun? Oh sure you can watch that.
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Tails2258
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- Please note that the following thoughts simply state that "sexually-explicit" material perhaps should deserve the "M" rating. However, the thoughts below do NOT, in any way, shape, or form, suggest that sexual content is approproate or acceptable on this site. Thank you. -

Quote:
 
Which seems slightly backwards to me. We will shelter our children from the natural reproductive process(with some limits of course) but a person getting his head blown off from a shot gun? Oh sure you can watch that.


*Gasp!* A flaw in my logic!... and the ESRB's! In a sense, DaVoid is absolutely positvely correct! All living creatures.... erm, except trees... and monks... and Richard Simmons... well, uh... let me just rephrase that. Almost all living creatures have intercourse. It's a "beautiful" thing to some people, because... you know... it makes babies, and such. And apparently that's a wonderful thing, because everyone loves babies... erm, except Michael Jackson... he's more into toddlers... ahem, let me paraphrase. Everyone but Michael Jackson loves babies, thus the process of "making babies" is a beautiful thing.

But of cource, there's more to intercource than just babies. There's passion that the two people share, which is a "beautiful" form of expression, apparently... although... nowadays, there's raping and three-ways and all that other mumbo-jumbo... so I don't see much passion there. Why am I rambling?... especially about THIS topic?!

Long story short, sexual material isn't THAT bad, because it's a natural process that everyone does, and it's also concidered a wonderful... and I suppose "beautiful".... thing. Meanwhile, blowing people's heads off isn't wonderful, natural, or beautiful. o_o

Great, now I just contradicted my previous arguments. Well, I guess I no longer have any point in this debate. o_o;

P.S. -- Heh. I guess you could say... we're all results of "hot coffee"!!! :mellow:
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Llama Juice
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http://www.videogamesareevil.com/ check out this video... i just thought it was funny... and its on the GTA Hot Coffee topic... so yea :P check it out!
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Tails2258
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Heh. The ESRB isn't the only company investigating "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas". Now the House of Represetatives (hopefully eveyrone knows what that is) have voted to order the Federal Trade Commission (hopefully some of you will know what that is) to investigate the game as well. Not only that, but the FTC will also investigate the company Rockstar and it's sisiter-company Take-two Interactive, for their consumer ethic and all. Here's an article from the Chicago Tribune...

"An uproar over hidden, sexually explicit scenes in the video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" spread to the halls of Congress on Monday.

On a 355-21 vote, the House passed a resolution asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the game's manufacturer, Rockstar Games, and its parent company, New York-based Take Two Interactive Software Inc.

Video games usually have layers of content, and sometimes there are hidden areas that can be unlocked with special codes or modifications.

Take Two Interactive initially said the scenes were not part of the game's retail version. Later the company admitted the scenes were part of its version.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., Best Buy Co., Gamestop, and Circuit City Stores Inc. have pulled the game from their shelves following the rating change."

Basically, the FTC will inspect Rockstar's business. They'll likely question why such content was in the game, despite it not meaning to be accessable, and they'll probably get fined for their actions and all.
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